Contributor I

Why is Connect more expensive than Play?

Forum|Forum|14 years ago
April 28, 2012
179 replies
75917 views

I just got my first pair of Sonos units - two Play:3's for the kitchen and bedroom and I absolutely love them. I'm not a huge audiophile, but the convenience and total plug 'n play nature of Sonos is what attracted me to it.

Of course the next thing that occured to me was how to get this connected up to my stereo.

What I don't understand is why the basic Connect is $349 while the Play:3 units are $299 each. I mean if anything it seems like a Connect is just a Play:3 without the speakers and amp? Why does it cost so much more for fewer features? Seems like the guts of the connect should be a $99 unit - I meant he appleTV is $99, and it does way more (At least in terms of technological capability - video/etc) than the connect.

To be honest I've been drooling over Sonos for years - and I know the quality is very high, but the expense of the units has always put me off. It wasn't until the Play:3 that I felt like there was enough bang-for-the-buck to justify diving in... I'm probably going to get at least 2 or 3 more Play:3's for elsewhere in the house, but it's going to be hard to justify the Connect until the price comes down further. It's still cheaper to just put a Play:3 in the same room as my stereo - it's small and powerful enough to just sit near my existing speakers.

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ratty

At the moment i'll just suck it up and eat the delay, hoping for Sonos to fix it. I think they will for a purely business reasons, Airplay is getting better and better, and i think they need to watch their back.

I just don't understand why you keep coming back to Airplay. Does Airplay provide for adjustable delays between streams? I understood that it couldn't even keep two streams in sync reliably.

ratty

The way i see the solution is, in the sonos app, to have a slider associated to each Connect which adjust the delay to which the audio signal is sent from the Connect. Like from 0 to 150ms, where 0 is audio signal out in perfect sync with the Plays.

Actually it would have to be the other way round. Delay would need to be added to every zone grouped with the Connect. Since each one of those zones could also be seeing its own downstream delay then a robust solution would require separate adjustment for each and every player.

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vannibombonato

Avid Contributor I

I just don't understand why you keep coming back to Airplay. Does Airplay provide for adjustable delays between streams? I understood that it couldn't even keep two streams in sync reliably.

I didn't explain myself well.

Airplay absolutely has delay problems, and is by no mean a way to have audio perfectly in sync.

What i mean to say is that Airplay is free and as time goes by, is getting more and more integrated and developed. And there's a small company behind it which is pushing it.

Now, as in MY case Sonos can't keep the audio in sync, i feel not so smart in having paid big bucks for something i could have had for free.

That's why i'm talking about Airplay.

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vannibombonato

Avid Contributor I

Actually it would have to be the other way round. Delay would need to be added to every zone grouped with the Connect. Since each one of those zones could also be seeing its own downstream delay then a robust solution would require separate adjustment for each and every player.

Correct, that's what i meant, i think it would be more user-friendly to have it graphically placed alongside the connect tab, and have the app add the delay to the relevant Plays in the group.

ratty

Correct, that's what i meant, i think it would be more user-friendly to have it graphically placed alongside the connect tab, and have the app add the delay to the relevant Plays in the group.

Yes but that's a simple case.

Suppose you had two Connects in a group -- each wired to AVRs with different downstream processing delays -- and a Play or two. The Connect with the 'slowest' AVR would have to set the pace for the Plays; the second Connect would need a delay equivalent to the delta between the two AVRs.

A solvable problem, if Sonos knew about all the external delays.

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vannibombonato

Avid Contributor I

Yes but that's a simple case.

Suppose you had two Connects in a group -- each wired to AVRs with different downstream processing delays -- and a Play or two. The Connect with the 'slowest' AVR would have to set the pace for the Plays; the second Connect would need a delay equivalent to the delta between the two AVRs.

A solvable problem, if Sonos knew about all the external delays.

"My" solution is certainly not for Sonos to have the delays automatically set, but for the user to adjust.
It's the user who should adjust the sliders until it hear the music in sync. Sonos could only suggest to use a certain type of music, beat-oriented typically, to "test". Then it should be in the user's camp, no doubt about it. An average user would probably be able to have the problem 90% fixed in 3mins, to the point in which is not audible anymore.

This should naturally be placed in the "advanced" setup so not to mess with users that don't face the problem or don't have connect in their systems.

buzz

Grand Maestro

And, the AVR delay can depend on the processing setup. Changing the setup on one AVR will have a ripple effect throughout the whole system.

jgatie

Airplay is free? Last time I heard, you needed an Airplay capable device to use Airplay. Is it now possible to convert non-Airplay capable devices to Airplay capable?

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vannibombonato

Avid Contributor I

Airplay is free? Last time I heard, you needed an Airplay capable device to use Airplay. Is it now possible to convert non-Airplay capable devices to Airplay capable?

This is polemics for the sake of polemics.

Most A/V receivers today are Airplay enabled and don't need a 350$ device to have music streamed to them wirelessly.

Why do you have to defend a point which is not defendable? No-one is saying that Sonos is a complete garbage or waste of money, i'm just saying that with most modern A/V receivers the 350$ connect can't keep music in sync with Play speakers, which is exactly what happens if you don't use the 350$ device and instead choose to go the "free" Airplay route.

There are quality A/V receivers that for basically the same price of the connect give you an Airplay enabled 5.1 Amplifier!!!

For some it can be a non-issue and for others a deal-breaker, but denying the fact is pointless.

jgatie

This is polemics for the sake of polemics.

Most A/V receivers today are Airplay enabled and don't need a 350$ device to have music streamed to them wirelessly.

Why do you have to defend a point which is not defendable? No-one is saying that Sonos is a complete garbage or waste of money, i'm just saying that with most modern A/V receivers the 350$ connect can't keep music in sync with Play speakers, which is exactly what happens if you don't use the 350$ device and instead choose to go the "free" Airplay route.

For some it can be a non-issue and for others a deal-breaker, but denying the fact is pointless.

It was a serious question. I've not kept up with Airplay technology and I thought the original technology requirements may have changed. So I was not "denying" anything, nor was I stating a polemic; I was legitimately asking for clarification. But thanks again for the diatribe. :rolleyes:

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