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So, just wondering how many others are like me.…

I've been a Sonos user for about 10 years now. 1st bought it to replace a home theatre system that my family couldn't understand!! Sonos was great. The setup was easy and it just worked! We've gradually increased to an average amount - playbar, sub and 2x play 3s in the lounge, and 4 play 1s in kitchen, playroom, office and bedroom.

It's been great grouping speakers for parties and gatherings - even 'DJing' on the fly at some by selecting new tracks as the last one ends etc. We've never bothered with voice control and use the app mainly. (Could never seem to get voice to work properly across multi room). 

So here we are, a family with a mix of android and iPhone (plus my daughter using laptop to control). I can see it's time to look at upgrading or adding (looking at a new lounge  theatre setup with arc and moving current one to playroom, plus maybe a Move 2). But it's still a big commitment and expense. One I need to be 100% confident with!

With the app and system being so so bad for the last 6-9 months, I've lost all confidence in Sonos. To the point of it stopping make any new purchases. Even black Friday deals and my 15% upgrade discount doesn't seem to be enough. I've been through the 'no devices found' stint, and had multiple power offs, router restarts etc. But I embraced Sonos because it was simple setup and never a glitch. We still have to wait between 5s and 30s for the app to see a room and it's currently playing audio - not great when a song with bad language comes on, and grandmas is here. Controlling volume up/down and muting is pretty embarrassing too, with so much lag. Just not a professional system, and not what I bought in to. 

So will spending 2 or 3k on new kit help? Probably not. And why would I right now. I'm actually spending more time looking for alternatives.

I worry that it's not just me, but 1000s of current Sonos users are holding back not looking to change. So, no sales, and the potential downfall of Sonos. The app 'was' great. It worked. Insisting on everything going through the cloud is wrong, and seems like a route to Sonos having more control - such as data collection and future paid subscriptions. 

So, who else is totally holding back on any more Sonos hardware commitment?

 

Holding off for now even though my stuff behaves well.  App is missing some things at this point, but I think Sonos will eventually fix those niggles.  I’m holding off to see if Sonos goes with a subscription model.  If they do I’m done.


I put all my purchase plans on hold following the app release of 7th May. That was shortly after I bought a couple of ERA 100s and a Sub Mini. I think that the ERA 100 is an amazing speaker and was considering upgrading some of my Play:1s.

I expected it would take a while to fix the app but honestly thought that it would be complete before Christmas.

I’m waiting to see where Sonos are heading. The recent releases are definitely focused on TV Surround Sound, even Ace, with music play back seeming to now be a secondary consideration. So it is not just about the app for me.

Fortunately I don’t need anything so as long as the speakers that I have continue “working” I’ll be waiting to see before making any big decisions.


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