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Is the ‘smart speaker’ business a dead end?

J

The recent combination of announcements - Bridges being made obsolete, the 30% discount in return for bricking a speaker and now the outmoding of the origins Play 5 makes me wonder if the entire ‘smart speaker’ business is going. I have a Play:5 and a Play:1 at home, and none of the rest of my family have any interest in using them. My wife listens to the radio or music via her iMac while working, while my two teenage daughters prefer Bluetooth speakers or just headphones while listening to music. Having Spotify and Broadband means they can stream whatever they like, whenever, so the idea of loading music onto the NAS drive seems pointless to them. It seems that just about every other connected device has the ability to play music now - whether a phone, a tablet or a TV, and software like Airplay means we can route that where we want, using any convenient combination of hardware and software that we want to use. 

The recent Sonos announcements suggests to me that the idea of tying yourself to a manufacturer who only offers a tightly controlled ecosystem of hard and software is the issue here - great while it works, but an almighty headache when they decide to remove or degrade functions for the sake of new features.  
 

While it had been great, I think my future will be with assembling systems that separate out these parts, so I am not faced with complete replacements - a bit like the difference between the old music centres versus hi-if separates? 
 

 

Best answer by AjTrek1

I think the market for wireless speakers is growing just click the link: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wireless-and-bluetooth-speakers

What may occur is a shift in design functionality. Meaning whole-home music syncing via a NAS may give way to streaming whatever you like to one or more speakers simultaneously or individually. Consumers like choice. It doesn’t really matter if they actively use one feature and not the other. The fact of the matter is...they can choose how, when and where they enjoy the listening experience.

Voice assistants IMO are going to make having a wireless speaker even more important. Already, with Alexa and Google assistants you don’t need a device to enjoy your streamed music. Just say...”Alexa play smooth jazz”.  Going further the music can be directed to play anywhere you like via voice command to a wireless speaker anywhere in your home.

BT streaming from a device will still be the go-to wireless format for many. The sound quality is improving with every new version. However, it’s still mainly a personal listening medium via ear gear.

Sonos has finally addressed the beach and outdoor party crowd with the Move. However, blasting your tunes for the entire neighborhood may conjure-up a visit from the local party police. Sonos IMO made the brilliant decision to make the Move compatible with Wi-Fi and BT streaming. Choice.

Finally, I believe (without any empirical data to support my thinking) that the consumer Sonos is targeting is not the teen; nor early twenty something. On the contrary their market is late twenties and beyond. Sonos looks to those with an income because let’s face-it Sonos ain’t cheap. Demographics also drive sales. Sonos (I’m guessing) may be found in more households on the east and west coasts versus the mid-west and south.

Bottom-line, don’t count Sonos out yet. This conversation probably wouldn’t be happening if Sonos had handled the recent announcement better. Ya think :thinking:

Cheers!

 

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10 replies

spydrwebb
Forum|alt.badge.img+7
  • spydrwebb
  • Prodigy I
  • 150 replies
  • January 24, 2020

Definitely begs the question. Hadn’t honestly thought about it much prior to these recent developments.

Beam, Sub, 2 x P:1 -- 5.1 (video) / 2 x P:3 (music) / 2 x gen1 One (music) ----> ever evolving setup, as they say...
AjTrek1
  • AjTrek1
  • 6541 replies
  • Answer
  • January 24, 2020

I think the market for wireless speakers is growing just click the link: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wireless-and-bluetooth-speakers

What may occur is a shift in design functionality. Meaning whole-home music syncing via a NAS may give way to streaming whatever you like to one or more speakers simultaneously or individually. Consumers like choice. It doesn’t really matter if they actively use one feature and not the other. The fact of the matter is...they can choose how, when and where they enjoy the listening experience.

Voice assistants IMO are going to make having a wireless speaker even more important. Already, with Alexa and Google assistants you don’t need a device to enjoy your streamed music. Just say...”Alexa play smooth jazz”.  Going further the music can be directed to play anywhere you like via voice command to a wireless speaker anywhere in your home.

BT streaming from a device will still be the go-to wireless format for many. The sound quality is improving with every new version. However, it’s still mainly a personal listening medium via ear gear.

Sonos has finally addressed the beach and outdoor party crowd with the Move. However, blasting your tunes for the entire neighborhood may conjure-up a visit from the local party police. Sonos IMO made the brilliant decision to make the Move compatible with Wi-Fi and BT streaming. Choice.

Finally, I believe (without any empirical data to support my thinking) that the consumer Sonos is targeting is not the teen; nor early twenty something. On the contrary their market is late twenties and beyond. Sonos looks to those with an income because let’s face-it Sonos ain’t cheap. Demographics also drive sales. Sonos (I’m guessing) may be found in more households on the east and west coasts versus the mid-west and south.

Bottom-line, don’t count Sonos out yet. This conversation probably wouldn’t be happening if Sonos had handled the recent announcement better. Ya think :thinking:

Cheers!

 

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
K
  • Kumar
  • 13501 replies
  • January 24, 2020
Jothebulb wrote:

 

While it had been great, I think my future will be with assembling systems that separate out these parts, so I am not faced with complete replacements - a bit like the difference between the old music centres versus hi-if separates? 
 

 

That's exactly my thinking now. But I hope that this future in my case is not around the corner, but after my Sonos hardware dies. It would be an utter waste to just let excellent quality kit go for any other reason. I have owned brand name HiFi separates in the past that had more hardware failures than my Sonos units have; with over a dozen so far bought from 2011 to 2014, zero failures till now. 

But note here that cheap smart speakers that offer decent sound quality that is good enough for casual listening will still make sense. So I would say that it is the expensive smart speaker product that looks to have an uncertain future.

 

pwt
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  • pwt
  • Virtuoso
  • 1884 replies
  • January 24, 2020
AjTrek1 wrote:

Bottom-line, don’t count Sonos out yet. This conversation probably wouldn’t be happening if Sonos had handled the recent announcement better. Ya think :thinking:

Sonos should have committed to maintenance updates to the legacy kit from the outset. It’s clear that originally this was not their intention, but they were forced into it as a concession by the backlash.

They should also be in a position to explain in detail how the ‘split systems’ approach is going to work from a UX perspective, but they are not because they haven’t figured it out yet.

So partly a PR failure, partly a strategy failure. Very, very damaging.

4 x P:5 | Sub | 4 x P:1 | 3 x Connect | 2 x Boost | Connect:Amp | 2 x One | Amp | Move | Port | Era 300
S
1 person likes this
  • S
    smallstool
K
  • Kumar
  • 13501 replies
  • January 24, 2020

Further: take the echo show 5 for example. It costs about 50 dollars. It can work alone or grouped with other echo units. It has a very cool display for album art. The sound quality is listenable and I expect it to get even better, even though not play 1 quality. But anyone that wants quality that is better just has to wire it to an active speaker pair. And depending on what speaker one buys, sound quality better than the best of Sonos - play 5 pair + sub - can be obtained. And just the echo device itself can be affordably replaced even every three years. 

 To my thinking, this Sonos event has made the above route a no brainer. There may still be a market for high priced Sonos products, but for a much smaller market segment than Sonos has hitherto been able to address.

S
1 person likes this
  • S
    smallstool
K
  • Kumar
  • 13501 replies
  • January 24, 2020

I forgot to mention another cool feature of the echo - for those times when voice commands are not appropriate, music play can be transferred to it from the phone, with the phone then going out of the loop.

And every year one can expect more such innovations from Amazon and from other similar that can affordably be mated to a one time investment in a quality but "dumb" speaker unit, where tech progress is only a little better than stagnant. So no risk of that going obsolete in a hurry, it will last for decades. As with HiFi separates, one just has to choose a make that offers after sales parts and service support after the warranty period. It won't be cheap, but it need not be, given the service life it will then deliver. 

melvimbe
  • melvimbe
  • 9844 replies
  • January 24, 2020
Kumar wrote:

Further: take the echo show 5 for example. It costs about 50 dollars. It can work alone or grouped with other echo units. It has a very cool display for album art. The sound quality is listenable and I expect it to get even better, even though not play 1 quality. But anyone that wants quality that is better just has to wire it to an active speaker pair. And depending on what speaker one buys, sound quality better than the best of Sonos - play 5 pair + sub - can be obtained. And just the echo device itself can be affordably replaced even every three years. 

 To my thinking, this Sonos event has made the above route a no brainer. There may still be a market for high priced Sonos products, but for a much smaller market segment than Sonos has hitherto been able to address.

 

Sonos has advantages in their multiroom as well.  Echos can only stream from a handful of services.  You can’t do local libraries and you can not do aux sources in multiroom.  You also can not change grouping in mid stream.    I’m not saying it’s better or worse, just different, and people should choose based on their needs.

 

Danny
jgatie
  • jgatie
  • 27621 replies
  • January 24, 2020
melvimbe wrote:

 

Sonos has advantages in their multiroom as well.  Echos can only stream from a handful of services.  You can’t do local libraries and you can not do aux sources in multiroom.  You also can not change grouping in mid stream.    I’m not saying it’s better or worse, just different, and people should choose based on their needs.

 

 

The gouping this is why I could never switch to all Echos.  I often travel from room to room, bringing the music with me, and Echo just can’t do it.  I use Alexa for initialization (though not always) and I use the Sonos controller to move the music around.  

 

Airgetlam
1 person likes this
  • Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
K
  • Kumar
  • 13501 replies
  • January 24, 2020

@melvimbe Agreed. It gets down to market segments as well.

And my home is also very similar to the OP in that no one else is interested in Sonos, for similar reasons. And I am 60 +. A married daughter who has seen my Sonos set up has seen no need to invest in the same way and has gone down the echo route. Mated in two rooms with two of my passed down legacy separates set ups. Works fine for her.

If the next generation isn't interested in Sonos even after having seen it in use, that is another concern for Sonos. 

 

melvimbe
  • melvimbe
  • 9844 replies
  • January 24, 2020
jgatie wrote:
melvimbe wrote:

 

Sonos has advantages in their multiroom as well.  Echos can only stream from a handful of services.  You can’t do local libraries and you can not do aux sources in multiroom.  You also can not change grouping in mid stream.    I’m not saying it’s better or worse, just different, and people should choose based on their needs.

 

 

The gouping this is why I could never switch to all Echos.  I often travel from room to room, bringing the music with me, and Echo just can’t do it.  I use Alexa for initialization (though not always) and I use the Sonos controller to move the music around.  

 

The sound quality is a big part of it for me, though I know I could make it work with echos and other equipment.  I do use multiroom quite a bit, and of course there is the home theatre setups and the ability to play TV audio in different rooms.

 

 

As far as the next generation, my son loves it in his room.  There use to be an echo in his room that was used occasionally.  After replacing with a pair of Sonos Ones, it gets used all the time now.  My daughter not so much, she prefers headphones.  My nephew also does Sonos. I’ve got my mom setup with echos, because that’s a better fit for her.

Danny
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