Why I'm not buying Sonos again

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Why I'm not buying Sonos again

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#2405014 22-Jan-2020 20:38

30 percent off isn't huge, I've heard that staff deals are 50% off retail for staff who work in retail stores like Harvey Norman etc.

So there's more money that Sonos could be discounting to look after you, their valuable customer.

Hammerer

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#2405026 22-Jan-2020 21:21

mattwnz:

The fact is that Apple still support the very first ipod inside itunes, which dates back to the early 2000's shows that companies often can keep these systems up to date to support older devices.

Yes, Apple iPod support is creditable but the example of continuing support for the early iPod doesn't really relate to the current support issue with older Sonos speakers. You say "these systems" can continue to be supported but you are comparing two very different types of products - the pun would be that you are comparing apples and oranges.

The early Apple ipod is a store and play system and Apple only have to maintain syncing. Sonos wireless speakers are far more complex forming an interconnected network for streaming among old and new Sonos devices. Apple only have to continue to support syncing of the oldest iPods whereas Sonos has to support the networking of products for streaming and a continuing range of new associated features. Sonos have been adding new features to old models of speakers for years because the hardware options have been simpler but at some point the lock-stepping of software among interconnected models can't continue. By and large, Apple mainly support new features on newer models only. They don't really have to worry about lock-stepping of software on different iPods because older iPods are supported by transferring music through iTunes running on a non-iPod device.

The first iPod with web browsing and includes music streaming was in 2007. But these devices have substantially more memory than the Sonos speakers.

Technofreak

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#2405050 22-Jan-2020 22:12

Rather than pick on Sonos, this thread would be better named "Why it may not be a good idea to invest huge dollars in, or expect high tech gadgets to last as long as the low tech they replace".

I can understand the angst but if you stand back and look at what the technology does and how it does it and look at the way technology like this has advanced and the rate of change for these advances, there should really be no surprise that Sonos has had to make the decision they have. Sonos will be one of many where a similar thing is happening.

To put this into perspective, how many 8 year old mobile phones are still fully supported by the manufacturer, or can run all the latest apps?

There's a lesson here for all of us.

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davidcole

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#2405056 22-Jan-2020 22:19

Yes but if you’re running an old mobile phone and it’s on your WiFi, it’s not going to cripple newer version from new features.

That’s what Sonos needs to change. The device needs to work with its current feature set and not break other devices.

That’s what’s people are annoyed about

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Hammerer

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#2405062 22-Jan-2020 22:28

davidcole: Yes but if you’re running an old mobile phone and it’s on your WiFi, it’s not going to cripple newer version from new features.

That’s what Sonos needs to change. The device needs to work with its current feature set and not break other devices.

That’s what’s people are annoyed about

Again, that is apples and oranges. With mobile phones we're not talking about interconnecting them so they all output the same music in sync. AFAIK, the issue is that on the same WiFi SSID they connect to each other automatically and the software must be lock-stepped.

Sonos say that if you want the legacy devices to continue without affecting the current devices then you have to run them on separate networks. I guess you configure a separate Wifi SSID for the legacy devices to use.

davidcole

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#2405066 22-Jan-2020 22:50

They should be able to do that themselves. Oh wait You’re a legacy device, I’m only going to talk to devices with firmware > x

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#2405107 23-Jan-2020 07:31

Is Sonos primarily a quality audio speaker with some tech built in? Or is it primarily a tech gadget that has audio capability?

When I dropped $3k+ some years back, I thought I was buying into the former. A few years down the track, I've learnt the hard lesson that I bought the latter.

Sonos is just too expensive to keep updating every few years.

So, until they get killed off one by one, my current suite of Sonos speakers will have to coexist with the more cost-effective alternative I eventually settle on for streaming music.

CokemonZ

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#2405108 23-Jan-2020 07:34

While not audio related this article shows that if you buy a smart device you better make sure it can run dumb as well.
This sort of scenario is pretty common but these guys are worse - 3 years in production and in March it seems the gear actually stops working.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/smart-scale-goes-dumb-as-under-armour-pulls-the-plug-on-connected-tech/

wratterus

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#2405250 23-Jan-2020 13:27

Little OT, but I setup some Sonos speakers the other month for someone. Was extremely underwhelmed with everything. They are frigging expensive, very limited control in the app, I didn't really think a lot of the sound even (when comparing to other options in a similar price range).

I personally wouldn't ever buy one.

Hammerer

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#2405261 23-Jan-2020 13:49

I don't think that we need to add more pain to Sonos owners.

Sonos systems are designed to be simple, e.g. eschewing equaliser settings for simple bass and treble. It has already been said that dedicated components do give better sound for the money. But they work out more expensive to control in every room.

SepticSceptic

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#2405269 23-Jan-2020 14:03

May be pertinent, but

"You'll get more mileage from a cheap pair of speakers..."

Apologies to Mr B. Joel ....

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mattwnz

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#2405356 23-Jan-2020 16:17

I think in terms of speakers, smart speakers are a bit like smart tvs, in that you want to make sure all the features you need also run if they aren't connected to the cloud, and things aren't going to get disabled remotely over time. There is something to be said for older 90's and 00's tech,.

jarledb

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#2405360 23-Jan-2020 16:23

In Norway the Norwegian equivalent to Trademe has had a lot of old Sonos equipment added after the announcement. Not see the same on Trademe (yet), but would not surprise me if a lot of people will be selling of their old Sonos equipment after this.

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SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2405370 23-Jan-2020 16:36

SepticSceptic:

May be pertinent, but

"You'll get more mileage from a cheap pair of speakers..."

Apologies to Mr B. Joel ....

Misquoted, it's "sneakers", but +1 for the effort. Put me down for front row tickets if Mr Joel ever returns to NZ.

Earbanean

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#2405424 23-Jan-2020 17:06

SirHumphreyAppleby:

Misquoted, it's "sneakers", but +1 for the effort. Put me down for front row tickets if Mr Joel ever returns to NZ.

I think he was paraphrasing and incorporating a well executed pun.

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