Beoplay M5 Vs Sonos Play 5

Beolit twenty size. iPhone for scale.

Yous must take a PhD to understand the technical side to these speakers - and then I'll limit the context of this post to their applied differences.

To begin with, I don't think the comparison Beoplay M5 vs Beolit 20 makes sense, but since I'm asked almost it a lot lately I'll do my best to explain.

The reason I don't think it makes sense is because they accept completely different intended uses:

Beoplay M5 is a home/stationary speaker. For single room utilize, information technology's one of my top B&O home speakers equally I likewise clarified in here.
Beolit twenty is a portable speaker with nearly eight hours of battery life (assuming full-on listening) and 2.v - three.5 hours of charging time.

This is what your decision should 100% exist based on. Portable vs stationary. Because, equally yous see, they are Non the alternatives of one another.

Bang & Olufsen Beolit 20

Continue this in mind as you read further.

Sound quality, strength and propagation

Permit me tell yous something right off the bat.

Room acoustics, peculiarly room dimensions and speaker positioning, will take an immense effect on sound quality.

The impact of the combination of these ii is actually so strong that in most cases, it doesn't fifty-fifty make sense to utter a unmarried give-and-take on audio quality without speaking of them.

This is why I'd hiiiiiiighly recommend y'all to check out this simple, 2d, online speaker placement estimator.

It's GOOOOLLLDDDDD. I've had an Acoustics & Audio PhD build this tool specifically for this purpose:

ASAP Science made a video on the loudest and quietest rooms in the globe. A mind bravado case of the importance of acoustics (time adjusted video).

Other parameters such equally the historic period/materials of the building, the article of furniture & carpets in place, etc can and will, of class, have an effect on room acoustics, besides. Only much less.

Also...

Did yous know you could also well-nigh hear whatever speaker online?

Crutchfield had recently created a tool that virtually simulates the sounds of many different speakers; such as those of SVS, Klipsch, KEF and B&W. Nothing volition, of form, crush hearing the speakers in reality. But I'd still recommend y'all to requite it a shot.

While you're at it, blast my Early Beach Club playlist to test them:

Huge size (23 H 10 18.9 Due west x 13.five D cm- 9.ane H x seven.four W ten 5.3 Dinches) of Beolit 20 allows placing more drivers & amplifiers of various sizes and hence enables high sound quality.

Beoplay M5, on the other hand, nonetheless offers two more than amplifiers - which is enough to brand a noticeable difference with the audio quality.

	Beoplay M5	Beolit 20
Amplifiers	ane ten 40W course D for the woofer (160W peak power) i x 30W class D for the mid range (120W superlative power) 1 x 30W grade D for the front tweeter (120W pinnacle power) 1 x 30W class D for rear tweeters (60W peak power)	2x 35W class D for bass and treble (240W peak power)
Frequency	37 - 22.000 Hz	37 - 20.000 Hz
Driver units	1 x five" woofer 1 ten 1.5" midrange 3 x iii⁄4" tweeters	1 x 5.5" long-stroke Wideband Woofer two x 4" Passive Bass Radiators three x 1,5" Wideband Tweeters
Maximum loudness	96 dB SPL	93 dB SPL
Bass capability	79 dB SPL	77 dB SPL

One of the things I and many others admire the most near the Beoplay M5 is that it offers the highest sound quality - particularly at aggressively high/low bass and aggressively high/low volumes.

Sound remains clean in every setting. You can hear each instrument conspicuously. It's quite a chip pleasant in your ears.

You can experience the shine touch to the Beoplay M5's fabric even just by looking at it.

Y'all'd expect the speakers like this to hold back on the loudness department but that's far from reality with the Beoplay M5.

It fills the bill for even relatively large sized (say, 50 square meters) rooms without a hitch.

Beolit xx is weaker than the Beoplay M5 in this department, but not by a huge amount. The fact that its audio quality distorts and levels at aggressively high/low volumes is more noticeable and restrictive than its loudness.

Speaking of which, true 360 degree sound design of both products help a lot with their strengths.

Because they're able to propagate the sound equally in each management when they're positioning in the room is closer to the center.

To be honest, Beolit xxisn't really 360 degree, simply more like 300-330 degree. If you're going to be listening to the audio in a full circumvolve (which I'd doubt), this might exist a problem. Beoplay M5, on the other mitt, is truly 360 caste.

Lastly, it'due south possible to introduce their positioning into both speakers: corner, wall or center (freestanding). Information technology'll then do its magic and adjust the audio appropriately.

Portability

You lot can't take Beoplay M5 out with you fifty-fifty merely for once. It doesn't take an internal battery and hence requires consistent ability all the time.

Beolit 20 is portable - but it's still huge. Meaning that you can only but put information technology in your bag and forget nearly it. You're going to have to haul it.

Bang & Olufsen Beolit 20

If you're looking for something smaller, check out Beoplay P2 and Beoplay A1. Navigate to the introduction of this mail service and detect their sizes compared to that of Beolit 20 in the image.

Ease of use

Beoplay M5 is slick. Tap it to permit Beoplay M5 join other speakers playing in your home. Simply plough information technology to suit the volume.

Beolit 20, on the other paw, uses a simpler only not less constructive method: Buttons.

Buttons from lesser to top: Power, volume downward, volume upwards, Bluetooth and connect push. The terminal one is customized by you. Information technology includes the built-in alert, and the ability to apace switch to your favorite Beosonic setting or instantly play the terminal source from your device. You tin read more than about the connect button here.

Unlike Beoplay M5, since Beolit 20 isn't a Wi-Fi speaker, it lacks the ability to connect other speakers in your home.