Apple Music Available on Sonos Devices Starting December 15

[Gigster]

Agree...just because it is Apple does not guarantee success of course. But Sonos is in fact a success, and in my estimation likely to continue that success at least until there is some other company and/or technology that unseats its current stronghold. Imagine if that were Apple. If Apple had a product identical to Sonos in every way, I believe it would be a gigantic hit. Of course, if I were correct, then Apple likely would be doing it! ;-)

As for AirPlay speakers having more/better options, that is subjective, and I disagree. If you want to invest in better speakers, Sonos is 100% open to that, just like AirPlay (I am not debating cost, that's again subjective, and what might be expensive to you may not be to me and vice versa). Further, Sonos has the software/infrastructure that has capabilities well well beyond AirPlay's capabilities.

You are 100% correct about the ability to stream lossless, as Sonos cannot do that at all. I would never say Sonos is perfect, only that so much of the chat on boards like this tends to be either fully pro or fully against Sonos.

Sonos has always been able to stream lossless...I have an entire library in flac and alac that Sonos handles just fine. Then there are lossless music services such as Qobuz and Tidal which Sonos supports fully. Then there is Deezer Elite which launched as a Sonos exclusive that streams flac.

You can even go beyond flac/alac and stream fully uncompressed WAV files but not many people do that as it is difficult to add metadata.

Hope that clears up any misconceptions.

 

[npmacuser5]

Youtube, Netlifx?

For $200+ I'd like to be able to use these speaker in more situation.

They call that Apple TV or what streamer you like. Music is far better using Sonos.

 

[aajeevlin]

They call that Apple TV. Music is far better using Sonos.

Thanks but not everybody has a TV to connect to, besides I prefer the comfort of my study and sometime enjoy the movie by myself. For the money I don't see why I have to compromise. If Sonos can't do it that's fine, I'll just look else where.

 

[notjustjay]

Thanks but not everybody has a TV to connect to, besides I prefer the comfort of my study and sometime enjoy the movie by myself. For the money I don't see why I have to compromise. If Sonos can't do it that's fine, I'll just look else where.

Sonos can do this, just not with the $200 Play 1.

The $500 (!) Play 5 has a line-in jack that you can use as an input to any zone. So you can connect the sound from your TV or PC and, in fact, route it all over the house to other zones if you want. The Playbar can also do this, of course.

There's also the Connect, but that feels quite overpriced for what it does.

 

[aajeevlin]

Sonos can do this, just not with the $200 Play 1.

The $500 (!) Play 5 has a line-in jack that you can use as an input to any zone. So you can connect the sound from your TV or PC and, in fact, route it all over the house to other zones if you want. The Playbar can also do this, of course.

There's also the Connect, but that feels quite overpriced for what it does.

I see that's good to know. Although I was thinking of a more wireless setup.

 

[npmacuser5]

Thanks but not everybody has a TV to connect to, besides I prefer the comfort of my study and sometime enjoy the movie by myself. For the money I don't see why I have to compromise. If Sonos can't do it that's fine, I'll just look else where.

You are correct Sonos is not for everybody. It is in the higher price performance music category. There are hundreds of good quality speakers in Bluetooth and AirPlay category. This thread is discussing Sonos, those who are willing to spend on this type of system have better solutions then AirPlay for high quality sound integration.

 

[Gigster]

When people say Sonos is overpriced, this really grinds my gears.

People have no qualms spending the same amount of money on iPads and iPhones that they will most likely use for 1 to 3 years before upgrading yet they won't spend the same on a music system that they will use for over a decade. To me the Sonos system is far better value than buying some other tech device that I am only going to toss aside in a couple of years to get the newest model.

The other area that I feel is huge value is that Sonos continue to upgrade and add features every year to your system. Every year my Sonos system gets better and better and I didn't pay an extra cent. Sonos don't believe in obsolescence and every one of their speakers and amplifiers/pre amplifiers have been updated over the last decade to include their newest features. This means that you can go buy a new Sonos off the shelf today and the guy who has had that unit in his house for 10 years will still have the same features as you do. That is amazing and unheard of for tech product.

Ask the guys who have had Sonos for upwards of 10 years, their system today doesn't even resemble the system it was 10 years ago. This is before the iPhone even existed so you had to use a special controller. This is two years before Spotify and other on demand music services even existed so the only thing you could stream was your music library on your PC and Internet radio stations that you had to manually enter the URL for.

Fast forward to today and now that 10 year old system is controlled via iOS and Android devices, it's streaming over 60 different music services that didn't exist at the time. They have introduced completely new and modern apps last year, universal search, stereo pairing, using your old PLAY:3's as surrounds in home theatre and a few weeks ago they introduced Trueplay and this doesn't mention countless other features they have added. Our units also sound better today thanks to the improvements that they made through software.

Now tell me again how Sonos is overpriced?

 

[BrentD]

I'm saying I was sorely disappointed that after spending $300 for a highly reviewed supposedly quality product that I couldn't play what music I wanted to play. Want to use Spotify, nope. Must have a subscription. Have a subscription to Apple Music, sorry no offering here. Pandora is available, but no thank you. My expectations, based on there own website, "Search across services to access all the music on earth. Find the latest and greatest free, trial and paid music streaming services you love." I couldn't play from the streaming services that I love.

Secondly, I shouldn't have to tweek a speaker so it does not, in your words, "sound terrible". Tweeking to slightly improve sound quality due to all the factors Sonos mentions in the marketing, sure I agree with that. Every room and situation is different. But, I just want clear sound no matter what genre of music I'm listening. And when a $300 speaker sounds horrible at 3/4+ volume regardless of the music played, it's a terrible value for me pure and simple.

I'm glad this product exists and that other people find value in it. That's good news for me when I list the PLAY:3 on eBay this weekend and try to recoup some of the money I wasted.

It sounds to me like you didn't read any more than the marketing from Sonos or even try one before you bought it. Info about all the services you complain about and their compatibility and/or requirements on Sonos is widely available all over the web. When you come up with a speaker that suits everyone on Earth's sound preferences right out of the box, let us know and we'll line right up. I'm sure you'll have no trouble selling your Sonos this weekend. The fact that you didn't return it after you bought it tells me you liked it at least a little.

 

[jdag]

There is a price difference, it isn't subjective. Whether or not you care about money is a personal issue, but has nothing to do with whether there is a price difference.

The bad thing for Sonos is that Google is getting into this market and overlapping some of their advantages over Airplay. If Google follows through, you will have multi-room, streaming directly from the web, iOS and Android functionality. The question is whether Google will follow through, but right now, they have a $35 device that does much the same thing as the $350 Connect.

I do think that Airplay and Sonos are different markets, but that isn't to say that one is better than the other for everyone. The advantages of Airplay are price, it is built into audio products with published specs, there is more variety, so you can get a battery operated speaker if you need one, it works with video and audio, it works with more apps, it is built into iOS, so you can access it from the lockscreen, it works with the apps built by the streaming company with all of the features rather than a limited feature list that has too work with a third party app, you can move from bluetooth in the car to Airplay at home with the touch of a button, etc.

The Sonos advantages are for people that need multiple rooms playing music at the same time or people that have archaic routers and/or need compatibility with Android. It should be noted that Airplay can also play to multiple rooms, but a computer needs to be in the mix for most applications (with the exception of Whaale app). Also, Airplay doesn't have the same versatility because it is isn't focused on multi-zone situations. In other words, if you need differnt music playing in your kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, then Sonos can meet that need, while Airplay is currently limited in that area (Note: it is possible via Synology's DS Audio app, so Airplay is capable, but Apple has chosen not to make the feature available in their software).

Personally, I prefer Airplay, but I can see that there is a market for both.

We will have to continue to disagree on this...You said "There is a price difference, it isn't subjective." But it is subjective based upon the system you are trying to build. And if you are OK with AirPlay or some other setup, then yes, Sonos can be more costly. But in my subjective opinion you are making compromises.

You are pointing out AirPlay and Google Chromecast Audio. Those solutions, as they exist today, are not direct 1:1 competitors to Sonos. They do some of the same things, but not all. Most notably, neither AirPlay nor Chromecast Audio currently offers to nearly the extent the #1 thing that Sonos is built upon: whole home wireless audio with individual zone control from any device. Admittedly, AirPlay and Chromecast offer features that Sonos does not.

The only directly comparable competitors today are solutions such as Bose SoundTouch, Denon HEOS, and a few others. Everything else is "cobbled together". If you want to compare pricing to like solutions, you need to look at those.

 

[jdag]

Sonos has always been able to stream lossless...I have an entire library in flac and alac that Sonos handles just fine. Then there are lossless music services such as Qobuz and Tidal which Sonos supports fully. Then there is Deezer Elite which launched as a Sonos exclusive that streams flac.

You can even go beyond flac/alac and stream fully uncompressed WAV files but not many people do that as it is difficult to add metadata.

Hope that clears up any misconceptions.

You are correct...I got caught up in the other points and edited my post.

 

[deany]

if you have a Mac no need to airplay. Sonos can find your entire iTunes and any other music folders on your Mac. Works far better then airplay. No Mac see the reason for airplay.

I do have a mac book pro but I tend to use my iphone for music in the car and with Sonos occasionally to save bandwidth.

Thanks for the tip though. I guess its like the 'old method' where music is stored on a PC. This was the standard when I got Sonos about 6 years ago just before Spotify Premium etc started with Sonos.

 

[npmacuser5]

I do have a mac book pro but I tend to use my iphone for music in the car and with Sonos occasionally to save bandwidth.

Thanks for the tip though. I guess its like the 'old method' where music is stored on a PC. This was the standard when I got Sonos about 6 years ago just before Spotify Premium etc started with Sonos.

Configured under settings manage music library in Sonos app. Sonos will auto search your Mac Book Pro, and you can add additional folders if you have music outside of iTunes. My iTunes music is located //Your Computer Shared Name//Music. Set Sonos settings to scan for new entries as you like. Mine once a day after midnight. Then select Music Library to select and play. Should see all your playlists also.

 

[deany]

Configured under settings manage music library in Sonos app. Sonos will auto search your Mac Book Pro, and you can add additional folders if you have music outside of iTunes. My iTunes music is located //Your Computer Shared Name//Music. Set Sonos settings to scan for new entries as you like. Mine once a day after midnight. Then select Music Library to select and play. Should see all your playlists also.

Yes same system I used for years.
The only thing I found was having to leave the PC on all the time.
I close the lid on rMBP when not in use.
Sounds like it works well for you though, nice one.

Thanks again.

 

[TXCherokee]

It sounds to me like you didn't read any more than the marketing from Sonos or even try one before you bought it. Info about all the services you complain about and their compatibility and/or requirements on Sonos is widely available all over the web. When you come up with a speaker that suits everyone on Earth's sound preferences right out of the box, let us know and we'll line right up. I'm sure you'll have no trouble selling your Sonos this weekend. The fact that you didn't return it after you bought it tells me you liked it at least a little.

From their website "Add your existing music services or discover something new. Whether curated or on-demand, free or subscription-based, Sonos has you covered with access to a growing list of music services. All music services displayed may not be available in your location. Please refer to the FAQ for the individual music services for additional information." The ordering of this statement leads me to believe that I need to check the FAQ only if I'm concerned about my location. The second sentence is VERY misleading in that it suggests every free or paid service is supported, which it is not.

And yes, I tried it out, but not as well as I should have. At low volume, which is how I played around with it in the store, the speak does sound very good. My complaints arrive as the volume increases.

Buyer beware, I guess.

Lastly, I didn't return it because it was one of the rare, "I want to like this" moments. I felt I had to be missing something, right? It's highly rated. People seem to love this thing. I kept trying to like it, until it was too late to return. It was used on occasion because as crappy as it is, it's still better than most Bluetooth speakers. But now that I have ATV4's and Apple Music on all the TVs with sound bars, I have zero need for it.

I think someone else hit on this somewhere in this thread and it is a very good point: Quality aside, this probably isn't the product for me because I do not need to have music synced in every room in my house. Kids have headphones, the media room has a good system. Master bedroom TV has a sound bar, as does the TV in the downstairs living room and it is loud and clear enough to be heard on that floor.

Thanks for the discussion though. It's helped me figure out how I want to move forward.

 

[iOzzie]

GCJ

 

[cue003]

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

Funny and if Apple does buy them out then all the same people on this thread that seem to discredit Sonos will be thinking it is the greatest thing ever because it is Apple.

I see that's good to know. Although I was thinking of a more wireless setup.

Buy the play 5 and a bluetooth 3.5 mm wireless adapter.... problem solved.

For all the others that complain about cost at $199... what are these magical AIRPLAY speakers that everyone is buying that is so radically cheaper than the $199? Not bashing.. just curious.

For me sonos is about whole audio use by MULTIPLE people if necessary without the dependency on an iDevice for continuous playback.

They both have their fan base. I think airplay/bluetooth is great if you live alone and don't listen to different things in different rooms... which I believe is pretty difficult do from one iDevice. I know you can do whole house audio with airplay via iTunes and a bunch of enabled airplay devices but that does become reliant on having a computer running at all times with iTunes up and maybe using apple Remote app for remote control.

 

[Karma*Police]

Agree...just because it is Apple does not guarantee success of course. But Sonos is in fact a success, and in my estimation likely to continue that success at least until there is some other company and/or technology that unseats its current stronghold. Imagine if that were Apple. If Apple had a product identical to Sonos in every way, I believe it would be a gigantic hit. Of course, if I were correct, then Apple likely would be doing it! ;-)

As for AirPlay speakers having more/better options, that is subjective, and I disagree. If you want to invest in better speakers, Sonos is 100% open to that, just like AirPlay (I am not debating cost, that's again subjective, and what might be expensive to you may not be to me and vice versa). Further, Sonos has the software/infrastructure that has capabilities well well beyond AirPlay's capabilities.

Agreed that SONOS has advantages for multi-speaker arrangements which is why I mentioned it would be nice if Apple offered similar capabilities in the future.

My point about more and better AirPlay speaker options was focused on use cases where a person needs one or two wireless speakers in their home.

 

[jdag]

Agreed that SONOS has advantages for multi-speaker arrangements which is why I mentioned it would be nice if Apple offered similar capabilities in the future.

My point about more and better AirPlay speaker options was focused on use cases where a person needs one or two wireless speakers in their home.

Sure...if you need a single speaker, you have a zillion options. And if you are an Apple household already, AirPlay makes perfect sense.

 

[jacobj]

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.

i disagree. I bought into the Sonos system last year as it works so much better than the AirPlay network I had before. If I want to use Apple Music I can: I have an airport express as an AirPlay out and the input of my play 5 as my source for any part of the Sonos system. I have fewer issues because I am not relying on AirPlay to manage the whole system (which it can't do). I still have issues with AirPlay and think that it is another example of Apple just doing a poor job.

I also have a boost network for the Sonos system and that works brilliantly.

So I disagree. I know numerous people edging towards Sonos and using people like me as their guides and they are loving it.

Overpriced? How did you work that out. Is it because they are not cheap?

 

[Fatboy71]

This isn’t a rant at Sonos. It’s simply what I came across when I was in the market for a wireless system that I got recently.


I got an Airplay system recently after looking at Sonos and been rather confused at the way you have to listen to your music. My opinion was that it just makes listening to your music, more complicated than it needs (for my usage, although I can see how desirable Sonos are to people wanting a multi speaker system) due to the need of having to use the Sonos app when listening to Music Streaming services for example.


The multi speaker system that Sonos use is very good, but for me that wasn’t of interest (I only wanted to listen to music in the one room and I wanted to be able to simply load up whichever app I had my music in and start playing it through my system, nice and simple).

But I can see why Sonos are popular because of the multi speaker system and it is a really good system in this respect and also because of the ability to use their system on phones other than iPhone’s.


The issues I found personally (after looking on the Sonos site and learning about their speakers). From what I could gather, you had to use the Sonos app to listen to your music.


So this means that I would have to add music to the Sonos app, even if I already have a music streaming service app on my phone/music stored on your phone (i.e. Spotify app, Apple Music app, and other similar apps).


After reading reviews on the Sonos app, I read of people complaining that they couldn’t access certain unique features in say for example, the dedicated Spotify app. At the time I looked at Sonos, I couldn’t use Apple Music with it. But that got me thinking that I wouldn’t have access to the For You feature and also other features that are unique to the Apple Music app. This in the end was when I thought that Sonos weren’t the speaker system for me. But I realise everyone’s usage, setup is different and Sonos are a very good speaker system for them and also for people who have smartphone’s other than iPhone’s.

 

[zubikov]

Price, beyond a straight calculation of reimbursement of input costs, is an indistinct concept. In the end, the price is what the market will bear, and at the moment the market bears what Sonos is asking. You are on an Apple related forum, so surely you must understand that, because many complain that Apple devices are overpriced, but billions seem to think that is OK.

Ok I have no idea why you had to bring in reimbursement of input costs. In simple terms, Sonos knows that by offering a closed ecosystem of new-tech speakers to mass affluent gadget users, they will be able to consistently sell speakers near what everyone is willing to pay for them.

Apple is very often not overpriced. I can't find another iMac or a MacBook air in the PC world that's cheaper pound for pound with higher specs. To me, Apple for a long time offered better quality for a premium, and that premium is usually worth it (subjective).

Sonos on the other hand, offers a sub-par experience and the premium is definitely not worth it. I can't stream YouTube, Netflix, small music apps like StereoDose, etc, over Sonos. I don't want to have all of my home audio forever funneled through ONE APP; that usually doesn't bode well for longevity of your hardware. Even if my apps are supported, I simply don't want to switch apps to control where music is played. I don't believe that I should pay $450 for an underpowered and under-spec'd poor excuse of an amplifier just so that I could integrate an existing high quality speaker system. Sure, AirPlay isn't perfect, but it doesn't lock me in and it works well with strong Wifi. I know that 2 years down the line, Apple, Google and a few others will make DLNA and other wireless streaming protocols fantastic, WiFi will continue to get much stronger, wireless music will be an afterthought.

Sonos is the easy way out for now. It's simple to use for 80% of the music you listen to. It gives you 80% of the quality you could have for the price. It covers 80% of the typical home audio setups out there. That's great, and I'm glad they exist for people who have other things to worry about rather than home audio. For me personally, the other 20% matter, especially when spending that kind of money.

 

[riverfreak]

Ok I have no idea why you had to bring in reimbursement of input costs. In simple terms, Sonos knows that by offering a closed ecosystem of new-tech speakers to mass affluent gadget users, they will be able to consistently sell speakers near what everyone is willing to pay for them.

Apple is very often not overpriced. I can't find another iMac or a MacBook air in the PC world that's cheaper pound for pound with higher specs. To me, Apple for a long time offered better quality for a premium, and that premium is usually worth it (subjective).

Sonos on the other hand, offers a sub-par experience and the premium is definitely not worth it. I can't stream YouTube, Netflix, small music apps like StereoDose, etc, over Sonos. I don't want to have all of my home audio forever funneled through ONE APP; that usually doesn't bode well for longevity of your hardware. Even if my apps are supported, I simply don't want to switch apps to control where music is played. I don't believe that I should pay $450 for an underpowered and under-spec'd poor excuse of an amplifier just so that I could integrate an existing high quality speaker system. Sure, AirPlay isn't perfect, but it doesn't lock me in and it works well with strong Wifi. I know that 2 years down the line, Apple, Google and a few others will make DLNA and other wireless streaming protocols fantastic, WiFi will continue to get much stronger, wireless music will be an afterthought.

Sonos is the easy way out for now. It's simple to use for 80% of the music you listen to. It gives you 80% of the quality you could have for the price. It covers 80% of the typical home audio setups out there. That's great, and I'm glad they exist for people who have other things to worry about rather than home audio. For me personally, the other 20% matter, especially when spending that kind of money.

Maybe keeping your personal opinion out of your review would lend some credence to your assessment.

To say it offers a "sub-par experience" because it cannot play YouTube or Netflix audio is simply your opinion and your selective use case and in no way reflects upon what Sonos is designed to do: multi zone whole home audio.

I've been using Sonos for five+ years. I have connect amps driving in-wall, in-ceiling, and outdoor speaker installations. They all work great with 100% of the music (and soon, 100% of the services) I want to use, 100% of the time. It's running from the moment I wake up until I hit the hay. It doesn't crash. It doesn't lag, it doesn't stutter. It is rock solid. Just like AirPlay, right

I have very, very few other products I am still using to the same extent after five years. I am not considered with lock in as I can, God forbid, AirPlay to my Sonos if I so choose.

I have no complaints with the sound quality. But I don't have the auditory acuity of a 16 year old either. Nor do I care. I don't sit around and listen to music, it's an accompaniment to other activities.

"That kind of money" that I've spent in no way comes even close to what true audiophile freaks spend by an order of magnitude. And I can guarantee you true audiophiles are not using AirPlay with their whole estate audio systems. Of course, being a discerning audiophile, you know that high end speakers to accompany your high end amplifier do not come cheap.

Anyways, please enjoy your AirPlay system while you wait around for two years for it to continue developing and eventually meet the remaining mystical 20% of critical parameters that Sonos cannot meet. I'm sure I'll still be here using my Sonos, not wasting more time speccing, evaling, comparing, installing, and configuring systems. Just listenin' to music.

 

[Gigster]

Ok I have no idea why you had to bring in reimbursement of input costs. In simple terms, Sonos knows that by offering a closed ecosystem of new-tech speakers to mass affluent gadget users, they will be able to consistently sell speakers near what everyone is willing to pay for them.

Apple is very often not overpriced. I can't find another iMac or a MacBook air in the PC world that's cheaper pound for pound with higher specs. To me, Apple for a long time offered better quality for a premium, and that premium is usually worth it (subjective).

Sonos on the other hand, offers a sub-par experience and the premium is definitely not worth it. I can't stream YouTube, Netflix, small music apps like StereoDose, etc, over Sonos. I don't want to have all of my home audio forever funneled through ONE APP; that usually doesn't bode well for longevity of your hardware. Even if my apps are supported, I simply don't want to switch apps to control where music is played. I don't believe that I should pay $450 for an underpowered and under-spec'd poor excuse of an amplifier just so that I could integrate an existing high quality speaker system. Sure, AirPlay isn't perfect, but it doesn't lock me in and it works well with strong Wifi. I know that 2 years down the line, Apple, Google and a few others will make DLNA and other wireless streaming protocols fantastic, WiFi will continue to get much stronger, wireless music will be an afterthought.

Sonos is the easy way out for now. It's simple to use for 80% of the music you listen to. It gives you 80% of the quality you could have for the price. It covers 80% of the typical home audio setups out there. That's great, and I'm glad they exist for people who have other things to worry about rather than home audio. For me personally, the other 20% matter, especially when spending that kind of money.

Of course you can't stream YouTube or Netflix and other VIDEO streaming services through Sonos - it's a music system. That's why I have an Apple TV! Did you also used to complain about FM radios because you couldn't watch your TV shows through them? I bet you did.

Subpar experience on Sonos? I don't think so. Sonos doesn't get the cult-like worshipping from its users because it is subpar. It's quite the opposite. I have spent years working in the hifi industry and have yet to see the satisfaction levels from any other streaming product, especially AirPlay.

Why would you be running a Sonos Connect:amp through a high quality speaker system? That seems silly. They are created mainly for inceiling and outdoor speakers. Shouldn't your high quality speaker system be running a Sonos Connect into a high quality DAC into a high quality amplifier?

I tell you what, the one app is fantastic when I want to listen to different tracks from my PC, Soundcloud and Spotify. I can't do that through just my Soundcloud or Spotify app. Also Sonos worked with Google to enable casting from the Google Play Music app and they also did it for a Chinese Spotify equivalent called QQ Music. Sonos also announced earlier this year an API for third party apps to integrate with Sonos. So in two years while you wait for AirPlay to miraculously improve I know I will be getting my money's worth and my Sonos will be an even better system...probably using multiple music apps to cast directly to Sonos.

 

[jdag]

Ok I have no idea why you had to bring in reimbursement of input costs. In simple terms, Sonos knows that by offering a closed ecosystem of new-tech speakers to mass affluent gadget users, they will be able to consistently sell speakers near what everyone is willing to pay for them.

Apple is very often not overpriced. I can't find another iMac or a MacBook air in the PC world that's cheaper pound for pound with higher specs. To me, Apple for a long time offered better quality for a premium, and that premium is usually worth it (subjective).

Sonos on the other hand, offers a sub-par experience and the premium is definitely not worth it. I can't stream YouTube, Netflix, small music apps like StereoDose, etc, over Sonos. I don't want to have all of my home audio forever funneled through ONE APP; that usually doesn't bode well for longevity of your hardware. Even if my apps are supported, I simply don't want to switch apps to control where music is played. I don't believe that I should pay $450 for an underpowered and under-spec'd poor excuse of an amplifier just so that I could integrate an existing high quality speaker system. Sure, AirPlay isn't perfect, but it doesn't lock me in and it works well with strong Wifi. I know that 2 years down the line, Apple, Google and a few others will make DLNA and other wireless streaming protocols fantastic, WiFi will continue to get much stronger, wireless music will be an afterthought.

Sonos is the easy way out for now. It's simple to use for 80% of the music you listen to. It gives you 80% of the quality you could have for the price. It covers 80% of the typical home audio setups out there. That's great, and I'm glad they exist for people who have other things to worry about rather than home audio. For me personally, the other 20% matter, especially when spending that kind of money.

I can't cut my lawn with my snowblower. And Sonos does not allow for every potential method of playing audio.

People tend to bash Sonos far more for the relatively few use cases or services that it does not support over the incredible variety and flexibility it does provide.

Take 1 look at the customer ratings on a major internet retailer site to gauge the satisfaction relative to some highly regarded Apple products.

rMBP (current model, 128gb) - 4.7
rMBP (current model, 256gb) - 4.7
iMac (current model, 27 in Retina) - 4.3
Sonos Play:1 - 4.6
Sonos Play:5 - 4.5

People are generally very happy with their Sonos purchases.

 

[Uofmtiger]

You are correct Sonos is not for everybody. It is in the higher price performance music category. There are hundreds of good quality speakers in Bluetooth and AirPlay category. This thread is discussing Sonos, those who are willing to spend on this type of system have better solutions then AirPlay for high quality sound integration.

The only "high quality sound" in Sonos library is the Connect, which costs $350. The Airport Express is lossless (Redbook CD quality) and costs $99, so there isn't a trade off for "high quality sound". It is the reason audio manufactures often include Airplay in their components.

The Sonos category is more about un-spec'd speakers that cost more than better sounding spec'd speakers because some people will pay for the convenience of multi-room and "wireless" (although you have to plug them in) audio.

Multi-room audio is great for background music at a party, but is not a good way to get decent SQ for people that listen to music critically. If you have music playing in another room it can affect the sound stage and overall sound in general from the actual room you are in.

Maybe keeping your personal opinion out of your review would lend some credence to your assessment.

To say it offers a "sub-par experience" because it cannot play YouTube or Netflix audio is simply your opinion and your selective use case and in no way reflects upon what Sonos is designed to do: multi zone whole home audio. .

I see a lot of people say that it is designed specifically for multi-zone audio, but they sell individual mono speakers. I don't think they would be as successful if they required you to buy a full system. So, the fact is, many people are using one, mono speaker and are not even using a set of them for whole home audio. I agree that multi-zone is the strength, but there are plenty of people that see the reviews and think that the $199 mono speaker without specs will sound great since no one really ever reviews the sound quality (which is difficult.. which is why many like to see published specs).

I don't know if it is subpar because it lacks the ability to use it with all the apps that you can use with Airplay, but it will be a consideration for a lot of people that want to just open an app and use it today without crossing their fingers that it will be added to Sonos in the future.

I've been using Sonos for five+ years. I have connect amps driving in-wall, in-ceiling, and outdoor speaker installations. They all work great with 100% of the music (and soon, 100% of the services) I want to use, 100% of the time. It's running from the moment I wake up until I hit the hay. It doesn't crash. It doesn't lag, it doesn't stutter. It is rock solid. Just like AirPlay, right

5 years ago, Airplay had issues because of the wifi specs at the time (of course, you could wire it and not even have anything on wifi if you were streaming from a connected computer).

People with modern routers should not have issues these days in a normal environment. At home, I never have Airplay issues, so I thought my home setup was unique after reading posts like yours. Then I started taking my AppleTV on vacations. It works perfectly every time in every strange system I have run across...even for Airplaying video, which is much more data hungry. Even Sonos has started allowing you to just connect to your main wifi network.

I have very, very few other products I am still using to the same extent after five years.

I still have three Airport Express units that are the older models that were introduced in 2008. They work better than the day I got them, even though one of them is in a room that has no climate control (sunroom) and the other is in a bathroom. So it isn't unusual at all to have these type of devices for a long time. I actually have a Marantz receiver from the 70s, so 5 years of use in the audio spectrum isn't something that is all that impressive.

I am not considered with lock in as I can, God forbid, AirPlay to my Sonos if I so choose.

"God Forbid"..Yeah, that is why Sonos has advertised that it is Airplay compatible...in smaller print they tell you to connect an Airport Express....yep, everyone has one laying around to compliment the other system they just bought.

I have no complaints with the sound quality. But I don't have the auditory acuity of a 16 year old either. Nor do I care. I don't sit around and listen to music, it's an accompaniment to other activities.

"That kind of money" that I've spent in no way comes even close to what true audiophile freaks spend by an order of magnitude. And I can guarantee you true audiophiles are not using AirPlay with their whole estate audio systems. Of course, being a discerning audiophile, you know that high end speakers to accompany your high end amplifier do not come cheap.

I would not be surprised if a lot of Sonos owners don't sit and listen to music. It would explain why they put a premium on controlling zones over speaker quality.

Airplay could easily be used in an audiophile's whole estate audio system. Crestron, just to mention one whole estate system, supports Airplay. However, most audiophiles don't listen to music critically while walking around the house. For one, you lose the imaging, stereo effect, etc. Luckily, Airplay is also built into products by respected brands like McIntosh and Classe. Yes, these companies could just let you attach a plastic, bulky eyesore to their equipment, but many (including mainstream companies like Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, etc..) prefer an integrated approach.

Anyways, please enjoy your AirPlay system while you wait around for two years for it to continue developing and eventually meet the remaining mystical 20% of critical parameters that Sonos cannot meet. I'm sure I'll still be here using my Sonos, not wasting more time speccing, evaling, comparing, installing, and configuring systems. Just listenin' to music

Once the system is setup, like Sonos, it doesn't require any other work. It just works...at least in the many wireless setups I have tried.


All that being said, if you need zone control and don't mind trade offs, Sonos is a perfectly good option. I personally don't need control of different audio streams all over the house from one device. We have multiple iOS devices in the house and one person can control and listen to what they want in one room, while someone else controls and listens to what they want in another room. However, I realize that people have different needs.