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Sonos still has severe limitations and I regret buying two 5.1 setups from them. As a simple example: there is no 7.1 support at all and the Atmos support is a

Sonos still has severe limitations and I regret buying two 5.1 setups from them. As a simple example: there is no 7.1 support at all and the Atmos support is a sort of faked 5.1.2 support where the upward firing speakers try to bounce some sounds off the ceiling. Sonos only supports 2.4GHz (no 5GHz support at all) so in a congested area network degradation is a big issue. Codec support is limited as well. For example if your source outputs in DTS, you may need to throw away the whole system and buy a different sonos system just to get audio working. The same thing applies to dolby atmos or vision - you need to buy new speakers just to listen to those type of sources.

givinguflac 4y ago
I just want to point out that while sonosnet is 2.4 only, most of their products support 5ghz APs. In addition, DTS support has been included for a little while now.
devrand 4y ago
FWIW they do support DTS (but not DTS-HD) now.
- christoph 4y ago
  Poor/late timing, as DTS is essentially dead at this point[1] in the streaming market which I’m guessing is generally what they are catering for. 1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30942269 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30942269
  - devrand 4y ago
    I was actually surprised they bothered to add it at all. It's definitely not for their target audience: people using streaming services. What they provide is actually great for that audience. My best guess is that they keep pushing into the home theater space and wanted to grab a bit of market share from the higher-end bucket without having to pay too much in licensing.
wctawcta 4y ago
I don't this contradicts the "gone the way of the DSLR market" claim. Sonos and similar systems are simply good enough for most people. Whether it's TVs, cameras, surround sound systems, we reached a point of diminishing returns by cramming in more pixels or speakers. At that point, you're competing on factors like convenience. There will still be markets for 7.1+ surround sound or DSLR cameras, but they're smaller now.
- emkoemko 4y ago
  DSLR just got replaced by mirrorless basically same thing but without a mirror, cameras still have a more tech advancements to come, better EVF,global shutter, lower noise, higher fps, better AF, better metering, better IS, better battery life etc etc, a bit difference to a speaker that can only improve audio quality and at this point i probably can't tell the difference between a good 20 year old speaker and one bought today.
  - Nursie 4y ago
    I think the point is that sure, recently DSLR got more or less replaced by mirrorless, tech wise, but the camera market as a whole has been massively diminished because smart phones ate it from the bottom up. Now they're good enough that basically the DSLR/Mirrorless market is really just for enthusiasts or those with very specific needs.
    - emkoemko 4y ago
      enthusiasts? its for professionals and some enthusiasts, i doubt high end camera gear has reduced market share but the lower end consumer grade stuff has for sure gone since most people don't care about image quality etc when their phone can do basic photography. Just checked the sony A series lines cameras since 2015 have increased units sold every year.
      - Nursie 4y ago
        The camera market has cratered, from 2010-2020 it dropped from 120 million units sold to under 10 million: https://www.popphoto.com/news/the-camera-industry-is-changing/ https://www.popphoto.com/news/the-camera-industry-is-changin... The total market for all interchangeable lens cameras appears to be on the decline as well: https://1kcreatives.com/smartphone-vs-mirrorless-vs-dslr-camera-sales-2021/ https://1kcreatives.com/smartphone-vs-mirrorless-vs-dslr-cam... The point of the argument was that sonos and other smart speaker tech like sound bars etc, have eaten the market for hi-fi in the same sort of way. There is an enthusiast market, sure, and likely always will be. But it's way, way smaller than the old 'full' market and it's slowly declining as the convenient, easy to use products continue to get better (or continue to be terrible but convenient, if you want to be dismissive, but objective tests seem to show smartphones taking pretty damn good images these days).
leokennis 4y ago
Wait Sonos is 2.4Ghz only? Even my cheapo digital photo frame and my “need to make it cheap to turn a profit” ereader work on 5Ghz…
- nl 4y ago
  This isn't true. I have Sonos running on 5GHz right now, from a setup including the Ikea Sonos speakers. Maybe the OP is using an old, v1 Sonos setup or something?
  - ListenLinda 4y ago
    It might be SonosNet only supports 2.4ghz. I run SonosNet, I find WiFi to be problematic.
Nursie 4y ago
> if your source outputs in DTS This was (finally) remedied relatively recently, but Sonos sound bars now support DTS.

givinguflac 4y ago

I just want to point out that while sonosnet is 2.4 only, most of their products support 5ghz APs. In addition, DTS support has been included for a little while now.

devrand 4y ago

FWIW they do support DTS (but not DTS-HD) now.

christoph 4y ago
Poor/late timing, as DTS is essentially dead at this point[1] in the streaming market which I’m guessing is generally what they are catering for. 1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30942269 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30942269
- devrand 4y ago
  I was actually surprised they bothered to add it at all. It's definitely not for their target audience: people using streaming services. What they provide is actually great for that audience. My best guess is that they keep pushing into the home theater space and wanted to grab a bit of market share from the higher-end bucket without having to pay too much in licensing.

wctawcta 4y ago

I don't this contradicts the "gone the way of the DSLR market" claim. Sonos and similar systems are simply good enough for most people. Whether it's TVs, cameras, surround sound systems, we reached a point of diminishing returns by cramming in more pixels or speakers. At that point, you're competing on factors like convenience. There will still be markets for 7.1+ surround sound or DSLR cameras, but they're smaller now.

emkoemko 4y ago
DSLR just got replaced by mirrorless basically same thing but without a mirror, cameras still have a more tech advancements to come, better EVF,global shutter, lower noise, higher fps, better AF, better metering, better IS, better battery life etc etc, a bit difference to a speaker that can only improve audio quality and at this point i probably can't tell the difference between a good 20 year old speaker and one bought today.
- Nursie 4y ago
  I think the point is that sure, recently DSLR got more or less replaced by mirrorless, tech wise, but the camera market as a whole has been massively diminished because smart phones ate it from the bottom up. Now they're good enough that basically the DSLR/Mirrorless market is really just for enthusiasts or those with very specific needs.
  - emkoemko 4y ago
    enthusiasts? its for professionals and some enthusiasts, i doubt high end camera gear has reduced market share but the lower end consumer grade stuff has for sure gone since most people don't care about image quality etc when their phone can do basic photography. Just checked the sony A series lines cameras since 2015 have increased units sold every year.
    - Nursie 4y ago
      The camera market has cratered, from 2010-2020 it dropped from 120 million units sold to under 10 million: https://www.popphoto.com/news/the-camera-industry-is-changing/ https://www.popphoto.com/news/the-camera-industry-is-changin... The total market for all interchangeable lens cameras appears to be on the decline as well: https://1kcreatives.com/smartphone-vs-mirrorless-vs-dslr-camera-sales-2021/ https://1kcreatives.com/smartphone-vs-mirrorless-vs-dslr-cam... The point of the argument was that sonos and other smart speaker tech like sound bars etc, have eaten the market for hi-fi in the same sort of way. There is an enthusiast market, sure, and likely always will be. But it's way, way smaller than the old 'full' market and it's slowly declining as the convenient, easy to use products continue to get better (or continue to be terrible but convenient, if you want to be dismissive, but objective tests seem to show smartphones taking pretty damn good images these days).

leokennis 4y ago

Wait Sonos is 2.4Ghz only? Even my cheapo digital photo frame and my “need to make it cheap to turn a profit” ereader work on 5Ghz…

nl 4y ago
This isn't true. I have Sonos running on 5GHz right now, from a setup including the Ikea Sonos speakers. Maybe the OP is using an old, v1 Sonos setup or something?
- ListenLinda 4y ago
  It might be SonosNet only supports 2.4ghz. I run SonosNet, I find WiFi to be problematic.

Nursie 4y ago

> if your source outputs in DTS This was (finally) remedied relatively recently, but Sonos sound bars now support DTS.