New Product showing on FCC - S15

  • 28 April 2017
  • 84 replies
  • 12008 views
nicka99
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
New listing on FCC today for Sonos product 'S15'

Label is totally square so could be a new connect type device ?

Let the speculation begin !
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84 replies

chicks
It is probably the long awaited Play 7. It will be a 7 foot floor standing electrostatic speaker to fill in the high end of the product line. Electrostatics are a good match for Sonos because they struggle at the low end which makes them the perfect complement to the Sonos Sub. Unfortunately no line-in or headphone jacks but will have a port to plug in a separate microphone array for use in voice control as an alternative to using an Echo Dot.

😃. Unfortunately, 5W of power input ain't quite gonna do it. My QUAD ESL-63s have a recommended amplifier power of 50-100W. My Connect:Amp drives them nicely. ESLs are also notoriously difficult to integrate with subwoofers. Only a couple of attempts were made to integrate one with the QUADs, never very successfully. Psychoacoustics genius, NHT founder and MIT graduate Ken Kantor shared some ideas on the subject a couple years back, but it would be a limited product, at best.
nifoxke
Userlevel 3
Badge +9
I'm probably reading way too much into this but I just saw Sonos like a tweet where the user said they're "looking forward to the new Amazon Alexa skill for Sonos to have some music in the air with Spotify." Included was a photo of an Echo next to a Connect.
chicks
Just looked at the label on my Connect. 100ma from AC line, 5W. This is a Connect replacement, hopefully with the additional features I mentioned above.
U
It is probably the long awaited Play 7. It will be a 7 foot floor standing electrostatic speaker to fill in the high end of the product line. Electrostatics are a good match for Sonos because they struggle at the low end which makes them the perfect complement to the Sonos Sub. Unfortunately no line-in or headphone jacks but will have a port to plug in a separate microphone array for use in voice control as an alternative to using an Echo Dot.

😃. Unfortunately, 5W of power input ain't quite gonna do it. My QUAD ESL-63s have a recommended amplifier power of 50-100W. My Connect:Amp drives them nicely. ESLs are also notoriously difficult to integrate with subwoofers. Only a couple of attempts were made to integrate one with the QUADs, never very successfully. Psychoacoustics genius, NHT founder and MIT graduate Ken Kantor shared some ideas on the subject a couple years back, but it would be a limited product, at best.

They use special Palladium Fluoride capacitors to make them super efficient and near sound field feedback loop alignment circuits to manage the Sub integration.
Local music library with carefully constructed playlists - no shuffling!, Integration with Homeseer Automation, No touch screen devices, No streaming services, No Apple products ever
nifoxke
Userlevel 3
Badge +9
Just looked at the label on my Connect. 100ma from AC line, 5W. This is a Connect replacement, hopefully with the additional features I mentioned above. You could be right, especially considering the photo they "liked" on Twitter earlier.
MikeV
Userlevel 7
Badge +21
Just looked at the label on my Connect. 100ma from AC line, 5W. This is a Connect replacement, hopefully with the additional features I mentioned above.
Give this man a prize...



Image two shows the back... looks identical to the current Connect. So the question is... WHAT DID THEY CHANGE?!

BTW, that site doesn't have the document links yet... you have to click the link to view the documents from the FCC, then go to the details.
The S in IOT stands for Security.
M
So this would be the 3rd version of the "Connect", first the original ZP80 (32MB, 1x1 SonosNet v1), then the ZP90 (32MB? but 3x3 SonosNet v2) which was renamed "CONNECT", and now this S15. (before the great renaming the original nomenclature for the Play 5 gen1 was S5, btw, ).
passopp
WHAT DID THEY CHANGE?!



Maybe it's finally bit-perfect again?
Just kidding. I suppose it's all about reduced production costs.
M
https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=Y&application_id=TA3DBlNSKB4QOtv79G5%2B5w%3D%3D&fcc_id=SBVRM013

Includes both internal and external photos in pdfs, and a user manual. If the manual is relevant to this particular thing, it's just a new version of the CONNECT.
C
Userlevel 1
Badge +5
So will this be cheaper than the existing connect to allow for Amazon dot connection?
K
It will be priced at $99. It will have a combined 3.5mm optical/analog output, like the CCA. It will also have a far-field microphone. Maybe an analog input, but not necessarily, given Sonos emphasis on streaming.

That would kill a lot of birds with one stone if that will also do Alexa. The photos/manuals filed are then a legally possible red herring?
nifoxke
Userlevel 3
Badge +9
It will be priced at $99. It will have a combined 3.5mm optical/analog output, like the CCA. It will also have a far-field microphone. Maybe an analog input, but not necessarily, given Sonos emphasis on streaming.

That would kill a lot of birds with one stone if that will also do Alexa. The photos/manuals filed are then a legally possible red herring?
That could make sense. They put up existing Connect info and pictures as an early design disguise, then they "change their mind" on design and features and ultimately release something entirely different but less encompassing than the Connect to keep features limited to add-on Alexa support.
chicks
Those photos make no sense for a 2017 product. The internal photos show a level of componentry from 10+ years ago. A new product would have far smaller components, and certainly not a plugin wifi card. The production costs would be far too high to be competitive in a world of $35 Chromecasts and $50 Dots. Those are photos of the existing Connect, which has surely become non competitive at its current price. I don't get it...
Airgetlam
Nor does that "style" complement the latest devices, the PLAYBASE and PLAY:5. I'd have assumed that something new would look more iike those, or even the BOOST.
Bruce
Corrode
Userlevel 4
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I'm hoping for a low-cost AirPlay hub but I'm expecting to be disappointed.
DTS or bust
Belly M
Badge +20
Those photos make no sense for a 2017 product. The internal photos show a level of componentry from 10+ years ago. A new product would have far smaller components, and certainly not a plugin wifi card. The production costs would be far too high to be competitive in a world of $35 Chromecasts and $50 Dots. Those are photos of the existing Connect, which has surely become non competitive at its current price. I don't get it...

Same thoughts here :?
nicka99
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
Compare with the pics on ifixit and there are some differences but I'm no expert so don't know if it's just updated components or really a different product. Also some of the dates on the parts are almost a year old. Very strange.

https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Sonos_Connect
passopp
And. Here. We. Go.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/8/28/16214118/sonos-smart-speaker-microphone-fcc-filing-multiple-voice-assistants
nifoxke
Userlevel 3
Badge +9
That appears to be from a separate FCC filing. I'm still curious what the product is that this thread refers to. It may just be a big nothing.
passopp
Yeah I didn't feel the need for opening a seperate thread with the new filing not likely to hit markets before March.

An updated Connect with improved wifi chipset doesn't sound too shabby though. It's the retail price which has been the real bummer so far (and probably will still be in the future).
nifoxke
Userlevel 3
Badge +9
Yeah that is a bummer. And is what's stopping me from getting one. The previous reference of a $99 product intrigued me but I doubt it'll happen.
chicks
Yeah that is a bummer. And is what's stopping me from getting one. The previous reference of a $99 product intrigued me but I doubt it'll happen.

Yep, no way is this going to be $99, it will be stuck at $349, which must severely restrict sales. I guess they determined that a $99 Connect would hurt sales of their speaker line. I'm an engineer, not a marketing or finance guy; these decisions seem nutty from an engineer's perspective, but obviously aren't made by engineering.
BDubz5150
Badge
I'm guessing it's a stand alone microphone array interface device to integrate Alexa to control legacy Sonos equipment?
chicks
I'm guessing it's a stand alone microphone array interface device to integrate Alexa to control legacy Sonos equipment?

Nope. Sadly, it's just a minor update of the Connect.
BDubz5150
Badge
Boooo
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