Sonos HD Radio-My Review

  • 6 December 2020
  • 14 replies
  • 6613 views
Jeffrey_35
Userlevel 5
Badge +15

As I finish my 30 day free subscription, wanted to jot down my quick thoughts on Sonos HD Radio and why I won’t be renewing (for now).

The biggest reason is cost/value. $7.99 is a lot for what you are getting (and not getting). To be honest if they would have offered an annual subscription for $59.99 I probably would have bought but not for almost $100. If I were to give it a grade: Overall B-; Value D+; Features B-; Selections B+; Ease of Use A.

My wife and I have listened to it all month (not using any other music services) to give it a fair shake. My kids use Apple Music exclusively so for them it doesn’t matter. Probably a half dozen stations we regularly listened to-Mellow Morning (every morning), Cruise Control, Mainstream, Pure Unplugged, Radio a Gogo, Rock Pantheon, Rock Road Trip, Alternative Energy; used Pink Noise/Rain every night to go to sleep; even the Holidaze to set up the tree and decorations. Sampled about a dozen others to try them out. Great stations, very different mix than similar stations on Apple Music, Prime Amazon Music, Sirius XM & Calm (which we also have).  But, I can get something similar/close enough on services I already pay for (although Sirius XM is going away this month also). Most of these stations will go away when I cancel but some won’t which we can live with. Local radio is garbage so that’s a waste. Obviously things like these exclusive stations (which I can listen to for a few hours but then repeat so more like playlists), HD, commercials and skips are GREAT but not at that price.  I had no technical issues at all in the 30 days, it was flawless and very easy to find and use-although a Most/Recent Used tab near the top would be helpful. I also felt there were some gaps in the music genres/options that maybe they will fill later with other stations-Sirius XM has a ton. Not being able to use it with my Move at work on Bluetooth was also a negative along with access outside of my home on my phone/watch; something that no other service has as a restriction with; again I could live with it at the right price point. Getting an Arc means that I would love to hear Dolby Atmos music but that’s not available either. Tagging songs to play later would be a great feature as well. Finally, no integration with Alexa (at least I couldn’t figure it out), it would always default to Apple Music. 

If they address some of these I would definitely go back to it but for right now I will stick with the basic service and my other services. Being a huge Sonos fan I look forward to the opportunity to come back in the future.

 

 

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
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14 replies

W

I definitely like the idea of lossless “radio”. However, Sonos Radio just seems more like playlists that repeat far too often. 

N
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

I will not be subscribing after my free trial. In the UK its £7.99 per month,

I liked initially  searching through all the curated stations and genres and there were some rather nice tracks available.

However there is a lack of any real structure and depth. Its just a flat format of Graphic covers and the music underneath those pictures. I listen to the original content and then when I find something I like I play it again,,, But then what? For 8 quid a month I want more much much more. I want drill down and links and a better customisation of my experience. I want to feel an enjoyment of using the service  rather than finding it an effort to keep using it because I feel I should give it every opportunity in the first free month. Just because its HD doesnt mean its worth the money if its just a bunch of music grouped in genres and Curators.

 I dont think Sonos have a winner here. Maybe I will be proved wrong but certainly here in the UK at the high monthly price point and lack of functionality and content I dont believe there will be much uptake,

R

I won’t be renewing music keeps pausing. My Amazon HD is fine no issues or pandora as well.

R

I didn’t renew mine as well too many pauses with Sonos HD. I have Amazon HD no issues at all sounds great, better value as they have 50 million songs in HD or ultra HD.

Stuart_W
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Well given Sonos spent the best part of the last 10 years telling us that HD Music was snake oil and offered no benefits from an audio point of view I’m not going to even consider it.

 

Frankly it’s a bit of an insult

Arc + Sub (Gen 1) + 2 x Play 1/ Stereo Play 3s/ Era 100 Stereo in Kitchen, One Stereo in Bedroom, SL One in Study, Play 1in Bathroom & Conservatory
A

I didn’t renew mine as well too many pauses with Sonos HD. I have Amazon HD no issues at all sounds great, better value as they have 50 million songs in HD or ultra HD.

I confess, I haven’t even tried it, as I just can’t see it’s USP…

ratty

Well given Sonos spent the best part of the last 10 years telling us that HD Music was snake oil and offered no benefits from an audio point of view I’m not going to even consider it.

 

Frankly it’s a bit of an insult

Except that this isn’t “High Res”, it’s merely lossless CD quality. The “HD” bit is, like Amazon’s, a case of Definition Inflation.

RapmasterD
Badge +1

I think the curation is brilliant on stations like Indie Gold.

But the hollow and repetitive station ID bumpers make me feel like I’m listening to an unmanned ghost ship.

And I question the value of HD for many of us mere mortals who don’t listen to music with headphones, and keep our collar very moderate levels to suit other occupants in our household. For those rare times when I can crank er up, I’ve got Amazon Music HD, which for prime members paying annually, provides a lot of value.

However, the death knell for me is the playback buffering on Sonos Radio HD. We have fast fiber Internet here, hardwired connections to our Sonos speakers, and no playback issues with any other video or audio service. I feel like I’m listening to Rhapsody in 2002.

And so I canceled our subscription today. Everything else, including the limited station selection, was OK, by me...but not the latency.

 

 

 

Sonosjunkie
Userlevel 5
Badge +12

I didn’t renew mine as well too many pauses with Sonos HD. I have Amazon HD no issues at all sounds great, better value as they have 50 million songs in HD or ultra HD.

I confess, I haven’t even tried it, as I just can’t see it’s USP…

 Ditto. A HD service like Tidal or if Spotify did one then I can see the point int that if Sonos is able to stream the advantage and it is perceptible. But I’m only going to pay extra for “better quality” if it is reliable, noticeable and I can choose what I want to listen to - when I want to listen to it. When others are choosing for me I’ll be content with whatever quality I’m given - for free! 

Lounge: 5.1 Arc HT (2x Subs and 2xP5 rears) with LGOLED77CX. Kitchen: 2xOneW, 2xP3w with SubW. Bedroom: 2xP1s. Office/Studio: 2xP5w. Snug 2xP1s. Garage: 2xOneW. Also 3x Moves.
D

Well given Sonos spent the best part of the last 10 years telling us that HD Music was snake oil and offered no benefits from an audio point of view I’m not going to even consider it.

 

Frankly it’s a bit of an insult

Frankly you should pay more attention. This is a format Sonos has always made available. 

Jeffrey_35
Userlevel 5
Badge +15

I wanted to follow up as it’s been 5 months and my wife convinced me (well actually more like demanded) we get it back and so I have had it for about 4 months. Here are some updated thoughts. Very few drop offs even though it’s at a higher quality, it sounds great on all different types of Sonos speakers. I also think they have either listened to people or are just getting better at knowing what’s out there but they continue to add new stations each month 3-5 at a time with at least one or two being great adds for my musical interests. I really like the monthly themed stations that come and go as well as special events as it kind of forces me to try out new music styles. Still not a fan of some of the Sonos presents but I am a little older. Some of the other shortfalls are still there: no Bluetooth listening with Roam and Move or through Carplay is very disappointing and a lost value opportunity so is not offering an annual value price like $79 instead of $96. Not having access to them through Alexa is frustrating as well as not having the ability to to add a song to a Sonos HD playlist or something of the sort even just tagging songs.
 

Previously I rated it as follows: Overall B-; Value D+; Features B-; Selections B+; Ease of Use A. After 4 months of continuing use I would up Overall to a B with bumping Value to a C- and Selections to an A-/B+. 

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
W
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

You guys are lucky enough to have an opportunity to try… it shut me out because of geographical restrictions… :(

Jeffrey_35
Userlevel 5
Badge +15

You guys are lucky enough to have an opportunity to try… it shut me out because of geographical restrictions… :(

Sorry to hear. Hopefully soon for you, best of luck. Like I said it keeps getting better so maybe by the time it comes to Hong Kong it will be super awesome. If it’s any consolation I am a little jealous of your latest badges earned. 🙂

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
W
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

You guys are lucky enough to have an opportunity to try… it shut me out because of geographical restrictions… :(

Sorry to hear. Hopefully soon for you, best of luck. Like I said it keeps getting better so maybe by the time it comes to Hong Kong it will be super awesome. If it’s any consolation I am a little jealous of your latest badges earned. 🙂

Haha I'm just a newbie here and it's always happy to learn about the system and other knowledge from the experts who are so willing to help the others here! 😊😊

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