Question

So what is the plan for India Alexa integration??

  • 17 February 2018
  • 10 replies
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I have been following Mr Kumar's thread for some time (~ 3 months) for Alexa Integration in india. Hoping Sonos have it on priority, I ordered my Sonos ONE and now its at my desk... without any tricks though.
I admit the audio quality leaves everything behind right now but then what about other things that this ONE has to do over SONOS 1??

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There is nothing coming from Sonos as to when it will happen. Pray. And enjoy all the other things that the One can so, all of which it does in India.

I have stopped posting on that thread, and stopped waiting for this to happen.
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MY Sonos is only 2 months old, I am ready to sell it for half the price they are selling it in Amazon India. For me it is currently just a dumb box that does nothing.
As far as music gears, never dissatisfied with any of my current equipment other than this black box. Nowhere it is mentioned that Alexa is not available until i bought it home.
Currently in London and have just ordered a Sonos One and a Sonos play 1. Now planning to return the Sonos One after reading all these reviews of it not working well in india.
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So, Canada gets the Alexa on the ONE and Amazon Prime Music is launched, when's India coming into your priority? To be honest, you are losing the business here. Many a friend and colleagues ask me about Sonos ONE after getting impressed with its Audio and soundstage feel. But eventually dropped it in favour of Echo.
If voice control is a requirement, rule Sonos out in India for the foreseeable future; the entry price of USD 500 for just one 5 unit to do this via a wire connection isn't worth the money. Add in the customs duty to that and no one will buy it for that application. The much more value for money play 1 unit would have been in with some chance in any value for money assessment, but it rules itself out for not having the required line in.

Fortunately there are now excellent alternatives that offer all the Sonos sound quality at much lower prices. For less than the rupee equivalent of USD 150, the Mackie CR3 active speaker pair is just one of the many examples out there. Wire a Dot to the audio line in jack of these active speakers, job done. Even if the active/powered speakers are not bluetooth equipped, the Dot adds that feature to the set up, conferring the ability to use app based music sources as well as voice accessed music. Dedicate a cheap Android to this use if this is a requirement. With reliable streaming services easily available in India now, Sonos is no longer as necessary as it was some years ago to listen to music of good sound quality from all over the world.

The only problem here is the good one: of having such a huge range of choices, that making a good one is a bit of a challenge! And if you are willing to pay the price of one 5 unit, you can get close to an audiophile quality active speaker pair that will sound a lot better than a single 5 unit.
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Sonos become a BP raising device at home . The moment I see feel like throwing it out of window, then comes the reality of wasting money. At current state even unable to sell as no one want a product without an auxiliary or Bluetooth . Trapped in a close minded design that intentend to perish in Couple of years.
Two years ago, you would have been over the moon for the quality music you could bring into your home on it. Now, you want to dump it, although it still does all it would have done then. Such is the human condition of always being dissatisfied.

If you can get over that, there is still value to be extracted from it for the price you have paid.

I would not buy it now, but if I had I would find a way to keep it in use until hardware failure hits you - which ought not to happen for years.
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I have it worked around with SONOS configuring with my US Amazon account and then switching it to India. Don't ask me exact instructions, there were many many attempts on the various sequence of SONOS, AMAZON (and HARMONY), so not sure which one worked.
But now SONOS ONE works as it should... supporting Prime India subscription with all the supported Alexa (in India).
PHEW!!! that was one cliffhanger!!
Get the play 1 in exchange. A stereo paired set of 1 units is a brilliant addition to the home. As and when voice control is released, they will still work with a Dot. Or even with a Google Mini when that is released.

If you must have voice control by Alexa on Sonos at this time, return both and get a play 5. Wire connect the Dot to the line in jack on the 5, and you will have Alexa in Sonos clothes in India even now.
Thanks kumar. I Ll stick to the play 1 pair. Voice control not a priority as such.