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Can anybody suggest me an alternative to Sonos?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
May 24, 2024
47 replies
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Can anybody suggest me an alternative to Sonos? My system is practically a useless brick, hence it'll end up in the bin.

All suggestions will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

RIP SONOS

alternative

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Best answer by JosDec

Can anybody suggest me an alternative to Sonos? My system is practically a useless brick, hence it'll end up in the bin.

All suggestions will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

RIP SONOS

Yes. Your alternative is to show a little patience and wait a couple weeks. They already fixed a lot of issues with the latest updates. What makes you think they won’t fix the rest in a few weeks or so?

And I realize people experience the new app differently. But for me it loads way faster, I don’t need to add a new device, so no issues there, and my 4 ones, Roam, and Port are always there. And access to my local library albums now works with the last fixes.

I have one of my Ones hardwired. I think that makes a lot of difference in happiness with Sonos both before and after the new app. If you can hardwire just one of your devices the whole thing seems to work better.

Patience? Sonos have taken a lot of people’s hard earned money for a product that doesn’t provide the very service that sold it to them in the first place ie play music from a library! Your comments are offensive to the loyal customers of sonos who had faith in the brand and never thought they would shafted by corporate greed.

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J

jorwin

Enthusiast II

marcos51, izi0,

There are a lot of alternatives to Sonos, and more coming on line all the time. Some cheaper, some more expensive, all more reliable. All produced by companies that are unlikely to declare war on its customer base (repeatedly) like Sonos.

That was the nail hit precisely by the hammer. There are other companies from time to time discontinuing products or ending their support, and it can have serious consequences for their customers. But they will almost all try to do it in a way that retains the customers - or at least let them go with a memory of something good. And there are bad companies that never fix important problems, like I just experienced it with Denon. But then you throw away those products, regretting to have ever bought them, and look for something better.

Sonos has the most absurd behavior of companies, and it is greatly helped by the many users of Sonos products who do not care about a few months of not being able to use their products, or about the need for several hours of consulting help to make things work again, or, work as it can be possible after Sonos’ latest attack.

What if Sonos made coffee machines? Suddenly one day your machine would deliver only cold water, and only sometimes, and not enough for a cup, as Sonos would be in a process of changing the way beans would be added and water would be heated, and that would take a few months. No guarantee, though, that you in the end would be able to drink coffee made by your coffee machine. Or, perhaps if you pay for a new one, then maybe it would work, who knows? In any case, you could buy their newly launched coffee cups, even though you would have no use for them, but they are fantastic!

Would the many fans just drink something else - or nothing - for the next few months if that would happen? And would they buy the new cups? Yes, I think so. Demandless people, perhaps a bit unhappy about the function of a small button somewhere in the user interface, but showing no affect when the whole system breaks down.

I am beginning to think that those Sonos fans aren’t interested in music at all - they don’t need it, so it doesn't matter for them if their music system works or not.

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.

UKMedia

marcos51, izi0,

There are a lot of alternatives to Sonos, and more coming on line all the time. Some cheaper, some more expensive, all more reliable. All produced by companies that are unlikely to declare war on its customer base (repeatedly) like Sonos.

That was the nail hit precisely by the hammer. There are other companies from time to time discontinuing products or ending their support, and it can have serious consequences for their customers. But they will almost all try to do it in a way that retains the customers - or at least let them go with a memory of something good. And there are bad companies that never fix important problems, like I just experienced it with Denon. But then you throw away those products, regretting to have ever bought them, and look for something better.

Sonos has the most absurd behavior of companies, and it is greatly helped by the many users of Sonos products who do not care about a few months of not being able to use their products, or about the need for several hours of consulting help to make things work again, or, work as it can be possible after Sonos’ latest attack.

What if Sonos made coffee machines? Suddenly one day your machine would deliver only cold water, and only sometimes, and not enough for a cup, as Sonos would be in a process of changing the way beans would be added and water would be heated, and that would take a few months. No guarantee, though, that you in the end would be able to drink coffee made by your coffee machine. Or, perhaps if you pay for a new one, then maybe it would work, who knows? In any case, you could buy their newly launched coffee cups, even though you would have no use for them, but they are fantastic!

Would the many fans just drink something else - or nothing - for the next few months if that would happen? And would they buy the new cups? Yes, I think so. Demandless people, perhaps a bit unhappy about the function of a small button somewhere in the user interface, but showing no affect when the whole system breaks down.

I am beginning to think that those Sonos fans aren’t interested in music at all - they don’t need it, so it doesn't matter for them if their music system works or not.

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.

I have been accused of being a Sonos Fan and ignoring the fact that people are impacted. However in my case, my audio experience hasn’t been affected so far. I don’t know why some users have issues that I can’t replicate but that is just the reality of my situation. However, I don’t use a local library, nor alarms. So your comment about Sonos fans may be because they aren’t impacted either.

However, your style of comment about Sonos Fans, and other negative comments when trying to help users is starting to make me hesitant at times to try and help people. This is a great Sonos user forum, just be careful what you wish for when attacking or posting negative comments about other users!

Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)

I

izi0Author

Avid Contributor I

marcos51, izi0,

There are a lot of alternatives to Sonos, and more coming on line all the time. Some cheaper, some more expensive, all more reliable. All produced by companies that are unlikely to declare war on its customer base (repeatedly) like Sonos.

That was the nail hit precisely by the hammer. There are other companies from time to time discontinuing products or ending their support, and it can have serious consequences for their customers. But they will almost all try to do it in a way that retains the customers - or at least let them go with a memory of something good. And there are bad companies that never fix important problems, like I just experienced it with Denon. But then you throw away those products, regretting to have ever bought them, and look for something better.

Sonos has the most absurd behavior of companies, and it is greatly helped by the many users of Sonos products who do not care about a few months of not being able to use their products, or about the need for several hours of consulting help to make things work again, or, work as it can be possible after Sonos’ latest attack.

What if Sonos made coffee machines? Suddenly one day your machine would deliver only cold water, and only sometimes, and not enough for a cup, as Sonos would be in a process of changing the way beans would be added and water would be heated, and that would take a few months. No guarantee, though, that you in the end would be able to drink coffee made by your coffee machine. Or, perhaps if you pay for a new one, then maybe it would work, who knows? In any case, you could buy their newly launched coffee cups, even though you would have no use for them, but they are fantastic!

Would the many fans just drink something else - or nothing - for the next few months if that would happen? And would they buy the new cups? Yes, I think so. Demandless people, perhaps a bit unhappy about the function of a small button somewhere in the user interface, but showing no affect when the whole system breaks down.

I am beginning to think that those Sonos fans aren’t interested in music at all - they don’t need it, so it doesn't matter for them if their music system works or not.

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.

The Moderators seem to be the only people within Sonos who are working.

Instead, I think they should invest their money in making their products working and robustly after releasing a new SW update dictated by their marketing department (a pair of headphones, really??! -- watch the review made by Marquee Bronwlee, a release nobody needed!)..... my coffee machine is delivering only cold squishy crap!!

Sonos sucks!

F

FlipSonos

Lyricist II

Anyone who defends SONOS or objects to criticism of its crooked practices is clearly either not making much use of the products or is dishonest and probably in the pay of the b*******.

Those who have profited from the scam - including dealers who greedily took the 30 pieces of silver for installing crappy plastic boxes in poor suckers’ homes - need to be sanctioned and punished in some way that effectively discourages them from repeating the rip-off in some other format.

The effect on the lives of music lovers is no less impactful because pathetic apologists have nothing better to do than parrot excuses for the appalling treatment suffered - and expense and inconvenience incurred.

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.

G0atHax0r

Enthusiast II

I actually just got done posting this in a different thread… hope it helps!

Roon provides a “controller application”, much like Sonos. It can actually play music through your Sonos speakers. Amazingly, it’s fast, and finds your equipment every time unlike the Sonos app. It’s got a decent interface but the streaming app choice is pretty minimal. It also comes with a monthly subscription fee to use the app/controller. That was kind of a turn-off for me.

WiiM requires new hardware… granted, a LOT cheaper than a single Sonos speaker, but hooks up to powered, unpowered or stereo equipment. Interface is great, is able to selectively play from local libraries (using Plex), and has a great selection of streaming apps.

Bluesound is another one… but have not tried it.

I have just gone through the motion of replacing all my Sonos equipment with WiiM. I love it. The fact that it just works, all your equipment has now turned into google/alexa enabled devices as well, and provides excellent sound. You should see my Sonos equipment for sale on ebay here soon.

KenS

Enthusiast II

Alternatives to Sonos are Bluesound and HEOS.

While you look into alternatives, disable 5ghz in your router settings so the Sonos app, while feature are missing, at least runs fast and reliable.

And what about the numerous other devices in the household that run perfectly well on and make use of the higher bandwidth provided by 5gHz (and actually 6e as well)? No thanks but not happening.

G0atHax0r

Enthusiast II

Alternatives to Sonos are Bluesound and HEOS.

While you look into alternatives, disable 5ghz in your router settings so the Sonos app, while feature are missing, at least runs fast and reliable.

And what about the numerous other devices in the household that run perfectly well on and make use of the higher bandwidth provided by 5gHz (and actually 6e as well)? No thanks but not happening.

I agree… 5GHz WiFi has literally been around for decades. Don’t tell me our Sonos developers still haven’t been able to figure out how to play nicely with a mixed 2.4/5Ghz range. I can’t imagine to see what will happen when 6GHz gets introduced. Are you going to tell the owners who just poured $500+ into a new 6GHz router to turn off 5 and 6GHz ranges so their Sonos speakers will work? Sounds like a different solution may be needed if Sonos is indeed this hobbled.

Besides… the 5GHz WiFi issue didn’t apply to me anyways. All my Sonos equipment was so old, that they could only use 2.4GHz network. And they still blinked out, couldn’t be found, blinked in, music library blinked in and out, volume unusable, etc. But yet, everything worked fine when controlling my equipment using the Windows Controller software.

Since switching to WiiM hardware/players full-time… I have been pleasantly surprised with the amount of granular tweaking you can do with these players. For instance, you can specify that they “Use 5GHz Only”, and states “5GHz Only disables 2.4GHz band on your device and connects it to your router with 5GHz Band. This helps device discovery and smoother audio playback”.

UKMedia

Okay, I don't want to get in the way of a good rant but some facts here:

1. Sonos support 5ghtz on their new products.

2. 2.4ghtz has much better wall penetration than 5ghtz.

3. 5ghtz has much better data transfer speeds but Sonos devices don't tend to require the extra bandwidth.

4. Most smart home devices that require a stable WiFi signal between multiple devices within the home with low bandwidth, utilise the 2.4ghtz frequency.

Okay, you can go back to your rants and complain that I'm a fan boy now. Enjoy. 😁

Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)

G0atHax0r

Enthusiast II

Okay, I don't want to get in the way of a good rant but some facts here:

1. Sonos support 5ghtz on their new products.

2. 2.4ghtz has much better wall penetration than 5ghtz.

3. 5ghtz has much better data transfer speeds but Sonos devices don't tend to require the extra bandwidth.

4. Most smart home devices that require a stable WiFi signal between multiple devices within the home with low bandwidth, utilise the 2.4ghtz frequency.

Okay, you can go back to your rants and complain that I'm a fan boy now. Enjoy. 😁

All these WiFi facts are correct and spot-on… you can go back to being a Sonos fanboi now. :)

Having turned from a decades-long Sonos fan to an anti-Sonos-fanboi, I’m still not in favor of turning off 5GHz on anyone’s routers.

KenS

Enthusiast II

Okay, I don't want to get in the way of a good rant but some facts here:

1. Sonos support 5ghtz on their new products.

2. 2.4ghtz has much better wall penetration than 5ghtz.

3. 5ghtz has much better data transfer speeds but Sonos devices don't tend to require the extra bandwidth.

4. Most smart home devices that require a stable WiFi signal between multiple devices within the home with low bandwidth, utilise the 2.4ghtz frequency.

Okay, you can go back to your rants and complain that I'm a fan boy now. Enjoy. 😁

Everything you say is correct. But I pay for FTTH and a 900/100 connection. Our mesh WiFi is excellent and I can assure you the laptop computers and iPhones in our home, among other devices, make use of more than 2.4gHz can provide. So I won’t be downgrading the home WiFi. Plus our Sonos devices are hardwired to the LAN anyway….

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