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Sonos Discounting Speakers, Sound Bars, and More for Black Friday (Up to $200 Off)

I wanted to like Sonos but in the end it was too much work to keep them up. Hated the app you had to use and the apple HomePod sounds just as good as they do in my oppion.

Ranking on usability:

1) Amazon Alexa speaker - works better and understands most commands
2) Apple HomePod - I always have considered it the dumber sister to Alexa speaker
3) Sonos - the foreign cousin that is completely different and functions way to different from the first two

I don't like Amazon just because I trust apple to listen to what is going on in my house than amazon. And I like that the HomePod integrates into my products (all apple) better.

Now if Apple and Philips can work on the hue commands I would be happy. ❤️
 
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sw1tcher said:
The "bricking" was to prevent people from getting the 30 percent discount and also keeping or reselling the old equipment, and to actually recycle it as was intended by the upgrade program. How else would Sonos be able to prevent people from taking advantage?

If you don't want your old equipment "bricked" then don't take the upgrade offer. Or sell the old equipment on your own and use the proceeds to buy something news.
Click to expand...

Eeeek! That is a an environmental nightmare! So they would take a perfectly useable product and "brick it" to not be useable just because they want to give a discount? Bad for the environment. Bad for business.

If I were them I would have given the 30% upgrade and recommend they donate the speakers to a friend. That way Sonos might have two customers.

ANOTHER reason I won't go back to Sonos!
 
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I've used airport express for well over a decade with external speakers, mainly Audioengine A5s, and that setup worked well. But... some day the airport express will die, hummed and hawed between Homepod and Sonos Ones this past June, and got a single speaker Sonos One.

I think I made the right choice. Sound is better than the A5 to my ears. Lots of software updates over the past six months... thinking I'll get another One to get a stereo pair.

The only issue, and it is a new one within the past week, is I could say 'Alexa, play radio', and it would grab my Apple Music generated playlist for songs that I generally like. That won't match anymore, and using the app, it can not play the same radio station from Apple Music. One of the three is likely not playing nice at the moment, so for now, just using my watch or phone to pump the radio station to the speaker over airplay.

If and when I am looking for something more than a One, it will likely be the Move. Bluetooth, plus battery makes a fairly quick setup in the back yard.
 
IIGS User said:
No Bluetooth

No reason in this day and age for no Bluetooth.

I ordered one for my office and oh SO wanted to enjoy it, and couldn't use it.
Click to expand...
Huh? Why would you use Bluetooth on a wired product when AirPlay 2 is available?

Their wireless product (Move) does have Bluetooth.
 
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thederby said:
IIRC, the devices they recently deemed legacy had been launched 10+ years prior.
  • Bridge
  • Connect (Launched 2008)
  • Connect:Amp (Launched 2008)
  • CR200 (Launched 2009)
  • Play:5 Gen1 (Launched 2009)
  • ZP80, 90, 100, 120 (Launched 2006, 2008, 2005, 2008)
I didn't throw a fit when Apple announced my 2012 Mac Mini wasn't going to get Big Sur.
Click to expand...
Not to mention: these products are still supported. They even launched a new app to support legacy systems.

Source: my sister owns Sonos products from the mid 00s.
 
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thederby said:
IIRC, the devices they recently deemed legacy had been launched 10+ years prior.
  • Bridge
  • Connect (Launched 2008)
  • Connect:Amp (Launched 2008)
  • CR200 (Launched 2009)
  • Play:5 Gen1 (Launched 2009)
  • ZP80, 90, 100, 120 (Launched 2006, 2008, 2005, 2008)
I didn't throw a fit when Apple announced my 2012 Mac Mini wasn't going to get Big Sur.
Click to expand...
Computers are different from speakers. Speakers have one function and it's very basic.

Computers are complex need to run multiple new OS's and applications.

Easier to keep an legacy speaker working with tech than an legacy computer.
 
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jlseattle said:
Eeeek! That is a an environmental nightmare! So they would take a perfectly useable product and "brick it" to not be useable just because they want to give a discount? Bad for the environment. Bad for business.

If I were them I would have given the 30% upgrade and recommend they donate the speakers to a friend. That way Sonos might have two customers.

ANOTHER reason I won't go back to Sonos!
Click to expand...
Recycling old tech is an environmental nightmare? Ok. And that is exactly what they ended up doing, so what is the reason not to go back to sonos?
 
jlseattle said:
Computers are different from speakers. Speakers have one function and it's very basic.

Computers are complex need to run multiple new OS's and applications.

Easier to keep an legacy speaker working with tech than an legacy computer.
Click to expand...
See my reply just above. Those speakers are all still supported.
 
jlseattle said:
Computers are different from speakers. Speakers have one function and it's very basic.

Computers are complex need to run multiple new OS's and applications.

Easier to keep an legacy speaker working with tech than an legacy computer.
Click to expand...
Speakers with wifi chips and processing for audio and Airplay and voice assistants do not only have one function.
 
pilotpat said:
Recycling old tech is an environmental nightmare? Ok. And that is exactly what they ended up doing, so what is the reason not to go back to sonos?
Click to expand...
Recycling old tech that is still perfectly useable is a environmental nightmare. And the specifically the bricking of a useable product for a discount. Sounds greedy and not thoughtful! Why do that? Why not give legacy customers a discount of 30% for a period of time? Regardless I'm glad I'm off Sonos so I don't have to deal with their weirdness.

Why not go back to Sonos? Because I had to struggle with their speakers all the time. With the HomePod and the Alexa it was very intuitive and just worked.

The Sonos app was the killer of the Sonos speaker for me.
 
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IIGS User said:
No Bluetooth

No reason in this day and age for no Bluetooth.

I ordered one for my office and oh SO wanted to enjoy it, and couldn't use it.
Click to expand...
There are a million Bluetooth speakers out there. Pick one of them instead. Complaining about lack of Bluetooth on a Sonos speaker is like complaining you can’t put gas in a Tesla. It just shows you didn’t do even the tiniest bit of research on the device you were spending hundreds of dollars on. Reflects poorly on you, not on the speaker. HomePod doesn’t do Bluetooth either.
 
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jlseattle said:
Recycling old tech that is still perfectly useable is a environmental nightmare. Why do that?

Why not go back to Sonos? Because I had to struggle with their speakers all the time. With the HomePod and the Alexa it was very intuitive and just worked.

The Sonos app was the killer of the Sonos speaker for me.
Click to expand...
You could still use the old speakers, you just wouldn't get the new features they were adding to the latest versions. You weren't forced to upgrade, and as others have said incoherent_1 said, they are still supported through the S1 app. I get some people don't like the app, some do however. I haven't had many issues with it. The integration with apple music is a bit clunky, but I can push via airplay from my phone with no issues.
 
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jlseattle said:
Eeeek! That is a an environmental nightmare! So they would take a perfectly useable product and "brick it" to not be useable just because they want to give a discount? Bad for the environment. Bad for business.

If I were them I would have given the 30% upgrade and recommend they donate the speakers to a friend. That way Sonos might have two customers.

ANOTHER reason I won't go back to Sonos!
Click to expand...

Yep, that's a standard trade-in offer. Don't pretend to be shocked by what happens to the old product. It doesn't go to live on a farm.
 
jlseattle said:
Computers are different from speakers. Speakers have one function and it's very basic.

Computers are complex need to run multiple new OS's and applications.

Easier to keep an legacy speaker working with tech than an legacy computer.
Click to expand...
Smart speakers are not just speakers though. They’re essentially computers that play audio. How many fifteen year old computers are you still actively using? Your first two sentences are entirely irrelevant when discussing Sonos speakers, because they’re not what you’re describing no matter how much you wish they were.
 
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CarlJ said:
Smart speakers are not just speakers though. They’re essentially computers that play audio. How many fifteen year old computers are you still actively using? Your first two sentences are entirely irrelevant when discussing Sonos speakers, because they’re not what you’re describing no matter how much you wish they were.
Click to expand...
I intend on keeping HomePod for 10 years at least. I own two and for the price I paid for a the speakers I'll keep them that long if not longer. If apple bricked them in 10 years then I guess I'll learn my lesson. We'll see.
 
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jlseattle said:
Sonos is as it is.
Click to expand...
Last comment from me too as this whole thing is pointless, from the sonos website for the upgrade program,

Can I keep my product as part of my system?
Yes, you can continue using your product.

Like I said, after the backlash, they scrapped it, now you can keep using your old stuff, and get the 30% discount. Or you can recycle, sell or gift it to someone else. There is no bricking of anything.
 
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