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Darlite


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Hey guys,
I was on Facebook today and came across a pretty cool gizmo name Darlite. They have a Kickstarter page. In a nutshell, it's a little device that allows you to play any type of music
.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darlite/darlite-the-limitless-sonos-experience?ref=3n1r7h
That is their Kickstarter page. My question is do you think Sonos will be coming out with this feature anytime soon. I could do without the lights that Darlight has. I just want to be able to play anything that is on my phone via my Sonos Speakers.
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Best answer by Ryan S 14 June 2017, 20:33

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Userlevel 7
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It looks to be a cheap version of the Sonos connect with Bluetooth added. I may be wrong, but the connection to the Play 1 shown in the Kickstarter is just for the power. All other comms must be via WiFi. I suppose it could also be emulating a NAS?

Been burned on Kickstarter, buyer beware!
Well, it should be a good test of just how many people really do care about sending to their Sonos via Bluetooth, lol. Im guessing it won't be fully funded, partially because the Airplay support has already been obsoleted by Apple, and because most Sonos owners already understand how horrible Bluetooth is.

Oh, and Darlite is a really awful name, lol. And the lights thing? Puleeeeze.:D
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
Still, if it was a battery pack as well, it would solve most of the missing features people on here moan about :8
I would be tempted to pick up one on Amazon when it gets there. Until then, it is vapourware, with or without a battery.
Userlevel 7
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Still, if it was a battery pack as well, it would solve most of the missing features people on here moan about :8I can't see it being a battery pack as it connects to the 240v in and looks like just a pass through of mains power. It would need to be a big battery and step up transformer to work as a battery pack.

If you want a battery powered Sonos there is a you tube video of someone modding a Play 1 to enable it to be powered by a powerbank battery. Would invalidate warrantee though.
Userlevel 7
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Well it's not a new product yet! I don't like the sketchy details either.
Userlevel 2
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This does look interesting - especially the fact only one is needed to allow 'AirPlaying' to any or all Sonos devices. With rumours indicating the AirPort Express is going to be discontinued this would be an alternative and it appears super approach.

However now that Apple have announced AirPlay2 and the fact AirPlay2 devices can be used via HomeKit I would be much more excited if it supported AirPlay2 as well or instead of AirPlay1. (I get the impression all AirPlay2 devices will in anycase also support AirPlay1.)
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Hey guys, I just went through and deleted several posts. Let's not get into a fight here. If you think there's something wrong with a post, flag it and our moderators will take a look. You don't need to call it out publically and start a war.

There have been a few topics in the last week about this product, so the word Spam about it is getting thrown around. I just want to be clear, it's ok to talk about other products here, competing or not. Promotion of websites, sales, products is frowned upon or not allowed, so it's a close line sometimes.

My rule of thumb is that discussion about the product or app is fine, but selling it isn't. This topic is now in the Music, culture, and the industry area, because it's about something in the industry. Feel free to discuss Darlite, but please refrain from spamming it in other threads or pushing anyone into buying it.

The question from the start on this thread is:
question is do you think Sonos will be coming out with this feature anytime soon


That's a perfectly fine discussion to have here. I can't comment officially on it, but the community is welcome to speculate. I'll pass the suggestion and interest on to the development team though.

I'll leave you with a personal warning about kickstarting products, as others have said, it's selling vaporware. Some really great projects have come out of Kickstarter, which is really cool and a great idea. But there's also a very dark side to that coin. We've all heard stories of people who have cut and run with the money, or projects that completely fell through black holes and disappeared. But that's just my personal opinion, so you can take that all with several grains of salt or sugar, your choice.
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
Note how the audio in the 'dynamic mode' YouTube clip is totally out of sync with the video - as you would expect in this setup !!
1. I have used kickstarter for electronic projects backing twice. I lost my money twice. Little to no recourse. Wait til it comes to regular market unless you are willing to risk the loss in order to back. But dont assume the creators will pull it off. Its a gamble.

2. I really really wish Sonos would recognize a clear market demand for people who want to use their speakers but sometimes need the flexibility that stuff like bluetooth and airplay affords the majority of the people in the world. Theres people chasing hacks and 3rd party workarounds and living with non-Sonos hardware/software that kills the whole experience.

3. I find it hard to justify dropping $300 - $500 on the connect boxes just because I wish to QUICKLY/EASILY play a song from my ipad thru any app on my ipad. if sonos doesnt support the app, I wish i could select bluetooth or airplay knowing that I wont get audio quality like sonos protocol. Sometimes i just dont care and just dont need it.

USE CASE A):
i have a desktop MAC and a macbook laptop. Lets say i want to watch a movie. To get the sound on sonos speakers from my laptop itunes/vlc, i have to unplug the single cable from my desktop computer and plug into my laptop (i need a giant length cable).

USE CASE B)
another use-case is that I want audio generally on ALL activities on my computer. I was sort of shocked to see this is not exactly a wireless option.

- so i wind up having to use a bluetooth receiver.

4. I dunno.. i feel like the connect units are VERY over-priced because they give functionality that really should be built into these speakers imo at the price point.

5. I came close to selling my system til I saw this kickstarter project lol. I like the quality on sonos and its look but i want something to do some simple stuff without having to spend another fortune.

6. Am I crazy here? At minimum, Sonos should tell us their roadmap. I think they MUST be addressing this simple enhancement with either a cheap physical unit or baking it into the existing units if they can (can airplay really not be achieved via software enhancements?).
- Part of my frustration is my own fault. I bought the thing iwithout specially looking into "whole computer connection options" as I figured this requirement was so basic that they must have it (or else how did they get so popular??"

Throw us a bone sonos! help us love u (i really want to love u!). Give a low-quality bluetooth/airplay option baked into ur play:5. or a cheapo SMALL device like the workaround bluetooth receivers and chromecasts people are hacking into their setup.

And if im retarded and missing something that achieves USE CASE B - please let me know? the best i come up with is a 3rd party bluetooth or apple tv hooked into my play 5.

I saw some solution people use integrating those Apple bridge devices. Is that something i should look at?

Im gonna stick it out til 2018 and see where the trends are heading with these speakers but if theres not a drop-dead simple/fairly priced solution by then, I gotta call it quits and grab something else that gives more universal connectivity without even thinking about it.

Im definitely getting rid of one play:5. anybody intrested, msg me and we can do it on ebay. its almost brand new. no low balls. id take 20-25% off new price max.

thatll leave me with a play 5, play 3, two play 1's across the house so i still got skin in the game 🙂
At minimum, Sonos should tell us their roadmap.
Lol. What you actually want is a road map that has your wants included in it!

I can see the case for bluetooth, but adding that to the line up clearly isn't as simple as it looks to us lay folk. Why would they not do it if it was a trivial thing?
Bluetooth is the worst possible protocol for quality audio. Every sound your computer or phone makes is routed to the target speakers. Sonos has humorous commercials showing just how awful it is. Not gonna happen. Airplay is synonymous with dropouts. Another non-starter.

You want to cast videos? Get a Chromecast, plug it into your TV, then output the TVs sound to a Playbar/base.
BTW, the Darlite campaign is at the halfway point, with only 400 backers, and just 1/4 funded. Doesn't look promising. Most Sonos users understand how pointless Darlite is...
Just 11 days to go, still stuck at 1/4 of their goal, with a measly 463 backers. So, despite all the posters here insisting for years that Sonos will fail if they don't add Bluetooth, AirPlay, etc, guess what? Sonos is doing just fine, Darlite is going down in flames before they even get off the ground. Sorry! Lol.
That's a pity; if the price was right when it reached retail, I might have given it a spin. But it has to reach retail without my contribution to that. I haven't the incentive or the money to fund vapourware development.
So, they killed it, after realizing they weren't going to get anywhere near their goal, only 500 supporters and just over 1/4 funded.

However, they are saying Sonos promised not to block them, they have an interested partner and distributor, so maybe.... Still a bad idea, IMO, and pretty clearly shows that all the noise on this forum from those insistent on Bluetooth and/or AirPlay support are unwilling to pony up; they want Sonos to provide for free, which is not going to happen.
Userlevel 5
Badge +10
Personally, I think a linein on the Play 1s would appease a lot of people who are never going to buy Sonos products above that level. It would provide the ability to hook up Chromecast, Airplay and Bluetooth devices. Many of us, including me, do that with Connects and Play 5s, so why not the 1s?
Userlevel 2
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I would gladly purchase a real product with line-in/airplay/bluetooth rather than a promise of something at some unknown date from the wild west known as kickstarter/indiegogo! Too many bad experiences to go back there.