HomePod compatibility with Sonos system

From my understanding Airplay 2 in and of itself should allow to group all airplay 2 compatible speakers with each other. So in theory it could work, but i don't know if sonos will be locked out to do this with their speakers. I a previous post i put, i bring a topic up similar to yours, but talking about the integration of Alexa Echo Speakers with Sonos or Google Home Speakers (i.e. Google Home Max) with Sonos.

However, your question is a bit different as i think it may be settled by the simple fact that Airplay 2 would do the grouping of speakers. At least what i understand as of now.

https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/grouping-alexa-echo-speakers-with-sonos-speakers-6791573/index1.html#post16151271

Thanks guys, although I believe 2 home pods will probably sound better than the sonos soundbar, it's probably not worth the headache trying to get it to work together. Might just have to use the HomePod in the bedroom as a standalone speaker and use airplay when wanting to send the same music throughout the home.

I'm admittedly biased against much of what Apple does, but I can't imagine that the HomePod will deliver a better "home theatre" experience than any good SoundBar. It's not what they are designed to do after all.

There will remain the issue of how you connect them to the television.

I use all Apple products, so if the new play ones will support Siri and airplay 2 then i'm probably sold on an all Sonos system.

It's highly unlikely that Apple will ever allow third parties to include Siri, so if you want to stick with the worst-in-class assistant you'll have to go with the HomePod 🙂

While I can agree that Siri isn't the best, she actually performs great for the things I would actually use an assistant for. I don't mind sacrificing in one area to have the best option for many many more other areas. 🙂

While I can agree that Siri isn't the best, she actually performs great for the things I would actually use an assistant for. I don't mind sacrificing in one area to have the best option for many many more other areas. :)

To play Devil’s advocate: like what? A more expensive speaker you can’t listen to or buy yet?

Siri is mostly used for turning on my smart lights, checking the thermostat, locking unlocking the front door for guests, asking the weather, calling family, turning on/off the smart ceiling fan, etc.

As for the HomePod, I actually don't find it too expensive, I mean for just the playbar i'm going to fork out over $700. For that same price I could buy 2 homepods which would be 14 tweeters and 2 woofers in all. It looks like I'll be getting 9 speakers on the playbar.

I really want to hear all these speakers in person, I just have a feeling the 2 home pods up front instead of the playbar will sounds much better, but as an Apple user I don't like fragmentation and/or having to try and force things to work which is why I am leaning towards just getting the full sonos system and see what happens next year with Siri and airplay 2 support.
It looks like airplay 2 will allow me to pick and choose which speakers to send to all from within the OS and not needing a separate app, which is what I prefer.

I understand some people dislike Apple, I was a windows user for over 15 years before I switched to a mac and remember thinking of Apple as a joke. Honestly for my needs switching over was the best decision I ever made.

I really want to hear all these speakers in person, I just have a feeling the 2 home pods up front instead of the playbar will sounds much better

Highly unlikely. All those tweeters are there to allow 360 degree horizontal dispersion. That will destroy proper stereo imaging. Not that these silly, extremely limited Apple speakers will even stereo pair. A pair of Play:1s will sound FAR more natural. Add a Sub, and there will be no contest; that Sonos setup will kick all other multi room setups to the curb, not to mention a good portion of traditional HiFi systems.

All those tweeters are there to allow 360 degree horizontal dispersion. That will destroy proper stereo imaging.

Yes, it's not simply a number game, and that's why I didn't restrict the comparison to Sonos' soundbars. I think any good soundbar setup will be significantly better for a "home theatre" setup than any speakers designed like HomePod/Echo to "fill a room".

Keep in mind that the HomePod isn't likely to feature any input ports, so even if you could pull it off, Apple clearly isn't intending that to be the use case.