SONOS ALEXA Integration?

The SB skill cuts the player volume to 20% for a few seconds. It sort of produces a jerky effect compared with remote or app control. But that's how Alexa is in any case - hardly smooth for fine control.

In my experience Alexa does a pretty awesome job of picking up my voice requests for Sonos when music is already playing. It only fails when volume is seriously loud, or when the TV news is on (as the speech-only from the TV gets mixed in with what I am saying). TV shows fare better as there is often other noises (music/foley) going on. I think Amazon have done a bang-up job of extracting voice data from an audio stream that includes music and background noise. It probably also helps that my Alexa hardware is not adjacent to my Sonos hardware.

In my experience Alexa does a pretty awesome job of picking up my voice requests for Sonos when music is already playing. It only fails when volume is seriously loud, or when the TV news is on (as the speech-only from the TV gets mixed in with what I am saying). TV shows fare better as there is often other noises (music/foley) going on. I think Amazon have done a bang-up job of extracting voice data from an audio stream that includes music and background noise. It probably also helps that my Alexa hardware is not adjacent to my Sonos hardware.

Sadly, because your skill is USA only I can't provide any empirical feedback on your assertion! - beats me why USA skills can't be easily converted to UK use - is it a case of 2 countries separated by a single language?

Just not how I read the Sonos Staff statement. hence why I asked. Maybe Apple is the answer. it usually is

If Apple is the answer, i'd sure like to know the question! Planned obsolescence? Upgrades every two years? Overpriced?

Sadly, because your skill is USA only I can't provide any empirical feedback on your assertion! - beats me why USA skills can't be easily converted to UK use - is it a case of 2 countries separated by a single language?

It is because Amazon don't support many features outside of the USA: read this for more info: https://forums.developer.amazon.com/questions/75737/when-is-en-gb-going-to-get-built-in-intent-support.html

This is going to be a big problem for Sonos, as they are a global company. Amazon Alexa is effectively US-only, with a tiny bit of UK and Germany thrown in.

I was aware of the intents issue .... maybe Sonos will just plough on and release the alexa integration for US only. Or maybe Amazon will wake up and release the intents library for UK use.

There seems to be enough noise out there to reasonable assume the private beta is well underway. I've been a Sonos use since 2002, and I still have my trusty CR100 controller, and Sonos, bless them, still provide support (although the hardware replacement program has dried up). The point is, that the parallels with Sonos and Apple are grey, to say the least. I do think Sonos has made the right choice to use Alexa for voice control.

I'm one of those nerds that was messing around with voice recognition back in the late 80's and it sucked, big time. I'd say until Alexa, it still sucked, and that's including high-end systems. The go-forward battle is between Alexa (good head start) and Google (vast amounts of data). Apple have squandered a huge opportunity with Siri, and continue to do so. Even the Homepod is marketed as a music-first device, with Siri tagged on; it's not a competitor to Alexa or Home. By taking the best distributed audio system (Sonos) and meshing it with Alexa, where the entry point is $40, is a smart move. A Play:1 and an Dot is still much less than the HomePod, and more functional, and I'm sure we'll see bundles from Amazon once the integration is fully baked.

Having said all of that, I wish they'd hurry up. Assuming Apple hit their deadline this time, the holiday shipping period could be pivotal for Sonos. Since many people new to Sonos will already have an Alexa device, it becomes a $200 (Play 1) vs. $350 (HomePod), and that's a tough sell for many people. So the sooner Sonos go public with this, the better.

@Pete, I think your underestimating the HomePod a bit. I imagine there are plenty of people out there who will buy Apple just because it's Apple. They may already have an Echo but wish to upgrade to what they believe will be better.

As far as the cost comparison, Apple is saying the sound is comparable to the PLAY:3, so really the pricing is around the same. But yes, you could opt for the PLAY:1 to greatly reduce cost, or you could already have Sonos or Amazon products, like much of the people on this board.

The question I keep asking myself is, what would I recommend to someone who loves their ipod, only cares about music in a small space like an apartment, and has no interest in tv integration. A part of me wants to recommend Sonos/Alexa for future proofing, but I can't say Apple isn't a bad choice for them.

@Pete, I think your underestimating the HomePod a bit....

Oh, I agree. I work in a company where I fully expect a HomePod on most of the Exec desks the day it's released, even more so if it's conference-call capable. And generally I recommend iPhone and iPads to family members because they just work, and I don't have constant support issues 🙂 But, most of my family don't use Apple Music, so unless they announce other integrations, that'll be a big roadblock for many people. Most of my family do have an Alexa of some sort though, so they're already on the ladder.

It's certainly a marketplace that been waiting for a decent competitor, and if nothing else, HomePod will hopefully light more of a fire under Sonos. Apple's weakness, potentially, will be its obsession with keeping people in their ecosystem. They've already precluded Android users, and potentially Pandora, Spotify, Slacker etc etc, although I'm fairly sure they'll support the other services if not from launch, very soon after.

The question I keep asking myself is, what would I recommend to someone who loves their ipod, only cares about music in a small space like an apartment, and has no interest in tv integration.

You kind of need a whole house to get full value from a "whole house" music system like Sonos.

You can use a single Echo in an apartment but you really get more value if you have room enough for multiple Echos for intercom and "whole house" automation.

Maybe you have identified the niche use case where Homepod really would be a better choice. On the other hand an ipod loving apartment dweller can use Bluetooth with an Echo Look or Echo Dot connected to some nice powered speakers and save some money by ignoring the Homepod vs Sonos battle completely. It will be interesting to see what ends up appealing to this group.