Is Sonos the only viable wireless surround sound system?

Is Sonos the only viable wireless surround sound system?

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Discussion

mattyn1

5,728 posts

154 months

Tuesday 15th October 2019
quotequote all
Thanks for the info and apologies for hijacking this thread.
So, does Bluesound and Heos have the same functionality of Sonos. I.E. zoned groups, Apple Music compatibility, 5.1 possibility with the home cinema, etc etc?
No recommends for Yamaha?

Just want to work on a very short list for auditioning maybe next week.

Mrs does approve of the look of Sonos and Heos ...... and that is a key element of consideration as we all know!!!!

For info..... this is to replace a Sony STRDB 795 Receiver and set of Kef Eggs/Sub.

mattyn1

5,728 posts

154 months

Sunday 24th November 2019
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Still not decided what to buy.... but did listen to the Bose Sound thing 7000(?)

Sounded very good and clear in the shop but was a bit tired after shopping for the wife’s shoes!! I never went into connections etc.

Any thoughts on the Bose setup?

Mr Pointy

11,149 posts

158 months

Sunday 24th November 2019
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SeanST150 said:
W12GT said:
You should consider Bluesound.
This^^^^
I have a few Bluesound products and they are excellent, they can be configured into a wireless surround sound.
£2000 for a soundbar, sub & two rear speakers! That's Apple level pricing (£300 for a TV stand anyone?)

durbster

10,223 posts

221 months

Sunday 24th November 2019
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I'll add an endorsement for the Denon HEOS. I've had three speakers for what must be five years now. The only issue I've had is the wifi on the first HEOS 1 I bought seemed a bit iffy so it's hard-wired now (it may have just needed turning off and on again tbh).

They've otherwise been absolutely fine. The sound quality is superb, particularly on the HEOS 3.

One thing I would add is that I don't think Denon are as committed to the product as SONOS. The software is fine but has barely changed since I bought it so you don't feel there's a huge investment in it.

Mr Pointy said:
£2000 for a soundbar, sub & two rear speakers! That's Apple level pricing (£300 for a TV stand anyone?)
£300? Triple that!

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/apple-monitor-stan...

Mr Pointy

11,149 posts

158 months

Sunday 24th November 2019
quotequote all
durbster said:
Mr Pointy said:
£2000 for a soundbar, sub & two rear speakers! That's Apple level pricing (£300 for a TV stand anyone?)
£300? Triple that!
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/apple-monitor-stan...
Indeed, I was just pointing out Bluesound were charging £299 for a TV stand:
https://www.bluesound.com/products/ts100-soundbar-...

You know a company is in the rip-off arena with prices like that. The base doesn't even look particulary large.

AMST09

570 posts

179 months

Monday 25th November 2019
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For home cinema you are better off installing an AVR and feeding a Sonos connect into it

Will be able to get a better quality setup than using sonos products

Mark300zx

Original Poster:

1,353 posts

251 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
AMST09 said:
For home cinema you are better off installing an AVR and feeding a Sonos connect into it

Will be able to get a better quality setup than using sonos products
No room for an AVR just a soundbar and two rear speakers!

troika

1,862 posts

150 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
Yamaha MusicCast if you’re not spending a fortune. Got rid of Sonos. Many like Bluesound. If you want higher end, Linn (their software is far superior to Naim).

GravelBen

15,656 posts

229 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
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kingston12 said:
I have got a Chromecast Audio in each 'zone', attached to a variety of AVRs and active speakers. They work really well for Spotify, but having my own library in all zones would be great
I run the music library (mostly FLAC files) on my PC with Foobar as a media server, and an app called Hi-Fi Cast as a controller for the chromecast audio which tells it to stream from that server. I had to try a few different music player / controller apps before finding one that would make the chromecast see a local media server as well as the usual streaming services and music on the control device.

Took a bit of messing around to get things talking to each other the first time, but it works well for minimal cost. Downside compared to a proper NAS is the PC has to be turned on with Foobar open, but its on most of the time anyway so that doesn't worry me.

I also have some Yamaha MusicCast active speakers (NX-N500, they sound fantastic) which happily stream from that PC media server too with a lot less hassle, or Foobar can recognise them as a DLNA output device to play directly.

When the time comes to update my oldish Onkyo AV receiver (which the chromecast audio is connected to) I'll probably replace it with a Yamaha MusicCast unit and have both systems as a big happy family.

Edited by GravelBen on Monday 2nd December 03:49

SpunkyGlory

2,321 posts

164 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
Apt thread timing (sorry to hijack OP).

Moving to a new house on Friday and would like a decent surround sound for my TV, that I can also play music from Spotify as well as turntable.

Sonos looks and sounds great, and is what I'm leaning towards, but will also check out Yamaha and Heos thanks to this thread. Anything else I should be looking at?

mattyn1

5,728 posts

154 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
SpunkyGlory said:
Apt thread timing (sorry to hijack OP).

Moving to a new house on Friday and would like a decent surround sound for my TV, that I can also play music from Spotify as well as turntable.

Sonos looks and sounds great, and is what I'm leaning towards, but will also check out Yamaha and Heos thanks to this thread. Anything else I should be looking at?
I find it all very confusing. I am leaning toward the Samsung Q90 (has Atmos and all reviews are exceptional) for lounge 1 fed by an Apple TV which creates Airplay. The rest of the rooms I am going for HomePods as I am Apple centric in my house! I might dabble at a Sonos Beam for my lounge 2 ..... or a bar/sub for the same money!

I think!!

SpunkyGlory

2,321 posts

164 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
mattyn1 said:
I find it all very confusing. I am leaning toward the Samsung Q90 (has Atmos and all reviews are exceptional) for lounge 1 fed by an Apple TV which creates Airplay. The rest of the rooms I am going for HomePods as I am Apple centric in my house! I might dabble at a Sonos Beam for my lounge 2 ..... or a bar/sub for the same money!

I think!!
The Q90 does look very impressive.

I'm not Apple centric at all (and I only have 1 lounge biggrin), so I think I'm leaning towards a Sonos Beam and 2 Ones for now, with the ability to upgrade as I go. But with the Sonos discounts available today, plus 10% cashback available, I might add in a sub as well. Decisions decisions.

SpunkyGlory

2,321 posts

164 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
Well, I visited RS and went with Sonos in the end. I was very tempted by the Samsung, but I think I had my heart set on Sonos and they did a deal I couldn't say no to, so very pleased.

mattyn1

5,728 posts

154 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
SpunkyGlory said:
Well, I visited RS and went with Sonos in the end. I was very tempted by the Samsung, but I think I had my heart set on Sonos and they did a deal I couldn't say no to, so very pleased.
So what did you get?

SpunkyGlory

2,321 posts

164 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
A Playbar for £525 and 2 X Ones at £148 each. All on 0% finance along with the TV I wanted as well.

The Playbar is "graded" because of a slightly damaged box, but the Playbar itself is untouched and unused, and comes with a 6 year guarantee.

I'll add the amp at a future date, which will let me be fully connected with the turntable and additional speakers throughout the house.

mattyn1

5,728 posts

154 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
SpunkyGlory said:
A Playbar for £525 and 2 X Ones at £148 each. All on 0% finance along with the TV I wanted as well.

The Playbar is "graded" because of a slightly damaged box, but the Playbar itself is untouched and unused, and comes with a 6 year guarantee.

I'll add the amp at a future date, which will let me be fully connected with the turntable and additional speakers throughout the house.
Playbar? Interesting. Did you audition? Is it far better than the Playbase and beam? Stupid question I know!!!

No sub?

Please give us feedback on set up and performance. And enjoy!!

BTW.... what TV?

mattyn1

5,728 posts

154 months

Saturday 7th December 2019
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Going to bump this

How is it sounding? Any issues with connectivity?

SpunkyGlory

2,321 posts

164 months

Sunday 15th December 2019
quotequote all
Sorry, forgot to come back and update.

I changed my mind in the end and returned the Playbar for a Beam, as I preferred it visually and wanted the voice control.

It connected perfectly with my TV (LG OLED55C9PLA), and is absolutely bloody brilliant.

I did notice that Richer Sounds have good deals on Sonos at the moment. The Beam, Sub and 2xOne is about £1,100 which is a decent saving.

matjk

1,101 posts

139 months

Sunday 15th December 2019
quotequote all
Sonos (via curry’s) and RS have some great deals on the Sub right now, it makes a massive difference to the sound you get, if you justify the outlay !

mattyn1

5,728 posts

154 months

Sunday 15th December 2019
quotequote all
I think I am swaying toward the Samsung Q90 sounder, sub and rears - using Homepods for the multi room music.

Such a tricky choice.