Apple Music Coming to Sonos Home Audio Systems by End of 2015

[jdag]

I've had a play:1 for 2 years using the Sonos app, I'm very familiar with it. It's nice that it can connect straight to the NAS, and I can just hit play when I come home and it will pick up where it left off. In the end it just collects dust since I'd rather just open my iTunes and hit play to airplay some music.

I misunderstood your initial post...I did not think you were very aware of Sonos. If AirPlay works for you, then you can create a full home system with AirPlay as a foundation.

As a side note of interest, check out the new Google Chromecast Audio adapter that was announced this week for $35/ea.

 

[prowlmedia]

I install 6 SONOS CONNECTs to 12 channel amps (you can do this with your amps individually) as well as use CONNECT:AMPS for zones wired elswhere. Use portable PLAY1, PLAY3, PLAY5 where you do not already have speakers. Obviously, if you are moving, then a different config may be needed. But you can easily make a Sonos system work for your needs.

Sure. But that's an insanely expensive setup. 6 x £300 + £400 for the amp... I've got those expensive speakers but built up over 20 years but my way is a 8th of the price.

 

[jdag]

Sure. But that's an insanely expensive setup. 6 x £300 + £400 for the amp... I've got those expensive speakers but built up over 20 years but my way is a 8th of the price.

My opinion is that AirPlay can do the job...but I don't think the whole-home experience is as simple/fluid as the Sonos experience. Albeit, AirPlay is less costly since you have the equipment already. And, Apple could certainly upgrade AirPlay capabilities to make it a no-brainer system for those of us invested in Apple hardware.

The new Google Chromecast Audio solution might be the ticket to best compete with Sonos at a very reasonable cost ($35/ea).

 

[Sonmi451]

Go for the Sonos, it will play the music from your NAS without any need for iTunes. The the majority of us they are great devices that play music as we get on doing other stuff. Serious audiophiles may have other needs, but I think they are great having used them for the past 4 years.

You missed the part where I said I prefer iTunes over Sonos app, also that I do in fact, have a Play 1 already.

 

[Bah-Bah]

I was an airplay user for a few years but eventually moved over to Sonos. I got sick and tired of Airplay conking out and having to switch everything off and on again. Even that wouldn't fix the dropouts sometimes....Eventually I gave up and bought Sonos and haven't looked back. Sonos is also a more elegant and discrete solution, with each speaker requiring just a single mains plug. While it's true that 2 Sonos speakers = 2 plugs which is the same as an Airplay + Speakers solution (unless you're using an amp + speakers + Airplay), you still have far less mess and clutter.

One thing I did which helped integrate with my iTunes library was to move it over to a Synology Diskstation and have my Mac connect to the iTunes Library file on that, using this guide on Symlinks:

https://gigaom.com/2011/04/27/how-to-create-and-use-symlinks-on-a-mac/

This way, when I add music to my itunes libray or create a playlist, it updates the XML library file on the Synology NAS, which the Sonos also references for music and playlists under "Imported playlists" on the Sonos controller. Additionally, it means I don't need a computer switched on to listen to my music. All my devices sync to the same music and playlists and I manage everything through iTunes still which is my preference simply for lack of having found a better option. I find iTunes clunky really.

There's always an increased risk of corrupting the remote iTunes library XML file via network dropouts when opening or closing iTunes but in a year it has happened once, and was down to my own stupidity. It didn't matter though as I backup the NAS regularly and was able to restore from that. It's possible to have multiple machines sharing the same iTunes library in this way but I don't recommend it for similar corruption related reasons.

 

[shaunp]

You missed the part where I said I prefer iTunes over Sonos app, also that I do in fact, have a Play 1 already.

Yep missed that bit.