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>I haven't tried Sonos, but if a product, which you'd assume is more or less just a speaker, requires you to "sign up" or to some extend expects you to manage i

>I haven't tried Sonos, but if a product, which you'd assume is more or less just a speaker, requires you to "sign up" or to some extend expects you to manage it via a smart phone, you should generally be sceptical. It's worse than that. Not only do you need to have an account to use these speakers, but there's no way to run them without using the built in app, and there's no way to avoid getting on the upgrade treadmill with the app. I had a sonos setup I was very happy with, until I was forced to upgrade my laptop app because it wouldn't let me play any music without upgrading. And then guess what? My laptop was too old (circa 2010 17" macbook pro) for tne new app, and when I complained on their forums, was told to upgrade my laptop because the os was no longer supported and it was a "security risk to run old operating systems". Goodwill was very happy to receive those speakers that week, and sonos is now on my list of companies I will never buy from, and on the list of companies I will take time out of my day to make sure my friends (irl and internet strangers) hear about their practices.

bloat 6y ago
Sonos speakers are DLNA sinks. Once they are set up you can stream music using something like https://github.com/masmu/pulseaudio-dlna https://github.com/masmu/pulseaudio-dlna, without using the Sonos app on your phone or computer.
- recursive 6y ago
  What would be really cool (to me) is if the speakers were exposed as Bluetooth audio devices. I don't want to have to think about how to setup DLNA or what's compatible with it.
  - contravariant 6y ago
    DLNA and external speakers are 2 very different things. Suffice it to say you should choose and buy the kind of device you want.
bambax 6y ago
I hate them for the same reason. They also had dedicated controllers which were deprecated, but a phone app isn't as versatile. You can't lend your phone to a guest at your house, or to a kid, etc.
Agentlien 6y ago
I used the Sonos app to set my speakers up once. Since then I just use whatever device (usually phone or TV) is nearby to control them via spotify. Works excellently.

bloat 6y ago

Sonos speakers are DLNA sinks. Once they are set up you can stream music using something like https://github.com/masmu/pulseaudio-dlna https://github.com/masmu/pulseaudio-dlna, without using the Sonos app on your phone or computer.

recursive 6y ago
What would be really cool (to me) is if the speakers were exposed as Bluetooth audio devices. I don't want to have to think about how to setup DLNA or what's compatible with it.
- contravariant 6y ago
  DLNA and external speakers are 2 very different things. Suffice it to say you should choose and buy the kind of device you want.

bambax 6y ago

I hate them for the same reason. They also had dedicated controllers which were deprecated, but a phone app isn't as versatile. You can't lend your phone to a guest at your house, or to a kid, etc.

Agentlien 6y ago

I used the Sonos app to set my speakers up once. Since then I just use whatever device (usually phone or TV) is nearby to control them via spotify. Works excellently.