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I really don’t get why people want Sonos speakers in the first place. Linking together two pieces of technology with different lifespans just seems silly. Spea

I really don’t get why people want Sonos speakers in the first place. Linking together two pieces of technology with different lifespans just seems silly. Speakers are mature hardware. Sound is not going to get better any time soon. They’ve been about as good as they can be for decades. A good speaker and amp might last you 25 years or more. WiFi/AirPlay/etc is new and changing. Don’t put these two together in an inseparable product! It’s probably the reason Apple never released that smart TV everyone was expecting - it’s just better to have a TV that you can keep for years + a less expensive box you can replace as technology changes.

pivo 7y ago
I bought them so I could put speakers anywhere I wanted to and not have to run audio cable to them. Also, I don’t want a stack of audio equipment taking up space. Where I could run wires I used the Sonos amp and traditional speakers for the reason you have described.
- owenwil 7y ago
  Yeah, exactly this. The original comment misses a key point: speakers have been the same for decades, but Sonos did add magic sauce that builds on top of that legacy... multi-room audio. I'd argue that's worth the investment, and it's a really great improvement to the audio experience. That's hard to achieve without re-wiring your entire house, and arguably worth the risk/bet on Sonos, which has had a historically really good track record with these things.
  - nowaycrazy 7y ago
    In my view the multi-room feature is nice, but on the whole not worth the trade over simpler and less expensive portable Bluetooth speakers, which I have found to be more useful over time.
  - jonplackett 7y ago
    Do you really need them ‘anywhere’ though? I just got a pair of really nice speakers, a mini amp and plugged them into an old Apple TV. They sit happily in the lounge and sound great. They’re not as pretty as a Sonos but they’ll last ages and I can just replace any part of them that goes out of date. I do like the look of Sonos but the price tag just seemed way too steep
McTossOut 7y ago
What if you want a more scalable solution that doesn't require any competency? Like if you add a new story to your house? Sonos could fill that with Britney Spears just loud enough to hear over the vacuum.

pivo 7y ago

I bought them so I could put speakers anywhere I wanted to and not have to run audio cable to them. Also, I don’t want a stack of audio equipment taking up space. Where I could run wires I used the Sonos amp and traditional speakers for the reason you have described.

owenwil 7y ago
Yeah, exactly this. The original comment misses a key point: speakers have been the same for decades, but Sonos did add magic sauce that builds on top of that legacy... multi-room audio. I'd argue that's worth the investment, and it's a really great improvement to the audio experience. That's hard to achieve without re-wiring your entire house, and arguably worth the risk/bet on Sonos, which has had a historically really good track record with these things.
- nowaycrazy 7y ago
  In my view the multi-room feature is nice, but on the whole not worth the trade over simpler and less expensive portable Bluetooth speakers, which I have found to be more useful over time.
- jonplackett 7y ago
  Do you really need them ‘anywhere’ though? I just got a pair of really nice speakers, a mini amp and plugged them into an old Apple TV. They sit happily in the lounge and sound great. They’re not as pretty as a Sonos but they’ll last ages and I can just replace any part of them that goes out of date. I do like the look of Sonos but the price tag just seemed way too steep

McTossOut 7y ago

What if you want a more scalable solution that doesn't require any competency? Like if you add a new story to your house? Sonos could fill that with Britney Spears just loud enough to hear over the vacuum.