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Marc J
Trending Lyricist I
October 16, 2017

Public Beta - My Feedback

  • October 16, 2017
  • 36 replies
  • 4231 views
After waiting for the announcement for Echo integration with Sonos for what seems like an eternity (I was really looking forward to it), I have to say I am somewhat underwhelmed by the current offering. For what it's worth, here's my feedback: -

A glorified Bluetooth speaker - is what it feels like. I could have done most of what I'm currently getting by putting a cable from my Echo Dot to my Sonos Connect Amp's line in. In fact I tried that some time ago but quickly disconnected it as the streaming TuneIn Radio via the Echo cuts out a lot more than the TuneIn Radio via Sonos, and I listen to radio probably 90% of the time.

Everything is through the Echo - as above, it seems you're not controlling Sonos through Alexa at all, you're simply outputting Alexa audio through Sonos. When that's TuneIn Radio, it cuts out just as bad as when using just the Echo. If I could hard-wire my Echo I would, but it's WiFi only, and it's 4 feet from a Google Wifi hard-wired WiFi point, so the network connection to it can't really be improved upon. My (hard-wired) Sonos very rarely drops out, but when I say "Alexa, Play BBC Radio One in the Kitchen" it starts, but drops out a lot. Which makes me think it's the Alexa source, not Sonos's own, that it's playing. This is (to me, at least) confirmed by the fact that you can't access local libraries, Spotify or Deezer. It's crippled by only being able to access (surprise, surprise) Amazon Music streaming service.

So...all it's really good for at the moment (IMHO) is start / stop, as long as the input is from the Sonos app in the first place, and volume control. And it's useful that the Sonos volume drops when Alexa hears "Alexa", so you're no longer shouting at the Echo over the Sonos volume.

I saw this at https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4343 :-

"Spotify users: We’ve heard from you and are working hard to bring you the ability to ask Alexa to play Spotify music on your Sonos speakers as quickly as we can."

Please add Deezer to that? And local libraries? What we have is next to useless to anyone not using Amazon Music.

I was expecting full control of Sonos over Alexa. What we currently have (and I know it's in Beta, which is why I tagged this as feedback) is a crippled, glorified Bluetooth speaker.
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    36 replies

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    Marc JAuthor
    Trending Lyricist I
    October 16, 2017
    If interested, here is why I think what I do, cut/pasted from Sonos announcements on how it works:

    "Your Amazon Alexa devices are listening for you to say the wake word, “Alexa”. When they hear that word, the microphones record what you say and send the audio to the Amazon Alexa cloud to be translated.

    That voice line turns into a string of text. The Amazon protocols determine if it’s meant for Amazon Alexa or for a Sonos player. If it’s for Sonos, that text is then sent directly, and securely, over to the Sonos cloud to be turned into a command using our own codes.

    Finally, the Sonos intended command goes down to the system."

    So, as I read and understand the quoted, there should be no difference once the music starts playing because in every case this is in response to commands sent to the speakers by the Sonos cloud.

    I read the same explanation, which is why I'm surprised that, in practice at least in my case and now Jacob's, the streaming quality of TuneIn Radio is far worse when initiated via Alexa....???

    ETA: My testing continues, and in 2 hours listening to TuneIn initiated by Alexa, it hasn't dropped once yet! Maybe it has been fixed since I initially tried it (on the day of release).
    Kumar
    October 16, 2017
    As I read the quoted again, it strikes me that there is one difference in using a Dot with a better quality speaker either wired to it, or paired to it via bluetooth as opposed to a Dot + Play 1 set up using the Sonos Alexa integration. In the former case all the heard sound responses of Alexa will be through the better quality speaker attached to the Dot, but in the latter case responses to questions that have nothing to do with Sonos will be via the Dot speaker of limited range.

    Correct? Not that it matters a lot, but useful to know perhaps.
    Marc JAuthor
    Trending Lyricist I
    October 16, 2017
    As I read the quoted again, it strikes me that there is one difference in using a Dot with a better quality speaker either wired to it, or paired to it via bluetooth as opposed to a Dot + Play 1 set up using the Sonos Alexa integration. In the former case all the heard sound responses of Alexa will be through the better quality speaker attached to the Dot, but in the latter case responses to questions that have nothing to do with Sonos will be via the Dot speaker of limited range.

    Correct? Not that it matters a lot, but useful to know perhaps.

    You are correct. And I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Some may like it, others not. Maybe it should be configurable (i.e. option - "Play Alexa responses via Sonos?")?

    It is good that the Sonos volume dips when you say "Alexa", but it doesn't seem to be room aware - all the Sonos speakers get their volume lowered, when it should really only the speaker in the same room as the Echo that heard the "Alexa"....
    Ryan S
    Ryan S
    Retired Sonos Staff
    October 16, 2017
    Thanks for the feedback, and great discussion everyone! There shouldn't be a performance difference between audio started via Sonos vs Alexa. But in any case, there shouldn't be any audio dropouts anyway.

    My guess, having looked at no diagnostics from your systems, is that the audio started via Sonos is picking a different radio stream for the same station than the one your Alexa is picking. That would be two different streams from the same station, one might be higher quality, and therefore more susceptible to a poor wireless environment, or another local issue.

    I'd love to take a closer look though. Can you submit a diagnostic from your Sonos system and reply back with your confirmation number when you're playing from Alexa and get an error? Also, please send a diagnostic when playing the same station, started from a Sonos app. I'll let you know what we're seeing.
    Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
    jacob_7
    Prodigy I
    October 16, 2017


    My guess, having looked at no diagnostics from your systems, is that the audio started via Sonos is picking a different radio stream for the same station than the one your Alexa is picking. That would be two different streams from the same station, one might be higher quality, and therefore more susceptible to a poor wireless environment, or another local issue.

    [url=https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/.

    Good shout Ryan! Alexa is picking up "BBC Radio 1 - Cardiff" and Sonos just "BBC Radio 1". Is there a way to make Alexa pick up the latter?

    Cheers
    Marc JAuthor
    Trending Lyricist I
    October 16, 2017
    There shouldn't be a performance difference between audio started via Sonos vs Alexa. But in any case, there shouldn't be any audio dropouts anyway.

    My guess, having looked at no diagnostics from your systems, is that the audio started via Sonos is picking a different radio stream for the same station than the one your Alexa is picking. That would be two different streams from the same station, one might be higher quality, and therefore more susceptible to a poor wireless environment, or another local issue.

    Thanks for the response Ryan. Sod's law... my Sonos has been playing TuneIn Radio, initiated via Alexa, all day now without a single drop! But I'll be sure to keep trying and submit working and non-working diagnostics when it drops.

    Good shout Ryan! Alexa is picking up "BBC Radio 1 - Cardiff" and Sonos just "BBC Radio 1". Is there a way to make Alexa pick up the latter?

    The common sense approach would be for Sonos to first see if there's a match in your favourite stations, and widen the search only when it isn't found there. So you could favourite "BBC Radio 1", and it would play that rather than Cardiff....
    Ryan S
    Ryan S
    Retired Sonos Staff
    October 16, 2017
    I don't have a trick for you for picking the right one through Alexa, other than just testing out a number of utterances and seeing which one they grab. Try "Radio One" or "BBC One" and see if those pull up something else.
    Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
    Kumar
    October 16, 2017
    I don't have a trick for you for picking the right one through Alexa
    Interesting and points out this issue to me: I have assigned the 320 kbps stream to the Radio Paradise address I used for the URL of that music service's 320 kbps stream to force the selection of that stream over the many speeds offered by RP, each with its own URL. So via the controller, I will get only the 320 one, always. When Radio Paradise is initiated via voice control though, that ability to choose the specific stream will be missing and any of the ones offered, including the lower kbps, therefore lower sound quality streams may also get picked?
    Kumar
    October 16, 2017
    And on further reflection, this looks to me a bigger than Tune In/Radio issue but one affecting streaming services as well. I don't know about Amazon but both Apple and Google music service offer many versions of the same song, and some are remastered versions to deliver better sound quality. While selecting today, I can select the one I think will sound better compared to the others for the same music content. That can't be done via Alexa, so there is no control then over which of the many different versions will then start playing.

    The one way around this is where a playlist is built with specific versions selected for inclusion in the playlist; presumably using voice to start that playlist will lead to only the specific versions selected to then play and not the other versions of that song in the library of the streaming service. Correct?
    jacob_7
    Prodigy I
    October 16, 2017
    I don't have a trick for you for picking the right one through Alexa, other than just testing out a number of utterances and seeing which one they grab. Try "Radio One" or "BBC One" and see if those pull up something else.

    Thanks Ryan! I'll have a go at that tomorrow
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