SONOS is an emperors new clothes situation. The quality does not outweigh the calamity.

Yes, Bose is a good alternative.  Go buy Bose.

Odd. My system of 20 plus speakers has never stopped working over many years, and many new homes. I wonder what is different about your setup and mine. 

It also seems odd, posting on a Sonos run website, asking for suggested competitors. Something I’d expect on an agnostic web forum, not one supported by the company you’re trying to get away from. Seems like the majority of people here would be already invested in their Sonos systems. 

My Sonos works perfectly. You’ll have to wait for the usual Naysayers to see your post to get any recommendations. Then on the other hand you may only get comments on how bad Sonos is as they love to add negative comments to fuel the fire.

That said if you want to explain your issues maybe a member in the community can offer some positive advice.

EDIT:

My comment about Naysayers does not include ​@jgatie .

My issue is focussed on the app - I’ve reached out to tech support as noted but it doesn’t recognise anything on my system despite frequent attempts. I’ve tried all the resets and reinstalls suggested and it doesn’t work. This shouldn’t be so hard for such an expensive system that purports to ‘just work’. It’s the worst system I’ve ever know and Bruce, I’m happy to post on a SONOS run website that their products have failed so much that I’m looking elsewhere. I really wanted them to be brilliant but I feel I’ve wasted time and money on bright white paperweights. 

Google the app problems - I’m not the first. The Google store has swathes of 1 star reviews recently. 

Don’t bother folks.  Let him go buy Bose. 

Is this just a circle of people that are committed to SONOS? 

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct

<Looks at top of the webpage, sees SONOS Community in big bold letters> <shakes head> 

In the main, contributors here are happy Sonos users. We have stable systems, and the control app works well for us.
My system is reliable, the app is responsive, and in part that’s because many years ago I listened to, and implemented, advice I was given on these forums to overcome my problems. 
The key elements, for me, was (1) locking my wifi to a single channel rather than letting it Auto hop to the channel where it felt the best performance was available, and (2) setting allocated ip addresses for my devices. Neither of those steps is difficult, and it does ensure the app finds the devices quickly and reliably. Why not try that and see how it goes? 

My apologies, ​@Alxinchains: I just re-read your first post. You’re not looking to make your system work; you’re looking for recommendations on alternatives. 
 

Go Bose. 

Nik, that's the first thing the support suggest and what I've already done. I'm not posting here because I've not realised there's tech support. Also, don't quote and edit, that's misrepresentation.

My note was more about cultist behaviour rather than people that liked the brand. I liked the brand when i brought everything, I'm not daft enough not to be able to call it out when it's not working though.