Wireless Outdoor Speakers why Not?
Seems many of us Sonos folks would love to have the ability to add wireless weather resistant speakers to our systems. Outdoor living areas are extremely popular and music makes these areas even better. Outdoor WiFi extenders are available which would allow a wireless connection to a Sonos system. The Sonance system requires wires and is too expensive. Come on Sonos this is a no brainer as we live in a wireless world.
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First off, there is no requirement to use the Sonance outdoor speakers with the Sonos Amp. Pretty much any outdoor speaker will work. I certainly don't. Second, while outdoor electronics do exist, Sonos speakers are basically computers, and therefore they would need to be 'ruggized' in order to deal with the weather. That's going to significantly increase the cost. It also would need a strong battery since most people are not going to have electrical outlets in convenient places for speakers. If you're going to have an electrician do wiring, speaker wire is much cheaper than an electrical wiring. Of course, some people are happy with just taking a Sonos One or two outside when they plan on spending the afternoon outside.
I'm not saying it will never happen or that there isn't room for a successful market in there. I'm just saying it's not the no brainer you think it is.
I'm not saying it will never happen or that there isn't room for a successful market in there. I'm just saying it's not the no brainer you think it is.
You make some valid points, however we all comment relative to our own experiences, perspectives and environments. In my case, as with many others, our outdoor living areas are fairly large, have different settings and have plenty of electrical power available in a variety of locations. Being able to either locate an outdoor speaker in a fixed location or have the ability to move it to fit the setting is a plus. I already have a fixed pair of wired speakers in the hearth room so wireless is my choice for an additional speaker(s). Further, trying to run wires from my amp to a selected outdoor location would be quite a challenge. A battery powered outdoor speaker is not what I am looking for. I do believe Sonos could develop a weather resistant outdoor wireless speaker and deliver it at a much lower cost that the Sonos suggested Sonance setup.
Still a no brainer from my perspective!
I thank for your comments... much appreciated!
John
Still a no brainer from my perspective!
I thank for your comments... much appreciated!
John
My comments were not about my own experience, but about people in general. My setup is actually not that standard.
In my case, as with many others, our outdoor living areas are fairly large, have different settings and have plenty of electrical power available in a variety of locations. Being able to either locate an outdoor speaker in a fixed location or have the ability to move it to fit the setting is a plus.
I don't t know that there are that many others with the similar setup as you, enough to justify a product. You also have to factor in that a lot of people will chose something other than Sonos, or are perfectly happy have an installer put in wired speakers.
I already have a fixed pair of wired speakers in the hearth room so wireless is my choice for an additional speaker(s). Further, trying to run wires from my amp to a selected outdoor location would be quite a challenge.
A battery powered outdoor speaker is not what I am looking for. I do believe Sonos could develop a weather resistant outdoor wireless speaker and deliver it at a much lower cost that the Sonos suggested Sonance setup.
Still a no brainer from my perspective!
I thank for your comments... much appreciated!
John
And this has been requested infrequently for years in various forms. It hasn't happened yet. I do agree that outdoor living spaces are becoming more popular, so perhaps what didn't make sense yesterday makes sense tomorrow. I don't have the numbers to back it up either way.
I just found out about these new outdoor speakers and came here to offer my opinion on the price, for whatever that is worth. First off, I'm glad that all my ranting and raving about wireless speakers to Sonos in their feedback polls did not fall on deaf ears. Perhaps I should have mentioned the word "affordable" in my request. Seriously? $800 for a pair? And they are not powered? Can I leave them in the wide open?
I have power outside at 2 convenient locations. I even built a box to cover my sonos 1 to leave it out 24/7 but it looked rediculous. I ended up using a Connect (used on ebay because the msrp is overpriced) powered by an old receiver, running wires out of my house foundation, connected to a pair of Dual outdoor speakers. Even got an alexa outlet to power off the receiver.
I love my paltry Sonos system (three S1's) but I'm afraid they are reaching audiophile status i.e. priced beyond reason IMO. I recently went the route of buying an echo dot and a $25 amp using a 1/8 cable (out of the echo into the amp) to power some speakers in the garage. $50. Not $500 for their Connectamp. The voice control is great.
I would pay $100 max per passive outdoor speaker. $200 max per powered outdoor speaker, but only if they could be left out in the wide open.
I have power outside at 2 convenient locations. I even built a box to cover my sonos 1 to leave it out 24/7 but it looked rediculous. I ended up using a Connect (used on ebay because the msrp is overpriced) powered by an old receiver, running wires out of my house foundation, connected to a pair of Dual outdoor speakers. Even got an alexa outlet to power off the receiver.
I love my paltry Sonos system (three S1's) but I'm afraid they are reaching audiophile status i.e. priced beyond reason IMO. I recently went the route of buying an echo dot and a $25 amp using a 1/8 cable (out of the echo into the amp) to power some speakers in the garage. $50. Not $500 for their Connectamp. The voice control is great.
I would pay $100 max per passive outdoor speaker. $200 max per powered outdoor speaker, but only if they could be left out in the wide open.
Note that the speakers you're talking about are not made by Sonos, but are produced by a company called Sonance, which partnered with Sonos in some respects on the Architecture series so that they could be set up with Trueplay.
While Sonos is a reseller of these speakers, I'm not sure that they would have had a lot of input on the price points this Sonance Company chose to put them at.
While Sonos is a reseller of these speakers, I'm not sure that they would have had a lot of input on the price points this Sonance Company chose to put them at.
I would pay $100 max per passive outdoor speaker. $200 max per powered outdoor speaker, but only if they could be left out in the wide open.
I believe that Dayton Audio should meet your first requirement; it does not need to be a Sonos branded solution. As to the second, I know of no speaker of that kind, regardless of price point.
I guess it depends on the climate and risk you are willing to take, but I have a Play1 just below the roof of my open lounge area in the garden and it works perfectly. It has just survived its first winter 😀
I agree that the price of the speakers left a big chuck of Sonos customers looking for other options. As Bruce pointed out though, this was less Sonos and more Sonance, and if you look at Sonoance other speaker options, it's par for the course. I imagine the the target customer here is not the DIYer, but those looking to have an installer come. Price is less important as they have money to burn, or it's hidden in a project loan so of much less concern.
I have power outside at 2 convenient locations. I even built a box to cover my sonos 1 to leave it out 24/7 but it looked rediculous. I ended up using a Connect (used on ebay because the msrp is overpriced) powered by an old receiver, running wires out of my house foundation, connected to a pair of Dual outdoor speakers. Even got an alexa outlet to power off the receiver.
If you were looking to build a system with Dual quality speakers, going with Sonos speakers probably wasn't the best idea. You're going to end up with a hybrid that won't be as functional as going all Sonos or going all with Alexa echo/dots and cheap amps/speakers.
I love my paltry Sonos system (three S1's) but I'm afraid they are reaching audiophile status i.e. priced beyond reason IMO. I recently went the route of buying an echo dot and a $25 amp using a 1/8 cable (out of the echo into the amp) to power some speakers in the garage. $50. Not $500 for their Connectamp. The voice control is great.
I would pay $100 max per passive outdoor speaker. $200 max per powered outdoor speaker, but only if they could be left out in the wide open.
Like I said, I can't imagine you're going to happy budget wise with whatever outdoor speaker option Sonos may or may not do in the future. There's no point of waiting or even really lobbying for it. Instead, I'd be bothering Amazon perahps.
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