Sonos Launches Two New Speakers With AirPlay 2 Support

[whitby]

I’ve never met someone who’s been able to use their Sonos without issues. In fact, even going to someone’s house- they’re barely able to use any of the functions of, say Spotify- invite someone to your jam, make a playlist you can share, play someone else’s Spotify playlist etc. -My colleague can’t do any of that stuff.

Spending so much money on something so proprietary that won’t let you use its native feature set is just not worth it. I don’t understand the appeal. Just seems like these are for people with a lot of $ that don’t know anything about technology

I am not sure how to respond to this set of comments as it wrong on so many levels. I have no issues with my Sonos speakers and I can probably count at least 12 people I know who do not have problems so your and my experience are completely different only in that I am not generalizing from my experience.

And as for the comment about only people who don't know anything about technology would buy a Sonos system.... I am not sure it is worth any comment, except, I understand you have views but these generalizations add nothing to the conversation and seem to be more about insulting people.

So we get it, you do not know anyone that has a functioning Sonos system and you think people that own them are idiots with technology but these statements are not necessarily applicable to the world in general. Please do not imply otherwise. My experience is completely and utterly different but I am not going to say no-one has issues and I am not going to say that people who are not technological proficient would be the only people to buy Sonos speakers. And I am a very experienced systems engineer with all the usual degrees etc. B Sc, MSC, PhD etc. But then maybe I do not know anything about technology....😂

 

[LogicalApex]

I’ve never met someone who’s been able to use their Sonos without issues. In fact, even going to someone’s house- they’re barely able to use any of the functions of, say Spotify- invite someone to your jam, make a playlist you can share, play someone else’s Spotify playlist etc. -My colleague can’t do any of that stuff.

Spending so much money on something so proprietary that won’t let you use its native feature set is just not worth it. I don’t understand the appeal. Just seems like these are for people with a lot of $ that don’t know anything about technology.

My Sonos system works extremely well! I have zero issues with them.

I am not a typical user so I try not to weigh in on that side of things... My setup is extremely complex with VLANs, Unifi APs, and all that jazz. I wager if it can work for me it should work for "normies".

 

[airwalk331]

I am not sure how to respond to this set of comments as it wrong on so many levels. I have no issues with my Sonos speakers and I can probably count at least 12 people I know who do not have problems so your and my experience is completely different only in that I am generalising from my experience.

And as for the comment about only people who don't know anything about technology would buy a Sonos system.... I am not sure it is worth any comment, except, I understand you have views but these generalizations add nothing to the conversation and seem to be more about insulting people.

So we get it, you do not know anyone that has a functioning Sonos system and you think people that own them are idiots with technology but these statements are not necessarily applicable to the world in general. Please do not imply otherwise. My experience is completely and utterly different but I am not going to say no-one has issues and I am not going to say that people who are not technological proficient would be the only people to buy Sonos speakers. And I am very esperienced systems engineer with all the usual degrees etc. B Sc, MSC, PhD etc. But then maybe I do not know anything about technology....😂

Yeah, I don’t know what to say. That’s just been my experience. I wish I could say the same about the people that I know have them 🤷‍♂️ but even after visiting the Sonos store in nyc the sales guy said to come back because he couldn’t figure out how to use some of the Spotify features I was asking about.

 

[onedrunkhorse]

I'm going to have to strongly disagree on your point about the app debacle; that is very much still an ongoing issue.

I have a Sonos Play:1 and a Sonos Roam, which I haven't been able to use in over a year now. I just asked Google if they are both supposed to be compatible with the latest Sonos app, (that is to say, the app formerly known as "S2") and it verified that they are. Taking note of your assertion that it "works just fine now," I went ahead and attempted (for the umpteenth time) to connect the Roam to the app, and it failed while attempting to update the firmware -- error 1014. I then attempted to connect the Play:1 to the app, and it failed immediately, without preamble, without explanation and without error code.

So sure... the Sonos concept is "nice"... When. It. Works. The trouble is, it fails far more often than it should, and everybody's story about how it failed them is different.

I have a Play:1, Play:5, as well as a stereo pair of Era 100s. My near 10 year old Play:1 is working with the current version of the app.. I guess I'm an anomaly

 

[GrumpyOldGuy52]

I’ve never met someone who’s been able to use their Sonos without issues.

The only time I've had issues with my Sonos system is when I ran a hacked setup to create a stereo pair from two different speakers in my home office. I have their stuff in four different rooms, and once I set everything back up after that hack fell apart, I've not had issues. YMMV, I guess.

 

[zarmanto]

I have a Play:1, Play:5, as well as a stereo pair of Era 100s. My near 10 year old Play:1 is working with the current version of the app.. I guess I'm an anomaly

Please don't misunderstand me; I'm not trying to assert that you're the anomaly; in fact, it's quite reasonable to suggest that the failures that I and others have described are indeed all anomalies. What I am saying though is that there happen to be too many of these anomalies.

It's just not reasonable to dismiss problems entirely, simply because you've never experienced them yourself... and all the more, when there are so many people reporting problems.

 

[LedRush]

I love the sound of my Sonos speakers. For the home theater, they’ve been fantastic. Unfortunately, the portable ones (Roam, Roam 2, Move, Move 2) disconnect from my WiFi or unpair or have other connectivity issues so often that I’ll never buy another one again. Perhaps I’ll get another Sonos home theater system as that actually works, but the one I have is so great that I don’t think I’ll need to for many years, and when I do I might just completely move away from the terrible Sonos ecosystem.

 

[applefan8254]

I wish they came with (or sold separately) physical remote controls with physical buttons that could do not only volume control, but track control like next track, previous track, or even skip 15 seconds / go back 15 seconds etc. I like to listen to music on my smart speaker in bed. And it's nice to use the physical remote to control volume, but it would be much nicer if we could do basic track control as well, especially when shuffling hundred-song playlists, wanting to skip ahead a few songs or ff through a podcast. Without having to yell out commands that wake us from the early stages of falling asleep.

 

[ButterF1ngers]

Having to rely on the SONOs app for on-phone volume control is not ideal...

 

[acesX3]

Having to rely on the SONOs app for on-phone volume control is not ideal...

THIS is my experience and I’ve told Sonos this in customer surveys and other feedback programs. Volume control on the app is awful and would be so easy to fix. It is negligent that they have not addressed this yet.

Everything else works great, but this one burr under my saddle has probably cost them several speaker sales.

 

[Docsta80]

Love my Sonos. Zero issues with my eero mesh network. Have Sonos in almost every room

 

[bLackjackj]

Maybe because, you know many Apple users have and support Sonos product. I know.

Dreaming..🙄🤦‍♂️ All we ever hear is complains about Sonos…multiple lawsuits, CEO removed, missing revenue targets, botched app update, yep..good stuff 👍

 

[svish]

Good to see these speakers. But don't think I will be buying one. Battery life on the Play seems to be good enough.

 

[JoeDownUnder]

Sonos causes havoc with Unifi wifi, which I wish I knew before hours of weird network errors. It seems this is still the case so Sonos is basically a no-go for me and a do not recommend to friends. And the app drama... well let’s not rub that in again.

Weird. I have 10 Sonos products with Unify wifi and experience zero issues.

 

[Syrianos82]

Maybe because, you know many Apple users have and support Sonos product. I know. Shocking 🙄

I'm somewhat surprised that among Apple users (likely a group that loves and pays for premium) has little to no attention to what B&O is doing and making.

Their speakers are in completely different price category, so I understand why it's easily ignored in most comparisons online, especially for the soundbars. The user experience is just amazing for the theatre and it's flexibility with WiSa connections for a home theater experience is just impressive, once you get into their eco-system... it's hard to look back.

From personal experience the BEO-app interface combined with a beolink multiroom connection is such a simple and graceful integration for all your speakers that it's definitely worth looking into if the budget and esthetics appeal to you. The esthetics are subjective and definitely not for everyone, but the build quality and materials is the closest match to apple computers.

Again, a completely different category but such a step up after my personal Sonos-Migraine...

 

[Benjamin61181]

Just a small note please 🙂 When that battery goes - the whole speaker most likely goes with or without a power adapter ? If even remotely a chance ; a pass . This happened to all the beats pill products.... If I am wrong then totally wasn't meant to be negative ....... with best wishes

Unlike Apple Sonos sells replacement batterys that can be installed by the user.

 

[mtrm]

Having to rely on the SONOs app for on-phone volume control is not ideal...

THIS is my experience and I’ve told Sonos this in customer surveys and other feedback programs. Volume control on the app is awful and would be so easy to fix. It is negligent that they have not addressed this yet.

Everything else works great, but this one burr under my saddle has probably cost them several speaker sales.

I’m not here to defend Sonos or anything. But I remember when they removed it. At the time they stated it was because Apple made them to, because unlike Spotify or Apple Music, the Sonos app doesn’t play audio locally, and it seems that according to Apple, you can’t use volume controls to control volume on third party devices. Don’t quote me on this, as I don’t know the specifics, nor if they could have circumvented this in any way.

I found this thread on Sonos website

iOS Hardware Volume Control | Sonos Community

Feature request:Bring back ability to control volume with iOS (iPhone, iPad) physical volume buttons.The removal of it is exceedingly aggravating. The work around sucks. I will own 11 Sonos devices. But I will buy no more as long as it works this way. This situation is so poorly communicated...

en.community.sonos.com

 

[H_D]

Just my 2c. I 've had two Five, the bigger Sub and a Move for about 5 years now, only once ran into trouble with an overcrowded WiFi, which a very nice Support guy solved within a few moments. I stream directly via Airplay 2 from Apple Music, from various devices and it just works without any problems + is one of the best-sounding setups I ever had wirelessly (and I have tested lots, from Naim, B&W, Bang and so on). Sound is very subjective, but this is the only Wireless setup that sounds just as good as my regular vintage Braun setup (four way LS150 and two smaller threeway speakers). In the same period of time I had to reset my HomePods and Minis various times, KEF never really worked, the B9 had massive WiFi issues, the M5s never really wanted to work as a stereo pair, all of them had brutal latency issues via Airplay. None of that with Sonos. You set the stuff up and it works. Every digital system has its flaws (when you change networks or the soft/firmware is borked or Apple messes audio workflows up :-D), but my experience with Sonos so far is really rather positive.

 

[HouseLannister]

Now is the perfect time to announce AirPlay 3

 

[acesX3]

I’m not here to defend Sonos or anything. But I remember when they removed it. At the time they stated it was because Apple made them to, because unlike Spotify or Apple Music, the Sonos app doesn’t play audio locally, and it seems that according to Apple, you can’t use volume controls to control volume on third party devices. Don’t quote me on this, as I don’t know the specifics, nor if they could have circumvented this in any way.

I found this thread on Sonos website

iOS Hardware Volume Control | Sonos Community

Feature request:Bring back ability to control volume with iOS (iPhone, iPad) physical volume buttons.The removal of it is exceedingly aggravating. The work around sucks. I will own 11 Sonos devices. But I will buy no more as long as it works this way. This situation is so poorly communicated...

en.community.sonos.com

Thank you for sharing that, it includes the same frustrations that I have, plus one possible work around that I need to try.

The solutions are simple, using a finger, especially my apparently big fat finger, to adjust the volume slider is a royal pain, too high, too low, too many attempts at small slides to get it to where I want it to be. If the volume buttons are not an option (and they would be the best option) then either making the slider less granular or, even better, simply adding + and - buttons at each end of the slider to allow for adjustments of one slider unit at a time would entirely solve my problem. It really isn't that hard to fix this issue with a solution that would be acceptable.

 

[QuarterSwede]

Why wouldn’t you stream through the Sonos App. If you don’t stream through the app, you won’t get Hi-Res audio out of the speakers. The app is kind of annoying and the interface isn’t as good as other music apps but it is serviceable.

Because no one can tell the difference between Hi-Res and lossy variable 256 AAC (most Apple Music nowadays) and it’s certainly not worth the storage requirements. This isn’t a debate, it’s been A/B blind tested over and over again. Hi-Res is all placebo.

 

[xraydoc]

I’ve yet to stream anything to mine from the Sonos app, new or old (it sucked then too). AirPlay 2 is the only thing we use. I just wish it supported making defined groups that you could save. You can use shortcuts to send music to a group but it’s definitely not ideal to have to do that every time.

Also, I don’t want to sound like that guy but if you’re having issues with your Sonos system in AirPlay 2 it’s your network. I’ve literally never not had it work … it’s rock solid over my eero system.

After tons of turmoil, my Sonos system is back to working. Has been perfect for several months now. No issues. I have two separate surround systems plus stereo speakers in three additional rooms.

 

[xraydoc]

I’ve never met someone who’s been able to use their Sonos without issues. In fact, even going to someone’s house- they’re barely able to use any of the functions of, say Spotify- invite someone to your jam, make a playlist you can share, play someone else’s Spotify playlist etc. -My colleague can’t do any of that stuff.

Spending so much money on something so proprietary that won’t let you use its native feature set is just not worth it. I don’t understand the appeal. Just seems like these are for people with a lot of $ that don’t know anything about technology.

I'm not a Spotify user, but no issues otherwise. My wife and I can make adjustments from either of our phones, etc. We're not really playlist people, but we can change audio sources, add/remove speakers, etc.
There was the whole app/firmware debacle last year, but it appears it's all been solved (at least for me).

 

[Dianneeraser]

Because no one can tell the difference between Hi-Res and lossy variable 256 AAC (most Apple Music nowadays) and it’s certainly not worth the storage requirements. This isn’t a debate, it’s been A/B blind tested over and over again. Hi-Res is all placebo.

Funny…..I can tell an immediate difference streaming Airplay 2 Apple Music and Apple Music via the Sonos App. It isn’t debatable. There’s no A/B needed other than my own ears.

 

[whitby]

Because no one can tell the difference between Hi-Res and lossy variable 256 AAC (most Apple Music nowadays) and it’s certainly not worth the storage requirements. This isn’t a debate, it’s been A/B blind tested over and over again. Hi-Res is all placebo.

I would agree that on the low quality speakers or headphones/EarPods that are often used to listen to music that the difference between lossless and AAC is difficult to detect when listening in an average environment. But, when listening on good equipment in a decent listening environment, there is a great deal of difference and I know I can tell the difference with ease, but not everyone has the same ears and listening environment. I would refrain from making such generalizations without checking on what people are using to listen to their music and the environment in which they are listening. You may not be able to tell the difference but that does not mean everyone cannot tell the difference.