Homepod vs Sonos

Another point Kumar. Its all well and good to predict trouble. It is better to suggest ways to combat the threat. What should Sonos do that they are not doing??? One mistake I thought they may have made is introducing seemingly unnecessary changes to the controller app that ended up distracting from some of the smart speaker moves.

you seem to be expecting some sort of doomsday for Sonos out of this competitive space. That's where we differ - I have no such expectation..
I am not expecting doomsday - by all accounts, something of that kind happened to Sonos a couple of years ago, by their own admission. What I am asking is will they ever regain the position of being the gold standard in markets of their choice without going on reducing the scope of their market of interest. I am also not sure if, for the narrow focussed product company that they are, just survival will be sustainable.
I neither expect them to survive nor to fail. All I am saying is that the jury is still out on that and that is a new situation for them to be in - except in the early years of course.

Another point Kumar. Its all well and good to predict trouble. It is better to suggest ways to combat the threat. What should Sonos do that they are not doing???
Lol. I did that as well. IMO, they blundered in not adding a line in jack to the play 1. For more on this see: https://en.community.sonos.com/wireless-speakers-228992/the-case-for-making-line-in-a-standard-feature-6800582
I need to be paid to offer more ways:-)).

Another point Kumar. Its all well and good to predict trouble. It is better to suggest ways to combat the threat. What should Sonos do that they are not doing???
Lol. I did that as well. IMO, they blundered in not adding a line in jack to the play 1. For more on this see: https://en.community.sonos.com/wireless-speakers-228992/the-case-for-making-line-in-a-standard-feature-6800582
I need to be paid to offer more ways:-)).

Funny I also identified on this forum that no line in or other connectivity option was a blunder. I felt that way back when the Play1 was introduced it should have come with line in and bluetooth/airplay. It gives more flexibility. I felt strongly about that. Conversations that you participated in. At this point though not sure that this make a massive difference one way or the other. I was hoping you had more than that but it seems you want to be paid for it. 😃

Over the years I have found that advice that is paid for is always heard/respected much more than that offered free. The latter is usually also unwanted so why waste time and energy?
The reason it still would have made sense to add it when the Dot was launched two years ago is in the thread I started. As one example, with a device like a Dot wired to it, the speaker also automatically becomes bluetooth enabled via the Dot. As well as Alexa enabled much faster than Sonos was able to make it.

The reason it still would have made sense to add it when the Dot was launched two years ago is in the thread I started. As one example, with a device like a Dot wired to it, the speaker also automatically becomes bluetooth enabled via the Dot. As well as Alexa enabled much faster than Sonos was able to make it.

We are in complete agreement here!

Circling back to topic: what is still missing in reviews is an assessment of music stability on HomePod compared to Sonos/Sonos Net. Given the poor track record of Airplay in this connection, in comparison to Sonos, this is relevant.

Sonos will be okay in the near term, yes they are under attack by the 3 big boys on the block, Apple, Google and Amazon. But none have launch a home theater system. Right now apple offers it with HomePod and AppleTV. But if you watch regular TV you loose that ability. Forget google, they have a sync problem when using the aux plug on the Home MAX just using it as an external speaker for the tv. It was like watching a bad dubbed kung fu movie. Mouth moves then the sound comes from the speaker. Amazon has nothing for home theater.

So right now if you want the complete home sound system with home theater and high end multi room audio. Sonos is the only game in town. But sonos needs to up their offerings. Keep coming up with things to improve their system with the new technologies.

It is good they are not throwing all their eggs in one basket, with plans for google assistance and airplay2. I personally hate Alexa, it is to shopping driven. And while the dot is a good option. I really think that adding 50 buck to each speaker sets in the house to get higher end audio is a bit excessive. 200 buck if you need to add 4 rooms with high end audio speakers before the price of the speakers themselves. But cheap if you have high end audio already there and just want to add streaming to them. I wish the sonos connect was that cheap. But I have to admit, I am happy with the sons connect with my yahama dolby receiver and high end speakers. But everyone is different how they want to setup their home entertainment system.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-43346810

Sonos One
(TruePlay) helps the speaker adapt to its environment and, to be fair, it performed admirably in our cluttered bedroom, with a weighty, dynamic delivery that belied its tiny size.

Superstition, which confounded Apple's HomePod, sounded bright and lively, with a deep, funky bass and plenty of breathing room for Stevie Wonder's vocals.

Best of all, Sonos welcomes all music streaming services - with 49 currently available in the UK, including Apple Music (not all of them can be controlled by Alexa, though).

Here's the thing: With the possible exception of Sonos: One, you're not getting true hi-fi sound with any of these devices.

https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-homepod-vs-sonos-one-sound-quality-face-off/

The stereo Sonos Ones sounded more like a "real" audio system than the HomePod or Home Max, as long as we didn't try to rock out too hard. The smallest of the three, the Ones' compact dimensions inhibit deep bass, dynamics and high volume more than the HomePod and Max. Played at moderate volume, however, the Sonos Ones' clarity trumps the other two.

When it comes to comparisons between the Sonos and the Home Pod specifically, it was usually vocals that caused Apple the most trouble. The Sonos system had a natural ease with singers' voices, while the HomePod sounded less focused and lacked the clarity of its rival, as if vocalists were singing through their fingers.

So which one should you buy for sheer sound quality? At the current time, it's pretty simple: buying two Sonos One speakers will give you even better sound than a single HomePod. Stereo brings the best music listening experience overall, and the One's balanced sound benefits from Sonos' long history in making Wi-Fi speakers.

As good as it sounds for a single speaker, a month after its debut it looks like Apple is still working out the HomePod's kinks. If you want a kitchen or "pottering around" speaker, the HomePod might be more suited due to its omnidirectional nature, but even buying a single Sonos One gives you 80 percent of the sound for about half the cost.

That being said, my colleague David Carnoy liked what he heard during a demo of the stereo HomePods running beta software in the weeks before the Apple speaker's official release. We're looking forward to testing the HomePod and Sonos stereo modes head-to-head once Apple releases the final software.

But two HomePods is still going to cost considerably more than two Sonos Ones. And in the meantime, a single HomePod can't compete with two Sonoses just yet.