Best hi-res streaming services

Good analogy; the high megapixels are only useful for life size blow ups in a time when few even print any of the thousands of photos taken. And for no useful gain, clog up memory space and hog unnecessary bandwidth when being processed and being mailed - which is what ultra hi res audio streams also do to the home WiFi network.

Good engineering does not mean doing things just because they can be done, with no regard to their utility to users.

@Kumar Exactly.  And people forget that it’s not just about the sampling numbers, it’s about more efficient codecs and fast internet connections.  Todays sound codecs are much much better than the old mp3 codecs we used during the Napster era.  Modern 256 AACs streaming over a 100 Mbps connection do a fantastic job of capturing the intricacies of music. In the same way, modern HEVC codecs allow us to stream 4K HDR video that is virtually indistinguishable what 4K blu rays can produce.  12 years ago this was not the case. But now it is.

As to the first part, I came to Sonos in a similar way from legacy HiFi to not so stable Apple to Sonos. But: back in 2011 when I did that, there was nothing close to Sonos for the attributes you mention. Today, a decade later, I find that Echo devices do all that Sonos does, just as well. At a lower price. Of course, they need to be wired to better quality downstream units, but even then, price to performance is better than Sonos. And using the cast feature on services like Spotify or Amazon Music, voice control can remain just an option.

As to the second part, what you say may apply to even the best Sonos speakers, but if you set up a system with a Sonos Port, or even a Sonos Amp, it can get to a end all of sound quality thing, depending entirely on the third party speakers selected downstream of Sonos. Unless they need power in excess of 125/250 wpc into 8/4 ohms, which is a rare thing.

End of digression:-).

@Kumar Is a whole house Echo system really as easy as a Sonos to operate and maintain?  I’m not talking about for a geek or an audiophile.  I’m talking about for a middle aged iPhone and Alexa user who just wants it to work and hates fiddling with tech.  Budget is not really a concern for this person.

I have a friend who has several echo speakers around her house and get s frustrated because they don’t always stay in sync or play together, etc.  This is actually the same problem I had with Airplay 2 speakers which drove me to go all Sonos. I was going to recommend my friend go Sonos with Alexa for voice (especially with a Move she could take out to her pool to extend the music playing all over the house). But if there are analogous solutions with Echo I migth look into it.

I only looked into Echo because Sonos will not do voice control in India on its own. And I found that with Echo devices wired to line in jacks on Sonos kit, that did not matter to me, and now I use Sonos units as dumb ones, with Echo front ends, most of which are Echo Show 5/8 units, wired to them via line in jacks. With the added advantage of album art for music that is playing, and voice control of course, when it is more convenient. For me, Echo grouped play is as flawless as Sonos was/is.

For your friend, I suggest seeing if there is something that needs to be addressed to get the Echo speakers to stay and properly play in grouped mode first, and not give up straight away; maybe the group naming conventions need to be reviewed? Many users have the same experience with Sonos at first, as witnessed by many posts/threads here about glitches being experienced. It is also therefore possible that if Echos have a problem in that environment, so will Sonos, so jumping to Sonos may not be the solution. Or, it may. There are so many variables in the mix, that it is hard to generalise, except to say that if one can ethernet wire all units to be grouped to the core WiFi network, group play will be stable. And this is something that can only be done with Sonos.

Thanks, @Kumar.  I am in the US so the Alexa works fine on the Sonos speakers here.  I’ll take a look at my friend’s Echo speakers but frankly I don’t want to become her tech support if its a issue that keeps happening.  She’s a lawyer so she can afford to buy whatever she wants and if it makes my lifer easier I am happy to spend her money. LOL  

Hardwiring is not going to be an option with her but I may suggest she upgrade her wifi network to a mesh network like Eero too to make that more foolproof.  I consider my own Eero network to be one of the best tech decisions Ive ever made. It makes managing my household’s internet needs so much easier and I never ever have to think about it.