Sonos in NZ

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SumnerBoy

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#228541 10-Jan-2018 21:43

Hi GZ'ers,

I have been an avid Squeezebox user for the last 10-12 years. But as my listening has moved more and more to Spotify I am tired of not having tight integration of Spotify with my audio system. So I am considering switching to a Sonos based system, especially with the announcement of the Sonos One (with Alexa built in).

My question is around the support for NZ radio stations and music services when using Sonos in NZ. For example, is it easy to install the iHeartRadio app on Sonos and listen to the NZ stations like Hauraki etc? Is it easy to search/find/play things like the National Radio and Radio Sport? The idea of just saying, "Alexa, play Radio Sport" is very appealing!

Same with Spotify integration, although I foresee me just using the Spotify app directly and playing songs via Spotify Connect. One question is around Spotify accounts - I have the family account so the wife and I have two separate premium accounts under my profile. Does that mean we can both *connect* to the Sonos speakers from our phones using our separate accounts and start our individual playlists? Or is there just a single Spotify account you associate with Sonos and you can only play from that?

Interested to hear NZ users experiences with Sonos, and any comments on the latest app update (which has received a lot of criticism by the looks!).

Cheers,

Ben

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#1935893 10-Jan-2018 22:17

Hi Ben

I believe you can add multiple Spotify accounts yes

Certainly easy to find NZ radio stations (through TuneIn, iHeartRadio or Radionomy), and you can add their stream URLs to your favourites manually too.

Can't comment on the Alexa integration but assume it will pull from your Sonos favourites first.

I like the Sonos system on the whole, still would love if they could add AirPlay but it is definitely less of an issue now that you can just stream to Sonos from the Spotify app. I actually mainly control it from my desktop but I think Alexa integration would be great to have

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jarledb

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#1935927 11-Jan-2018 01:13

I was checking out Sonos not long ago. For some reason even the Sonos importer doesn't import floor stands for them!

And if you are looking at Alexa integration, the new Sonos One (that has it built in) isn't available here yet :(

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CYaBro

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#1935928 11-Jan-2018 01:52

I can confirm that you can have multiple Spotify accounts configured to Sonos.
I have my Spotify account on my iPhone, in the sonos app, and wife has hers on her iPhone.
Or you can play direct from the Spotify app.

The one thing I have found though, when using the Spotify app to play to the sonos speakers, is the volume control isn’t very responsive. Try to turn it up or down and it can sometimes take a few seconds for the speaker to respond.
Don’t have that problem in the sonos app.

bj99

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#1935952 11-Jan-2018 07:50

SumnerBoy:

I have been an avid Squeezebox user for the last 10-12 years. But as my listening has moved more and more to Spotify I am tired of not having tight integration of Spotify with my audio system.

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.

SumnerBoy

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#1935958 11-Jan-2018 08:06

bj99:

Have you tried the new Spotty squeezebox app?

I had not come across that one, thanks for the tip. I will have a play and see how it looks. The big problem I have is not being able to search/play the Spotify mood playlists from within the Squeezebox environment. I don't have time to build custom playlists, so prefer to pick "Saturday Afternoon Chillout" or something from the Spotify collection and listen to new music that way. Do you know if this is possible with Spotty?

What app do you use on your phone for controlling your SB devices?

SumnerBoy

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#1935959 11-Jan-2018 08:07

jarledb:

And if you are looking at Alexa integration, the new Sonos One (that has it built in) isn't available here yet :(

Yep, was aware of that - I emailed a re-seller in ChCh and they heard a rumour we would be getting the Sonos One in March this year so happy to wait till then if necessary.

reven

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#1935960 11-Jan-2018 08:08

alexa integration is so so. it cant do groups, that needs to be done via an app.

but you can say "alexa, play david bowie radio on lounge sonos" for example. you just cant say "alexa, play david bowie on lounge and kitchen sonos" or "alexa, play david bowie radio on all sonos".

hopefully that will change in the future.

you can still use pandora, you just have to set your country to US to link the accounts, your address for weather/time can still be NZ. just pandora doesnt appear in non US regions.

it might not be the best time to invest in sonos though. with all these new devices coming out, i find myself playing music mostly just on an amazon echo. the sonos one doesnt have a full alexa built in (cant do calling with this, so cant buy 2 and use as an intercom). so i dont recommend spending thousands on a sonos system now... well if you want 5.1 a playbar, sub and 2 play ones are still a good option, but a play 3 or 5 in every room might not be the best investment.

SumnerBoy

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#1935963 11-Jan-2018 08:09

CYaBro: I can confirm that you can have multiple Spotify accounts configured to Sonos.
I have my Spotify account on my iPhone, in the sonos app, and wife has hers on her iPhone.
Or you can play direct from the Spotify app.

Thanks, that is good to know. So by using Spotify Connect you are basically saying to Sonos "play this song using the Spotify account on my phone", where as if you pick a song from within the Sonos app you are using the Spotify account you configured in the Sonos app? That makes sense.

SumnerBoy

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#1935972 11-Jan-2018 08:17

reven:

it might not be the best time to invest in sonos though. with all these new devices coming out, i find myself playing music mostly just on an amazon echo. the sonos one doesnt have a full alexa built in (cant do calling with this, so cant buy 2 and use as an intercom). so i dont recommend spending thousands on a sonos system now... well if you want 5.1 a playbar, sub and 2 play ones are still a good option, but a play 3 or 5 in every room might not be the best investment.

Thanks Reven, yeah I am in two minds currently. TBH the Alexa integration would be a nice-to-have in terms of selecting music, but I think I would end up using the Spotify app in most cases and "Spotify Connect"ing it to the speakers I wanted. The Spotify app is pretty good for browsing and picking moods/stations and then it should be pretty simple to "send" the selection to the speakers I want. Same with radio stations, I can't for the life of me get my Echo to play Radio Hauraki via voice command even though I have iHeartRadio setup and Hauraki as a favourite.

I have a few Echos/Dots scattered around the house and use them a lot for interfacing with openHAB, to turn on the TV, set timers, add to shopping list etc. And I have a SB next to most of them as well, for playing music, radio and openHAB announcements. So by replacing these with Sonos Ones I envisage ending up with one device which can do both and saving on quite a bit of clutter.

I already have a decent home theatre setup so would just grab a Sonos Connect for that.

I realise more and more devices will be coming out with voice control built in, but Sonos seems to have a pretty good track record for building high quality speakers so even just in that regard I would imagine I am relatively future proofed (for a few years at least).

From what I have read they are adding more and more of Alexas functionality all the time to the One. I.e. flash briefings are there now, I think I read they now work with the spatial awareness stuff as well? I can imagine they will only improve with time as well.

Blanch

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#1935976 11-Jan-2018 08:28

In the kitchen I just have the dot (and Chromecast) connected to powered book shelf speakers.

reven

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#1935980 11-Jan-2018 08:39

the grouping feature is what Im mosting wanting on an sonos one or any alexa device. and no intercom/messaging support on sonos one is a real killer. sure if youre going to buy a new sonos get the sonos one over a play:1, but until they add those things i dont think theres a reason to upgrade a play:1.

benefit of a sonos one also is its just a standard power plug (figure 8) so can easily get a NZ power cable. with an amazon alexa its a dc adapter that is non standard so have to use a travel adapter.

SumnerBoy

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#1935981 11-Jan-2018 08:41

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

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#1935982 11-Jan-2018 08:49

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bj99

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#1935988 11-Jan-2018 09:08

SumnerBoy:

What app do you use on your phone for controlling your SB devices?

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

Ge0rge

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#1935990 11-Jan-2018 09:13

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.

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