Sunday, November 29, 2020

Bose Soundtouch 30 vs Sonos Play 5 — How Do These Fare When It Comes To Sound Quality?

Bose Soundtouch 30 VS Sonos Play 5

We all love wireless speakers with high quality sound at an affordable price. There’s no wasting money though, and we would want to make the right decision upfront.

When talking about top-notch sound speakers, two models stand out: Sonos Play 5 and Bose SoundTouch 30. Our experts tested and reviewed Bose Soundtouch 30 vs Sonos Play 5 to help you take the best pick. 

Bose SoundTouch 30 or Sonos Play 5?

Best Connectivity
Bose SoundTouch 30
Richest Sound
Sonos Play 5
Bose SoundTouch 30
Sonos Play 5
Featuring Waveguide technology, the best performing wireless speaker from Bose fills your rooms with a rich and clear sound. SoundTouch 30 works with Wifi and Bluetooth devices to give you a better audio experience.
Sonos’ biggest speaker incorporates six amplifiers specially designed to fill your whole house with a pure and detailed sound at any volume. Especially designed for bass, the Play 5’s architecture eliminates the echo and the reverb.
Best Connectivity
Bose SoundTouch 30
Bose SoundTouch 30
Featuring Waveguide technology, the best performing wireless speaker from Bose fills your rooms with a rich and clear sound. SoundTouch 30 works with Wifi and Bluetooth devices to give you a better audio experience.
Richest Sound
Sonos Play 5
Sonos Play 5
Sonos’ biggest speaker incorporates six amplifiers specially designed to fill your whole house with a pure and detailed sound at any volume. Especially designed for bass, the Play 5’s architecture eliminates the echo and the reverb.

Features of Bose Soundtouch 30 and Sonos Play 5

Sound Quality

The most important aspect of our topic Sonos Play 5 vs Bose SoundTouch 30 is the sound quality. 

Both wireless speakers have a high-quality sound, clear and consistent at all volume levels. However, Bose and Sonos have different sound profiles.

Sonos Play 5 has a tight and consistent low-end without sounding over-inflated and bloated. On the other hand, Bose SoundTouch 30, although it has a nice and rich low-end, seems to lack Sonos’ definition and tightness.

All over the rest of the frequency spectrum, both speakers sound oddly similar. The midrange is more defined in the Sonos, while the top-end is more excited in the Bose. However, these are subtle differences that can be neglected if you are not a pro.

Provided you need a single speaker solution, we noticed that Sonos Play 5 has a slightly better sound quality than Bose SoundTouch 30. 

Expandability of the Bose SoundTouch 30 and Sonos Play 5

When it comes to expandability, Sonos Play 5 takes the lead. You can extend the speaker to the entire 5.1 home theatre system if paired with extra Sonos equipment. Unfortunately, SoundTouch 30 lacks this important feature.

Sonos Play 5 with Amazon Alexa

Furthermore, Sonos can support up to 80 music streaming services, while Bose SoundTouch 30 will play only the existing music on your PC or another device. 

Mobile App

Both Bose SoundTouch 30 and Sonos Play 5 require an application to be downloaded on iOS or Android devices to use the speaker’s full functionality.

Sonos’ smart application, the Sonos Controller app [1], allows you to control the speaker on virtually any device. Also, the app integrates 49 different applications such as Spotify, Apple Music, even Bandcamp.  The app features multi-room audio control that gives you the possibility to set different moods for every room.

The Bose SoundTouch 30 app has pretty much the same features as the Sonos app. However, it goes a little further, featuring six preset buttons that can be set up within the app. These buttons are customizable and stored, so you can jump between them without opening the application.

Although both apps hold cool features, Bose SoundTouch 30 is the winner due to its dedicated buttons that push the speakers’ functionality further. 

Connectivity

Sonos Play 5 and Bose SoundTouch 30 do music streaming over Wifi but in a different manner.

Sonos uses its own SonosNet, a dedicated wireless network. This Sonos system communicates with the other connected speakers via this network, thus avoiding congestion and interference. Also, it is easier to add additional speakers if you plan to expand your audio system.

Bose SoundTouch 30

Play 5 does not have Bluetooth. However, it features an Ethernet port that allows you to plug it up into your wireless network.

Bose SoundTouch 30 has the option to connect to other speakers via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Although Bluetooth connectivity is not often used, it comes in handy when you want to play music from your phone via the YouTube app without switching to another wireless network. SoundTouch 30 also features an Ethernet port.

The winner of the Bose SoundTouch 30 vs Sonos Play 5 competition, when we talk about the connectivity aspects, is Bose SoundTouch 30. Our experts noticed that this product provides the most flexibility in terms of connectivity.

Controls on the Bose SoundTouch 30 and Sonos Play 5

Both speakers support Amazon Alexa. However, they have different means of control, apart from the virtual assistant. The speakers have remote controls so you can control the music right from the device.

Sonos Play 5 is enormously appreciated by Apple users due to AirPlay2, which allows support for the Siri-enabled devices. This smart speaker also features standard control buttons.

Bose SoundTouch 30 does not offer support to Apple users, although Google Assistant is usable via AirPlay support. Also, the standard button controls have a lag.

In terms of controls, we can safely declare that Bose SoundTouch 30 falls behind Sonos Play 5. 

Setup

Both speakers are known for their ease of use and straightforward setting up. The only thing you have to do is to download the mobile application and follow the installation steps. The whole process will not last longer than a few minutes.

Sonos Play 5 touch sensors

There is no chance to mess the installation up, but if this happens, you can always refer to the users’ manuals, which are very well written. 

Design

Bose SoundTouch 30 features a sturdy yet elegant design that perfectly fits your home. This wireless speaker comes in two colour variants. 

On the other hands, Sonos Play 5 has a compact and durable design. The speaker looks fantastic and is surely an eye catcher. 

An amazing feature of Sonos Play 5 is its ability to detect the position. We tested Sonos Play 5 speaker and, either horizontally or vertically placed, the speaker will automatically pick the correct setting (stereo or mono). 

Bose Soundtouch 30 and Sonos Play 5 Price

Maybe one of the essential aspects when you decide to purchase wireless speakers is the price tag.

Bose SoundTouch 30 placed above a drawer

Bose SoundTouch 30 tends to be slightly pricey than Sonos Play 5 but is still within the same range. It is obvious that quality comes at a high price. However, as our tests concluded, sometimes a cheaper product might surprise you. 

Sonos Play 5, although cheaper than Bose SoundTouch 30, offers a better sound quality. 

FAQ

Is Bose SoundTouch 30 discontinued?

The support for Bose SoundTouch 30 will not be discontinued, although the manufacturer might not release new SoundTouch products in the future. You can continue enjoying Bose’s clear sound for a very long time. 

Are Bose and Sonos compatible?

Bose and Sonos products are compatible. It means that you can always incorporate a Bose device in a Sonos audio system. We tested and the Bose speaker can be an active component in a Sonos system.

Overall Winner: Sonos Play 5

Sonos Play 5

Sonos Play 5 shares many features with Bose SoundTouch 30. Reliable and durable, Sonos Play 5 enjoys a high degree of demand on the market. Following our expert review, we noticed that Sonos offers more flexibility and freedom.

Sonos Play 5 is a great smart speaker, with one of its great features being the incredible bass response and the crisp, clear sound.

Sonos Play 5 uses your home network in communicating with the other connected speakers in streaming your music. Moreover, you can stream music from the playlists on Spotify or Google Play app.

Our experts also conclude that the Sonos Play 5 wireless speaker is the best choice in case you aim to build the ultimate surrounding system. Best sound, adjustable bass, and amazing treble controls, the Sonos Play 5 speaker has it all.

The post Bose Soundtouch 30 vs Sonos Play 5 — How Do These Fare When It Comes To Sound Quality? appeared first on The Product Analyst.



from The Product Analyst https://theproductanalyst.com/bose-soundtouch-30-vs-sonos-play-5/

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