music library

There is a search function for the music library that works well, even without the alphabet at the side for quick access. I have fat fingers and it hardly worked correctly for me. I didn't post a complaint about it though. As far as playlist go, I normally create and edit playlist on my Mac. I just have to restart my phone app and all my changes are there.

I am going to defend Sonos here: I happen to like the new app and I am waiting for the missing functionality to return. Sonos has a roadmap for future improvements and they are being implemented with each update.

I am sorry you feel the things that made Sonos good is gone, but I feel the opposite.. they are just getting better.

Yup it’s a big step backwards and pathetic that it’s been 9 months since they’ve taken away these features and more. 

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There is a search function for the music library that works well, even without the alphabet at the side for quick access. I have fat fingers and it hardly worked correctly for me. I didn't post a complaint about it though. As far as playlist go, I normally create and edit playlist on my Mac. I just have to restart my phone app and all my changes are there.

Scrolling over and over is not user friendly.  If I open one of my long M3U playlists and want to start well into that playlist I have to scroll way too much to get there.  Searching will not solve that scenario.

at least with SonoPhone I can grab the scroll bar and pull down to an approximate location.  The 16.x orange app works the same way as SonoPhone.  With Sonos the scroll bar has to reset over and over again.  Pain in the butt.

I’m fine with most of the 80.x app with the exception of some of what seems to be the most basic features.  One ridiculous oversight is the fact the queue does not even follow the music progress.  Never seen that before and I’ve seen most control point software.

I am a long-time user of Sonos with 1000s of songs copied and downloaded into a library. My speakers may be old--Play 1’s--but after having visited HiFi stores in the US and other countries, as well as delivered repeated messages to the CEO of Sonos--repeated over the years, most recently in November, and from the CEO, having  then repeated contact with truly dedicated support staff, I have had the following experience:
1.  HiFi stores, which love the acoustics of Sonos, simply shake their head in disbelief at what Sonos’ updates and software have done: they have rendered inaccessible 1000s of dollars of music Sonos users have collected.

2.The dedicated staff have repeatedly tried to fix things which if they are fixed last only until the next update, at which point, as we all know from having looked at the various online support chats, renews the problem and is not at all addressed by SONOS in some way to fix the problem immediately, addressing specific new issues. Instead one has contact again with support staff. In my last experience in late November, a truly wonderful staff person made a number of suggestions and checked with engineers on staff, which revealed: 1) some of the instructions online are simply wrong (e.g. whether to use \ or / in the separation of folders when trying to add a music library and 2) Still more damning, that in fact they don’t know how to solve the problem. The support staff (who was quite senior) was truly happy for me when I fixed the issue and confessed that no one at SONOS really knows how to fix it, it recurs and individuals have to figure it out. Please read that again if you need to. It means SONOS with each update subverts access to the music library and does not know how to fix the problem. 

3.After these experiences, which are not confined to 2024, I believe; after many years of loving my speakers, I’m done and have a suggestion: SONOS feels no compulsion to fix this issues, preferring one pays for streaming, I guess, and saves them the trouble of having to make a wholesale fix of their software. It has no concern for those who have been loyal to SONOS for years, preferring those older speakers simply be rendered inoperable. The only motivation that will lead to a fix is to vote with your feet. Say you’re done with SONOS until such a time that SONOS fixes their problems. Let your money talk, I am. Goodbye SONOS, until such a time as you show you’re responsive and loyal and fix your problems. I’m buying someone else’s speakers, many of which are now competitive in sound and price.

Absolutely agree from my experience over several years. I haven’t the patience to investigate as much as you have but I have come to the conclusion that Sonos is not for real music fans. I would be very reluctant to buy any Sonos products again.

I play vinyl and stream but have a large collection of downloaded music from CDs which I want to access. Sonos library gives very awkward access to this. I am looking for other ways to do this. I have a Cambridge streamer which uses Stream magic which doesn’t seem to offer much to resolve this. I am looking at Plex and beyond that can only see Roon as a possible if expensive solution. Any other ideas?