Sonos sound systems

[st13phil]

I see that Patrick Spence, the SEO of Sonos, has entered damage limitation mode: Sonos CEO says speakers will work 'as long as possible' That's all good then

Trouble is the clumsy announcement and clumsy implementation of their update policy has almost certainly irreversibly damaged the brand that has huge numbers of customers who have, until now, grown their system by adding components incrementally over many years, safe in the knowledge that their investment was sound in terms of being future-proof. Now, some may argue that those customers were naive, but Sonos have traded on that aspect of their products from the very start and it is what has traditionally allowed them to charge a premium over other multi-room streaming solutions that have come to market since.

Take aim, blow off foot.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I disagree with the "gimmick" comment, but if you don't want or need the multi-room, expansion, or streaming capabilities that the Sonos solution offers then I completely agree that a dedicated connected audio solution is a more appropriate solution, and more audio bang for the buck. Glad you're happy with your soundbar / sub-woofer solution.

I have streaming via Spotify on the denon kit.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Not a fan of the Sonos interface, it’s dated in my opinion and a fair few of my friends who are into their kit are the same, sound quality seemed decent enough though £ for £.

My personal views aside, this is an absolute disaster on the PR front; some businesses become so arrogant that they believe they can say or do what they want and their mug punters will still buy their product.

But with the advent of social media stuff like this spreads like wildfire and they end up getting spanked.

 

[Steveml63]

I actually think this is Sonos’s “Ratner” moment and will see them lose massive market share and will possible irreversibly damage the company.

 

[Ted]

Canary did something similar a couple of years ago where basically everything that made it so good (and expensive) was moved to a subscription model.
a healthy campaign on Twitter forced them to revert a few weeks later - pronounced by them as a big improvement.
Since then, the product which was brilliant and worththe premium has become unreliable and untrustworthy.
I’ll never give them another penny due to their bait and switch tactics.

 

[Deleted member 149005]

Not so very different to Apple changing its connection rendering old equipment incompatible

And Apple are being forced to change their lightening connection again...

 

[fabes]

Slightly off topic, but the IoT is causing a lot issues to build. Manufacturers won't maintain support, updates and security.

Our IT security head hacked a test WiFi network via those wifi light bulbs and those are new.
Accessed laptop, fridge but also kiddie monitors and took images.....
Alarming, but the price we pay for being connected

 

[Deleted member 149005]

Whoops..Speaker-maker Sonos has apologised after accidentally revealing the email addresses of hundreds of its customers to each other.

Sonos sorry for revealing customer email addresses

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Seems that I made the right decision then.

 

[Londonscottish]

I used to feel smug as my mates spunked loads of cash on Sonos stuff.

I have a collection of amps & speakers which I've build up over the years and just stuck £35 Google Chromecast Audio dongles in the back of them. Hey presto - maximum (Spotify) quality multi-room audio being streamed everywhere via optical inputs.

Then they discontinued them in favour of those bloody voice activated things....

I suddenly felt much less smug. But I did buy a spare one straight away. Wish I'd bought more than one as they're now going for silly money on eBay.

Brilliant idea. Killed by a stupid one.

Hey Google play me a song. No, not that one. No, not THAT one! No nononononono!!!!! STOP!!!! GOOGLE!!!!!! STOP!!!!!!!!

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I used to feel smug as my mates spunked loads of cash on Sonos stuff.

I have a collection of amps & speakers which I've build up over the years and just stuck £35 Google Chromecast Audio dongles in the back of them. Hey presto - maximum (Spotify) quality multi-room audio being streamed everywhere via optical inputs.

Then they discontinued them in favour of those bloody voice activated things....

I suddenly felt much less smug. But I did buy a spare one straight away. Wish I'd bought more than one as they're now going for silly money on eBay.

Brilliant idea. Killed by a stupid one.

Hey Google play me a song. No, not that one. No, not THAT one! No nononononono!!!!! STOP!!!! GOOGLE!!!!!! STOP!!!!!!!!

You can still use Spotify on your phone or laptop when connected via Amazon Echo.

 

[Londonscottish]

You can still use Spotify on your phone or laptop when connected via Amazon Echo.

Yes the tech or at least most of it is the Dot. Don't think optical out is though.

I just hate the voice activated stuff.

I've got 2 echoes and an Alexa and hate them.

Gave them away to wife and kids.

Hateful interface.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Yes the tech or at least most of it is the Dot. Don't think optical out is though.

I just hate the voice activated stuff.

I've got 2 echoes and an Alexa and hate them.

Gave them away to wife and kids.

Hateful interface.

What I meant was that you can connect your Dot to the amp by cable and still select your music on Spotify via your phone or whatever, there is no need to use the voice command for this.

 

[Londonscottish]

What I meant was that you can connect your Dot to the amp by cable and still select your music on Spotify via your phone or whatever, there is no need to use the voice command for this.

Yeah, I get that. I'm just being very picky; there was a purity in the Chromecast Audio in that it was purely focused on doing audio properly.

If I get a Dot I get a speaker that I do not want. And voice activation that I don't want either. And no digital optical out. A headphone jack instead. FFS. Welcome to the 20th century... And this website recommends Bluetooth as a better option. Aaaaargh.

It's just so wrong.

Does the new Amazon Echo Dot (3rd gen) have audio out for speakers?

"What about digital output?
The audio output from the new Amazon Echo Dot is analog only; it does not offer digital audio output from its 3.5mm audio output port like a Chromecast Audio does. While you could use an analog to digital converter to connect an all-new Echo Dot to a digital audio system, you might be better off using Bluetooth instead."

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Yeah, I get that. I'm just being very picky; there was a purity in the Chromecast Audio in that it was purely focused on doing audio properly.

If I get a Dot I get a speaker that I do not want. And voice activation that I don't want either. And no digital optical out. A headphone jack instead. FFS. Welcome to the 20th century... And this website recommends Bluetooth as a better option. Aaaaargh.

It's just so wrong.

Does the new Amazon Echo Dot (3rd gen) have audio out for speakers?

"What about digital output?
The audio output from the new Amazon Echo Dot is analog only; it does not offer digital audio output from its 3.5mm audio output port like a Chromecast Audio does. While you could use an analog to digital converter to connect an all-new Echo Dot to a digital audio system, you might be better off using Bluetooth instead."

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Righto.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Sonos & Echo Dot - aren't they two different markets? We have an Echo and Echo Dot in the house and I've never considered either to be there for listening to (quality) music!

 

[Londonscottish]

Sonos & Echo Dot - aren't they two different markets? We have an Echo and Echo Dot in the house and I've never considered either to be there for listening to (quality) music!

Dr Feelgood was pointing out that connectivity functions previously available on the Chromecast Audio live on in the Echo Dot.

I was pointing out that if you have non-sonos hifi kit this connectivity can give a lot of sonos-like experience for peanuts.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Dr Feelgood was pointing out that connectivity functions previously available on the Chromecast Audio live on in the Echo Dot.

I was pointing out that if you have non-sonos hifi kit this connectivity can give a lot of sonos-like experience for peanuts.

Aah - I don't see certain posts.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Eh?

 

[del320]

Aah - I don't see certain posts.

Eh?

Golden