Discussion
I'm currently running a Squeezebox set up (squeezebox touch) which work quite well - but always seems a little bit 'hands on' - sometimes things don't quite work and other people in the house cant always get it working. So, I was thinking of changing to Sonos (twinned with a housemove, meaning I can get everything wired in properly at last).
Do I have to have a NAS or computer with my Flac library on, or will an external HDD plug straight into one of the Sonos units (as it does at the moment with SB)?
Is a NAS drive easy to set up, and robust? I'm no IT expert, so anything would need to be pretty much plug and play - especially for others in the house!
Do I have to have a NAS or computer with my Flac library on, or will an external HDD plug straight into one of the Sonos units (as it does at the moment with SB)?
Is a NAS drive easy to set up, and robust? I'm no IT expert, so anything would need to be pretty much plug and play - especially for others in the house!
Maxf said:
I'm currently running a Squeezebox set up (squeezebox touch) which work quite well - but always seems a little bit 'hands on' - sometimes things don't quite work and other people in the house cant always get it working. So, I was thinking of changing to Sonos (twinned with a housemove, meaning I can get everything wired in properly at last).
Do I have to have a NAS or computer with my Flac library on, or will an external HDD plug straight into one of the Sonos units (as it does at the moment with SB)?
Is a NAS drive easy to set up, and robust? I'm no IT expert, so anything would need to be pretty much plug and play - especially for others in the house!
Its very easy to set up ... as above, any shared files connected to your network, either wireless or hardwired (obviously a NAS will be hardwired to the router). With Sonos there are no USB ports to plug anything directly into ... you can plug a 3.5mm jack to phono lead in and use the 'line-in' function to listen another 'source' ... this is then available across any of the Sonos players on your system. Do I have to have a NAS or computer with my Flac library on, or will an external HDD plug straight into one of the Sonos units (as it does at the moment with SB)?
Is a NAS drive easy to set up, and robust? I'm no IT expert, so anything would need to be pretty much plug and play - especially for others in the house!
Sonos is far superior to Squeezebox in all areas IMO, but particularly in terms of user friendliness.
As per other posters, NAS server connects into your router, Sonos bridge also connects into your router. Sonos zones then all connect to one another and to the bridge (they use their own mesh wireless network so they don't use up your routers wireless bandwidth). Point Sonos library to your networked NAS storage folder and then it will all just "work". This is exactly how my stuff is set-up. I've cocked about with various networked media players over the years and nothing I've seen comes close to the user friendliness and build of the Sonos units, the sound is pretty damn good as well. As you have a USB drive with your sounds on it an alternative to the standalone NAS box would be to get (or maybe you already have!) a router that allows USB storage to be connected directly to it and shared over your network, quite a few recent mid-top end routers have this functionality now.
I've been running a Squeezebox setup for the last couple of years or so, and have had no problems with it. My neighbour has a Sonos setup, and has had a couple of issues with zones dropping out.
IMO, the SQB setup shouldn't be any more hands-on than Sonos. Perhaps it just needs looking at?
IMO, the SQB setup shouldn't be any more hands-on than Sonos. Perhaps it just needs looking at?
Are you running your Squeezebox wired on the ethernet or connected with wi-fi?
I recently got two Duets. Initially I only set up one and it works perfectly. I then installed the second Duet in another room, but had problems with signal dropping out. Both units are connected to the network wirelessly. I found the problem was the wi-fi strength on the second unit was too low for a good clean signal as was too far from the wireless router and was causing the drop-outs. I installed a wi-fi repeater at the weekend and have had no problems since. So if you are running wireless at present then consider sticking with the squeezebox but run them wired in your new house. I can't do that where I am, but if I had the chance to hard wire them, that's what I certainly do.
I think the squeezeboxes are great, especially for the money. I looked at both Sonos and Squeezebox before buying, and went the SB route as seemed much better value for money and preferred the interface. Sonos seems to have better build quality but there is far more work going on for SB upgrades and DIY modifications. I'm only using digital out so not concerned about analogue internals of either unit. The Squeezecommander remote for Android is the best remote I've used. Maybe there is a sonos equivalent, but I'm loving Squeezecommander.
I recently got two Duets. Initially I only set up one and it works perfectly. I then installed the second Duet in another room, but had problems with signal dropping out. Both units are connected to the network wirelessly. I found the problem was the wi-fi strength on the second unit was too low for a good clean signal as was too far from the wireless router and was causing the drop-outs. I installed a wi-fi repeater at the weekend and have had no problems since. So if you are running wireless at present then consider sticking with the squeezebox but run them wired in your new house. I can't do that where I am, but if I had the chance to hard wire them, that's what I certainly do.
I think the squeezeboxes are great, especially for the money. I looked at both Sonos and Squeezebox before buying, and went the SB route as seemed much better value for money and preferred the interface. Sonos seems to have better build quality but there is far more work going on for SB upgrades and DIY modifications. I'm only using digital out so not concerned about analogue internals of either unit. The Squeezecommander remote for Android is the best remote I've used. Maybe there is a sonos equivalent, but I'm loving Squeezecommander.
Thanks for the advice everybody.
I bought a sonos s5 and zonebridge the other day and got it working last night, using my timecapsule as a NAS drive.
After a bit of faffing, it all worked a treat - my ipad and iphone both control it perfectly.
Next step... more zones (and sell my squeezebox touch)
I bought a sonos s5 and zonebridge the other day and got it working last night, using my timecapsule as a NAS drive.
After a bit of faffing, it all worked a treat - my ipad and iphone both control it perfectly.
Next step... more zones (and sell my squeezebox touch)
Maxf said:
Thanks for the advice everybody.
I bought a sonos s5 and zonebridge the other day and got it working last night, using my timecapsule as a NAS drive.
After a bit of faffing, it all worked a treat - my ipad and iphone both control it perfectly.
Next step... more zones (and sell my squeezebox touch)
Cool.....good stuff.....I was quick to the same........I'm up to 3 now (P5, P3 & ZP90)I bought a sonos s5 and zonebridge the other day and got it working last night, using my timecapsule as a NAS drive.
After a bit of faffing, it all worked a treat - my ipad and iphone both control it perfectly.
Next step... more zones (and sell my squeezebox touch)
After having a Squeezebox and being fed up with the flaky connectivity, I changed to a simple Apple Airport express to stream audio from my QNAP NAS box.
I finally did the decent thing and upgraded to SONOS at the weekend.
The question is why oh why didn't I do it sooner, what a superb system. A sublime revelation !!!!!
I finally did the decent thing and upgraded to SONOS at the weekend.
The question is why oh why didn't I do it sooner, what a superb system. A sublime revelation !!!!!
MrCheese said:
My MP3 collection is stored on a PC and I use iTunes to play it, manage it and get artwork etc.
The MP3 files are backed up to a NAS.
If I get a Sonos will it automatically use the tagged info from the MP3 files (e.g. artwork) in the Sonos interface?
Should do, my IPAD/IPOD Sonos apps pick up my artwork. TBH I don't find it that big a deal but it certainly seems to be there.The MP3 files are backed up to a NAS.
If I get a Sonos will it automatically use the tagged info from the MP3 files (e.g. artwork) in the Sonos interface?
MrCheese said:
My MP3 collection is stored on a PC and I use iTunes to play it, manage it and get artwork etc.
The MP3 files are backed up to a NAS.
If I get a Sonos will it automatically use the tagged info from the MP3 files (e.g. artwork) in the Sonos interface?
Sometimes. If the artwork migrates onto the Sonos desktop client successfully it will propagate from there successfully to your handheld controllers. But the desktop client can be a bit fussy (usually over file size of the graphics image). I find copying an image file from somewhere like Amazon usually cures any problems. The MP3 files are backed up to a NAS.
If I get a Sonos will it automatically use the tagged info from the MP3 files (e.g. artwork) in the Sonos interface?
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