So I just recently bought a playbar a little less than 3 months ago. As many I was excited about AirPlay 2 so I went out and got two Ones to support my surround.
Well after the updated you can’t use airplay 2 even though I have the Ones that are compatible because the playbar isn’t.
The only way to use airplay 2 is to separate my surround and then do a group with my stereo Ones and my playbar+sub. Only problem is there a slight delay when watching tv when they are grouped which is completing annoying.
I didn’t get the playbase because my TV mounted and the beam wasn’t even announced if I remember correctly.
I’m really sad about this since I’ve seen plenty of people buys Ones so that they can support AirPlay 2.
So the grand question. Will they support surround at some point with playbar.
Will Airplay 2 ever be supported via Surround with Playbar and Ones?
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Regarding what Sonos said before and at launch, this is Sonos blog from that time:
'Even though AirPlay 2 is only supported on Sonos One, Beam, Playbase and Play:5 (2nd generation), grouping your other speakers to any of these and you can use AirPlay across your entire home sound system. So even non-AirPlay compatible speakers like Playbar or Play:1 can reap the sonic benefits of our AirPlay 2 integration, provided they’re grouped with one of our newer, AirPlay-friendly devices in the Sonos app.'
That accurately describes the position. Group a compatible speaker with the Playbar and you can Airplay 2 to it.
'Even though AirPlay 2 is only supported on Sonos One, Beam, Playbase and Play:5 (2nd generation), grouping your other speakers to any of these and you can use AirPlay across your entire home sound system. So even non-AirPlay compatible speakers like Playbar or Play:1 can reap the sonic benefits of our AirPlay 2 integration, provided they’re grouped with one of our newer, AirPlay-friendly devices in the Sonos app.'
That accurately describes the position. Group a compatible speaker with the Playbar and you can Airplay 2 to it.
Sonos have stated that it is a hardware limitation that means the Playbar, Play:1 etc cannot be made to work 'natively' with Airplay 2. There is no software fix for that. Could software be written that would change the nature of the connection between surrounds and Playbar from 'bonded' to 'grouped'? Possibly - I don't know. If so, would it be easy and would it be quick? I very much doubt it, given the fundamental difference between bonding and grouping, and the failure of all past requests for such auto-reconfiguration. And then there is Trueplay....
Would the gain, even if possible, justify the development resource? Not in my view, given the options already available.
Would the gain, even if possible, justify the development resource? Not in my view, given the options already available.
@johnb actually, I never thought, said or interpreted that at all - the only time I mentioned the word "core" was asking if Google Home or Alexa was considered core activity by @bockerjv - as they mentioned "core" products and was trying to understand what they meant by that.
The only other thing I said that was even remotely similar to that was that if Google Home or Alexa was Sonos' focus, then great, but that it was not mine.
So forgive me, but I'm not sure where you are coming from - like I said I am not being a disgruntled or angry customer, nor am I accusing Sonos of not supporting, or wanting to support, AirPlay. The functionality as it exists now simply is not available in a way that assists me as I don't need more speakers so I'm just exploring my alternatives, is all.
yeah no worries, mate - It was just an idea. Definitely not having a go at you.
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