Sonos Moving Into Headphones

interesting. Didn't care for the mac article, but the bloomberg article it references was more informative. I couldn't really tell much definitive though. It almost sounded like they intend to get OEM headphones (bluetooth or wired) and slap a Sonos label on it. But it also implies that the headphones would be able to stream music services directly and work with voice assistants like existing Sonos products. But then again, the article states that 50% of music listen is outside the home, which points back to bluetooth or wired. Don't know. And we're unllikely to know more for several months to come.

And it could be some fake news from investors hoping to see a bump in the stock.

Interesting proposition especially since Sonos opted to not include the headphone jack on the Play 5_Gen2. Most likely, the intended use will be with an iOS, Android or PC via BT, wired input or both.

The headphone/earbud market is already heavily saturated with some heavy hitters as mentioned in the article. Given that one can listen to a streaming service via headphone/earbud now when paired/connected to a device...Sonos IMO would have to offer an experience that is unique in order to get traction in the market. Building a better/competitive "mouse trap" is not going to be easy.

Maybe they'll offer stored memory for music on-the-go similar to what Apple does with it's Apple Watch with phone connectivity to answer/make calls. Oh well there's too much speculation at this juncture...given my thoughts and those of melvimbe's and others who might chime in.

Cheers!

I guess I don't "get" it. Not sure how it would work, since the current Sonos ecosystem requires an external device with an internet connection, i.e. your router. If I'm out and about, is it going to connect through my phone to a streaming service? It's obviously not going to work with the music on my NAS...

Fascinating possibilities. And something people have been asking for around here for a long time. If it can exist within the current SonosNet mesh as well, it might be a solution for those who have been trying to get a center channel's sound out of their surround speakers.

I guess I don't "get" it. Not sure how it would work, since the current Sonos ecosystem requires an external device with an internet connection, i.e. your router. If I'm out and about, is it going to connect through my phone to a streaming service? It's obviously not going to work with the music on my NAS...

Fascinating possibilities. And something people have been asking for around here for a long time. If it can exist within the current SonosNet mesh as well, it might be a solution for those who have been trying to get a center channel's sound out of their surround speakers.

Perhaps it has a bluetooth/wired mode, working with your phone when you are not on your local wifi/sonosnet network, and then operates like a regular sonos zone when you are?


Sonos IMO would have to offer an experience that is unique in order to get traction in the market. Building a better/competitive "mouse trap" is not going to be easy.

At the $300 price range, I have to agree. If the cost was lower, then I think it could sell based on basic quality and brand name/loyalty alone, but I don't think people are going to buy $300 headphones unless they are special...or have the Apple or Beats logo printed on the side.

I only use headphones at work. Not gonna replace my Sennheisers.

Hard to think that Sonos would be going with Bluetooth at this point, but I guess it's not out of the realm of possibility.

Hard to think that Sonos would be going with Bluetooth at this point, but I guess it's not out of the realm of possibility.

I would think that outside of providing a memory slot for music the only way to make the headphones competitive is to incorporate BT. Doing so does not change the marketing strategy for Sonos speakers (i.e. no BT).

Also when you consider that many portable devices either no longer offer a headphone input or it's proprietary (think iPhone) marketing an all-the-time wired piece of kit would be extremely difficult for mass sales outside of the high-end market. IMO.

Meh. I'm leaning towards Danny's statement of And it could be some fake news from investors hoping to see a bump in the stock.

Has anyone considered that the audio files could perhaps be stored directly on the headphones and uploaded to the device (memory library) directly over WiFi, via the Sonos App. This would be in addition to the 'normal' audio streaming features, when connected to the local WiFi network, or perhaps a mobile hotspot. I don’t think cables, or Bluetooth would need to play a part in this type of device at all.

Even better, if I can take the headphones to a friends house and 'group' them with their Sonos Headphones, or Sonos Speaker System etc. Good for gaming purposes too, for those that have a Beam/Playbar etc.

I assume the Headphones will have a mic and built-in voice control services for Alexa/Google/Siri.

I’m not pasing judgment, on whether (or not) this alleged 'leak to the media' might be true etc, but Sonos do have a habit of surprising their customers with their new 'quality' products.

Would I pay $300? - well yes, possibly, if I thought I would use them and they don’t break easily whenever I fall asleep with them in bed.?

I've often thought that if Sonos could come up with a way for me to move seamlessly between out of the house listening to in the house on my Sonos system, that would be incredible. Headphones could be a logical first step there.