I was in the market for a wireless speaker to use in my living room, and I narrowed it down to the HomePod and Sonos Play 5. At first I was dead set on the HomePod so I preordered it. On the launch day of the HomePod, I was reading some mixed opinions on here regarding how the HomePod stacks up against the Sonos Play 5. The Sonos Play 5 was not even on my radar until this point, but I decided that I wanted the best of the best and I decided to go to Best Buy after work and pick up a Sonos Play 5 and compare it directly to the HomePod.
I set both devices up in the same spot in my living room. The genre of music I listen to can best be described as rock or hard rock. I listen to anything from pop punk to metalcore.
I tried listening to a variety of songs in these genres side by side on these devices. Overall, I must say that in my opinion the Sonos Play 5 sounds better. If I had to put a number to it, the HomePod sounds 70% as "good" as the Sonos Play 5. The Play 5 just sounds quite a bit fuller and more present than the HomePod. I thought the instrumentals sounded "tinnier" on the HomePod, where as on the Sonos Play 5 they sounded much fuller. The vocals also come through more powerful on the Sonos Play 5.
This was a disappointing result because I really wanted to love the HomePod. The fact that the Sonos Play 5 sounded better, and the fact that I am a Spotify user, I could not justify keeping the HomePod. I have decided to return the HomePod and keep the Sonos Play 5.
I am a little confused at the reviews that state the HomePod sounds better than the Sonos Play 5. I understand that the way something sounds can be quite subjective from person to person, but to me there was a clear difference in the audio quality between these devices.
If anyone has any questions I'd be more than happy to answer them. Hope this helps.
I set both devices up in the same spot in my living room. The genre of music I listen to can best be described as rock or hard rock. I listen to anything from pop punk to metalcore.
I tried listening to a variety of songs in these genres side by side on these devices. Overall, I must say that in my opinion the Sonos Play 5 sounds better. If I had to put a number to it, the HomePod sounds 70% as "good" as the Sonos Play 5. The Play 5 just sounds quite a bit fuller and more present than the HomePod. I thought the instrumentals sounded "tinnier" on the HomePod, where as on the Sonos Play 5 they sounded much fuller. The vocals also come through more powerful on the Sonos Play 5.
This was a disappointing result because I really wanted to love the HomePod. The fact that the Sonos Play 5 sounded better, and the fact that I am a Spotify user, I could not justify keeping the HomePod. I have decided to return the HomePod and keep the Sonos Play 5.
I am a little confused at the reviews that state the HomePod sounds better than the Sonos Play 5. I understand that the way something sounds can be quite subjective from person to person, but to me there was a clear difference in the audio quality between these devices.
If anyone has any questions I'd be more than happy to answer them. Hope this helps.