Life after Sonos
Discussion
Had Sonos for about 8 years and don't recognise all the talk about drop outs. Are these Wifi speakers you're having trouble with? I had all the speakers wired into the ceilings of each room with all the gubbins in a separate cabinet, never had any trouble at all. Just in the middle of a complete house refurb and other than upgrading a few of the speakers I will stick to the same setup.
I did line in a Google Chromecast Audio a couple of years ago and had nothing but trouble with it, basically gave up with it in the end. I find the Sonos app perfectly capable.
As for Alexa et-al I wouldn't consider installing something that listens to my every utterance produced by a company who's entire raison-d'etre is to monetize it's customers very thought processes in a zillion years. Perhaps I need a tinfoil hat.
I did line in a Google Chromecast Audio a couple of years ago and had nothing but trouble with it, basically gave up with it in the end. I find the Sonos app perfectly capable.
As for Alexa et-al I wouldn't consider installing something that listens to my every utterance produced by a company who's entire raison-d'etre is to monetize it's customers very thought processes in a zillion years. Perhaps I need a tinfoil hat.
I've had two Play:1's for 2 years, and, touch wood I've not had a single issue with them. I'm about to buy a Playbase, Sub, and a couple of new ONE's.
The missus gets 20% off the RRP, so that does take the financial whack out of it somewhat, but if it's s
t it'll all be going back under their 100day money back guarantee.
The missus gets 20% off the RRP, so that does take the financial whack out of it somewhat, but if it's s
t it'll all be going back under their 100day money back guarantee.Every single time there's an update, my Sonos stops working. The latest one was an update to support the a newly released product - some kind of Play 1. Now, I don't have any of those, so I really don't understand why my system should stop working until I update it to support something I don't have.
My wife has an annoying habit of not telling me it's not working until she's really fed up, and I end up having to fix it quickly. On Friday morning I came the closest I've ever been to missing the train, just because I was updating the Sonos. The update wouldn't work from a mobile, so had to be done from my PC.
I've started looking at alternatives.
My wife has an annoying habit of not telling me it's not working until she's really fed up, and I end up having to fix it quickly. On Friday morning I came the closest I've ever been to missing the train, just because I was updating the Sonos. The update wouldn't work from a mobile, so had to be done from my PC.
I've started looking at alternatives.
br d said:
As for Alexa et-al I wouldn't consider installing something that listens to my every utterance produced by a company who's entire raison-d'etre is to monetize it's customers very thought processes in a zillion years. Perhaps I need a tinfoil hat.
I'm partly with you on this.....although there is always a convenience versus BigBroIntrusion balance.....google probably already know a stack about us all regardless of Alexa!omniflow said:
My requirements are Internet Radio and Spotify.
The Naim Muso Qb looks very interesting - a little pricey, but I think it's better looking than the Sonos.
I'm not interested in soundbars and sub-woofers.
Just went through this and spent an hour in a local hifi shop, the naim is pretty good. Better looking than the sonos. I was going to buy but got a Teenage Engineering OD 11 in the end, on the grounds that is looks great (if you like minimalist scandi design) and sounds very musical. At least on a par with the naim, possibly a little more open and natural. Does airplay and spotify, plus i have hooked it up to a blue ray player with a toslink to play cdsThe Naim Muso Qb looks very interesting - a little pricey, but I think it's better looking than the Sonos.
I'm not interested in soundbars and sub-woofers.
Edited by sawman on Saturday 21st October 20:02
Edited by sawman on Saturday 21st October 20:03
Going with a 7.1 Yahama Amp and seperate speakers....
Front Left and Right
Cabasse Jersey MT32 Walnut
Centre Speaker
Cabasse Socoa MC170 Ebony
Rear Left and Right
Cabasse Antigua MT32 Walnut
Sub-Woofer
Cabasse Santorin M21 Gloss Black
Front Atmos
Atlantic Technology 44DA Satin Black
AV Receiver
Yamaha RXA660 Ti Full Control4 Compatible
Front Left and Right
Cabasse Jersey MT32 Walnut
Centre Speaker
Cabasse Socoa MC170 Ebony
Rear Left and Right
Cabasse Antigua MT32 Walnut
Sub-Woofer
Cabasse Santorin M21 Gloss Black
Front Atmos
Atlantic Technology 44DA Satin Black
AV Receiver
Yamaha RXA660 Ti Full Control4 Compatible
Have to say I have a love hate relationship with Sonos. I think the Play 1 and (curren) Play 5 speakers are great. The new one released next week looks even better.
However the surround set ups (e.g. having to but the bar, sub, amp and surrounds) as well as the connect and the connect amp are massively overpriced in my opinion. That said, the arrival of children means less spare space and less free time so I’ve consolidated down to just Playbars and as they’re already wall mounted I can’t be arsed with the faff of installing something else.
My experience of (both cheap and expensive) ceiling speakers is one of massively compromised sound, even before you take the cost of the amp and speakers into account - using either Play 1s (small room) or Play 5s (large room) seems both more cost effective and vastly better in terms of sound. Appreciate the cost element is due to Sonos’ pricing policy.
However, like one of the previous posters I’ve found their reliability to be excellent compared to the vast majority of IT kit.
Assuming they get it right the new Alexa integration looks to be awesome as well - but sadly a feature that will work only/better with the speakers and not the connect products.
However the surround set ups (e.g. having to but the bar, sub, amp and surrounds) as well as the connect and the connect amp are massively overpriced in my opinion. That said, the arrival of children means less spare space and less free time so I’ve consolidated down to just Playbars and as they’re already wall mounted I can’t be arsed with the faff of installing something else.
My experience of (both cheap and expensive) ceiling speakers is one of massively compromised sound, even before you take the cost of the amp and speakers into account - using either Play 1s (small room) or Play 5s (large room) seems both more cost effective and vastly better in terms of sound. Appreciate the cost element is due to Sonos’ pricing policy.
However, like one of the previous posters I’ve found their reliability to be excellent compared to the vast majority of IT kit.
Assuming they get it right the new Alexa integration looks to be awesome as well - but sadly a feature that will work only/better with the speakers and not the connect products.
I still like my Sonos stuff and fully appreciate both sides of the argument but having never had any issues for nigh on 7 years I have been getting slightly miffed with the new app they have released.
It is buggy beyond belief and seems very amateur compared to the old one.
When I link zones it now takes between 10-30 seconds to show up on the app (yet ealier today it never showed as linked despite the rooms playing the same music simultaneously) and be able to control volumes, searching for music now takes 5-10 seconds of the spinny thing on the screen as opposed to it happening instantaneously, switching between zones to control is idiotic that I can't just tap to change - I now have to go back a screen, select rooms then which room I want. It then takes an age (well at least 5 secs) to change to it never minding having to then find new music in the new zone.
Hopefully it's just a bit of a phase as there have been two updates in quick successions but why push something through that doesn't work properly?
It is buggy beyond belief and seems very amateur compared to the old one.
When I link zones it now takes between 10-30 seconds to show up on the app (yet ealier today it never showed as linked despite the rooms playing the same music simultaneously) and be able to control volumes, searching for music now takes 5-10 seconds of the spinny thing on the screen as opposed to it happening instantaneously, switching between zones to control is idiotic that I can't just tap to change - I now have to go back a screen, select rooms then which room I want. It then takes an age (well at least 5 secs) to change to it never minding having to then find new music in the new zone.
Hopefully it's just a bit of a phase as there have been two updates in quick successions but why push something through that doesn't work properly?
A question or two to all these people who say they've had Sonos for years and not had any issues:
Do these issues with a Sonos setup not working when a software update is pending just not happen to you?
Or are you so pro-active that you always deploy the update the instant that it's available?
Or do you have some kind of automation in place so that it just happens?
Or, do you get the problems, deal with them, and just not count them as issues?
Thanks
Do these issues with a Sonos setup not working when a software update is pending just not happen to you?
Or are you so pro-active that you always deploy the update the instant that it's available?
Or do you have some kind of automation in place so that it just happens?
Or, do you get the problems, deal with them, and just not count them as issues?
Thanks
Never had Sonos but when looking recently agreed with your sentiments of lack of connectivity.
Ended up some Harmon Kardon Onyx 3's now. Impressive sounding, mainly use it on bluetooth via spotify on multiple devices and it's a sharp as a knife on connectivity, seconds to switch no dropouts and a fairly striking piece looking speaker. Has aux in, 3 hour battery if it needs to be taken outside, moved to another room etc. Will take phone calls with a decent inbuilt Mic - and can pair with 1 other HK speaker if required.
I opted out of the wifi speaker which is the Harmon Kardon "Onyx" looks awesome but pricey and just has the additional wifi connectivity of the Onyx 3.
Moving house in the next month, so may look at the HK OMNI system, a similar setup to Sonos of all wireless connect speakers as another alternative. The HK website also sells recertified ki for a big discount and a 2 year guarantee, OMNI IIRC is half the price of a Sonos Play 1.
Ended up some Harmon Kardon Onyx 3's now. Impressive sounding, mainly use it on bluetooth via spotify on multiple devices and it's a sharp as a knife on connectivity, seconds to switch no dropouts and a fairly striking piece looking speaker. Has aux in, 3 hour battery if it needs to be taken outside, moved to another room etc. Will take phone calls with a decent inbuilt Mic - and can pair with 1 other HK speaker if required.
I opted out of the wifi speaker which is the Harmon Kardon "Onyx" looks awesome but pricey and just has the additional wifi connectivity of the Onyx 3.
Moving house in the next month, so may look at the HK OMNI system, a similar setup to Sonos of all wireless connect speakers as another alternative. The HK website also sells recertified ki for a big discount and a 2 year guarantee, OMNI IIRC is half the price of a Sonos Play 1.
omniflow said:
A question or two to all these people who say they've had Sonos for years and not had any issues:
Do these issues with a Sonos setup not working when a software update is pending just not happen to you?
Or are you so pro-active that you always deploy the update the instant that it's available?
Or do you have some kind of automation in place so that it just happens?
Or, do you get the problems, deal with them, and just not count them as issues?
Thanks
I do an update infrequently, rarely the minute it pops up.....& I have never had any problem with software updates.Do these issues with a Sonos setup not working when a software update is pending just not happen to you?
Or are you so pro-active that you always deploy the update the instant that it's available?
Or do you have some kind of automation in place so that it just happens?
Or, do you get the problems, deal with them, and just not count them as issues?
Thanks
Issues? Occasionally (rarely) a speaker has disappeared (although not recently). Cured with a "power off/on".
Speakers (we have 5 + one connect) range from 'next to router' to perhaps up to 15m away (through a few 'modern' walls!).
chasingracecars said:
14-7 said:
Hopefully it's just a bit of a phase as there have been two updates in quick successions but why push something through that doesn't work properly?
Welcome to Sonos!I had a lot of problems, especially when they first introduced the Wi-Fi support. Updates broke things, constantly had to factory reset the lot, lost play units, familiar story.
Then I upgraded our Wi-Fi to a mesh system with much better coverage and don't think I've had a single problem since. Updates seem fine. I wonder if they've got poor Wi-Fi capability and the update system can't cope well with errors. The comment above about Wi-Fi certainly rings true in my case. We had no issues with most other devices apart from my Sony TV which definitely has crap Wi-Fi.
Then I upgraded our Wi-Fi to a mesh system with much better coverage and don't think I've had a single problem since. Updates seem fine. I wonder if they've got poor Wi-Fi capability and the update system can't cope well with errors. The comment above about Wi-Fi certainly rings true in my case. We had no issues with most other devices apart from my Sony TV which definitely has crap Wi-Fi.
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