Sonos Speakers Coming to Apple Online Store Today, Retail Stores on October 5

[danielwsmithee]

The nice thing about not using AirPlay is that you can use your device for other things at the same time as the music is playing. Let's say you AirPlay from your phone to some other speaker. What happens when your phone rings? Or what happens if you open a video app on your phone and want to look at a video, but other people in your house still want to listen to the music that was playing?

With Sonos, the app is used to control the music, and that's it. It doesn't have to stream anything from the phone to the speakers. If you really want to stream something from you iPhone music library, you do have the option using the app, but why would you want to? Sonos can use your online Apple Music library, your local iTunes library, Spotify, Google Play Music, and other sources.

With one of the recent updates, you can even control the music from your iPhone or iPad lock screen, just as if you were using AirPlay.

It's a great system, I just wish it didn't cost so much so that I could add more zones to my house.

Most of those things you describe you can do with Airplay and the RemoteApp. That does break down with Spotify and Google Play.

It does sound to me like the main advantage of Sonos is that it isn't tied to a single ecosystem like AirPlay is to Apple/iTunes. I stopped using Pandora/Spotify when iTunes Music was released and have been very happy "locked in."

It seams like you are paying quite a premium with Sonos for very little added benefits, but that is just my impression.

 

[drsox]

As will this
http://www.apple.com/us_smb_83039/shop/buy-tv/apple-tv

or this
http://www.apple.com/us_smb_83039/shop/product/MC414LL/A/airport-express?fnode=58

at a fraction of the cost. I get people like Sonos, I've never understood why.

Try connecting more than one set of stuff in the same listening environment. That's the first benefit. I had 4 zones in one BIG room - 25m long 4m wide. Stuff plays seamlessly and as one moves through the room(s), the music moves with you.

They also integrate with a multi speaker TV setup.

Just had a thought - SONOS integrates all their stuff together, maybe a bit like Apple. Possibility of final purchase of S by A ? It's been talked about for years.

The SONOS vs Airplay argument has been going on for years. It's a generational thing.

 

[BrentD]

This all sounds a lot like Apple users trying to explain why Mac is better to PC users who haven't used a Mac more than 30 seconds. Until you've LIVED with it and used it on a daily basis, you'll never fully understand Sonos no matter how much I or someone else try to explain it.

 

[chopdog]

If you have Sonos, airplay is not relevant. You can access your entire iTunes library from the Sonos app, as well as SiriusXM, Apple Music, and many others.

Question : I know you can access Apple Music, but does it also allow you to access your playlists, and your iTunes Match content - not only the Apple Music catalogue?

 

[shaytmg]

Love my Sonos system. Hope this means further integration with Apple. Would be amazing to leverage Siri and homekit.

 

[azdgordon]

Nope, just use one of these and it'll connect to pretty much anything.

http://www.sonos.com/en-gb/shop/connect.html

I'm also a fan of Sonos product, as are several friends and family members. Great to curate your music on an NAS server for your home, also play music that is on an iPad or iPhone serving as controller. Also excellent for listening to Internet radio from around the nation and around the world.

One drawback has been incompatibility of iTunes' storage of album artwork vs. the way Sonos manages it. So, getting the album artwork stored on an NAS server to display with the Sonos controller app. Since I like to see the album artwork (for albums on the server) on the controller app, I looked into it and found an app called Bliss which will assist with fixing the files to add album artwork into same folder as the music files, in correct file size and type. I hope this new relationship between Apple and Sonos leads to changes in iTunes that will make this simpler - it's like the last step that needs to happen. In the meantime, Bliss is an excellent app to help get everything you should when using Sonos to play your music.

 

[scottlitch]

This. I struggled trying to setup my own system trying to mimic Sonos - mostly because I'm hard headed and like to do things the long and painful way After I got over that I bought some sonos speakers and couldn't be happier. Their system is the best, bar none. The ability to place their speakers anywhere within wifi range is super convenient. Yes you can do this with airplay but getting them to mesh is nearly impossible.
[doublepost=1474908464][/doublepost]
Airplay can not match what the Sonos system does. Airplay is for one speaker - Sonos can manage as many speakers as you want to put up. They play under the same wifi protocol IIRC. The only drawback is you can't use iTunes as your player with sonos, you must use the sonos app but once you get used to it you really won't miss iTunes.

That's not true. I have Airplay speakers that play simultaneously in 4 rooms of my house. I wouldn't know what the difference is except for the ability to assign R/L to the remote speakers.

 

[Born Again]

excellent.

i love sonos.

Tired of two airplay fans that dont get Sonos. Well now you will.

 

[shaytmg]

Question : I know you can access Apple Music, but does it also allow you to access your playlists, and your iTunes Match content - not only the Apple Music catalogue?

Yes, if it is in itunes you can access it.

 

[drsox]

I'm also a fan of Sonos product, as are several friends and family members. Great to curate your music on an NAS server for your home, also play music that is on an iPad or iPhone serving as controller. Also excellent for listening to Internet radio from around the nation and around the world.

One drawback has been incompatibility of iTunes' storage of album artwork vs. the way Sonos manages it. So, getting the album artwork stored on an NAS server to display with the Sonos controller app. Since I like to see the album artwork (for albums on the server) on the controller app, I looked into it and found an app called Bliss which will assist with fixing the files to add album artwork into same folder as the music files, in correct file size and type. I hope this new relationship between Apple and Sonos leads to changes in iTunes that will make this simpler - it's like the last step that needs to happen. In the meantime, Bliss is an excellent app to help get everything you should when using Sonos to play your music.

Never had a problem with this. My only use for iTunes is to manage the input of music into the NAS for playback through SONOS. If you add the artwork into the files via iTunes, then it'll display fine (in my experience of 6 years or so). You need to be using ALAC (Apple Lossless) as the file format.

 

[danielwsmithee]

I get people don't like Sonos, I've never understood why. See how that works?

It actually quite clear why people would be hesitant to adopt Sonos, cost. It is at least 3-4X more expensive for almost every component.

 

[ATEspo]

LOVE Sonos. I've only used the Play1 (2 zones), but I want to buy a Play 3 or Play 5 soon.
I also really want to pony up and get the TV Sound bar & sub woofer combo...

 

[nosaj72]

Yes, if it is in itunes you can access it.

You can access static playlists, but not smart playlists.

 

[Brenster]

Good move for both companies. Existing Sonos user here: Play3 in the kitchen, Play1 in the bedroom (as a radio alarm) and Connect in the lounge for the AV system, bridge under the stairs with the NAS holding my music library.

All works hand in glove with Apple Music as well as my NAS, internet radio and Spotify Premium (hey, I like music). Being able to demo these in store with Apple Music rather than the usual Currys/PC World (in the UK at least) should foster appreciation of Sonos' hardware + control systems and Apple's music subscription service.

Wonder if Sonos are working on Siri integration as they are with Alexa/Echo? I know of a partially sighted musician and music lover for whom this would just be a gift.

 

[drsox]

I LMFAO. So true. I'm done with Airplay unless it's something I want to pull from my phone (or someone that's over who owns an iphone) every once in awhile. Hate the prices of Sonos gear though. Seems like it could be a bit cheaper.

Pretty sure SONOS has never raised or lowered their prices from launch. Pricing policy a bit like Apple.

 

[Brenster]

LOVE Sonos. I've only used the Play1 (2 zones), but I want to buy a Play 3 or Play 5 soon.
I also really want to pony up and get the TV Sound bar & sub woofer combo...

Can't speak highly enough of my Play 3 in horizontal-stereo mode in the kitchen. And wouldn't say not to a Play5 except I already have the living room covered with Connect. Buy the Play3 with confidence though, lovely piece of kit.

 

[drsox]

excellent.

i love sonos.

Tired of two airplay fans that dont get Sonos. Well now you will.

Welcome to the audio religious wars.

 

[davidelkington]

That's not true. I have Airplay speakers that play simultaneously in 4 rooms of my house. I wouldn't know what the difference is except for the ability to assign R/L to the remote speakers.

try playing 4 different songs in those zones then....

Also, Sonos is solid, it reaches to my garden easily and never drops, I used airplay for years, but lost interest with the constant dropping of streams, never happened on Sonos yet after over a year.

 

[doboy]

I really like my Sonos except for the lack of AirPlay.

 

[TheMountainLife]

I get people don't like Sonos, I've never understood why. See how that works? I dont get why the guy who posted previously would prefer 6 Chromecast dongles.

I have 6 chromecast dongles to bring music in all of my rooms. Each dongle is $35 where as Play 1 is $200.

The biggest perk is the ability to cast anything from Chrome or a guest device without having to give them a lesson on how to do it and of course each dongle can be independent or play in unison.

I enjoy the sound quality of Sonos but I'm not willing to adapt to their limitations when for example the Bose Soundtouch lineup offers similar features + bluetooth/aux for the same price point.

and of course I'm aware everyone listens/stores their music differently. I must be the 1%.

 

[Sowelu]

SONOS is awesome. It's a bit on the expensive side, but the hardware is very well made and tight. I tried to love AirTunes/AirPlay, but it's just too unreliable (at least for me). After years of dealing with the resets and dropouts, I finally gave SONOS a try and I am so glad that I did.

I now have 16 SONOS speakers placed throughout my apartment (including a sound bar connected to each TV and 3 SUBs, one in each room) and the sound is amazing. The setup is ridiculously easy, the controller app is great (and can be launched from any device or Mac regardless of where the music lives).

You can set the volume control for each room or zone, and even play different music in each room or zone. I have the same music playing throughout, but at different volume levels (for example, lower volume in the bathroom) and it's nice to hear as you walk throughout the apartment.

The music never cuts out as it uses it's own network. It also plays all my iTunes Playlists as is (with cross-fade playback) as well as my XM and Pandora accounts. I added a Play:5 to my iMac, which forces all speakers on the same network to play music from my iMac as well, from any source (this allows me to play some of my old playlists that have DRM music).

I just wish Insteon had better integration with it. It's very limited right now.

 

[alexjohnson]

This. I struggled trying to setup my own system trying to mimic Sonos - mostly because I'm hard headed and like to do things the long and painful way After I got over that I bought some sonos speakers and couldn't be happier. Their system is the best, bar none. The ability to place their speakers anywhere within wifi range is super convenient. Yes you can do this with airplay but getting them to mesh is nearly impossible.
[doublepost=1474908464][/doublepost]
Airplay can not match what the Sonos system does. Airplay is for one speaker - Sonos can manage as many speakers as you want to put up. They play under the same wifi protocol IIRC. The only drawback is you can't use iTunes as your player with sonos, you must use the sonos app but once you get used to it you really won't miss iTunes.

I have Sonos throughout my home and like it a lot but not having AirPlay is a mild annoyance: there are two use-cases. First, if you are already listening to something and want to pick up where you left off: a podcast, audio book, or even a playlist. Second, the UI on Apple Music is OK, but not as good as it is on the device - fine if you are listening to something pre-canned, but more painful when searching. Neither of these is the end of the world but having to buy a Connect, and an AirPort Express, and have an analog connection when you do - and little things like having to press "play" in the Sonos app even once it is selected - are annoyances especially given Sonos' prices.

I don't see them as alternatives but I would like Sonos to support it properly, albeit that Apple clearly isn't that bothered about AirPlay at this point.

 

[Born Again]

I'm suffering from the same lack of understanding I guess. I've never used a Sonos system, but no one has actually been able to clearly describe what it provides that AirPlay or chromecast don't.

Welcome to the audio religious wars.

i would say that if you dont want to spend the money and are okay with jankier methods then dont get sonos.

I will say if you want an easy system to add on and grow - get sonos. It can pair with your existing sound system, easy to add outdoor speakers to, and freakin easy to use.

 

[sransari]

Never really understood the advantage of Sonos over Airplay, and I'm surprised that Apple is supporting a proprietary competing format in their stores.

I've got Airplay in 4 rooms of the house. The only feature I wish it had that it doesn't is the ability to play to multiple zones directly from the iOS and not just my Macs (though the Remote App covers that pretty well).

A similar Sonos setup would be much more expensive and have a poorer selection of Amps and speakers to play through.

This was always my initial analysis of the Sonos system as well. Simply using an airport express is more versatile and could connect to any type of sound system for a low cost. Also. one could build their own Sonos-like product by plugging in an airport express to a stand-alone powered speaker. So as far as the concept of a wireless speaker setup, there's nothing too impressive or novel about Sonos, as Airplay has provided a similar functionality for nearly 15 years.

However, my in-laws have a Sonos setup and for $199, it's a pretty good deal considering the sound quality and single-component integration. It would be tough to build a similar product yourself for less with the same sound quality, not to mention you'd have two separate components. So I think the fact that it is relatively inexpensive for the sound quality and wireless convenience is what makes Sonos an attractive option over using an airport express connected to an external speaker.

Now, you could get a refurb airport express for around $50 and a standalone speaker for $25, but you would sacrifice a bit of sound quality and have a less sophisticated, multiple component setup.

 

[TheMountainLife]

SONOS is awesome. It's a bit on the expensive side, but the hardware is very well made and tight. I tried to love AirTunes/AirPlay, but it's just too unreliable (at least for me). After years of dealing with the resets and dropouts, I finally gave SONOS a try and I am so glad that I did.

I now have 16 SONOS speakers placed throughout my apartment (including a sound bar connected to each TV and 3 SUBs, one in each room) and the sound is amazing. The setup is ridiculously easy, the controller app is great (and can be launched from any device or Mac regardless of where the music lives).

You can set the volume control for each room or zone, and even play different music in each room or zone. I have the same music playing throughout, but at different volume levels (for example, lower volume in the bathroom) and it's nice to hear as you walk throughout the apartment.

The music never cuts out as it uses it's own network. It also plays all my iTunes Playlists as is (with cross-fade playback) as well as my XM and Pandora accounts. I added a Play:5 to my iMac, which forces all speakers on the same network to play music from my iMac as well, from any source (this allows me to play some of my old playlists that have DRM music).

I just wish Insteon had better integration with it. It's very limited right now.

Sounds like a great setup. You have 3 SUBs in your apartment? Are your walls/floor/ceiling made of cement? lol