School me on SONOS and other home streaming systems

FWIW there is a Sonos "controller app" for BBC Sounds though you're probably aware of that..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/listening-on-a-smart-speaker/sonos

Thanks Tracer. I do have BBC Sounds added to the Sonos app but don't use it much as I find it easier just to use the BBC's own app and then Airplay it. But experimenting with it again, I've found that if I've started listening via Alexa, it does remember where I was if I resume via the Sonos app, and once I've resumed via that route, Alexa voice commands to rewind and FF magically do start working. Something about passing through the app seems to set the whole thing right. Not ideal but good to know until it's properly fixed.

New app coming: https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/23/24137502/sonos-new-app-announced

hope it can actually play music on my speakers without saying it can't find them, or claiming it is playing on them when it clearly isn't.

the description implies that sonos devices will now be controllable from the web (which was previously limited to your network), creating a much higher potential for somebody hacking into your system. and for what? so i can control music at home while i’m in the office?

it’d be better if they fixed the latency issues, speakers periodically getting lost and frequent forced updates (which included such “useful” functionality as having an inbox that only receives marketing messages).

xp +1

Thoughts?

Do not update. This is something rushed out with no quality control. Slow, sluggish, removes features, and not accessibility tested

They did not allow third parties to test fwiw

ugh

kind of glad i stuck to my S1 era device now.
at one time i was tempted to upgrade/replace my Connect with an S2 version, but upon investigation found that there was actually very little reason to make the switch.
subsequently, the S1 software now rarely gets an update, certainly nothing to do with functionality.
which suits my requirements just fine.

Good thread on the app. It's wild that a company that's dependent on return customers (building out a system with Sonos products) would fumble and piss them off this much.

So the forced update to my @Sonos app is easily the most mind-bogglingly terrible degradation of a previously beloved service I have experienced in my 59 years on planet Earth.

Basic functionality has simply been...removed. Want to edit your queue? Fuck you -- you can't!

— Tim Quirk (@tbquirk) May 9, 2024

the problem with no updating is that at some point it just stops working until you update.

so, what are good alternatives to sonos nowadays?

Depends what you're after - for all-in-one streaming smart speaker multiroom, I'm starting to think 'just don't do it, don't get trapped' - right now something more like a wiim mini running into a half-decent powered speaker is probably a more flexible alternative. Wiim seem to have a decent roadmap, deliver iterative improvements, good price for the hardware, app is multi-service (but I don't use it much - see next para).

Personally - I got out a 2-3 years ago & rebuilt a stereo system for the main room. Wiim pro for streaming but it's always just connecting via spotify or apple music or chromecast, not using the wiim app. Really solid, tho - like I really do not have to think about, it never seems to get confused.

The sonos speakers (3 s1s) sit around the house but tbh are mostly for my wife, who's used to them, used to using them from her phone and likes what she's used to.

The S1s still sound great - the room correction stuff built into them is really nice & tbh might probably make them outgun a powered speaker plus little wiim streamer. But I just don't want to be trapped with Sonos the company.

https://lyrion.org/

Logitech Media Server renamed and put together some easier documentation, from the look of it!

Worth a look if you are into playing your own collection of files... since even if you are just streaming from the cloud to your player(s), you need your server to be on.

Everyone uses the Material skin and not the ugliness displayed on the homepage.

thanks, both looks like promising options from a quick look!

new wiim ultra looks very impressive -

https://www.blog.wiimhome.com/post/unveiling-wiim-ultra-the-digital-hub-for-your-music

all these years and that $35 little Google Chromecast audio is still working for me

they don't make 'em like that any more!

forgot to turn off auto update, so let's see if it's fixed my main and critical gripe of saying it can't find any speakers when you open the app... and that's a nope.

reading about the wiim and now starting to regret the money i have punted sonos' way.

the missing "add to queue" option is very strange. a page says it's coming back in a future update to this update, but how can you push a version without it? I also miss the volume numbers for precisely setting the volume of sleep noise or music in the kids' room. Suppose I mostly use the spotify app anyhow.

there's some good discussion of alternatives to Sonos on this thread:

Maintaining a Digital Music Collection

There’s an option for “Save to Sonos Favorites” (for a playlist, track, or album); and when you try it, it just says “Something went wrong. Try again.”(??)

reading about the wiim and now starting to regret the money i have punted sonos' way.

I hear you - the trigger for rebuilding was wanting to bring my vinyl back to life and the sonos sunk cost thing pulled me towards a sonos amp or sonos port for a bit of my research but nah - they're still very respectable streaming speakers to have around the house but I'm happier out.

wow.the previous app would eventually pick up the speakers if you left it on for a bit or restarted a few times. the new one doesn't, and can't find any products if I try and set up a new system.

it's found them now. then loses and finds them again every time I reopen.

the sonos experience in a nutshell