Sonos Is Quietly Having a Rare Sale on Its Best Hi-Fi Speaker

For pure stereo sound, this is the ultimate Sonos speaker.

Black Sonos wireless speaker with touch controls on top against a yellow background.

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The Sonos Five might be a little long in the tooth — it was released in 2020 — but it’s still the highest-end, best-sounding speaker that Sonos currently sells.

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And even though Sonos periodically runs sales, it very rarely discounts the Five. The speaker seems to only get discounted several times a year — and now is that time.

Is the Five better than the Era 300?

White Sonos speaker and wooden turntable with a green vinyl record on a wooden shelf with vinyl records below. — The Five is the biggest and most expensive standalone wireless speaker that Sonos makes.

Sonos makes two high-end wireless speakers, the Five and the Era 300, the latter of which is newer (released in 2023) but a little smaller and optimized for immersive sound that supports Dolby Atmos.

The Five, on the flip side, is a more traditional speaker in the sense that it’s optimized for playing stereo sound. It has dedicated right, left, and center channels and delivers a wider soundstage than the Era 300.

Pair of white Sonos speakers on a wooden cabinet with a chessboard, abstract framed art, and decorative vases. — When flipped on their side, the Five speaker switches from playing stereo to mono sound.

The other neat thing about the Five is that you can flip it on its side so that it’s vertically oriented. When you do this, it automatically switches from stereo to mono.

Obviously, this is really only recommended when two Fives are stereo-paired. But when paired, it’s the best possible stereo experience you can get from two Sonos speakers.

Black Sonos speaker on a wooden table next to a yellow glass and stacked books under an abstract painting. — The summer sale runs through June 26th.

Before 2023, the Five held the distinction of being the only Sonos speaker to have a line-in connection, which allowed it be hooked up directly to a turntable (or computer). But that has obviously changed, as most of Sonos’s newest speakers, including the Era 300 and Era 100, also support line-in (though it’s via USB-C rather than auxiliary).

It’s also worth mentioning that since the Five is a little older, it lacks some newer capabilities. Most notably, it doesn’t support voice assistants and thus can’t function as a smart speaker.

Living room with a beige sofa, a man and two children playing, a wooden coffee table with toys, and a black speaker on a side table. — Both white and black models of the Five are currently being discounted.

How long is the sale running?

Normally $599, Sonos is discounting the Five by $150. It applies to both white and black models.

Sonos’s summer sale is currently running alongside Amazon’s Prime Day. And it’s scheduled to run through June 26, so you have (less than) two days to jump on the deal.

It’s worth pointing out that Sonos’s summer sale features several of its other popular speakers. This includes its newest entry-level home speaker, the Era 100 SL, which is on sale for the first time.

Save $150

Sonos Five

$449 at Sonos

$599 (25% off)
$449 at Amazon

$599 (25% off)

About the Author: Tucker Bowe has been on Gear Patrol’s editorial team since 2014. With a passion for consumer tech and hi-fi, he tracks everything from headphones and turntables to smartphones and wearables. If it lights up or makes noise, he probably covers it.

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