Here's how a split system works

  • 26 January 2020
  • 7 replies
  • 659 views
M
Userlevel 2

I’ve invested about $2500 into Sonos equipment in the past two years and have been trying to live the best life with streaming through my house, but also using them as computer speakers in my office. This was complicated and required buying the new Amp to forward the line-in to drive my Play:1s and Sub (which sound awesome, btw). And that works, functionally although it’s a bit awkward to start up every morning with the UI.

I’ve been seriously considering buying a pair of Play:5s and their line-in to simplify my desk setup along with another Sub and Playbar for home theater… so that’s another $2500 in gear I was waiting to pull the trigger on. I figured I could use the Amp with some outdoor speakers later. But then Sonos makes their future intentions clear. Split systems are coming.

Well, here’s what a split system looks like. I’ve still got Sonos throughout my house. It still continues to work exactly as it did before the announcement. But I just added a pair of KEF LS50 Wireless speakers and a Rythmik F12 subwoofer to my computer system for desktop speakers. That’s about $2800 in new gear. Now I can play sound through my computer to one split of my system, or I can get out my Sonos app and drive the other split of my system through the rest of the house.

Sonos folks: I started buying stereo speakers and discrete components in 1992. All of them work today, but it’s going to be my 2018 Sonos purchases that hit the landfill first when you break backward compatibility. The value of your products now reflects this new perspective.

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7 replies

K

Split systems sound good in theory, but will rapidly become very tiresome to operate. I don't see anyone use these for long. The problem is that then the only option will be to go to one system with modern products, and dump the legacy products. Because the modern products won't make it back to any unified system that has legacy products in it.

One therefore needs to be very careful in opting for splits. I anticipate that many won’t, discover this truth too late, and then there will be another firestorm like this one.

K

@Ryan S :Flagging for your review. IF what I have posted is valid, this needs wide dissemination, in time, and wherever needed.

It came to me as I was writing it. 

Airgetlam

Since Sonos hasn’t actually released any information about how split systems will work, it’s jumping the gun to make any assumptions or assertions, I would think. There just isn’t any data. We need more information from Sonos, who have said it will be in May, and a look at the software before we can draw any conclusion. Both your posts may be valid, if that’s the way the split system will work. But we just don’t have any knowledge, one way or the other. 

Bruce
Ryan S
Userlevel 7
Badge +26

As Bruce said, not all of the details are available just yet and we’ll be sharing more in May. For some time after a system split, you should still be able to take a modern device over to a legacy build without too much trouble. I don’t want to say too much here though, because things could change. 

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K

​​​​​​​@Ryan S Thank you.

I think it is useful here to also reproduce your words from another thread, word for word, that support what I said in my post above, IMO.

What I said: One therefore needs to be very careful in opting for splits.

What Ryan said elsewhere today: My personal recommendation (depending on what your legacy to modern device ratio looks like) would be to move everything (including modern devices) to the legacy build for a while. Your system will continue to function as it has and if at some point in the future something stops working, or there’s a new feature that you really want to enjoy, you can look at your options then.

I recently moved my system to a very watered down version of a split system to get better signals in a remote room. It started to get tedious, but even before I had a chance to regret what I had done, the ever reliable @ratty came by and saved the day for me - again - by showing me a way that got the better signals desired that while remaining on one Sonos net. That experience leads me to my comment on what would be a full blown split system - for most users, it would get tiresome, very quickly.

M
Userlevel 2

@Ryan S the things to carry back to management as they review these decisions leading up to May announcements are:

  • Split systems may as well be Sonos / Other-Vendor systems. Sonos loses lock in.
  • Modern→Legacy streaming needs to be supported or we have “splits.” I suspect we’d all agree that Legacy systems won’t be able to browse newer services or handle newer codecs, but the newer speakers should always know how to send dumbed down music to the older ones--the same way Sonos handled AirPlay2.
  • My concerns are not with the lack of upgrade support for old products, but the idea that lack of upgrades must split the system and in my imagination means I won’t be able to play the same music throughout my home.
K

@mechapreneur 

Good points, particularly the first one. Because of how Sonos is still lagging behind in voice control in my location, my system is in a sense split even now, with Echos wired to Sonos Line in jacks. Which has worked fine, in some ways better than Sonos can in any location, which planted the idea in my mind that it doesn’t have to be just Sonos any more. Which in turn leaves me with a navigable path past this Sonos stunt, as long as I retain my three pairs of line in jacks.

I don't much care about multi room in the sense I want my music to follow me wherever I go in the home. THAT will make sense to me only if a system is smart enough to do so with zero intervention, using some kind of occupancy cum motion sensors tagged to me. All I need is for music to play in sync in my 4 zone open space area during parties, which Echo can do just as well as Sonos.

As to the latter points there is little to say that won’t be a rant, seeing how many times and in how many places Sonos has said that this is impossible.

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