Down the Sonos Route — Daily Dose of Chemo

After resisting it for some time, I finally brought myself a Sonos system. I have a Naim Mu-so residing in my bedroom for the last couple of years. It streams well but the software update were slow in coming.

The treble sounded great but to get meaty base, I had to crank the volume up. I tried enquiring about fitting a sub woofer to the unit but Naim does not make a dedicated one. Although there were plenty of improvement lately in the software side especially with incorporating Tidal on the main app, it came a little too late.

So, I decided to go all out for the Sonos. I got a pair of Sonos Play:5s with the Sonos Sub. Installing and integrating the system was a doodle - much easier compared to the old Bose and Naim system. I was up and running within 10 minutes. It could've been faster but for me taking a pause when unboxing the units, as the experience was almost Apple-like.

I better clear the clutter near the woofer …

Sonos came with a smart tuning system called Trueplay Tuning. I tried three times but was told that I had issues with ambient noise. So, I had to skip that and rely on the standard sound - with a bit of fiddling on the equaliser to set things up. Maybe once I clear some of the clutter in the bedroom, I might give Trueplay another go.

There was also some issues between the iOS and Android app. The iOS appeared more mature with more features. I have yet to use the desktop to control the system - the mobile app were more convenient.

Signing into my Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal accounts were straightforward as well. Before long, I was updating and tweaking the playlist and deciding on which radio station to listen to when I wake up in the morning - usually it was to the voice of Sara Cox on BBC Radio 2.

I can't really comment yet on the sound quality as I would need to do more tweaking. But so far, I got what I went for - a large soundstage with sharp trebles and thumping bass. The bass remains overpowering at times, vibrating the whole room. So far, so good.