Hello:
Everyone should know by now that Sonos can be susceptible to wireless interference from any number of sources/devices such as:
- Microwave ovens
- Baby Monitors
- Crowded Wi-Fi neighborhoods
- Wi-Fi appliances
- Security Systems
- Cameras
Therefore, one way to mitigate the interference is to have a stable network. However, I’m not going to discuss network configurations as that’s a subject for another time. I’m sure you can find any number of discussions on networks in this community.
What I do want to discuss is Steaming Apple Music Lossless. Many have complained about stuttering, songs stopping abruptly and/or skipping to the next or worst-case scenario the music just STOPS!
The above seems to be more prevalent Streaming Apple Music Lossless when several rooms are grouped. As a side-note Sonos is very chatty on its own and can tax a network. Grouping several rooms can compound the issue of taxing a network as doing so requires more buffering to keep the stream going across multiple rooms.
Getting back to streaming Apple Music Lossless…more buffering is required versus streaming non-lossless two-channel audio. The more rooms grouped the more buffering required.
Today, I decided to experiment streaming Apple Lossless over five (5) rooms grouped. I started the stream at 8:00AM CST_US. As of this post its now 4:07PM_CST_US (eight hours later). The stream of Apple Music Lossless has been consistent except for one glitch…the Music Stopped!
So now I’m wondering maybe there is an issue streaming Apple Music Lossless. So, I started the stream once more and after a few songs the music stopped again. Now I’m confused as I’ve grouped five (5) rooms before when streaming Apple Music Lossless without issue.
By pure accident (or quirk of fate) I discovered the issue (at least in my case). I had grouped a stereo pair of Era 300’s with Sub3 that I hadn’t included before. The Era 300’s are located near my front door which has an Arlo Camera Doorbell and an Arlo security camera outside aiming from the left. UPS so happened to deliver a package and of course the doorbell camera and the security camera captured the UPS driver. Upon doing so the music stopped. WOW!
I decided to further test the occurrence, so I disabled the doorbell and security cameras. I exited my home from the rear and went around to the front and approached my door just as the UPS driver had done. Apple Music Lossless continued to play. I re-enabled the cameras and repeated my exit and approach routine. Upon being captured by the cameras the music stopped. One more time for good measure I disabled the cameras and repeated the experiment….the music did not stop.
I continued to stream Apple Music Lossless (as grouped) with no issue for the remainder of the time as mentioned above. It’s clear to me that my security cameras can negatively impact an Apple Music Lossless stream.
Should I petition Sonos to fix the Apple Music Lossless API…. I think not. Rather than blame Sonos (as many have done) regarding Apple Music Lossless streams having issues; maybe doing a bit of investigation regarding one’s environment will help.
In my case will I be disabling my doorbell and security camera to stream Apple Music Lossless…I should say not! However, I will be more mindful of my room groupings (with Apple Music Lossless) and not try to tax my network beyond it’s limits. Besides, grouping five (5) rooms is not necessary and was only done as an experiment.
BTW…my network in case you’re interested consists of:
- ASUS Wi-Fi 7 AiMesh
- ASUS routers x 3
- Wired Backhaul
- 3GB incoming via Google Fiber *
I hope someone finds this information useful. Enjoy your Sonos and Apple Music Lossless streams.
* I’m quite aware that 3GB incoming does not translate into the same over Wi-Fi
