Apple Music Available on Sonos Devices Starting December 15

[bobr1952]

Great news--been waiting to hear this before I buy my first Sonos speaker--a great product.

 

[Quirinus]

Finally, just in time for the holidays.
I've been using Airplay for AM for the time being, (over apple tv to my sonos soundbar) but nothing beats being able to pick up any device in the house to control volume/playlists/etc.

 

[RickInHouston]

It's interesting how Apple is becoming ever more open. Soon many of the "walled garden" complainers need to find something new to nag about. Can't wait.[/QUOT

It's interesting how Apple is becoming ever more open. Soon many of the "walled garden" complainers need to find something new to nag about. Can't wait.

You make me laugh out loud. Open. Really?

 

[MH01]

You can have everything with AirTunes or AirPlay - why use Sonos? Some day Sonos will go bankrupt and you will be left with a broken set of overpriced loudspeakers.

Nah, Apple will buy them out. They already have overpriced headphones , speakers next

 

[jdag]

You can have everything with AirTunes or AirPlay - why use Sonos? Some day Sonos will go bankrupt and you will be left with a broken set of overpriced loudspeakers.

Written by someone that (likely) has never used a Sonos setup (not counting hitting the demo button at Best Buy).

Someone in this string made a comment about Apple perfecting AirPlay. There are many issues with that wish, not the least of which is that it is reliant on Apple devices to control the system. But above all else, it is quite simple...they have not perfected it!

Sonos is absolutely outstanding in so many ways. Replace the name SONOS with APPLE on the front of the speakers, and I have no doubt that their solution would be among the most highly demanded consumer products on the planet.

 

[xibis]

Nice to see Apple and Sonos meet their commitment on this. I was a spotify user since day 1 and have loved the integration with Sonos. I cancelled Spotify when Apple Music launched and said I would give it until the end of the year for the Sonos integration to go live. As many other's have mentioned, I've been dissatisfied with the Apple Play solution as it is not reliable. With Sonos I have 5 rooms with speakers and the service is 100% reliable even with different music playing in every room. It would have been nice to use the Apple Music app to play music through my Sonos speakers but completely understand why that's not an option.

 

[1738]

My most common use case is that I set up a playlist on my iPad, then browse the net while the music plays. Airplay chokes and stutters when I load complex pages or sometimes even when I switch apps. Even leaving the iPad alone usually results in stuttering at some point or another. That never ever happens with my Sonos speakers.

This sounds like a network issue to me. My Halloween party I used AirPlay to stream the Hueloween application to my B&W A7 while playing music to my 5 other AirPlay speakers. We even used the new AppleTV to play some games on the network that required us to interact with the TV with the browsers on our phones. I had no problems at all.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Still many seem to find the prices ok. Sonos is huge and a big part of it is their user friendliness.

There really isn't any good competitor to Sonos yet. They're the biggest fish in a tiny pond. I think the reason others have been slow to enter this category is because it's a relatively small market. However, obviously others are entering it and Sonos will have to drop their prices to stay competitive or work really hard at marketing to build up a luxury brand image like Bose.

 

[avanpelt]

Wait, the December 15th rollout is a beta? What in the world have Apple and Sonos been doing for the past five months if they're just now releasing the beta software? It's this kind of B.S. that made me cancel my Apple Music subscription.

As far as I know, Sonos didn't need to do a beta test before any other major streaming music service worked with their system. They just added support for the service and it worked. And "full support" for Apple Music isn't coming until 2016? That's insane.

 

[lah]

after dealing with flaky AirPlay, I finally caved in and purchased a Sonos system. Rock solid system and the sound quality is good. Wished I would have jumped over sooner.

 

[Leonard1818]

You can have everything with AirTunes or AirPlay - why use Sonos? Some day Sonos will go bankrupt and you will be left with a broken set of overpriced loudspeakers.

This seems to be the most ignorant and under-informed post I've read on here in a while. To answer your question of "why use Sonos?": Because it's pretty well flawless. It allows me to use my phone for other "phone things" while I play music. The speakers sound incredible and I can have one in each room playing the same stuff or different stuff (I have 2 Play:1's and 2 more on the way).

Why do you think Sonos will go bankrupt? Just because you can't afford them (see, I can assume too) doesn't mean that other people can't and don't buy them regularly...

I would encourage you to purchase the starter set of Play:1's. Right now they are 2 for $349.99. Give them a real good listen. Put down the hatorade and come report back to us with a better alternative (if you still think there is one).

 

[jdag]

There really isn't any good competitor to Sonos yet. They're the biggest fish in a tiny pond. I think the reason others have been slow to enter this category is because it's a relatively small market. However, obviously others are entering it and Sonos will have to drop their prices to stay competitive or work really hard at marketing to build up a luxury brand image like Bose.

"...biggest fish in a tiny pond...a relatively small market..."

I could not disagree more. This space is poised to EXPLODE over the next couple of years.

Sonos is not bluetooth. It is not a 1:1 relationship between a device and a single speaker. It is not just a bunch of speakers around the house. It is a super well-designed ecosystem that changes how you listen to audio in a home. And it is incredibly flexible in how you set it up, ranging from a single speaker up to 32 zones.

For anyone interested in whole-home audio, or even a single speaker, look into Sonos. Their product reviews on every major retail site are phenomenal for a reason.

 

[Aston441]

I agree that their prices LOOK expensive. But think of it this way:

Many people (including myself) spend $700+ for a phone every two years (or every year) and don't have ANY problems with it. Heck with all the new software updates, you have to replace your phone every two years even if you don't want to. But Sonos speakers, on the other hand, are built to last for much longer than 2 years. A good and solid multi-room Sonos system will cost you around $1500-$2000 and they claim the lifespan of their speakers is 10years. And it's not just a claim. They constantly keep updating ALL of their speakers, even the ones they made 10 years ago, via software updates and keep adding more features to them. They just updated their Play:5 speaker but are still supporting the old Play:5. So, although you are spending $2000 on a speaker system, but in reality you are investing for 10years of music listening at home. Our appreciation of music and the time we spend to listen to it at home have increased dramatically since we've entered the Sonos ecosystem.

The only problem I have with Sonos is that no matter how much you talk about its benefits, no one will understand it. They have to use it to fully appreciate it. Much like Apple, Sonos is an ecosystem. At some point you just have to trust them and let them do the work. But the problem with Sonos is its cost of entry and their not-so-good marketing. You won't really appreciate the benefits of Sonos until you have at least two of their speakers. Not many people are willing to spend $400 just to try an ecosystem. Sonos has to do a lot of marketing/branding and educate consumers if they really want people to get on board.

That's interesting. I really have no idea what Sonos is about and haven't cared to investigate even slightly until your post. At this point I don't understand what it can do that regular Bluetooth wireless speakers can't.

 

[Mengels7]

You make me laugh out loud. Open. Really?

Do you actually use any Apple products or are you just here to troll people? I've gone through five pages of your post history and it's just you being a prick.

 

[Leonard1818]

There really isn't any good competitor to Sonos yet. They're the biggest fish in a tiny pond. I think the reason others have been slow to enter this category is because it's a relatively small market. However, obviously others are entering it and Sonos will have to drop their prices to stay competitive or work really hard at marketing to build up a luxury brand image like Bose.

I think the existing market may be small (audiophiles) but Sonos is somewhat pulling an Apple and CREATING their own market. They're positioning themselves as the go-to for multi-room audio. That's what sold me. I have always appreciated good, quality audio but when we bought our new house that was 2x bigger than our old, I needed something better than the crappy bluetooth speakers I was living off of in the last place. A friend told me about Sonos so I did some research. I found few competitors and bad reviews of similar functionality out there. Sure Sonos was a bit pricy but you aren't just getting a multi-room solution, you're getting legitimately good sound! Easy to use, good support, etc... to boot!

So in my humble opinion, there is a bit of blue ocean going on here... (for those familiar with red ocean/blue ocean).

 

[Eduardo1971]

As someone who bought into the Sonos ecosystem-this is great news.

Awesome that I'll be finally be able to stream Apple Music. Wonder if ITunes Match support is forthcoming?

 

[Leonard1818]

That's interesting. I really have no idea what Sonos is about and haven't cared to investigate even slightly until your post. At this point I don't understand what it can do that regular Bluetooth wireless speakers can't.

Oh sheesh. For one, multiple speakers playing the same thing. You can set zones and have multiple speakers in each zone playing the same stuff or different things. It's not reliant on bluetooth signal but rather it works off of your wifi. I can start Pandora playing (from my phone on the sonos app) and then leave and my wife can keep listening and control from hers. The sound quality is 100x better than bluetooth. etc. etc. etc.

Here:

http://www.sonos.com/en-gb/sonos-vs-bluetooth?r=1

 

[Adrlan]

That's interesting. I really have no idea what Sonos is about and haven't cared to investigate even slightly until your post. At this point I don't understand what it can do that regular Bluetooth wireless speakers can't.

As someone said earlier, you're able to do other things on your phone without interrupting playback. An example would be watching a video on your phone and not have it stop your music to play the video over the speaker, which is what Bluetooth and AirPlay would both do.

 

[TopKatz]

Wake me when I can do native airplay from my Mac.

 

[J.Dillinger]

You can have everything with AirTunes or AirPlay - why use Sonos? Some day Sonos will go bankrupt and you will be left with a broken set of overpriced loudspeakers.

No comparison. The Sonos ecosystem blows AirTunes/AirPlay out of the water. Sonos isn't going anywhere.

 

[NikeSG]

Love Sonos. Stopped using Apple Music and Apple's Music app entirely (iTunes, etc), as cannot go over 25K songs on match. Still waiting on that promise of 100K match by EOY. I have my doubts.

Also, Spotify is good. Apple bringing up the rear in terms of service, quality, general competence. Happening more and more frequently across all of their products and services.

 

[swajames]

Been a Sonos user since 2004/2005. Not only do the original units I bought still work, they are still updated by Sonos to stay current with new features.

I've grown my Sonos system considerably over the years and I find it to be close to perfect.

It's perhaps the one thing that I consider to be the best value for money out all the tech and gadgets I've bought over the years.

The apple music compatibility makes it even better.

 

[DudeDad]

Those comparing Airplay to Sonos need to do a bit more research before commenting. Sonos is a wonderful experience. I use the connect amps to power Rogers LS 3/5A (bedroom), Polk floor standing speakers (family room), Polk/Yamaha in-ceiling speakers (kitchen/living room), and Polk outdoor speakers (patio). My son has a Play 5 in his room. The ease of use, ability to combine zones or play separate zones is the Airplay killer. Having iTunes radio now will be a nice addition as well.

Bash Sonos for the cost, but you get what you pay for...remember Logitech's attempt with Squeezebox? Yeah, me neither.

 

[DudeDad]

Been a Sonos user since 2004/2005. Not only do the original units I bought still work, they are still updated by Sonos to stay current with new features.

I've grown my Sonos system considerably over the years and I find it to be close to perfect.

It's perhaps the one thing that I consider to be the best value for money out all the tech and gadgets I've bought over the years.

The apple music compatibility makes it even better.

I completely agree! Sonos is fantastic....

 

[peterdevries]

You make me laugh out loud. Open. Really?

So, in what way is Apple now more closed than any of its major competitors?

To explain my point of view:

• All Apple downloaded media is open and can be played on alternative devices. There is no DRM.
• Apple Music is available on other platforms
• Apple TV allows multiple content providers (soon also Amazon Prime)
• iOS allows multiple content providers for music and TV
• etc.

These are all things that weren't possible 5 years ago. Apple has become more open. What are you laughing about?