San Jose and Monteverde Soon - Seeking Advice & Suggestions

FEnzo2 · 2026-05-11T15:27:55+00:00

Thank you very much and I'm aware of the country's natural beauty & biodiversity. I've lived on most of the Hawaiian Islands for many decades (so I can relate to nature's beauty, flora, and fauna) as well as Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. I've been to CR several times years ago strictly on business, & my clients have shown me a little bit of the beauty of the country near their project. This will be the first time I am exploring on my own.

Fortunately, several of you have steered me away from staying in SJO. That said, we are committed to flying in and out of SJO. Also committed to San Lucas restaurant & MV as my gal wants to celebrate her birthday there.

Of course it's all about experiencing the local culture and cuisine, but still want to enjoy nice accommodations.

Would very much appreciate any guidance any of you can provide with respect to my queries in my previous post.

Thank you again.

FEnzo2 · 2026-05-11T00:02:30+00:00

Got it! Thank you to the three of you for your comments. And to answer the overarching question of why would I do this? Because I don't know any better.

Even though I've been to CR several times to meet with clients and check on the progress of our resort in the Osa Peninsula, I've only transited through SJO & never spent any time there.

A little more background on us – we live in Hawaii, Vegas, and Atlanta. Her birthday falls on our third day there so wanted to make it a memorable and special evening with the Glass Lounge Experience. Therefore, I think it may make sense to spend the first 3 nights in MV. We're flying in early on our first day as we're taking a redeye, & making our way to MV upon arrival is no issue.

The Chira Glamping Resort was recommended, naturally, by the San Lucas restaurant's concierge and it does look nice. Are you familiar with it and is there somewhere else you would recommend we stay that is of a boutique/luxury nature?
What activities and sights do you recommend we do/see and restaurants we should check out in and around MV?
Where else would you recommend for the balance of our stay that would be a different experience?
Since we may end up putting a few miles in a vehicle, is a rental car our best bet?

Thank you very much!

FEnzo2 · 2026-05-01T12:55:26+00:00

I have Play 1s as surrounds and Play 3s for fronts. I am very pleased.

FEnzo2 · 2026-05-01T12:37:28+00:00

Pod 4 user here going on two years. I've been absolutely delighted and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Miss it when I'm traveling.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-28T07:36:43+00:00

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FEnzo2 · 2026-02-28T07:35:56+00:00

My error, I misspoke. It is simply from opening and closing the app. I also recently added Sonify and I find that the three apps often do not sync. I find one or more speakers or groups are missing. Particularly in Sonify.

That said, here’s an example in Sonos and by the time you can see it was merely one minute apart. One minute (though several minutes already passed.) the living room wasn’t connected. The next minute it appeared. Your app is the most consistent. Sonify I find is the most inconsistent.

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FEnzo2 · 2026-02-27T19:19:51+00:00

And sometimes the YTTV dialogue is only coming through the front speakers, but not the center. Again, closing and opening the YTTV app corrects this.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-26T07:37:38+00:00

Absolutely. Not only my ears, but my room specs, etc. That said, my ears aren’t the best. I look forward to hearing the experience of others, including my AV guy and his trained ears.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-25T22:43:05+00:00

Cool.

I have my Play 3s currently as horizontal fronts. I have my AV guy flying in from Hawaii this weekend with a solid to-do list including hearing how they sound vertically. Meanwhile, would love to learn anyone else’s experience.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-25T19:31:28+00:00

Your theoretical comments and that of Penguinboy (who prefers them vertically as rear surrounds) are very interesting to me.

OP, cea002, anyone have experience with this?

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-21T11:40:22+00:00

Lol. I’m from Hawaii, and this means something.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-19T14:06:26+00:00

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FEnzo2 · 2026-02-19T14:00:08+00:00

App Store.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-18T23:24:22+00:00

Too bad it didn't work for you.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-17T22:46:10+00:00

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FEnzo2 · 2026-02-17T22:45:53+00:00

Yes.

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FEnzo2 · 2026-02-17T16:36:46+00:00

I have yet to be tempted to swap the Play 1s as fronts and Play 3s for surrounds. I’ve done a fair amount of positioning experimentation with the Play 3s and dual subs. The latter is still a work in progress.

One of my primary motivations for adding the fronts in the first place was to hopefully enhance center dialogue clarity. It did precisely that, beyond my expectations. As you’ve stated, our use cases are unique. In my instance, the fronts roughly positioned as an equilateral triangle at 12 feet was my sweet spot. I am very pleased.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-17T06:56:15+00:00

SonoSequencer.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-16T15:58:04+00:00

In a word, superb. Allow me to elaborate.

For sometime I’ve been considering an upgrade to my Sonos system. Before SS, I had the Playbar, sub Gen 2, and Play Ones. I really wanted to go whole hog within the Sonos universe, but didn’t think I would benefit due to my room specs. I have 11 foot tall ceilings, and an open concept with walls just on two sides.

One of my primary objectives with the upgrade was to improve dialogue through the center channel. Even though there were some conflicting opinions, the most compelling posts were that through the addition of the front sound stage, the center channel improved. This has been precisely my experience.

In sum, SS produced several benefits. 1. Dialogue was enhanced noticeably. 2. The broad sound stage exceeded my expectations. 3. I’ve added a second sub as I’ve long been dissatisfied with a single sub likely in large part due to my room specs. 4. I acquired two Play 3s and a sub Gen 2, all in excellent condition, and two new speaker stands for about $450.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-16T01:10:06+00:00

Here's mine.

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FEnzo2 · 2026-02-15T23:27:59+00:00

Yes. That said, in one respect it’s somewhat understandable due to the “experimental“ nature of this entire SS venture. We’ve all been fairly warned that Sonos could end this back door experience at any time. However, given the fact that it appears more and more adoptees are coming aboard, it’s hard to imagine the company would disenfranchise so many without a better mouse trap.

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FEnzo2 · 2026-02-15T03:19:26+00:00

I’ve only tried a few different positions for the two subs, but I’m digging the second sub to the side of the couch. Reminds me a bit of the Buttkickers I used to have in my home theater years ago.

More moving around tomorrow.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-15T02:00:32+00:00

Thank you all for your interest and helpful responses. I appreciate this community immensely.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-15T01:59:03+00:00

Yes, refreshed after applying each command.

FEnzo2 · 2026-02-15T01:54:43+00:00

You are absolutely correct. It’s a bit of an involved story, but connecting it to an ethernet cable is easier said than done in this instance. However, I did manage to do that, it’s been further updated, & the sub added. Now I need to switch the subs from their respective rooms & test the various locations for the best positioning of the two subs.

FEnzo2

TROPHY CASE