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Suddenly my sonos app became S1. I looked and saw that there is an S2 app also. Apparently it has new features, etc. But of course, they are crapping on customers with older devices and it won’t work.

The excuse is that older devices can’t handle the new app. Really? We are talking about streaming audio. Let’s not make more of it than what it is.  A few IF AND ELSE statements in the app, and Sonos could have made the new app work with old devices.  This is just a way to get people to drop their old devices and buy new ones. Kind of like how Apple slowed down iPhones. Sonos was selling the Connect up until about a year or two at most ago. Now those are considered old.

 

Then there is all these new devices, but still not

much for 3rd party speakers. The Amp is only 2 channel. Still no solution for real 5.1 or better sound with 3rd party speakers.  I have some speakers that are built into my custom wall unit and a sound at is out of the question as well as other speakers. So I have to use the amp or connect:amp. But neither of those have the option for 5.1.

So instead I run it thru a denon. Royal pain with the multiple volume, etc.

 

common Sonos!

www.ebay.com


your legacy products will still work with the S1 app.  Not sure why you’re angry about that.  your old gen Sonos wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the new features of the S2 app anyway.  Are you mad because you’d rather use the S2 app over the S1 app?  They’re both the same except for the added features that the legacy Sonos can’t handle because of hardware limitations (I’m guessing that limitation is internal memory + processing power).  Really, the only thing you’re missing is being able to stream hi-def music and to have “named groups” of speakers so you can group multiple rooms into a named group and not have to select all those rooms every time you want to stream there.  I’m not sure how big of a deal the hi-def music is, it’s not like these Sonos speakers are $15k standing stereo speakers that can really capitalize on the “lossy” music pumped to them.  


Suddenly my sonos app became S1. I looked and saw that there is an S2 app also. Apparently it has new features, etc. But of course, they are crapping on customers with older devices and it won’t work.

The excuse is that older devices can’t handle the new app. Really?

 

 

No, Sonos promised that S2 would come with improvements and features that legacy devices don’t have the hardware to handle.  It has nothing to do with the app, which is  just a controller, and everything to do with how the devices function and communicate with each other.

 

We are talking about streaming audio. Let’s not make more of it than what it is.  A few IF AND ELSE statements in the app, and Sonos could have made the new app work with old devices.  This is just a way to get people to drop their old devices and buy new ones. Kind of like how Apple slowed down iPhones. Sonos was selling the Connect up until about a year or two at most ago. Now those are considered old.

 

 

Again, the app is a controller, and not relevant to why S2 came along.  As for the Connect, only Connects made around 2015 and earlier are considered legacy.  Connects made after that point are considered modern and will work in S2.

 


No I don’t care about the s2 app. From what I read, there really isn’t anything new worth writing home about.

My problem is that Sonos keeps making customers with older equipment try to feel like we have old outdated equipment. Like we are still using tube TVs. Various features don’t work, etc. They love reminding us that we are using older stuff.

I have 13 Sonos zones in my house, and I spent a ton of money over the last 3 or 4 years building it. Now they keep trying to push me into newer stuff that will essentially accomplish the same task.

They also made it seem a few mo this back that soon my older products won’t be supported and may not work with their newer updates and apps.


The AMP is proving to be a huge disappointment -  and by no standards an honorable successor to the Connect:Amp. 
 

Not only is it only two channels (three if you count the sub) but despite its very recent release, it doesn’t support any of the new formats supported by the Arc. Good old DD 5.1 is the limit.
 

However, if you want to stay in the Sonos ecosystem and still build a home theater system with third party speakers, you should look into Onkyo or Pioneer receivers and the Works with Sonos program. 
 

One of Pioneer’s elite receivers (starting with the VSX-LX304) can drive up to three different Sonos zones using up to three Sonos Ports or Sonos Connects. 
 

And those receivers support any format you desire. DTS and Atmos included. They also include several HDMI inputs allowing the receiver to act as your HDMI-hub - meaning that you will never have to worry about whether your tv will pass on one of the few selected audio formats supported by your delicate Sonos speaker (coming from a long time user of the Playbar, Playbase and now the Beam). The receiver gets the sound directly from the source hooked up to it and simply passes on the picture to the TV. 
 

The Works with Sonos ensures that the receivers turn and switches to the right channel when you send music to the Sonos Port/Connect. A recent update even allows full Wilkie control via the Sonos app. 


No I don’t care about the s2 app. From what I read, there really isn’t anything new worth writing home about.

My problem is that Sonos keeps making customers with older equipment try to feel like we have old outdated equipment. Like we are still using tube TVs. Various features don’t work, etc. They love reminding us that we are using older stuff.

I have 13 Sonos zones in my house, and I spent a ton of money over the last 3 or 4 years building it. Now they keep trying to push me into newer stuff that will essentially accomplish the same task.

They also made it seem a few mo this back that soon my older products won’t be supported and may not work with their newer updates and apps.

Yeah, but if your stuff is only 3 or 4 years old, you’re good to go.  Most of the equipment not supported with S2 is pre 2015.  I started outfitting my home in 2016.  All of my Sonos equip migrated over to S2.  

In actuality, what Sonos did was to make a customer such as you happy.  Instead of forcing everyone into S2 and then saying “sorry that function is not available, please upgrade” they’re supporting 2 apps.  So if you stick on S1, you won’t know what you’re missing.  Your system will work the same today as it did last week.  If you think about it, this is awfully nice of Sonos to offer support of two different apps.  They could have just ditched S1 and then had S2 come out with a bunch of greyed out options you can’t use because you have legacy equipment.  


I have connect zp90s, connect:amps zp100 and zp110, and play base.

But if they all aren’t compatible, then they might as well be all non compatible.


I have connect zp90s, connect:amps zp100 and zp110, and play base.

But if they all aren’t compatible, then they might as well be all non compatible.

 

Then you are in luck, because Sonos allows you to keep them all operating exactly the way they do today.  Your feelings of being “pushed” are truly self-inflicted.  


No I don’t care about the s2 app. From what I read, there really isn’t anything new worth writing home about.

My problem is that Sonos keeps making customers with older equipment try to feel like we have old outdated equipment. Like we are still using tube TVs. Various features don’t work, etc. They love reminding us that we are using older stuff.

 

 

If you have ZP devices, you do have older outdated equipment.  It’s not a matter of feelings, just fact.  Sonos isn’t trying to make you feel anything by moving to a new OS that can take better advantage of modern hardware, they are trying to give customers better features.

 


No I don’t care about the s2 app. From what I read, there really isn’t anything new worth writing home about.

My problem is that Sonos keeps making customers with older equipment try to feel like we have old outdated equipment. Like we are still using tube TVs. Various features don’t work, etc. They love reminding us that we are using older stuff.

I have 13 Sonos zones in my house, and I spent a ton of money over the last 3 or 4 years building it. Now they keep trying to push me into newer stuff that will essentially accomplish the same task.They also made it seem a few mo this back that soon my older products won’t be supported and may not work with their newer updates and apps.

It seems to me, from your swipe at Apple that you would be better off buying audio great that is not hi tech. Apple didn't ”slow down” thier phones to cheat thier customers. They made them able to operate when the battery did not support full features. Sonos have taken nothing away from you that you bought. 

 


Sonos also said high resolution was coming to Sonos.

We get 24 / 48.  Would be nice to get high resolution for headphone setup.  Allo DigOne Signature is fantastic.


It seems to me, from your swipe at Apple that you would be better off buying audio gear that is not hi tech. Apple didn't ”slow down” thier phones to cheat thier customers. They made them able to operate when the battery was older and did not support full features. Sonos have taken nothing away from you that you bought. 


The AMP is proving to be a huge disappointment -  and by no standards an honorable successor to the Connect:Amp. 
 

Not only is it only two channels (three if you count the sub) but despite its very recent release, it doesn’t support any of the new formats supported by the Arc. Good old DD 5.1 is the limit.
 

 

A very strange criticism.  You describe the Amp as a successor to the Connect:Amp, then criticise it for its limitations with AV applications.  The Amp is primarily a Hifi amp, for playing music.  And the Connect:Amp wasn’t designed for TV sound at all, with its buffered, analog line-in.  The Connect:Amp could not do surround sound of any type. Weird.


The AMP is proving to be a huge disappointment -  and by no standards an honorable successor to the Connect:Amp. 
 

Not only is it only two channels (three if you count the sub) but despite its very recent release, it doesn’t support any of the new formats supported by the Arc. Good old DD 5.1 is the limit.
 

 

A very strange criticism.  You describe the Amp as a successor to the Connect:Amp, then criticise it for its limitations with AV applications.  The Amp is primarily a Hifi amp, for playing music.  And the Connect:Amp wasn’t designed for TV sound at all, with its buffered, analog line-in.  The Connect:Amp could not do surround sound of any type. Weird.

I assume that post was intended as a sarcastic remark?

 

A successor should of course not just do the same thing as its predecessor. If that was the case, there would have been no need to introduce a successor. 
 

The Connect:Amp was a fantastic product because it managed to stay relevant and useful for it’s entire 10-year lifetime for those who looked for a way to connect their third-party, passive speakers to the Sonos Ecosystem. 
 

Since the Connect:Amp was released, Sonos has added multiple new functions to their system and ventured into the home theater world when introducing the Playbar in 2013. 
 

When the Amp was released last year, it came with HDMI-Arc and surround capabilities equal to Sonos’ most recent home theater speakers at the time. It was just as much a home theater product as the Beam. 
 

But Sonos failed to future proof the Amp. The release of the Arc is a clear sign of what the future holds for home theater - even for casual users such as the Sonos fanbase.

 

My point is that I don’t see the Amp staying relevant as long as the Connect:Amp. The Amp is simply too limited in Today’s market and I expect that it will receive an upgrade in not too long if Sonos wants it to stay relevant in the market it was intended for.

 

I don’t see many people being willing to pay the premium price for the Amp to use it in the expensive home installments which is was intended for. At least not for home theater. The cost for one Amp, which is limited to stereo, is already higher than most equivalent surround receivers and stretching for surround, which is still limited to DD 5.1 which is basically now an obsolete audio format, doubles that price.

 

Personally, I’ve been a loyal Sonos fan for almost ten years now. I bought the Playbar on release. I have owned almost any speakers in the lineup since 2011, including the first gen Play 5, Play 3, Play 1, Play One, the Playbase, the Playbeam, the Sonos Sub, the Connect and the Connect:Amp. 

 

And now I am building a house with build-in speakers and even have a spare Sonos Sub waiting in the corner. If Sonos can’t convince me to buy an Amp, I think that is something to consider.