SONOS PLAY:3 Smart Wireless Speaker, Black

Product Information

Band of Horses’ delightful No One’s Gonna Love You, for example, sounds beautifully smooth and solid, but with lots of detail and punch. With so much choice out there, not just from within the Sonos system itself, but from competitors too, is the Play:3 still worth considering if you can get your hands on one? Here's our review. Although in most ways it’s just like a shrunken-down take on the Sonos Play:5, there are a couple of key differences. The Play:3 doesn’t have an auxiliary input or a headphone output, limiting the versatility of the box a little. There are no side doors into the audio experience here – either you buy into the Sonos way or you won’t be listening to anything. Overall, the Sonos Playbase is a good-sounding speaker for those who don’t want to fumble with a surround sound system or simply don’t have the room for one. There’s no need for a receiver, making it truly plug-and-play. Sonos’ philosophy of making music enjoyment as frictionless as possible continues with the Playbase – the Sonos app is easy to use and the integrated universal search across music services is something we wished every speaker had.

This product does not have any user-serviceable parts. Do not open or disassemble or attempt to repair it or replace any components. Refer all servicing to Sonos qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cable or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped. Is the Play:3 worth buying if you can get hold of it? If you don't mind the slightly older design, then yes, because it still sounds great Sonos is always updating its speakers with software updates, constantly improving them years after they are released.Eight years on, we still use the Play:3 and we still love it.The key USP behind a subwoofer is to provide deep and sustained bass. The Sonos Sub doesn't disappoint on either front. Using twin, force-cancelling drivers with separate Class D amplifiers, the Sonos Sub provides a bass that is not only deep enough to rattle the windows, but also punchy, agile and dynamic. The bass simply sounds exactly as it should - fast and deep with zero cabinet buzz or rattle. You don't get any built-in voice assistant here, unlike the Sonos Beam or Sonos Arc. No Alexa, no Google Assistant, and no Sonos Voice Control. That is because there's no mic at all, which seems a little bizarre given Sonos' recent focus on its proprietary Sonos Voice rollout, but there we are. The Sonos Play:3 is an unassuming little box. 26cm wide and 16cm deep, it’s small enough to fit on a bedside cabinet without poking over the edge. If that foot print is still too large for your liking, this box is also designed to function just fine on its side, making it just 13cm wide. There are little rubber feet on one side as well as the bottom, to avoid scratches, while a built-in accelerometer lets the box know when it’s on its side, and to change the sound processing accordingly. That's not to say it's bass-heavy overall though. Listen to Fontaines D.C.'s Skinty Fia and you'll hear a low-end that, while impactful and unwavering, never bloats or muddies other musical passages such as accordions, drum riffs, angered vocals and keys. For yet another year, the Sonos multi-room system remains the best all-rounder.” ’What Hi-Fi?’ 2023 Product of the Year.

Why did Sonos create a second home entertainment device? The team did extensive research into how people used their Playbar at home and found that most people didn’t wall mount their televisions or Playbars. To that end, the Playbase was created to allow people to set their televisions right on top of the speaker, allowing for a compact home theater solution. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus that produce heat. Protect the power cable from being walked on or pinched, particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus.The sound signature is definitely on the warm, bassy side, but you are given some minor control over it within the iPhone app. A Music Equilization submenu lets you tweak the bass, treble and balance, and turn the Loudness mode on and off. The two frequency sliders only have a subtle effect on the sound – Sonos doesn’t give you the opportunity to ruin the sound quality here, but the Loudness option makes quite an impact. Primarily, it increases bass output to help the Play:3 maintain a decent sense of scale at higher volumes in spite of its fairly small-sized drivers. It can make the box sound a little bass-heavy, but this can then be tamed a little with the bass slider. Three years after the company released its first ever soundbar, the Playbar, Sonos has created the Playbase, a unique form factor sound system that combines a stable pedestal for your TV with an audio cabinet. The Sonos Play:3 is not widely available these days (we can only find it second hand), and it has been replaced by more appealing speakers within the Sonos portfolio, but it's still a great sounding speaker. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 25th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.)