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Sonos Rivals HomePod With New Assistant Speaker, Adding AirPlay 2 Support to Speakers Next Year
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Yay! I just preordered my Sonos One. I have the Sonos Play:1 so it makes sense for me to stay in that ecosystem. I'm excited the Sonos is going to work with Airplay and Siri and all the things. The HomePod wasn't a huge draw for me once Sonos came out with their new speaker. Its was just what I was looking for. Now if Apple will put the full MacOS with iOS on the iPad pro I'll be in heaven.
Can you group/ungroup or select speakers by name using Alexa? Haven’t installed yet as Sonos updates can sometimes be a PITA.
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Maybe easier to stop imagining and just go listen to them? The sound of even the Play1 is quite good (there’s an even smaller one now I have yet to hear).
Sonos also makes amplifiers should you choose that route.
Damn I didn’t know this checked and it indeed IS supported!
I don’t use Apple Music yet what feature are you not able to use? Why not write to Sonos?Attachments
Ease of use would be good - especially if you don’t wish visitors to connect to your primary Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately Sonos doesn’t make battery powered speakers, their focused on the home music lovers market ... for now.
There are however some musical pieces that sound best with a 10 inch sub. No getting around it.
That's how big my sub is, which is the smallest most people would consider a 'proper' sub. I'd like to upgrade to two 12's some day.
No audiophile here, plus aging ears with decreasing acuity. But curious: which pieces?
Damn I didn’t know this checked and it indeed IS supported!
While listening to Beats 1 or an Apple Music playlist via Sonos, you cannot add that song to your music library. That is essentially the killer feature of Apple Music. And it’s just plain apathy towards their customers that Apple hasn’t implemented this. Spotify, on the other hand, has 100% feature parity within Sonos.
Apple Music is honestly, IMO, the best thing Apple has done since iPhone. It’s amazing. Unfortunately Apple itself is the biggest problem with that service.
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You will find Apple Music to be amazing, but the experience within Sonos to be deeply frustrating. You cannot add a song to your music library from Sonos. You must exit the app, open the iOS Music app, search for the song, then add it to your music, then close Music and return to Sonos. It blows big time. And it’s Apple who just does not care about their customers. This feature has been the number one feature request on the Sonos forums for literally years. Sonos insists it’s Apple’s fault.
Personally I would switch to Spotify. At least they seem to care about the user experience.
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Myself, I only know of one piece. Orinoco flow by Enya has a note so low that only a 10 inch sub can recreate it. But I’m sure that if there is one piece, there must be many more.
Years ago I heard Patricia Barber on a set of loud speakers and I have never experienced the same feeling since.
My current income suggest that I can afford these play ones or even the play 5’s along the way. And wireless speakers is really growing, but if I could afford a full set of Klipsch or Polk audio, the sound would certainly blow me away.
Go find Patricia Barber, Café blue from 1994 I think and take an uninterrupted hour to listen to her and be completely floored. I Promise you won’t be disappointed.
Sonos really came up with a great response to Apple's HomePod. Even my Play:1 speakers will get in on the action. Siri is HomePod's weakness and if the sound quality isn't noticeably better, the price markup over Sonos will be pure Apple tax and nothing more. I see a discount for the HomePod coming sooner rather than later.
Precise and clear explanation thank you!
I tried Apple Music and Beats 1 ... Never understood how either worked properly. I have my particular music sync'd via iTunes to my iPhone in forms of Playlists. I've learned a HARD lesson with iTunes Match screwing up my classic Hip-Hop tracks or House Tracks (Techno - not Tech House, Classic, etc) being screwed up or deleted from my PC/Mac! Apple Music ... whenever I added a track from the stream to my Playlist ... ALL other tracks in the Playlists was either greyed out or completely deleted. I did this all on the iPhone. Going back to iTunes to Sync ... the original Playlist was changed or duplicated appended with "1" or "2" in the name ... very frustrating. So I cancelled.
Spotify ... I hate the ever changing and limiting of their free services over the past 3yrs - I never used it personally but supported a user that had to have it restored on every iphone replaced (really tough to get working: 1/5 was my success rate). Your subscription in one region does NOT follow you to another even if you change your method of payment. You're playlists are GONE when you sign back into a new iPhone after changing or removing credit card from another country. Gone. I hear great things about Spotify but I'm not trusting enough for it. Old dog habits.
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I REALLY hope the Play:1's get AirPlay but I highly doubt it ... seems to go against Sonos' model. Great speakers I have one myself ... bout 2 for friends.
I'll wait for custom limited edition models' as I'd like to match the one I have.
Sonos Play:1 comparisons (regular in the middle, limited edition White & Black on either end)
http://www.angelakodesign.com/sonos-pure/
I really hope Sonos does this again!
Nice looking limited edition. I got my two regular black Play:1 speakers in December 2013, 2 or 3 months after their introduction. The reviews were great and they were one of the best purchases I made in the past 10 years. They both work great and I expect AirPlay (2) support in the future. Frankly, I'm not sure if HomePod Series 1 is worth the price. The situation with this first gen model feels similar to the situation with the "trying hard to find value" Apple Watch Series 0 with its lackluster performance. Another good example of "it pays to wait" I suppose.Precise and clear explanation thank you!
I tried Apple Music and Beats 1 ... Never understood how either worked properly. I have my particular music sync'd via iTunes to my iPhone in forms of Playlists. I've learned a HARD lesson with iTunes Match screwing up my classic Hip-Hop tracks or House Tracks (Techno - not Tech House, Classic, etc) being screwed up or deleted from my PC/Mac! Apple Music ... whenever I added a track from the stream to my Playlist ... ALL other tracks in the Playlists was either greyed out or completely deleted. I did this all on the iPhone. Going back to iTunes to Sync ... the original Playlist was changed or duplicated appended with "1" or "2" in the name ... very frustrating. So I cancelled.
Spotify ... I hate the ever changing and limiting of their free services over the past 3yrs - I never used it personally but supported a user that had to have it restored on every iphone replaced (really tough to get working: 1/5 was my success rate). Your subscription in one region does NOT follow you to another even if you change your method of payment. You're playlists are GONE when you sign back into a new iPhone after changing or removing credit card from another country. Gone. I hear great things about Spotify but I'm not trusting enough for it. Old dog habits.
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I REALLY hope the Play:1's get AirPlay but I highly doubt it ... seems to go against Sonos' model. Great speakers I have one myself ... bout 2 for friends.
I'll wait for custom limited edition models' as I'd like to match the one I have.
Sonos Play:1 comparisons (regular in the middle, limited edition White & Black on either end)
http://www.angelakodesign.com/sonos-pure/
I really hope Sonos does this again!
Smart move. Only reason I use the Sonos app is because I literally have to, so it'll be interesting to see how it all works now. If I could send to speakers from the Music app, I definitely would. It was annoying that I wasn't able to "flick" to the speakers what I'm playing on my phone when I get home from work.
Also interesting that this will essentially allow a HomePod/Sonos hybrid. I wasn't going to get a HomePod because I'm already decked out with Sonos, but if they're allowing them to run side-by-side then I may just get one anyway.
Also interesting that this will essentially allow a HomePod/Sonos hybrid. I wasn't going to get a HomePod because I'm already decked out with Sonos, but if they're allowing them to run side-by-side then I may just get one anyway.
That's the beauty of AirPlay 2. No more brand lock-in when it comes to whole-home audio.
Can someone clarify for me: If I purchase a Sonos One, can I use airplay to stream music straight from iTunes on my Mac? I currently use several airport express to stream from a Mac Mini. I've been wanting to transition to Sonos, but it's pretty much an all or nothing setup unless I purchase the Play 5 since it has a aux outlet, and I don't need that big a speaker everywhere nor is $500 practical for me. $200 however is perfect. I know Airplay 2 will let me stream from IOS, but will it work from a Mac?
Airplay 2 works with the Mac. Sonos also has a Mac app.
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The Sonos One already looks just like the limited edition Play:1 so I doubt they make a limited edition Sonos One in all black or white.Precise and clear explanation thank you!
I tried Apple Music and Beats 1 ... Never understood how either worked properly. I have my particular music sync'd via iTunes to my iPhone in forms of Playlists. I've learned a HARD lesson with iTunes Match screwing up my classic Hip-Hop tracks or House Tracks (Techno - not Tech House, Classic, etc) being screwed up or deleted from my PC/Mac! Apple Music ... whenever I added a track from the stream to my Playlist ... ALL other tracks in the Playlists was either greyed out or completely deleted. I did this all on the iPhone. Going back to iTunes to Sync ... the original Playlist was changed or duplicated appended with "1" or "2" in the name ... very frustrating. So I cancelled.
Spotify ... I hate the ever changing and limiting of their free services over the past 3yrs - I never used it personally but supported a user that had to have it restored on every iphone replaced (really tough to get working: 1/5 was my success rate). Your subscription in one region does NOT follow you to another even if you change your method of payment. You're playlists are GONE when you sign back into a new iPhone after changing or removing credit card from another country. Gone. I hear great things about Spotify but I'm not trusting enough for it. Old dog habits.
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I REALLY hope the Play:1's get AirPlay but I highly doubt it ... seems to go against Sonos' model. Great speakers I have one myself ... bout 2 for friends.
I'll wait for custom limited edition models' as I'd like to match the one I have.
Sonos Play:1 comparisons (regular in the middle, limited edition White & Black on either end)
http://www.angelakodesign.com/sonos-pure/
I really hope Sonos does this again!
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Just to let you know, these can't be paired with Play:1.
The "Apple Tax" includes Apple Music being able to be controlled directly from the HomePod with Siri and, most likely, Siri control of Airplay 2 speakers (i.e. sending Audio to the AppleTV or other Airplay 2 devices) via HomeKit.
Unless another product has those features, then Apple will still have differentiating features you don't have on Sonos or Alexa outside of the sound quality (which is supposed to be another important difference, but we will have to wait until December to see if that still holds true outside of Apple events).
Personally, I don't want to have to subscribe to multiple music services because using one all the time means your playlists, library of albums you collected, and your preferences are all in one app. As of now, Apple has built up an ecosystem with Siri and Apple Music and that will be enough to sell some of these things.
I am going to wait for more information about them. I already have several Dots and just bought one of the Spots for my home office desk, however, the HomePod features are attractive for a lot of my main (non-background) music listening since I like podcasts and Apple Music. If it can control music being played on my main systems via AppleTV or an update to my receivers, it will be very useful in my home setup.
I agree I don't think HomePod is worth the price either ... I might as well go for the B&O BeoPlay M5 but I'll wait and see.
AirPlay2 still requires licensing from Apple ... after all it is their protocol. I still don't see where Play:1 will get AirPlay2 support on their site or in this article ... need my glasses??
Thanks I just looked at Sonos' site and definitely looks like limited edition Sonos Play:1's ... sweet
Sonos App was just updated to support and reflect these new speakers (One) so I feel that using their app and wifi protocol they can be "group" for playback or as individual rooms. Of course this changes when using AirPlay especially if Play:1/3/5's don't get AirPlay support.[doublepost=1507219367][/doublepost]
Sonos today introduced the Sonos One, an all-new smart speaker with six far-field microphones that allow it to work with digital assistants.
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Sonos also announced that it will begin supporting Apple's AirPlay 2 in 2018, making it possible to play any sound from an iOS device on Sonos speakers. Apple users will also be able to control music on Sonos speakers with any Siri-enabled device, such as an iPhone, iPad, and the HomePod once it launches.
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Article Link: Sonos Rivals HomePod With New Assistant Speaker, Adding AirPlay 2 Support to Speakers Next Year
Yup ... needed my glasses! Also confirmed with Sonos live support chat as well. No specific release date as of yet.
I disagree with 10's of millions of people with iphones and siri built in Alexa/Echo could easily be toppled if Apple comes out with an affordable device. I personally own 2 echos, a dot and a tap. I am holding off getting further into the Alexa world until i see the HomePod in action.
True, but before you had to buy all your speakers from one company. With AirPlay 2 you can buy whatever compatible speakers you want, including ones that are either cheaper or better than Sonos speakers.
As far as I'm aware they haven't really confirmed officially which devices it will and won't support. I can't see them adding it to only certain devices, that wouldn't make sense for a Sonos ecosystem (I have a 1, 3 and 5 for example, it'd be stupid to add it for 3 and 5 only and then my 1 just sits there being unused lol).
I just updated my pair of play 1’s that are in stereo mode with my echo dot and it worked perfectly. I am shocked that this was available with older play 1’s instead of just the new model. Thank you Sonos.
Now I just say, “Alexa, play xxx and it just works!
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2 Sonos One’s paired as stereo =$400
1 HomePod =$350
Hmmmmmm
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Now I just say, “Alexa, play xxx and it just works!
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Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
2 Sonos One’s paired as stereo =$400
1 HomePod =$350
Hmmmmmm
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I’m sure there will be plenty of reviews comparing the two very shortly.