Discontinued play 3

See here.

Yep sad to see any hardware get bricked, next willl be the iPhone/iPod dock (very sad about this and a bit angry) then I heard next will be the CR200 and I have also been told the Connect Amp is also being considered as there is a new one out.

The Connect:Amp isn't going to be 'bricked'.

Sonos will stop selling the Connect:Amp, yes, but support is not going away. Same goes for the play:3.

Im not buying anymore Sonos speakers unless some things change and here is why.

It was announced Sonos will eventually discontinue support for things like Spotify on their older gen speakers.

But their speakers like the Play 3, dont have an aux in... So when Sonos abandons their older products, that likely still function fine, there is no other way to get audio into them... People have spent a lot of money on Sonos products and thats not right of Sonos to leave them high and dry.

Sonos we didn't want the Play 3 to go away. We wanted it to have an aux port like the Play 5 has so we could take the speaker to our garage/tailgating/camping without having to stretch a wifi signal out there. You can't just plug the Play 3 in and enjoy and I feel that is a major design fault of Sonos, or a dirty tactic to get people to spend more for the Play 5.

Bring back the Play 3 with an aux port. An aux port is a reason why your Play 5 is more desirable than your Play 3.

I won't buy another Sonos product without a second way for me to get audio in directly via a cable. I won't spend that much money to get screwed over if Sonos stops supporting my products in a few years and they turn into bricks over night that I cant even enjoy with a cable.

And I don't need a $500+ Play 5 speaker in every room of my home. At that point Sonos wont be an option for my home system.

I'm willing to bet a new Play 3 is coming out by X-mas 2018. I hope it has a way to bring sound in via a cable or I'm finding a different home audio solution.

Cmoor5432 wrote:

It was announced Sonos will eventually discontinue support for things like Spotify on their older gen speakers.

Where? Kindly post links or withdraw the allegation.

Your right says no longer available. Sounds like then there will not be a replacement for the Play:3 - for them to discontinue without a replacement. Sad lonely death for what has been a great speaker (yes I still prefer its sound when positioned right to a Sonos One).

Where did Sonos ever say they were discontinuing Spotify on older speakers. There are much older speakers (none ever having been obsoleted) then the Play:3 (like the first Gen Play:5).

I could see down the road maybe Spotify connect wouldn't work on an older speaker - maybe. But in Sonos app support - there is little difference between the newest and oldest speakers.

The Play:3 phased out makes it no less usefull then the other Play speakers.

It says "might" discontinue support on older speakers. So I misread that but still I'm not trying to dump thousands into a system that if the company decides software updates arent profitable I am left with bricks because they left me with no other way to get audio into them.

Either way, Sonos... Give us Play 3 with a line in. A line in feature should just be standard on a speaker anyways. Especially expensive ones.

https://en.community.sonos.com/wireless-speakers-228992/discontinuing-service-and-software-updates-for-older-sonos-speakers-6809338

I'm frustrated because I've spent over a grand on Sonos speakers and now theres talk of discontinueing products and services on older models. I had plans to put a couple Play 3s in my bed room, but now they're discontinued... Im worried two play 5s will just be too big for the space and for $1k I'll just find a new solution. And I wanted a L and R channel for watching TV. Hell I might just sell my Sonos speakers, take the loss and look at another audio solution. They might have a line input so I could actually take the speaker with me places.

It sounds like your best bet is to do as you say and trade your Sonos Speakers in because it seems the the things you want from a speaker Sonos can not provide you with

As for play 3 I heard a stereo pair set up side by side with a pair of play ones and play 5s

I ended up with pair of play ones for bedroom and pair play 5s for lounge.

Also my understanding is as long as you have one speaker active ie like a play one or play 5 or other speaker in the Sonos range your play 3 will always work as it can be grouped

No play speaker has ever been obsolete and I have never heard of talk of one being obsoleted. Just random speculation on threads like this. The original play:5 was discontinued years ago and still functions just as it always has. The play:3 has much newer internals then the original play:5. So if one speaker were ever to be obsoleted the play:5 gen1 seems to me it would be the first to go. Memory limitations are the Achilles heal of the oldest speakers. At some point they may be limited to just being grouped with other speakers - but that is random speculation on my part there as well.

it is sound, as long as one of the devices in you sonos system is of newer hw. That one indexing and everything else is handle by the newer device. And the music is sent to the older speaker.

I just don't see a speaker in danger of non-support from Sonos, until they drop the ZonePlayers that are by far the oldest kit I won't even begin to worry about my Gen 1 Play 5, Play 1s or Play 3s.

Too lazy to check but didn't the SEC filing say products and not speakers, maybe a lack of clarity on Sonos' part leading to this worry.

Exactly. ZP units made in 2005 are still supported, a decade after they were discontinued. Are we really worried about whether we will still be using a Play:3 in 2028? Even worse, refusing to purchase Sonos because of it? The drama does not match reality.

In all honesty the two older device supports we have lost in the cr100 and dock I believe were to free up on speaker software requirements for these devices in order to allow older speakers to have more memory available for newer software needs. Personal opinion.

At some point maybe they can create way for a single newer device to handle music indexing so the older speakers can offload that memory burden as well.

Or just put a line in on their products. Its a speaker. So then it can play music and not be totally worthless if/when Sonos decides to abandon support on old products. It can be used until it stops functioning then. Not if/when Sonos decides it wants to up sales so it starts cutting services to older products.

I will keep my speakers until January, if they dont come out with another midsized speaker with a line in to replace the Play 3 I'm out. It will be too much hassle at that point to switch back. Im really hoping Sonos does this. I dont expect them to cry that I leave but im not the only one pissed about this.

I still am hopeful this is a marketing stunt from Sonos to make sure they can sell off all Play 3 inventory before announcing a new mid sized speaker.

There is absolutely no indication Sonos has retired any products or limited services in order to "up sales". Both retired products have no alternative for sale. The only "service" limited to new products is Airplay 2, and it was enabled for already existing products as well as new. If Sonos wanted to drive sales, why enable it on the Playbase and Play:5?

@Cmoor5432, I have no idea if a play:3 v2 is going to be released. If it does, I'm doubtful it will have an aux input. And if has a aux input, I'm doubtful it will process the TV audio so that it's in sync with the video. The current Sonos product with inputs do not.

Personally I'd expect to see a center channel speaker, with HDMI-ARC input, coming out before a play:3 speaker with a stereo aux input that processes TV audio fast enough. I don't expect that though.

Have you looked at the Sonos Amp? It can take a TV hdmi-arc/optical input as well as a secondary aux input, drive two speakers with simulated surround sound. At $600, it's a $100 more than 2 play:3s ..plus whatever wiring and passive speakers you use. The wiring is a downside, but you were planning on wiring stereo between your TV and a speaker anyway.

gazza1977 wrote:

It sounds like your best bet is to do as you say and trade your Sonos Speakers in because it seems the the things you want from a speaker Sonos can not provide you with

As for play 3 I heard a stereo pair set up side by side with a pair of play ones and play 5s

I ended up with pair of play ones for bedroom and pair play 5s for lounge.

Also my understanding is as long as you have one speaker active ie like a play one or play 5 or other speaker in the Sonos range your play 3 will always work as it can be grouped

I have a Play 3 which I now use as a "portable"...on my screened-in porch in the summer and in living/dining room in winter. Was going to use in the master bedroom, which is fairly large and has a vaulted ceiling. But honestly, I like the Play 1 sound better, at least at lower volumes. Have a total of 4 of them, two in family room as satellites with the sound bar and sub, one in my office, one in the master bedroom. Was thinking of getting a Play 5, but just don't see the need, at least the way I use them.

I think the Play 3, at least in the current configuration, doesn't add anything to the Sonos offering. Pay $100 extra and run a pair of Play 1s and have more flexibility, or pony up for the Play 5 and get some real bass if that's what you need.