SONOS Play 5

[xrk971]

I was at a local big retailer yesterday and happened to walk by the aisle normally full of Bluetooth speakers from everyone and their brother who seems to be making one nowadays. There was a new display with the SONOS product line and they had a Play 5 unit on demo along with the Play 1 and Play 3. I pushed the demo button and I have to say, I was quite impressed with the sound quality from a box that is only 14in x 8in x 6in. I am not easily impressed with off the shelf audio, but this one struck me as great sounding. The bass was deep and precise, the mids and highs were natural and clear. I looked for a bass reflex port - there was none, and I looked for a passive radiator - there was none. I surmised that it sounded great because they are using long throw mid woofers in a sealed box with a Linkwitz transform - that's the way I would have done bass from a small box myself. Anyhow, I found out that the new Play 5 is newly redesigned (the previous version was a bass reflex). This one has what appears to be three identical mid woofers all in one common back chamber and three soft dome tweeters with the two side ones in side firing waveguides. It would be neat to figure out what kind of driver they are using - probably a 5in long throw (circa 6mm xmax) with Qts in 0.35 range. This could probably be duplicated to a certain extent using a miniDSP engine and some class D amps. Probably some sort of LCR matrix for the 3 channels would be needed as well. Anyhow, if you have not heard one - check it out and let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas on how to make one as a diy project. But at $500, it may be tough to beat in cost if done right.

Here is an image of the inside as provided by SONOS;

 

[xrk971]

Ok, I am going to take a crack at making a very affordable version of this box (sans wifi media streaming).

Check out these 5.25in woofers (0.41 Qts, 3mm xmax) at PE for $8ea:
https://www.parts-express.com/hp-5210-5-1-4-poly-cone-rubber-surround-woofer-8-ohm--299-2164

The three of these tweeters for $12ea:
https://www.parts-express.com/tymphany-bc25sc06-04-1-textile-dome-tweeter--264-1028

I will probably go with a SSS LCR matrix per Elias' recommendation with a psychoacoustic filter for the center channel:

And a passive XO for the 2-way tweeter/woofer and a class AB LM3886 amplifier to allow the analog LCR matrix mixing. Or do the matrix SSS signal at line-level do line level passive XO and feed 3 class D amp boards.

 

[CLS]

I see some kind of WG on the 2 tweeters on left and right. The MB drivers are just side by side though.

For a matrixed SSS, it'd better be side firing. Or we can say room reflections of side walls complete the system. Without proper angle and strength from the side reflections, I'm afraid the stereo effect would be very weak.

 

[xrk971]

Maybe they are only doing the SSS matrix for the tweeters and the mid bass are all mono'd together to get the most bass impact? I could also build my version differently and with 45 deg angles on the left and right similar to the standard Nagaoka type boxes. Or I wonder if it's all mono? SONOS does say that they have a two unit stereo mode where one box acts as left and other box as right.

 

[xrk971]

Looks like you can buy this special woofer for DIY:

1pcs 4"inch Bass speaker For SONOS 60 watts 3 Ohms | eBay

Thanks to member aclup3 for alerting me to it - he bought one and says it's the best woofer in his house.

 

[aclup3]

Ok, I am going to take a crack at making a very affordable version of this box (sans wifi media streaming).

Check out these 5.25in woofers (0.41 Qts, 3mm xmax) at PE for $8ea:
HP-5210 5-1/4" Poly Cone Rubber Surround Woofer 8 Ohm

The three of these tweeters for $12ea:
Peerless by Tymphany BC25SC06-04 1" Textile Dome Tweeter

I will probably go with a SSS LCR matrix per Elias' recommendation with a psychoacoustic filter for the center channel:

And a passive XO for the 2-way tweeter/woofer and a class AB LM3886 amplifier to allow the analog LCR matrix mixing. Or do the matrix SSS signal at line-level do line level passive XO and feed 3 class D amp boards.

how did this speaker turn out? can you share the build plans??

and now, ive found the side tweeters of the sonos 5 here 1pcs Horn tweeter HIFI Speaker 20 watts 8 Ohms For SONOS | eBay

have you tried many woofer tweeter combos? whats were you favorites?

and how can they use a 3.6ohm woofer with a 8ohm tweeter? wouldnt it cause problems in the amp?