Doh...digging deeper I found that I was reading OLD info. Also, It looks like most of the complaints were coming from peeps that didn’t read.

old gear will still work on old S1 controller 

...new gear on the newer S2 controller.

Hopefully in the future update they will come up with S3 controller that will work for BOTH.

There was quite a bit of misunderstanding in the beginning, but most of that has cleared up now. As you suggest, all “old” speakers are supported by S1, and S2 works well for “newer” speakers. There are some that can run one or the other (not both at the same time) of the operating systems. All of my PLAY:1s are a good example, but I do choose, since I have a couple of Arcs, to run everything on S2. 

It’s hard to “know” the future, but if past history is any indication, our current speakers should last a long time, whether they’re on S1 or S2. 

Thanks for responding Airgetlam.

lol...I was just logging to see if I could delete my post as it is dated..hehe

But as I mentioned, I am new to Sonos and technologically inept...but proud to say I found the way back to HERE!  I am still on the fence with how deep I will go down this rabbit hole.  I know I will (at least) buy a Port as I REALLY want to get my Paradigm speakers running on the system!   

Quality passive speakers, with occasional service, will last decades, if not for 100 years. So will quality HiFi electronics that feed such speakers, again provided service is available for those decades.

Sonos isn’t built to last decades even from the hardware angle, which is still of excellent quality it must be said. But as far as service is concerned, they do not repair kit you have. Post warranty period you have to depend on being lucky to get an equivalent replacement. That said, a useful working life of ten years is not an unreasonable expectation of Sonos kit.

If you are spending real money therefore, I recommend using cheap smart front ends that can be replaced often, when they fail, or, more likely, become obsolete. Wire these to quality electronics and speakers of aforesaid kind. Even a front end as cheap as an Echo Dot will serve just as well as Sonos Port, for this purpose, at a much lower cost. What the Sonos Port will offer are more connectivity features. Sound quality for both Echo Dot and Port will as good as the downstream kit and room acoustics.

My 2006 Sonos gear is still supported and getting updates. As are the pieces I got back then that I’ve since I traded, sold or scrapped under the original Sonos Trade-Up deal.

All the audio gear electronics I bought with it in 2006 is no longer supported and several pieces have died.

The passive speakers from 2006 are still working but are no longer repairable (with factory components) if they die, and the Sub is also unsupported so I can’t use the LF tuning options.

@Sizzlalova .  You mention getting a couple of Ports, and a desire to listen to your Paradigm speakers.  I just wanted to check that you know that the Port provides no amplification?

@kumar -  I LOVE the price point of the DOT.  I checked it online and wow…$25! and it seems compatible with the Sonos.  That sounds a heck of a lot better then the $450 price tag on the Port!  The down side is that I am HEAVILY against talking to my house.  The same goes for my fridge or toaster.  I know people are into it but , I am not one of them.  I definitely want my system to operate seamlessly so I will probably opt for the Port.

@John B - yes thanks, my old school system is currently powered with an old Denon AVR 2500 that I will eventually be replacing with a  new (owned, sitting on the shelf) Sony ES1100 that (eventually) will power the entire house. I remodeled and have wiring and network in place but have yet changed over the hardware (in part because I have not chosen my path).

@Stanley_4 - It is GREAT to hear you have working gear at the 15yr mark!  That is encouraging to hear!  I’m sure it would be easy (down the road) to sell outdated stuff on-the-cheap this subsidize newer equipment. And THAT opens another issue…Pull the trigger and get it all at once so that everything operates on the same controller vs. piece it together over some years and run the risk of having to operate new and older equipment with different controllers.  Ugh! 
 

BTW, you guys are great!  Thanks for these insights.  This has been VERY helpful!

The Dot can be used for music play with the mic left OFF all the time, so you never need talk to it if you do not want to. However, the feature of voice commands is very useful for making volume changes or music stop/start when both hands are busy with work - once one gets accustomed to the feature, it is hard to do without it. But...there is no compulsion to use it.

Note though that it is only compatible with Sonos or any other kit that has line in jacks.

Given the increased memory of the newer Sonos products I don’t expect to see another S1 / S2 split coming, the new gear has a lot of headroom.

@Kumar -So, to be clear…I could go to Best Buy, purchase a $30 dot, plug it into my Denon and MY PARADIGMS WILL PLAY ALONG WITH MY OTHER SONOS STUFF?  If that’s the case, I’m on it tomorrow!

Yes, the Dot will play music from streaming services like Amazon/Apple Music/Spotify just fine, but it will not have the Paradigms play the same music at the same time in sync with your other Sonos speakers. If that feature is needed, you need the Port. But be sure it is in fact a needed feature, before spending ten times as much as for the Dot.

PS: Apple Music will only play on Dot via voice commands, but the other two need just a phone that has the Amazon or Spotify app on it which you can use for selecting the music you want and then moving the music stream via the app from the phone to the Dot and thence to the Paradigms.

Doh! Yea…thought that was to good to be true.  For me the entire point is to have the whole house ROCKING as a single unit.  PORT it is!

Thanks again for your helps and patience

Dots could also rock the whole house just as effectively as one unit, but they would have to be wired to non Sonos kit downstream. But if you have some Sonos, then it becomes mandatory to have all Sonos for the house to play as one large unit. So yes, you need the Port.