The Multiroom Music Systems Thread

[The_Lhc]

LHC - good summary of Sonos.

Just wanted to expand on a couple of points -

The sonos 'mesh' network is a protocol that sits on top of WiFi, it still uses WiFi channels and WiFi hardware. The mesh approach allows each Sonos box to act as a repeater, so longer distances can be covered as long as the signal can jump from box to box. It cannot change the physics of WiFi, fix a very congested WiFi environment (if you are in a block of flats for example) or very long runs without intermediate boxes.

Err, yes, pretty sure I said most of that. Certainly said it uses standard wi-fi hardware with its own protocols on top.

The Connect (or whatever it is called these days) has poor jitter performance, one of the worst of the streamer group tested a couple of years ago. If you use it to drive a DAC and your DAC does not have jitter mitigation circuitry, this MAY impact sound quality. To be honest, these days any decent DAC should be able to tidy up the input clock, so this is less of an issue than it used to be. An async USB connection on the Connect would be a nice feature for future development.

Jitter aside the output IS bit-perfect though. We won't see any new hardware this year apparently.

Having said all of the above, Sonos is the system I recommend to friends who want multi room playback. It has staying power, great support and a solid hardware and software platform.

They've got a good 8 years development time on most competitors which appears to count for an awful lot in terms of functionality and usability yes.

 

[The_Lhc]

May I add to your excellent post the following....

The Sonos customer support is first class, and they deal with faulty products directly not through retailers.

Very good point, I'll add that in, thanks. EDIT: except I won't as apparently someone's replied to my message so the edit option has gone now. Oh well.

There is a very good Sonos forum with great active members. They have the answers to most, if not all the problems that you will encounter. Sonos themselves also participate.

You don't see Sonos staff on there so much these days now that they've got ask.sonos.com to keep them busy. Announcements and the occasional piece of advice but less than previously. The downside of the forum is that I spend almost as much time there as I do here! :type:

 

[AlmaataKZ]

We do not seem to get anything so far on the other platforms. Anyone using any and can report?

 

[PEAYEL]

Hi y'all. I wqas over at Kickstarter this morning and I came across this proposed new system, which I feel is the most direct compeitor to sonos yet. It is called Musaic Wireless HIfi Music System.

At the moment the info is all on Kiickstarter and if you read through to the FAQ section it gives the advantages over Sonos plus other info. Please browse here..............

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1112831839/musaic-wireless-hifi-music-system-your-music-your

I think it's very interesting as a product, and good to see a UK company looking to get goining and taking on the big brands. I hopethat they are successful.

 

[The_Lhc]

Well Musaic was mentioned in the first post. Halfway through the pledge period and not yet raised half the required money. You have to think if it was that great an idea they'd be able to get such a small amount of investment the traditional way. Kickstarting is no guarantee of an end product either, look at the Olive One. Or don't, rather...

 

[matt49]

Choice of controller, available for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android tablets and phones. Android devices have the option of connecting directly to the Sonosnet wireless network (Apple does not allow this on iOS, so these controllers must be within range of your own wireless network to function).

Good job: thanks for the extremely full and detailed account.

Just to add, the GUI of the desktop/tablet/smartphone controllers is superb: both better looking (subjective, I know) and more intuitive than anything else I've seen.

Matt

 

[DocG]

Choice of controller, available for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android tablets and phones. Android devices have the option of connecting directly to the Sonosnet wireless network (Apple does not allow this on iOS, so these controllers must be within range of your own wireless network to function).

Good job: thanks for the extremely full and detailed account.

Just to add, the GUI of the desktop/tablet/smartphone controllers is superb: both better looking (subjective, I know) and more intuitive than anything else I've seen.

Matt

Definitely.

Though IMO Sonos has some room for improvement in their Spotify app. It is somewhat limited, compared to the desktop Spotify controler.

 

[The_Lhc]

Choice of controller, available for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android tablets and phones. Android devices have the option of connecting directly to the Sonosnet wireless network (Apple does not allow this on iOS, so these controllers must be within range of your own wireless network to function).

Good job: thanks for the extremely full and detailed account.

Just to add, the GUI of the desktop/tablet/smartphone controllers is superb: both better looking (subjective, I know) and more intuitive than anything else I've seen.

Matt

Definitely.

Though IMO Sonos has some room for improvement in their Spotify app. It is somewhat limited, compared to the desktop Spotify controler.

That's entirely down to Spotify however, Sonos aren't responsible for the music service integration, they simply make their API freely available and it's the service that creates the integrated offering.

 

[andyjm]

LHC - good summary of Sonos.

Just wanted to expand on a couple of points -

The sonos 'mesh' network is a protocol that sits on top of WiFi, it still uses WiFi channels and WiFi hardware. The mesh approach allows each Sonos box to act as a repeater, so longer distances can be covered as long as the signal can jump from box to box. It cannot change the physics of WiFi, fix a very congested WiFi environment (if you are in a block of flats for example) or very long runs without intermediate boxes.

Err, yes, pretty sure I said most of that. Certainly said it uses standard wi-fi hardware with its own protocols on top.

Fair enough.

There is a tendency (noticable on the Sonos forum) to suggest Sonos doesn't use WiFi, it uses its own propriatory mesh network. As we both agree, that isn't the case.

The point is that if you live in a Cornish granite house and you cant get a WiFi signal from one room to the next, then your Sonos box wont work no matter what protocol they are using.

 

[DocG]

LHC - good summary of Sonos.

Just wanted to expand on a couple of points -

The sonos 'mesh' network is a protocol that sits on top of WiFi, it still uses WiFi channels and WiFi hardware. The mesh approach allows each Sonos box to act as a repeater, so longer distances can be covered as long as the signal can jump from box to box. It cannot change the physics of WiFi, fix a very congested WiFi environment (if you are in a block of flats for example) or very long runs without intermediate boxes.

Err, yes, pretty sure I said most of that. Certainly said it uses standard wi-fi hardware with its own protocols on top.

Fair enough.

There is a tendency (noticable on the Sonos forum) to suggest Sonos doesn't use WiFi, it uses its own propriatory mesh network. As we both agree, that isn't the case.

The point is that if you live in a Cornish granite house and you cant get a WiFi signal from one room to the next, then your Sonos box wont work no matter what protocol they are using.

Unless you wired the house with UTP-cable.

BTW, I read that you can switch the Sonos-wifi off when hardwiring the unit. I coudn't try it myself as our current house has no wired ethernet. Anyone else done that?

http://wojo.com/blog/2011/11/20/disabling-wifi-on-sonos-players.html

 

[The_Lhc]

LHC - good summary of Sonos.

Just wanted to expand on a couple of points -

The sonos 'mesh' network is a protocol that sits on top of WiFi, it still uses WiFi channels and WiFi hardware. The mesh approach allows each Sonos box to act as a repeater, so longer distances can be covered as long as the signal can jump from box to box. It cannot change the physics of WiFi, fix a very congested WiFi environment (if you are in a block of flats for example) or very long runs without intermediate boxes.

Err, yes, pretty sure I said most of that. Certainly said it uses standard wi-fi hardware with its own protocols on top.

Fair enough.

There is a tendency (noticable on the Sonos forum) to suggest Sonos doesn't use WiFi, it uses its own propriatory mesh network. As we both agree, that isn't the case.

I think you might be mis-interpreting some comments, Sonos won't use your own wi-fi, which is the mistake many people make when they can't work out why their system isn't working.

The point is that if you live in a Cornish granite house and you cant get a WiFi signal from one room to the next, then your Sonos box wont work no matter what protocol they are using.

Or a Devon long-house, which is why I have two Sonos Bridges placed in line-of-sight between doorways and thus get the mesh all round my house without too much trouble. Knowing where your false walls are as well helps...

 

[The_Lhc]

BTW, I read that you can switch the Sonos-wifi off when hardwiring the unit. I coudn't try it myself as our current house has no wired ethernet. Anyone else done that?

http://wojo.com/blog/2011/11/20/disabling-wifi-on-sonos-players.html

You can, although I don't see any reason to, it's also distinctly unsupported, so if you have trouble don't expect any help from Sonos.

Worth understanding that if you do this you won't be able to use a Sonos controller and if you've been allowing an Android controller to connect directly to the Sonosnet that won't work either (obviously), so you'll need to ensure you're in range of your own wi-fi for control purposes.

 

[Mattan]

Maybe the lack of responses regarding other systems just shows what a grip Sonos has in this area? Before buying my play:3, I did a bit of research and quick audition of the Jongo range. Here's my thoughts:

Good: Good range of speakers from the portable S3 that can be used outside and battery-powered to the big T6. Also includes the A2, which is used to connnect to an existing amp & speakers (like the Sonos Connect). Ability to stand the speakers horizontally or vertically and change the covers for different colours. The Pure music service has a good range of music and is cheaper than Spotify etc. Bluetooth support. Now has support for streaming from a NAS or PC. Can create stereo pairs

Not so good: Limited codec support (MP3, WMA, AAC), i.e. no FLAC support. You can't create zones, so all speakers play the same music. You are restricted to using the Pure music service, unless connecting via Bluetooth. Uses your own wireless network, so does not work as a repeater/bridge like Sonos. IMHO the sound just wasn't a clear as the Sonos.

 

[AlmaataKZ]

Consumers want them - http://www.whathifi.com/news/cea-wireless-and-multi-room-audio-system-sales-growth-continues

While Musaic seems to struggle to get crowdfunding

 

[AlmaataKZ]

Double post

 

[AlmaataKZ]

Sonos is working on making a cabled connection of a Sonos unit to router not necessary.

http://www.cultofmac.com/275016/sonos-used-clever-software-engineering-make-50-gadget-obsolete/

http://blog.sonos.com/news/our-vision-for-rock-solid-wireless-evolved/

 

[AlmaataKZ]

Naim Muso

http://www.naimaudio.com/news/article/introducing-muso-by-naim

 

[AlmaataKZ]

Denon HEOS

http://www.whathifi.com/news/denon-launches-heos-wireless-multi-room-system

 

[skippy]

http://canadahifi.com/auralic-aries-streamer-bridge-digital-music-player/

 

[ubermusik]

I use "audio|acacia" (www.plethra.com)

They also have a very good comparison chart of nearly all the known multi-room audio products found here: https://www.plethra.com/resources/comparison-charts/multi-room-music-systems

audio|acacia

Pros:

-Very affordable ($350 for unlimited rooms/devices) software-based product so I'm not locked to a single hardware platform

-Very good, and fast, iTunes integration that imports all my playlists and songs (with correct metadata) in under 30 seconds, even for very large libraries. No waiting 45+ minutes for the system to see the changes you've made.

-Plays to AirPlay devices, iPhones, iPads, Android Phones/Tablets, desktops, laptops, etc. (all in sync)

-In addition to playing natively from online sources (i.e. iHeartRadio, Slacker, 8Tracks, etc.), it can also play from AirPlay streams. Meaning I can go to an iOS audio app (i.e. SoundCloud) and choose "Stream to audio|acacia" from the AirPlay pop-up menu.

Cons:

-Doesn't yet natively support Spotify or Pandora (though it is on their roadmap)

-If you're not technically savy or not interested in dedicating a computer to run the software, you'll have to wait until their hardware is released (launching later this summer)