In this review, we will be comparing Sonos Five and BW 606, two Bookshelf speakers from Sonos and Bowers Wilkins. The main difference between these two speakers is that the Sonos Five is a Powered speaker which means that it has a built-in amplifier inside the speaker body so you don't need an external power amp or an integrated amp whereas the B&W 606 is a Passive speaker so has to be matched with an amplifier to get any sound from it. Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Sonos Five and B&W 606 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
In the following sections, we will get into more detail in order to better understand how the Sonos Five and B&W 606 compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
Drivers
Both Sonos Five and BW 606 are 2-way speakers.
| Driver |
Sonos Five |
B&W 606 |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
3 x 0.8-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
- |
|
Woofer
|
3 x 2.75-inch
|
1 x 6.5-inch
|
Sonos Five features a 3 x 0.8" Dome Tweeter and 3 x 2.75" Cone Woofer . On the other hand, the BW 606 features a 1" Decoupled Carbon Hard-Dome Tweeter and 1 x 6.5" Continuum Woofer .
Frequency Response
Sonos Five has a frequency range of whereas BW 606 has a frequency range of 52-28k Hz. With a minimum frequency of Hz, the Sonos Five can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the BW 606's min frequency of 52Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Bookshelf class in our database.
Sonos Five has a front firing port whereas BW 606 has a rear firing ports. Sonos Five's front-firing port gives more flexibility in placement in regards to proximity to walls compared to B&W 606 with its rear-firing port.
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Sonos Five's and B&W 606's external dimensions. Sonos Five has external dimensions of 201.6 x 363.5 x 174.6mm ( 7.9375 x 14.3125 x 6.875inch) whereas B&W 606 has external dimensions of 345.0 x 190.0 x 324.0mm ( 13.5 x 7.4 x 12.7inch) .
Sonos Five is 143.4mm shorter and 149.4mm less deeper than B&W 606 but it is also 173.5mm wider.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Sonos Five is approximately 634.7cm2 / 98.4inch2 and base area of the B&W 606 is approximately 615.6cm2 / 95.4inch2. The Sonos Five requires 3% more surface area than the BW 606 which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.
Speaker Type 
Number of Woofers 
Port Position 
Height 
Ethernet Connection 
3.5mm Connection 
High Frequency Response 
Base Surface Area 
Price per pair*