Well you seem to be an expert on Sonos technical matters as well as on their company strategy (with reference to the thread you have just started).

Thank you for sharing your expertise with everyone. I hope nobody is so foolish as to challenge your assertions. 

Is it OK if I challenge this assumption, at least a little bit?

If Sonos was indeed concerned about their stock market price falling, wouldn’t they have completely abandon S1 as a concept, and force everyone to purchase new speakers? That would have surely generated much more revenue, supporting the stock price, if there was no longer any function for older speakers at all, and everyone was forced in to purchasing S2 capable speakers. 

I would think continuing to support S1 systems is counter profit oriented thinking. But I’m not a market analyst, just a user on a forum. 

Ridiculous!  No company (*cough* Bose *cough*) is going to abandon an entire current lineup of products (*cough* Bose SoundTouch *cough*) and come out with a brand new lineup (*cough* Bose Smart Speaker *cough*) that is completely incompatible with the old one.  Simply ridiculous!

Of course Bruce!  But you aren’t going to persuade the OP by reason and sense, he and they have clearly parted company.  I just thought it not worth the effort.

Brought one Home from the store Yesterday. My setup is $80pct S2 and $20pct S1.

Today I returned it.

That is complete rubbish that they had to make the Roam S2 only because of memory.  They could and should have made it S1/S2 compatible.  They didn’t make it S1 compatible to force us to upgrade… all for a little portable speaker.   Very upsetting and sad they have turned into this….

You must work for Sonos.  Making the Roam on the same platform as the Move would have been a great fit and service for this low end/cost speaker.  

The best bet (IMO) if you want to stick with S1 for a while, is just use any good blue-tooth speaker with Spotify or Amazon. It won’t be integrated with your S1 system, but it will save you thousands of dollars.

Why is it that if someone disagrees with your perspective, they must be a Sonos employee?

I’m pretty sure that Sonos employees are required by the company to have ‘Sonos employee’ on their account, much like all the moderators do. I also feel fairly confident in saying that not only is melvimbe not a Sonos employee, but that his analysis is correct. 

Bruce,

I get his analysis... I just wish Sonos had opted to let this new small portable be available for all users, S1 and S2.  I will look into how the experience would be having both an S1 and S2 operate in your house.  

It’s perfectly acceptable to have that desire. Many do. The part I am calling foul on is the assumption that because melvimbe has an alternate opinion, he must be a Sonos employee. 

You may want to look at third party controllers. I’ve read that there may be the option to simultaneously run S1 and S2 products, but I don’t have any personal experience. However, neither the Roam nor Move will ever operate on S1, the operating system doesn’t have the ability to recognize those devices.

I do concur with melvimbe that it would be highly unlikely to be an intelligent thing for Sonos to officially support running S1 on either device. The challenges outweigh any potential benefits, especially for a vanishingly small population. Sonos will likely continue to prioritize their software choices for the masses, not the individual corner cases. 

Thanks, I will check into that.  I have a Move and it works great (as designed) on my S1 network.  That's why I wish the Roam had been designed the same way.

But then it would have had to be a small Move, lacking the additional features that the Roam actually has. The Roam CANNOT be S1 compatible. The whole point of the S1 / S2 split was to lose the restrictions of the older devices. Roam on S1? An impossible and self-contradictory request. 

That's a cop out. There is plenty of “old” software in the computer world that will run on new hardware. Maybe some of us that have thousands of dollars invested are willing to forego any new features. It's very sad that Sonos has decided to abandon their oldest and most loyal customers.

Melodramatic, ill-informed nonsense

Major blunder by Sonos. Very frustrating for a very loyal customer. S2 has been frustrating. This is likely my breaking point. 

Don’t forget, this is exactly what they tried to do. Initially, they came out and said that we with older equipment had to brick the equipment and then we would get 30% off of the new equipment. It was only when we all blew a fuse that they relented, and came up with this bogus S1/S2 idea. I have a lot of original Sonos gear 5 Play:5’s, a few Play:3’s and Play:1’s, a sound bar, and amps and connects. I can only use S1 for all my equipment, therefore I will not buy any new gear that requires S2. I have invested thousand in Sonos, but I will not buy any additional Sonos gear. When they finally drop support of S1, which I fully expect to happen, I will replace with other equipment. You can accomplish much of what you get from Sonos with other equipment these days, and for a lot less money.

Also, Sonos makes excellent hardware, but their software (apps) suck.

In addition, at some point, Sonos will come out with an S3 option, and pull this bogus concept again. I think many people who invested in S2 equipment will feel the same way we feel when this happens to them.

It's not a blunder, it simply cannot be done.

Travelling on vacation in a couple of weeks.  Shopping for a new travel speaker.  I looked at the Roam, but as I’m still on S1 due to my refusal to upgrade (only my bridge would die) because I refuse to go back to the problematic wi-fi issues I had before I moved to Sonosnet, and I also cannot have a speaker jacked directly in to my router.  So the Roam is a no go for me.  Same applies really for the soundbar upgrade I’m looking at.  

I was disappointed when Sonos split the tech stack and remain so.  Still, it’s been the kick up the arse I needed to move away from one manufacturer. 

What makes you think upgrading to S2 means you can’t use Sonosnet? 

A device needs to be connected directly to the router right?  Which is the solution Support gave me for my connectivity issues several years ago.  So I either replace the bridge (spend more money unnecessarily) or plug a speaker in directly (a complete waste of a speaker given the location).  So….

So . . . for the price of a Boost, you are crippling your use of all your other devices, and also eliminating the ability to purchase a new device which you seem to like if it weren’t S2 only?

Makes me think of a nose, spite, and a face.

Also, what other manufacturer are you moving to that has eliminated the possibility that in 12-15 years after launch, they would have to split the line?  Be careful what you answer, for some well known speakers makers are known for far more egregious moves than Sonos’ when their lineup can’t keep up with growing technology.  We are talking eliminating an entire line of speakers that were sold right up to the day they were abandoned, and coming out with an entirely new line which is incompatible with the old.

Yes, I’m refusing to pay more money for exactly the same level of service so I can spend more money to buy more of their kit.

As it stands, I’ll replace my TV rig with a dedicated TV set up when the time comes, my music setup - getting replaced with a dedicated Amp/Speakers that don’t obsolete - wired they may be, but so be it. 

So your posting in the “Is Roam S1 Compatible?” thread is really just a rehashed whinge from the “End of Software Support” thread you last posted in.  Got it.