[Closed] Sonos or?

I bought a couple of Sonos Play 1 speakers for Christmas a 2017. They've been good, I'd buy again. I'm not exactly an audiophile but the sound quality is plenty good for us and I really wouldn't want more oomph in a house with neighbours. The default EQ settings are very bass heavy, the listening enjoyment improved once I adjsuted those. They're quite solid and they have survived getting knocked about by the kids.

We normally have them in seperate rooms but occasionally I put them in the same room. It takes seconds to set them up as a pair, or seperately so it's easy to move them around.

IME Sonos works seamlessly direct from Spotify and Googleplay. Less so from Amazon. The Spotify app is OK, it's much imprpoved in the 2 years we've had it.

Aye, play1 here too, bloody brilliant.

No doubt some cardiganed audiophile will be on in a bit saying we're all philistines mind....

I have the Bose Soundtouch 10 (x 2) has all the same features and sounds great. Think the units are bigger than the Sonos. Love mine. Brother has the Sonos and loves that so not sure how they compare on price

I have a play 3 and play 1. They rely on you having active subscriptions to spotify etc. to use the services. What I expected was to be able to "cast" from apps to the speaker, works for spotify and amazon music. For podcasts I have to go in from Sonos app and find the physical files on my phone and play them like that.

I'm not an audiophile, but the music sounds good and goes way louder than I've dared turn it up to.

I haven't tried any competitors, but I bet there are probably better ways of doing it. Than Sonos' seemingly closed, unless you're paying big bucks subscriptions.

Oh and I did try and set up an audio library from my PC hardrive to the speakers, but it would always error and die. So i gave up. Might be better now?

if its the multiroom feature youre after (paired or not paired) then yamaha do their own version, MusicCast if youre interested in other options too. id guess it would be cheaper, and maybe even better quality, altho that is just me thinking thats what i read on here on a previous thread.

I have a 3 which is now about 2-3 years old. I find it quite glitchy now. It often needs rebooting to find Wi-Fi if I haven't used it for a few days. The Sonos app isn't great and whilst Spotify worked well with it, I have recently moved ot Apple music and it doesn't work nearly as well (I can't play directly from Apple Music).

I tend to use my bluetooth speak now rather than faff around trying to get the Sonos to work.

We have three Play 1s, very impressed by them. Spotify works 10x better with them than the actual Sonos App, which is very flaky (on iOS).

I've got a few Google home thingies, and the Google home max is superb. On a par with a sonos 5. So quite big, but the sound is incredibly impressive.

Pair up a couple for some decent sound. Reduced this week, obv

or the alternative is those new Ikea sonos light things. Get some soft moody lighting with a decent speaker thrown in.

I’m toying with the idea of getting a Sonos system, as black friday is almost here.

I had an email from Sonos promoting there black friday sale, except for when I looked the had the prices listed of the Sonos one as higher than it has been nearly all year! Nearly all year they've been priced around £179 with a two pack for £350, looking at the email they are now £199 and £398 for a two pack! I expect the price cut will be down to the previous levels!

Aside from that, my friends works really well, even with an iPhone and Apple Music, when I'm a richer will be picking up a couple of Sonos ones for the home.

@JackHammer : Oh and I did try and set up an audio library from my PC hardrive to the speakers, but it would always error and die. So i gave up. Might be better now?

This may have been down to Windows turning off support for SMB v1 (a file sharing protocol) which older Sonos speakers used. This should now be resolved (switched to use HTTP) so worth giving it another try...

I've had Sonos speakers for over a decade and think they're great for what I need (ie. music around the house). However, recently I've been a bit concerned about the potential for 'planned obsolescence' though.. they've been running a 'Trade Up' program to give you a discount off new speakers in exchange for basically 'bricking' old speakers. At the point where this becomes obligatory I'll be looking elsewhere..

However, recently I’ve been a bit concerned about the potential for ‘planned obsolescence’ though.. they’ve been running a ‘Trade Up’ program to give you a discount off new speakers in exchange for basically ‘bricking’ old speakers. At the point where this becomes obligatory I’ll be looking elsewhere..

There must be an Open Source project somewhere for a way to control them without using their app....

IVE GOT A PLAY 1 AN PLAY 3.
i would happily swap for the equivalent google product.

you need solid wifi throughout the house (i use the repeaters) and i cast direct from google play music. this works well. Navigating a service on the sonos app is painful but the system more responsive.

Still really happy with mine. If you're Apple-inclined then the One is worth going for just for Airplay2 support (quickly streaming to it without using the Sonos app) - the mic is switchable from a button on the top, and ours is almost always off.

We don't do much across multiple rooms but have a few grouped in the kitchen/living/dining room - I really like being able to have music in there without it blasting in one corner and quiet in the other.

I used to find podcast playback irritating - particularly getting home with one part-listened and wanting to pick it up while I'm cooking dinner. Switched to Pocket Casts, which is a great player anyway, but has a streaming service for Sonos which is ace.

Competitors seem to have gone through endless (usually incompatible with each other) iterations, while the secondhand ZP100 I have that's now over a decade old is still playing nicely with everything else.

Ikea also do a more regular bookshelf-shaped Sonos speaker (well sized to sit in an Expedit/Kallax unit) as well as the odd lamp one. Will probably end up with a couple next time I go.

Uhuh... I think that exact scenario is what people want for all cloud-connected devices. It never happens.

Companies want you in their ecosystem and don't want you to leave. Stuff might still work, but they want you to buy new.

Now, where's my tinfoil hat?

The sound quality is good for what they are, just be aware you can’t stream from your own music collection anymore - online music services or nothing...

I've got a pair of Play 1s in the kitchen, a Play 3 in the bedroom and a soundbar with Play 1 rear speakers setup in the lounge for the TV - so you could say that we're pretty big Sonos fans
For us it works great. I love the fact you can set alarms so it works as an alarm clock in the bedroom and that music is always playing when the girls get back from school. We're big into Spotify also so the excellent integration with this is good.
Alexa integration is good and MrsSB loves the ability to tell it to play 'whatever' and it starts playing in the kitchen.
I'm sure you can get better sound quality but you'd probably have to spend a lot more and then you might lose functionality - anyway for us the quality is absolutely more than good enough.

I had a Play 3 for a few months, I had endless connection problems via the app on Android, I ended up taking it back. It would be playing so clearly connected to the wifi, but the Sonos app would deny there was anything there at all.

Currently using Yamaha MusicCast, and can't say I'd recommend that above the Sonos either to be honest. I have trouble connecting to it sometimes, I have an amp that has it built in which since starting to use MusicCast you have to power it up, then turn it off and on again before you can get any sound from it for AV use.

Overall I don't think the streaming music answer is there yet, although I know lots of people use Sonos, I can only assume they have better luck than me! The app is one of the worst UIs I ever used!

The sound quality is good for what they are, just be aware you can’t stream from your own music collection anymore – online music services or nothing…

Well according to this article (and many others) it would seem that you can.

The sound quality is good for what they are, just be aware you can’t stream from your own music collection anymore – online music services or nothing…

Yes you can, using their App or Spotify.....

Eu are no longer the only game in town but are still up there. I’ve got a :1 and a ONE so one of them has Alexa and the problem is you can’t connect as a stereo pair, which is a PITa. You can play your own music collection though.

The self styled audiophiles will never be satisfied with anything other than a ‘proper’ Audiophile set up so ignore them. The reality is they are chuffing great sound quality (not the best in the world but an easy 8/10), simple installation, easy to use, configurable.

I was listening to my own stored music just this morning, so it does work. Spotify free now works too which is nice.  I have 2 x Play 1 and an old Play 5, never had an issue with any of it - I do have pretty good WiFi all over the house though.

Given the price I've been looking at one of these or the smaller 100, does anyone have any experience? https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/gbr/en/products/wireless-speakers/air-200

Yes very much like Sonos on the whole. Amongst others we've a Large Kitchen diner with a 2 wall mounted play 1 + sub set-up which sounds v good although you have to slightly dial the bass back from the trueplay setting it creates.

Agree that the sonos app is not as good as controlling playback from as the Spotify app.

We have an intermittent problem that sometimes not all rooms display on the sonos app, or the playback option from spotify doesn't appear. We have a couple of powerline repeaters that are paired to work with the same password but think it must be them causing the issue...any solutions gratefully received!

We have an intermittent problem that sometimes not all rooms display on the sonos app, or the playback option from spotify doesn’t appear.

I get that, sometimes a speaker just vanishes and then re-appears normally after killing the Sonos App and restarting it.

Generally it's pretty reliable though (via Spotify), the Sonos App seems to play ok for a few tracks then get confused and starts skipping tracks or just stops playing. I only use the Sonos App when the wife has borrowed the Spotify account.

Sharkbait: I should have been more clear. You can still stream from NAS, but not from your collection stored on your iPhone/iPad from the SONOS app. I think it still exists in Android, not sure?

I suppose Airplay2 solves a lot of this, not as cleanly in my opinion, but only if you have the latest speakers (which the OP will have I suppose).

Listening to my Play1 now. Had it a few years and think it's ace and after a few early clitches it's been faultless. We use it via the Sonos ap usually with either Spotify or Radioplayer.

I have Sonos and I've been adding bits and pieces over the last few years, so I now have quite a collection. And that's the problem, a Sonos addiction becomes very expensive! I have been very happy with mine and it has worked well but I found my set up only became great when I introduced the rather expensive sub.

I'm no audiophile but my Sonos set up sounds great and I would happily recommend Sonos.

I bought the base level speakers to stream direct from my iPad -I don’t want a subscription service, you can no longer do this so a waste of money. Also got sick of the constant system updates that had to be done, it not working well with my phone and one speaker constantly dropping out. It’s not cheap and I expected it to work first time every time which it seldom did.

Thanks all! I think I will treat myself!!!

If anyone sees a good deal, could you let me know?

Thanks in advance!

Also got sick of the constant system updates that had to be done

Did you not tick the box in the app that lets the speaks go off and update themselves in the middle of the night? I've not had to do an update manually for about 2 years!

OP - I had an email this morning stating that the Sonos BF deals start at 9am on the web site. Buying direct from them is good as you 30 days free returns if it turns out that Sonos isn't for you.

Ah a Sonos thread excellent 🙂
Works in every room of my house, supports multiple Spotify subs so wife and kids don't pollute mine with their crap. So simple my Wife can use it without asking me.
Airplay support is excellent if you have recent speakers, if you don't adding one new speaker (a one SL for example) will allow you to group and airplay to all in the group.
Constant updates? Nope three this year all done overnight without bothering me.
Their support when I had alarm issues was excellent. I contacted via Twitter (after submitting a diagnostic dump from the app) and had a response with a credible (so far it appears to be the root cause) resolution in 40 minutes, no first-line have you turned it off and on again bollocks.

And according to this article
https://www.fastcompany.com/90434720/your-sonos-speaker-might-be-the-most-eco-friendly-device-you-own
planned obsolescence isn't really a thing for them as 93% of everything (according to their stats) they've ever sold is still in use.!

Got a sonos habit. Oldest is a 5 which I think is 4 years old. Still solid despite surviving a few teenager parties at full volume.

I think they are great. But there are some downsides:

There was issues with streaming BBC stations, these are now resolved, but occasionally you get problems. This is annoying as the stream does not come direct from the BBC so sonos blame their provider.

If you use spotify you occasionally find that tracks on the regular spotify client are not available on sonos. I assume this is related to some rights issues, and again, down to the people supplying the stream to sonos.

Had some issues with the controller accessing the devices via certain access points connected on powerline ethernet. Got a mesh network now and all is fine.

Had some issues with the controller accessing the devices via certain access points connected on powerline ethernet. Got a mesh network now and all is fine.

I thought that might be the response and will consider if prices in jan sales are good, unless someone has experience of doing something that fixes it via the powerlines?

We bought a beam for the TV then shortly after 2 play 1s to form a 5.0 for the TV

Great for films etc

but more often we are using it for music these days which I think sounds pretty good

We have amazon which my mrs has a play list on and I stream from my iPhone

Never had a single problem

At home we bought an Amazon Echo and loved the convenience of it. Then I bought a Sonos One (gen 2) for the office and the sound is so much better and I subsequently upgraded to one for home too.

I don't see why anyone would want one specifically without voice activation though as it makes is so much more convenient (and it is a very quick button press to switch it off if desired).

I don’t see why anyone would want one specifically without voice activation though as it makes is so much more convenient (and it is a very quick button press to switch it off if desired).

This is why....

Bookmarked

Was mentioned above, I can heartily recommend the Yamaha MusicCast family. We've got a MusicCast AV receiver for the living room, a WX-010 standalone speaker in the kitchen and a WXAD-10 smartbox add-on thing for a basic hifi setup in the snug. Everything just works, sound quality is really good, you can link as many components as you want to the one source - I like this particularly if we're watching something while I'm cooking tea, I can just link the AV receiver to the kitchen speaker and at least hear what's going on. I think it talks quite well with Google/Amazon/Apple assistants too, although I've not really bothered with that side of things.

If you already have an Echo or similar you don’t need the more expensive Sonos One. I now find myself with a Playbar, six Play Ones and an Ikea Symfonisk.

Has anyone got any experience of the Cambridge Audio speaker I linked to above?

I’ve not tried other systems in quite a while so I can’t compare but... I’ve got a Sonos 1, 3, 5, Playbar and sub. I’ll be adding a beam, move (to take in the garden to save playing it far too loud in the house for bbq’s) and another 1 over the winter. I love it, reasonable quality, great volume and for me, it just works.

I recommend instead of the Play 1 you get the Sonos One SL.

Similar size to the Play 1 but has the very useful feature of taking Airdrop feeds, so you can directly stream audio from your phone to the speaker such as for BBC Sounds - in addition to using Spotify and similar services direct through the Sonos app. Choose the SL version to avoid the spooky voice activation and save a few £. You can get a pair for about £380, probably rather less on Black Friday.

I use Sonos all over the house, for TV surround sound, kitchen and streaming through the HiFi when practicing my bass. It is excellent and the customer service is outstanding.

For podcasts I have to go in from Sonos app and find the physical files on my phone and play them like that.

No you don't

Use the "Radio By TuneIn" app within Sonos. You don't need to download the actual podcast file to your phone

Had a pair of Cambridge air minx 200 but they rarely connected so swapped for sonos. Got a pair of 5s in one room and a 3 and 1 in two other rooms.
Can play my own music stored on a NAS. Good sound but the Cambridge was slightly better but woefully flakey.

Play 1 is £130 at Curry’s, the One Sl is £180. Is the £50 extra worth it? Is the sound quality better? Any other advantages? We’ve got no voice activated stuff here, just looking for a streaming system.

Love my Sonos stuff. Great quality and dead easy to set up. I find the app pretty good to be honest.

I have a 5.1 set up with a playbar, sub and 2 One's.

@schrickvr6

Not that model but I picked up the large Yoyo a while back for not much more & it's been great - plenty of physical connections which is useful - connected to the tv via HDMI ARC & also has a 3.5mm stereo input & an optical too, check ebay for refurb/open box deals on those - I was going to get a pair of the smaller ones but got a good deal on the big one. Run ours via Google home & it set up in a flash, found every device on the network automatically & linked them all, we stream to it from android phones / imac etc. and it's been perfect.

@rockhopper

how do you find the SYMFONISK? how does it compare to the play ones you have?

I haven’t done a side by side comparison yet but it sounds okay. The package isn’t a nice as a Play One in my opinion but it is £50 cheaper.
If I had the choice between another Ikea and a used Sonos for the same money I’d go with the Sonos, because just to me they look nicer.

@BoardinBob but that's horrible too. Considering the premium you pay for the kit it's a clunky bit of software, horrible to navigate not incredibly intuitive. I use podcastaddict at the moment to service my podcast needs, so maybe pocketcast as mentioned above would be better.

Play 1 is £130 at Curry’s, the One Sl is £180. Is the £50 extra worth it?

I don't know if there is a significant sound quality difference as I've not compared them side by side. But what you are getting with the One SL is the Air Drop capability. BBC is moving to their Sounds app and not interested longer term in things like Tuneln for online radio, and for BBC Sounds you need air drop.

So the One SL is the future proof option and that is what you are paying for.

Have you looked at the HOES stuff? It's a direct competitor of Sonos, you can see each of the various models has a corresponding one with the competitor. I've got a 7, it packs some fairly hefty sound which is very clear and natural. You can get the smaller ones, plus cinmea kit and get them all to work with each other. Im planning n getting some 1's for the corners of rooms and probably the cinema kit as well..

You also have the option of getting their non dedicated HEOS amps etc and you can use separates all together..

Yeah BBC sounds is a bunch of ****.

@rockhopper

Thanks for the info, you haven't noticed any quality issues with sound at medium to high volume? I guess as its other function for a lamp its okay too?

Its not the price point which attracts me to the SYMFONISK, looking to kit the home out with Sono One's but for the living room and bedroom this just adds another cable and object, being able to drop the lamps and replace with these would solve this very first world problem!

Ah, I didn’t buy the lamp version!

ah, you have the book shelf one.

I'll have to drag myself over to the nearest Ikea and check the quality and look of the lamp one, YouTube has some good reviews but as with any product review online needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

By way of an update...

Currys/PC World have Sonos One SL for 149 inc 6 months Spotify premium - i just bought two!!!

they are still advertising Play 1's for 129, but they are sold out.

happy black friday eve!

cheers,

paul

Heavy Sonos users here - we have managed to acquire 7x Play1s, 2x Play3s and a Playbar over the years, normally when they are reduced or found second hand (including the Play3s and a Soundbar for £300 once...!)

They run most of the day with background music, and occasionally something louder for specific listening. Love them, they just work and very rarely we have a connection issue. Need a good Wi-Fi signal though - we are moving next month and will probably get a mesh system for the larger house.

I’m planning to pick up a Move in time for the summer, for BBQs and whatnot...

Turns out I was wrong, Sonons One Gen 2 are £159 at Richer sounds which is £40 off RRP or £20 off the price in the summer, am going to pick some up tomorrow, just cant decide how many!

Our old Sonos Play 1 must be 8 or more years old, connects wirelessly to a "Sonos bridge" which plugs into the router. Am I right that the newer ones don't need the bridge?

Correct, no bridge need but I had an idea that a firmware update on the older speakers will let you do away with the bridge as well.

Had Sonos and it definitely has the best app / controller. I now have Audio Pro and much prefer the sound and the fact that they have multiple input options on the speakers. App is slightly shabby, but if you’re using Spotify it’s not an issue.

I personally prefer the looks too and would love a Drum Fire speaker. Currently have a pair of Add On C5’s. Sound great alone and phenomenal as a stereo pair.

So you just buy those speakers? And they play through an app? On a phone or what? Is a Spotify sub needed too?
Sorry to be slow of understanding...

Paul - I was in your boat! Bought a one sl from currys today, which includes 6 months Spotify premium, worth £60. Set it up this evening - it was all very straightforward. I’m playing stuff via the Spotify app, will try Sonos app and BBC sounds tomorrow.

Heh, I've ordered two from Richer sounds 🙂
Good job it's payday.

At the weekend I picked up a beam, sub and 2no one SL from Sevenoaks for £1176 (the beam was 329, the sub 569 and the 2 one SL’s were 139 each, all discounted for Black Friday so bargain and its absolutely fantastic sound/set up/ease of use, I’d deffo recommend