As if my penchant for buying Apple products wasn't expensive enough. Just not in the stars for me any time soon.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Music on Sonos Officially Launching Tomorrow
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Does this mean we will be able to airplay to Sonos speakers soon?
It looks like a really cool system, but the lack of Airplay support ruins it for me.
It looks like a really cool system, but the lack of Airplay support ruins it for me.
The Play:5 has a 3.5mm jack audio input on its back. If you plug an airport express you've got AirPlay, and it will stream to every other Sonos speaker you have in your network.... Or you just might use the Sonos app, which is fantastic.
Not sure why that would be. Just about every streaming service in existence is on Sonos now and will play any music saved to your phone or iPad in addition to playing back any library if music on your home network including NAS drives, laptops, desktops, etc. There is pretty much nothing that Sonos won't play back so the AirPlay functionality really isn't an issue at all.
To add to what HobeSoundDarryl said, using a bluetooth speaker has 2 very important limitations that do not exist with Sonos:
1) BT requires that the initiating device remains relatively close to the speaker (try walking upstairs and the sounds crackles and disappears)
2) BT is a single connection, not a whole-home synchronized system
I love my Sonos speakers. Wish I could say the same with Apple Music.
Just spit balling here, but I bet they assume like I do that most people with Apple TVs have iPhones.. Which can seamlessly push its content onto the TV.
Just sayin'
This would have to be the best beta software I have used. Just hoping when they come out of beta they don't break something.
*ROTFL*
I have a sonos system all over in the house.
And Napster and Spotify was implemented already about 3-4 Years ago, Deezer at least 1-2 years ago.
Apple is - as too often during the last years - the LAST to get in the market.
Those who want to hear not only their mp3 or AAP or FLAC with her SONOS equipment, but also stream music could do that since YEARS!
BTW: I use Deezer and Deezer is absolutely GREAT. They stream with up to 3are even planning to stream 320 kBit/s and are said to plan even in FLAC format…
The UI of Deezer is excellent, flawless and downstream immediate.
The market is shared by others than apple. Tim slept for years… uuupss…. he just started to wake up?
I have a sonos system all over in the house.
And Napster and Spotify was implemented already about 3-4 Years ago, Deezer at least 1-2 years ago.
Apple is - as too often during the last years - the LAST to get in the market.
Those who want to hear not only their mp3 or AAP or FLAC with her SONOS equipment, but also stream music could do that since YEARS!
BTW: I use Deezer and Deezer is absolutely GREAT. They stream with up to 3are even planning to stream 320 kBit/s and are said to plan even in FLAC format…
The UI of Deezer is excellent, flawless and downstream immediate.
The market is shared by others than apple. Tim slept for years… uuupss…. he just started to wake up?
Is it? That goes against everything I've ever read about WIFI streaming vs Bluetooth where Bluetooth generally gets slated for its compression.
Most things I've read about aptX also question if it is really better than regular Bluetooth. Both are compressed.
I have sonos and Apple Music. They work well together. To be honest the simplification in using the sonos app over the cluttered iOS music app shows Apple Music's potential.
I bought a pair of Sonos speakers for my stepdaughter for Christmas and set up the Apple Music beta on them. It worked okay, but the search and discovery functionality was not nearly as good as the native Music app on the phone. Haven't used it since Christmas. Hope they've improved the integration.
Good for you! Sonos is one of the most popular speaker systems out there. So, actually, a lot of people care. If you don't, you don't have to comment.
Sonos is a great company and the support services are exceptional. I have only had to call maybe three times since 2008.
The mobile app is very nice and stable. I appreciate the fact they still offer iOS 6 support, which some of my devices rely on. Hopefully that continues to be the case with tomorrow's update.
The mobile app is very nice and stable. I appreciate the fact they still offer iOS 6 support, which some of my devices rely on. Hopefully that continues to be the case with tomorrow's update.
What is Sonos exactly? Can't I just use any speaker to listen to my music or use headphones instead? What is so special about it?
Been on the beta and had very few issues. The only issue I had at the start of the beta was the radio stations would stop playing and you'd have to close the sonos app and restart to get them working again.
How do we get off the beta to the public release?
How do we get off the beta to the public release?
Because the speakers access the music directly from the source (Apple Music, Radio, Amazon, Spotify, NAS etc.) not from the phone. You just use the app to tell it what to play. That makes it far more reliable than something which depends on a clear signal from your phone the whole time. It can stream from your phone if you want it too, but IMO, that's just a nice-to-have compared to what it really does.
Our Sonos system has totally put Airplay to shame. You can rig up Airplay support to Sonos for extra $$$ (<$100 I think. Edit: woah, wrong!), but having had a couple of months now with Sonos, Airplay has lost its magic. To be honest Airplay was terrible in comparison - unreliable and frustrating/confusing for the family members.
Last edited:
They're Cloud + Network connected speakers. This has certain advantages over Bluetooth and Airplay as it doesn't require a phone/tablet or computer to maintain a constant connection to the speaker for streaming internet and NAS-based music.
Also their multi-speaker synchronisation is exceptional for a wireless speaker enabling you to have the same music playing in multiple rooms with perfect synchronisation.
Bluetooth is a great way to stream from the AppleMusic app. Works perfectly in my car. The downside to Bluetooth is that it requires your phone to stream the music, so it needs to be nearby and have battery. That's where the Sonos system comes in. Your phone acts as a que, the music is streamed over wifi from your music library on your computer. Which means you can que up music on your phone and walk out the door and the music keeps playing. My wife can even pull up Sonos on her iPad and see what I've qued and modify it. It really does work well.
I think HobeSoundDarryl's post explains why 3rd gen Apple TV support would be worthwhile.
Even if that could work, not every buyer is single living alone. iPhones are highly mobile devices. If we rely on them for something like this or as THE remote forTV or as THE game controller or as THE __________ and the iPhone owner takes it out with them- as they are inclined to do probably every single day- those left behind could NOT listen to music or watch
The 3rd gen Apple TV already supports streaming from iTunes Match so I don't think it's the hardware that is preventing Apple from enabling Apple Music.
Here are my steps:
1. Remove Apple Music from the list of services from the Mac Sonos app. Probably unnecessary but I want to start from scratch with my library later when it officially launches.
2. From the Mac Sonos app: Preferences > Advanced > Improve Sonos tab. Choose Beta program and then Leave Beta Program.
3. Download the current stable version of the Sonos Mac app from the Sonos website. (http://www.sonos.com/redir/controller_software_mac)
4. Install the stable version of the Mac app you just downloaded.
5. Launch Sonos app and then check for updates.
6. Install the updates it finds to restore your entire Sonos system to the current stable version.
Now I'm just waiting for the non-beta software to be made available.
