I want a bookshelf system for a large living/kitchen/dining room with enough volume for a party of 40-50 guests. Should I get 2 Play:1s or 2 Play:3s?

In short, either get 2 Play1s or 2 Play5s. I wouldn't recommend the Play3s at all. They are too similar to the 1s in sound quality and priced too close to the 5s. Your issue is NOT the size of the room, but the number of guests. 40-50 people is a lot! You will definitely be more pleased with the 5s. Also, what you'll want to do is "pair" them so you get stereo playback and the volumes will be matched. That means if you change the volume on one, the other will match.I run 2 Play1s in a 14x20 space and another 2 Play1s in a 24x30 space. In my kitch/living/dining space I run 2 Play5s and a sub. The system ROCKS.

How does this speaker compares to the Bose Sounlink Mini?

I bought a sonos Play 1 and regret it. The speaker itself is very high quality but the app leaves much to be desired. Unlike a Bluetooth speaker everything in Sonos get filtered through its app, and clearly Sonos has more in mind than producing speakers. For example, when using Spotify you ability to search music is limited. Also, my >100 gig music library that resides in iTunes is useless unless I want to download all music to my devise, which is clearly impossible. I will make use of it somewhere, but will keep looking for a whole house WiFi system.

Would a pair of Play1s used for rear speakers in a 5.1 set up be much different from Play3s?

I'm getting another Play:1 to explore this very question. I have two Play:3 right now in a pair in a room and they sound pretty darn good. The Play:3, to be clear, has a better sound that Play:1. I too wondered if in the rear speaker role if Play:1 would be more than acceptable. In essence, is Play:3 overkill for rear speakers? Will test and answer ASAP.

DOES SONOS HAVE A LINE IN?

Only two of their products have a line in: Sonos 5 has an analog line in for connecting a phone/tablet/laptop; and the Playbar has an optical audio input (AppleTV; Roku etc.). I use the analog line in for my laptop only and the app for all mobile/wifi devices.

ASIN	B00EWCUK1Q
Audio Driver Type	Dynamic Driver
Best Sellers Rank	#1,409 in Portable Bluetooth Speakers
Color	Black
Compatible Devices	Laptop, Personal Computer, Smartphone, Tablet
Control Method	Voice
Customer Reviews	3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars (4,869)
Date First Available	October 14, 2013
Global Trade Identification Number	00737989665912, 00878269000327
Impedance	4 Ohms
Included Components	Power Cord
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer	No
Is Waterproof	FALSE
Item Weight	4.08 pounds
Item model number	PLAY1US1BLK
Manufacturer	Sonos
Material	Plastic
Model Name	Play:1
Number of Items	1
Number of Power Levels	1
Power Source	AC
Product Dimensions	4.69"D x 4.69"W x 6.36"H
Recommended Uses For Product	For Indoor Use
Series Number	1
Shape	Rectangular
Speaker Size	6.36 Inches
Speaker Type	Surround
Special Feature	Multiroom digital music systems, speaker systems
Style	1 Speaker
Subwoofer Connectivity Technology	Wireless
Surround Sound Channel Configuration	1.0
UPC	878269000327 737989665912
Unit Count	1.0 Count
Warranty Type	12
Water Resistance Level	Not Water Resistant
Wireless Communication Technology	Wi-Fi

SonosPlay:1 - Compact Wireless Smart Speaker - Black (Discontinued by manufacturer)

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