Is it time to ditch Sonos altogether?

  • 23 January 2020
  • 4 replies
  • 430 views

With the announcement that ‘legacy’ products will no longer receive updates and if you mix new ones with them, the new ones will not receive updates either, is it time to ditch Sonos altogether?

I love Sonos products and have many of them. Several are linked to sound systems (home cinema, hifi, etc.) and I listen to music through those systems. But my wife prefers to listen through various Alex Echo devices that we also have. Whereas I say “Alexa, play Radio X on the front lounge” to get radio onto my front lounge hifi speakers, my wife just says “Alexa, play Radio X” to play it on the Echo Show in the same room. Obviously, the hifi speakers are superior.

However, I cannot see what new features a Gen 1 Play:5, Connect and Connect:Amp will need in the future to continue to stream music and radio stations and therefore cannot understand why we can’t continue to use them.

As a direct consequence of the shameful Sonos email, I am very seriously thinking of ditching Sonos entirely and have already started to look at alternative streaming technologies.


This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

4 replies

There is no hurry to ditch anything; that decision, if required, is some way away. In the meantime look for more clarity on all the ramifications of this Sonos step, and there are many that are still fuzzy - and do research on options that may even include a mix and match approach in steps and not a big bang change. 

While you do this, Sonos products will still function as they do today.

my wife just says “Alexa, play Radio X” to play it on the Echo Show in the same room. Obviously, the hifi speakers are superior.

 

By the way, I get the exact same thing your wife does, via a Show 5 wired to line in jacks on the Connect Amp, so I get the better sound as well. And I much prefer the short commands.

In addition, I get the brilliant bonus of artwork for music being played as well; even lyrics where the track file contains these.

PS: and this will work even if the Connect Amp is never updated, till the time the hardware dies.

I retired 5 years ago and invested heavily in Sonos kit throughout the house, thinking it would see me through my retirement.  I am now faced with having to replace legacy kit which, even with the 30% discount, I can now ill afford.  I love my Sonos kit and am sad that I will now have to look elsewhere for a cheaper and probably inferior product. 

 

@peterlake 

I am in a similar boat in some ways.

Will this work for you?

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/the-sonos-brexit-and-a-pragmatic-way-past-it-6836056