Sonos in NZ

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#1936017 11-Jan-2018 09:35

bj99:

I use Orange Squeeze (Android) and have no problem playing the Spotify playlists.

I used to use Orange Squeeze, and just tried it again. It has the same Spotify interface as Squeeze Ctrl - i.e. you can search your own playlists but you can't browse the Spotify moods collection. It is probably a restriction on the Spotify API that these apps all use.

Disrespective

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#1936079 11-Jan-2018 11:07

I don't have the Sonos One, but do have an Amazon Dot and a Sonos Play 1. I can link the Sonos to the Alexa app and say something like "Play songs by Oasis on Dining" and it will play on the Dining Sonos Play 1. If you already have a Sonos, and a Dot, I don't see a huge benefit from the Sonos One, however, for you it might be a good fit. More so if you don't plan to have the Sonos near the Alexa enabled speaker of choice.

Adding local radio stations is as simple as any other service.

I also have a Sonos Connect for my AVR. I need to use Alexa to start a harmony activity to turn the AVR on, and set the right input, but can then ask alexa to play anything on Living as above. I have been meaning to look into streamlining this a bit further but it's not used often enough for me to worry.

I can't speak for the simplicity or usability of the Squeezebox system, but I very much like the Sonos ecosystem. It even plays nice with openHAB.

SumnerBoy

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#1936083 11-Jan-2018 11:10

Yeah nice - thanks @Disrespective. I have an openHAB rule that detects when the SB connected to my AVR starts playing and then fires up my AVR (networked Yamaha AVR2020). So all I have to do is play a song and the amp is switched on and turned to the correct input. I am intending to do the same with the Sonos, so good to hear it plays nice with openHAB.

I don't have any Sonos at the moment, hence why I am thinking I should go for the One.

Lostja

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#1936161 11-Jan-2018 12:28

Ge0rge:
SumnerBoy: Good point, so easy to import a US version and buy an NZ cord?

No problem at all - most of mine have been brought that way. Although, despite them being a worldwide company, be aware that their warranties are most definitely regional - you'll get no support from Sonos NZ for any product purchased anywhere else. Disappointing.

Yes, one of my Play 1s broker and as it was bought in the UK they wouldn't replace it under warranty. I had to pay a fee to get a replacement and I bet they fixed mine and sold it.. still, very happy with the product

SumnerBoy

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#1936172 11-Jan-2018 12:41

Just ordered a Sonos One from Amazon US. Will trial it out and see how I get on, before ordering more. Hopefully by then they will be available in NZ and I can buy locally.

Thanks for all your input.

rogercruse

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#1936205 11-Jan-2018 13:07

SumnerBoy: ....ordered a Sonos One from Amazon US...

I'm holding back and waiting for Sonos to formally launch the One in NZ... Also, I can imagine that the Three and the Five won't be too long either.

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#1936213 11-Jan-2018 13:22

bj99:

Have you tried the new Spotty squeezebox app? I use it at home on my Squeezebox Touch and it works very well. I also have a Sonos system at work which does everything the Squeezebox does - more seamlessly but I do miss the Squeezebox display and the "traditional" method of controlling with a remote rather than an app.

Just installed this and WOW. What a difference! Spotify in my SqueezeCtrl app is now lightening quick, I can browse moods and any playlist. This is so much better.

Typical tho, I just ordered a Sonos One cos I am so damn impatient :(.

Thanks for the heads up tho.

Senecio

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#1936214 11-Jan-2018 13:23

I've been following this thread as I'm also looking for a new wireless audio set-up to replace my Panasonic All-Play system which has died. Not needing the Alexa integration of the new Sonos One I see that Amazon are selling the Play: 1 for 138 USD (158 USD with delivery to NZ, or 220 NZD delivered). Great saving compared to the $390 all the big stores are asking for it here in NZ.

Just a pity that increasing the order 2 two PLay: 1's puts it over the customs allowance by 87c! I might just have to place 2 separate orders a couple of days apart.

SumnerBoy

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#1936216 11-Jan-2018 13:28

SumnerBoy:

Just installed this and WOW. What a difference! Spotify in my SqueezeCtrl app is now lightening quick, I can browse moods and any playlist. This is so much better.

And it supports Spotify Connect!!

reven

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#1936235 11-Jan-2018 13:47

Senecio:

I've been following this thread as I'm also looking for a new wireless audio set-up to replace my Panasonic All-Play system which has died. Not needing the Alexa integration of the new Sonos One I see that Amazon are selling the Play: 1 for 138 USD (158 USD with delivery to NZ, or 220 NZD delivered). Great saving compared to the $390 all the big stores are asking for it here in NZ.

Just a pity that increasing the order 2 two PLay: 1's puts it over the customs allowance by 87c! I might just have to place 2 separate orders a couple of days apart.

I heard they keep records for 2 weeks or so. So if you order them that close, you will possible be stung with the GST.

~~DickSmith sell play:1s on trademe for $250 which isnt bad.~~ - whoops, look like theyre sold out.

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#1936240 11-Jan-2018 13:55

reven:

I heard they keep records for 2 weeks or so. So if you order them that close, you will possible be stung with the GST.

DickSmith sell play:1s on trademe for $250 which isnt bad. - whoops, look like theyre sold out.

Thanks for the advice. No problem for me to wait, only issues is if the price goes back up or stock runs out. Do you think a different name and delivery address might work?

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#1937278 11-Jan-2018 15:52

different name and delivery address im sure wont get you, the only way they could track these would be value written on the box (a lot of things from china are way less than they actually are, my xiaomi vacuum was $30, but really it was around $400), name and address.

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#1937295 11-Jan-2018 16:23

I have two Sonos Play 1's in a stereo pair in the dining room, a single Play 1 in the bedroom, and a Sonos Connect feeding into my home theater amp in the Lounge. I've recently added a couple of Amazon Echo Dots.

A few observations related to some of the posts above:

Using Amazon Echos for multi-room music instead of investing in Sonos gear might be an OK option - but only if you don't care about stereo sound. I don't believe that the Amazon devices can be configured as stereo pairs in the way that Sonos devices can.

I can play some radio stations by asking Alexa, but for some reason 2ZB refuses no matter what I say. This sounds like the same issue that @Summerboy has with Radio Hauraki. The only thing I wonder about is that I manually added the 2ZB URL as it wasn't in the TunedIn list. Perhaps this makes it behave differently for some reason.

The Sonos Skill for Alexa is still not brilliant. Not only does it not support grouping but it doesn't seem to support multi-room properly either. I.e. If I say "Alexa, Play Song 1 in the Dining Room" It will play. Then I say "Alexa, Play Song 2 in the Bedroom" It will play, but Song 1 in the Dining Room will stop. What you can do is group speakers using the Sonos App, and then ask Alexa to play in one room and the song will play in both places.

Also the Alexa skill does not support playing anything from a local server, so you can stream from Spotify etc, but you can't tell it to play a CD that you've ripped to your hard drive. This is unfortunate as I think one of the real strengths of the Sonos app is the way it searches across all sources for content. Hopefully Sonos will continue to improve the skill over time.

There is also a third party app available called My Speaker which can do a few more things than the Sonos skill (including playing from a file system). It does require you to run a small app on a PC somewhere on your network though. You then say "Alexa, ask My Speaker to..." and the command is redirected to the local app.

All in all I love my Sonos system and think it will be fantastic once a few improvements have been made to the Alexa skill.

Pete.

SumnerBoy

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#1937297 11-Jan-2018 16:28

Thanks Pete - my guess is your dining room stops playing because Spotify will only allow a single stream per account, and since you only link a single Spotify account with your Sonos, when you ask it to play a second second song the first one is stopped.

I was aware that you can't access local content via the Alexa skill, and whilst that would be cool, I am not too fussed for now. In order for that to work Sonos would need to upload your local libary details to their cloud servers so that they could search via the Alexa command. Not sure that is going to happen any time soon.

Good to hear you are so happy with them tho, I am looking forward to receiving my first Sonos and having a play.

Benjip

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#1937302 11-Jan-2018 16:52

I'm tempted to get a Play:1 for the office – how is everyone managing the power/AC aspect? Just an adapter to fit the US plug into a NZ socket? Or do I need to consider voltage etc.?

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