Why is Connect more expensive than Play?

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:

The overall point is that the "Airplay" world is moving very, very fast, for the simple and obvious fact that Apple devices are behind it, so the rest of the electronics world obviously follows. Virtually every speaker coming out now is Airplay enabled.

Apple is pushing the technology, and i have the feeling that Sonos is progressively lagging behind: it used to be "overpriced", but Sonos features where basically exclusive, so Sonos was (is) free to set its prices at will with no consequences.
As time goes by, more and more of these features are available with much cheaper and efficient solutions, and that is what worries me as a Sonos user who has invested in Sonos equipment, which as we all know is very much "closed" (how much would i love to have a line-in in my Play speakers...).

Time will tell, but i have a feeling we Sonos users are still buying expensive CDs while the rest of the world is beginning to purchase MP3s.

The overall point is that the "Airplay" world is moving very, very fast, for the simple and obvious fact that Apple devices are behind it, so the rest of the electronics world obviously follows. Virtually every speaker coming out now is Airplay enabled.

Apple is pushing the technology, and i have the feeling that Sonos is progressively lagging behind: it used to be "overpriced", but Sonos features where basically exclusive, so Sonos was (is) free to set its prices as it will.
As time goes by, more and more of these features are available with much cheaper and efficient solutions, and that is what worries me as a Sonos user who have invested in Sonos equipment.

Time will tell, but i have a feeling we Sonos users are still buying expensive CDs while the rest of the world is beginning to purchase MP3s.

I only asked if by "Airplay is free" you meant there was a way to convert a non-Airplay device into an Airplay device without cost. You answered that (and then some), no need to repeat it over and over, we've got your point.

Oh and by the way, I'm not "defending" anything. Your wish for a delay is legitimate, and I "Liked" the idea at ask.sonos. My only gripe in this thread was that anyone reading your posts would think every A/V receiver ever made would have a delay, which isn't the case. That's all I set out to clarify, and why an argument cropped up, I'll never know.

what worries me as a Sonos user who has invested in Sonos equipment, which as we all know is very much "closed" (how much would i love to have a line-in in my Play speakers...).
I'd say Sonos is rather more 'open' than the proprietary Airplay. It may not be fully DLNA compatible but you can, for example, send from Windows Media to players as renderers. Sonos' use of SMB/CIFS is entirely open.

There is a Line-In on Play:5. It's Play:3 which was cost-constrained and lacks Line-In/Headphone and a second Ethernet.

i have a feeling we Sonos users are still buying expensive CDs while the rest of the world is beginning to purchase MP3s.

Excuse me? Not me. I've stopped buying CDs. My playlists seamlessly intermix FLAC library tracks from the NAS with Ogg Vorbis q9 tracks from my online Spotify collection. Surely MP3, never mind actually buying tracks, is old hat? 😉

If the direct mode on an AVR silences all but 2 speakers, I guess there is a fair point being made, with a lot more AVRs than 2 channel amps being sold now.

This issue will however not be faced by many AVR users in practice. A room covered by multiple AVR connected speakers will not need a play unit in it as well, and delays in the AVR room when in party mode, compared to Sonos units in other rooms/zones will not be noticed. I think Sonos would take these things into account in according development resource for this feature.

As to Airplay, I am not sure of the development roadmap for it to feature the 2 big Sonos differentiators. One, that only Sonos can stream different music from one source to different zones, and two, that Sonosnet is more robust in dealing with wireless audio than Airplay is presently.

If the direct mode on an AVR silences all but 2 speakers, I guess there is a fair point being made, with a lot more AVRs than 2 channel amps being sold now.

This issue will however not be faced by many AVR users in practice. A room covered by multiple AVR connected speakers will not need a play unit in it as well, and delays in the AVR room when in party mode, compared to Sonos units in other rooms/zones will not be noticed. I think Sonos would take these things into account in according development resource for this feature.

As to Airplay, I am not sure of the development roadmap for it to feature the 2 big Sonos differentiators. One, that only Sonos can stream different music from one source to different zones, and two, that Sonosnet is more robust in dealing with wireless audio than Airplay is presently.

I agree that in most situation in which you can imagine a big 5.1 or 7.1 setup you don't see fit a Play speaker or more, but that's not always the case unfortunately.

I have the fortune of living in a big apartment, an open space, and i have the TV area wired with a powerful 5.1 AVR with the kitchen area (which is in the same room) covered by Play speakers, which can't be used.
Same goes for my veranda, in which i have an AVR but just outside of it, in the garden, Play Speakers. Again, the two combined can't be used.

Airplay is overall as of now less efficient than Sonos, no doubt about it, but its also enormously less expensive.

My point is that i believe Sonos has to work hard to mantain its edge, and IMHO adding a customizable delay feature does not frankly look like a NASA programming effort. Obviously their business, their choice.

But as to my very personal and very little example, i'm not buying any more Play speakers or Play subs (which i had considered) for this issue, and others which have reported this issue are not buying any more Sonos equipment for the same reason.

I'm just a user and i have to suck it up, but i hope Sonos realizes that Airplay is moving very very fast, while Sonos is not.

The instant Apple decides that Airplay is worth some programming effort to make it rock solid, Sonos is dead.

i hope Sonos realizes that Airplay is moving very very fast, while Sonos is not.


What has Apple added to Airplay audio tech in the last 2 years? Nothing that I know of.

Your other points are well taken, although I don't see how you see it to be enormously less expensive. The play units aren't a lot more expensive than airplay enabled units of similar sound quality.

As reported in several threads, when you link the connect to any modern A/V receiver (which is exactly what is supposed to do), it messes up all the sync the Sonos system brags about.
That is, if your using the connect with an A/V receiver connected to speakers AND you are using Play 3/5 speakers, your music will simply be out of sync, because the A/V receiver introduces processing and the sonos system does not have a very simple feature such as establishing an x amount of delay before the music is sent to the Play speakers.

While there is a lot of hot air in this thread, coming from all quarters, this is an important point. Thanks for pointing it out.

It is may be a well understood point, but I wouldn't have thought of it.

I have several Connects, which are connected to great, but aging amps. I would have been seriously bummed if I had bought home a new receiver, then found it smudged up synch.

I pretty much agree that Sonos should have some fine print to go with the Connect device. I haven't been shopping for an amp recently, but if it is fact that many of the amps being sold today have this delay, then Sonos should attend to their claims with regard to the Connect.

ie.'"Play the same song in different rooms, simultaneously, without echoes or delays. Add or drop rooms from your rooms grouping and still be in sync."

http://www.sonos.com/shop/products/connect

There should be an asterisk on that claim on the Connect product page IMO.

(how much would i love to have a line-in in my Play speakers...).

No offence but I had a feeling you didn't know what you were talking about either...

No-one is saying that Sonos is a complete garbage or waste of money
i'm stuck with an overpriced connect and two Play5 speakers which costs more than 1k$ and are utterly useless.

I wish you'd make your mind up...

I have several Connects, which are connected to great, but aging amps. I would have been seriously bummed if I had bought home a new receiver, then found it smudged up synch.

AV amps or stereo amps? If it's the latter you aren't likely to have any issues.