Amazon Now Making Higher End Fully Functional Alexa Integrated, High Performance Speakers and Subs

Are you asking a actual question or just rhetorically complaining?

I mean if you want to ditch Sonos, let me know. More than willing to lift that burden for you.

dpinskey wrote:

why should I continue to invest in what are very impressive speakers - and for now the superior speakers over Amazon speakers?

Well, I'd invest in them because they are impressive as you stated. I'm not aware of any superior speakers from Amazon. Their best option is a pair of echos + sub, correct? How is that superior to what Sonos offers.

Your issue seems to be with the Alexa controls. You can always turn off Alexa on your Sonos devices and then 'pair' and echo device with it using Alexa groups. This is how I use voice control for my playbar and for mu outdoor speakers.

Nope. Amazon is not superior YET in speaker technology - just AI. BUT let's admit, one can't discount the fact that they are beginning to show a presence in upping their game in developing and marketing higher end speakers than they previously had been putting out. Now if that continues and there comes the time when they start offering speaker systems of equal or greater quality, which isn't entirely improbable, then I am wondering where SONOS stands on being able to provide awesome speakers with an equally awesome AI. Argue and get as snarky as you like, but consumers have a legitimate right to voice their concerns, especially in an open forum such as this where corporate eyeballs are most certainly gazing with great intensity and concern as to whether SONOS developers are doing their best to provide the best product they can for their customers. It's not like SONOS is being marketed as one of compromise. On the contrary, they put themselves forward as a company that cares about quality and giving the customer a premium product for which they are able to charge much more of a premium than their current competitors. BUT the competitors ARE beginning to step up their game. So, let posts like this not be mistaken for rhetorical complaining, but rather as productive criticism as to where SONOS needs to step things up in order to remain superiorly relevant in a quickly growing market. Holding on and hoping for continued progress in excellence.

I'd say that Sonos is as aware as anyone else of no longer having the compelling solution it offered in the pre Echo days, and is working at remaining such a provider. Which doesn't mean that finding the right answers is guaranteed to it; but it also isn't the case that existing investment in Sonos kit is at significant risk.

We'll also have to wait and see how enduring Amazon's commitment to high quality audio systems is. Their better-sounding equipment is a relatively recent introduction, and Amazon will happily exit markets that do not meet their expectations. Right now, I'd be more wary of substantial investment in Amazon audio gear than Sonos.

There's no escaping this is now a much more competitive space, however. And competition is generally good for customers with the caveat that I'd prefer more diversity than having everything dominated by Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple.

+1 for @pwt's response. There is clearly more competition now, but so far Sonos seems to me the lowest risk solution, and still the best solution. So I am confident about Sonos' future, although nobody can be certain.

dpinskey wrote:

Nope. Amazon is not superior YET in speaker technology - just AI. BUT let's admit, one can't discount the fact that they are beginning to show a presence in upping their game in developing and marketing higher end speakers than they previously had been putting out. Now if that continues and there comes the time when they start offering speaker systems of equal or greater quality, which isn't entirely improbable, then I am wondering where SONOS stands on being able to provide awesome speakers with an equally awesome AI. [...]

Sonos is in the music speaker business rather than in the 'Smart Device' business. And not everyone cares about voice control or AI (in my POV Alexa is as dumb as it gets, by the way).

dpinskey wrote:

Nope. Amazon is not superior YET in speaker technology - just AI. BUT let's admit, one can't discount the fact that they are beginning to show a presence in upping their game in developing and marketing higher end speakers than they previously had been putting out.

They have upped their game, but I tend to think there goal in this is not intended to compete with Sonos and higher end speakers as it is to compete with other voice assistants, like Google and Siri. Both Google and Apple have/had speakers of better quality than Amazon have/had, and Amazon has been losing market to Google. And while they are creating better speakers, they are still partnering with Sonos to provide additional features, which isn't exactly the best strategy for someone you want to dominate in the market.

That's not to say that Amazon's intentions can't change in the future, especially if keeping up with Google eventually makes it imperative to have a strong presence in higher end speaker market. I just don't think that's the goal right now.

dpinskey wrote:

Now if that continues and there comes the time when they start offering speaker systems of equal or greater quality, which isn't entirely improbable, then I am wondering where SONOS stands on being able to provide awesome speakers with an equally awesome AI.

Right now, Sonos can provide several features that Amazon does not, beyond just speaker quality. They have an arguably better multiroom system (in terms of functionality), airplay 2, and HT setup, and many more streaming services. They are working on adding Google voice services. I also think their position as speaker company independent, without their own voice assistant or streaming service, gives them more flexibility for future development.

dpinskey wrote:

Argue and get as snarky as you like, but consumers have a legitimate right to voice their concerns, especially in an open forum such as this where corporate eyeballs are most certainly gazing with great intensity and concern as to whether SONOS developers are doing their best to provide the best product they can for their customers. It's not like SONOS is being marketed as one of compromise. On the contrary, they put themselves forward as a company that cares about quality and giving the customer a premium product for which they are able to charge much more of a premium than their current competitors. BUT the competitors ARE beginning to step up their game. So, let posts like this not be mistaken for rhetorical complaining, but rather as productive criticism as to where SONOS needs to step things up in order to remain superiority relevant in a quickly growing market. Holding on and hoping for continued progress in excellence.

I might be mistaken, but it sounds like you want Sonos to increase it's voice assistant functionality to be more in line with everything that an Amazon offers, not so much in terms of music play back but in other voice assistant functions. While that would be great, there are many features that Amazon does not offer up to third party speakers. There are also features that Sonos would have to develop themselves. While they could do that, is it worth doing if your never going to be allowed to fully match features, and you're always going to be trying to play catch up to whatever Amazon is working on? I think these questions put Sonos in a tough position. They need to have a return on their development projects, more so than Amazon does. They might be better off picking which features they think are vital to their customers that they can do, and know that some customers won't be happy and instead opt to 'pair' an echo dot with their Sonos rooms.

You are 100% that Sonos can't just stand still and assume sales wiill stay consistent. And they haven't been doing that. They aren't moving as fast as some people would like or in all the directions that some people like, but they are definitely doing things. Time will tell whether they're making the right decisions.

Good points. Thank you. Your take on the matter of SONOS AI integration across multiple platforms is spot on and does give me confidence that I can continue feeling confident in my decision to buy SONOS products. 😃

Another point to consider, if you lose your internet connection, the sonos will happily play local music, the echo devices don't function without a connection home

At least with Sonos, you always have the option of pairing them to an Echo Dot if you want the latest Alexa features or aren’t satisfied with the Sonos microphones. I just bought my first Sonos products, a stereo pair of Sonos Ones, and I honestly didn’t even bother trying the built in Alexa because I read so many complaints about less sensitive microphones and missing features. I just bought a $30 Echo Dot 3rd gen, set the Sonos pair as the default speakers for music, and problem solved. It works flawlessly. Before you say I should have gotten Play:1s... I should mention that AirPlay 2 support was very important to me, and I also prefer the all white look of the Sonos One. Those two points alone were worth the extra $40 to me, and plus the Alexa (or future Google Assistant) integration might improve to the point where I can repurpose the Echo Dot to another room down the road. It does boggle my mind a little that the Sonos Ones apparently have 7 mics and everyone says they still stink at picking up your voice compared to an Echo Dot with 4 mics, but oh well. I wonder if Amazon just has superior software algorithms to pick out voices that they’re unwilling to share.

gtg465x wrote:

[...] I wonder if Amazon just has superior software algorithms to pick out voices that they’re unwilling to share.

Superior software algorithms? Nah. Unlike my four Sonos ONEs, the Amazon Echo is deaf as an adder when music is playing.