The best Sonos alternatives - Beritaja

2 days ago

beritaja.com

Simon Cohen / Simon Cohen

We person recommended Sonos wireless speakers and components for years. We still deliberation The institution makes a awesome product. But The absolute fiasco caused by The May 7 Sonos app redesign collapsed almost each facet of The Sonos acquisition — and we’re still waiting for fixes that were promised weeks ago.

If you’re a Sonos owner, we stock your frustration. If your finance in The company’s ecosystem is significant, your champion stake is to hold and thrust retired this storm. Eventually things will return to normal and, hopefully, The Sonos acquisition will beryllium amended than before.

But if you’re caller to Sonos aliases if you’re considering buying your first Sonos product, you whitethorn beryllium wondering astir alternatives. Bad package rollouts Can and do happen; going pinch different institution is nary guarantee that your location audio strategy will stay problem-free forever. Still, if you’re nary longer emotion The Sonos love, these systems are much than Can of filling your location pinch sound.

But what constitutes a Sonos alternative? To our measurement of thinking, a existent replacement should person astatine slightest immoderate (and preferably all) of The pursuing attributes:

Wi-Fi connectivity for each speaker/component
An app that lets you power speaker playback, speaker grouping, and that Can entree some your preferred streaming euphony services arsenic good arsenic your individual postulation of integer music
A assortment of speaker sizes/types, including a soundbar
A constituent that lets you link your older, non-wireless audio cogwheel to The system
Some benignant of voice-enabled smart speaker action for some smart location integration arsenic good arsenic sound power complete music
Expandable complete time

Of The 5 options we coming below, only The first 3 meet a mostly of these requirements. But we’ve included 2 much options that will springiness you a “Sonos lite” experience, if you don’t request each of The features Sonos offers.

Bluesound

The champion for audiophiles

When it comes to uncovering a wireless, multiroom audio strategy that Can compete pinch Sonos, look nary further than Bluesound. Like Sonos, Bluesound makes a assortment of wireless speakers and components including location theatre elements for illustration soundbars and subwoofers, which are each controlled via The BluOS-powered Bluesound mobile app.

Where Bluesound goes supra and beyond, however, is its support for hi-res audio and aggregate wired/wireless relationship options. This has helped make Bluesound a favourite among audiophiles. All of Bluesound’s hardware supports lossless integer sound up to 24-bit/192kHz, and it’s 1 of The only multiroom systems that’s compatible pinch The MQA format (Lenbrook, Bluesound’s genitor company, also owns The authorities to MQA).

Its speakers and web euphony streamers besides person auxiliary inputs and headphone outputs, thing that Sonos has only conscionable precocious started to adhd to its products.

These other features thin to make Bluesound products much costly than their Sonos equivalents, but you whitethorn find The added versatility is worthy The other investment.

One area wherever Bluesound lags Sonos is support for euphony services in The mobile app. Notably absent from The database is Apple Music and YouTube Music. Still, fixed Bluesound’s compatibility pinch AirPlay, Bluetooth, and Roon, location are different ways to play euphony from these services’ ain mobile apps.

Bluesound components Can beryllium controlled via Amazon Alexa, but Google Assistant and Apple Siri compatibility stay unavailable.

Denon Home/HEOS

The astir versatile choice

Denon created The first existent Sonos replacement pinch its Denon HEOS wireless speakers and components. The institution has since rebranded its wireless speakers arsenic Denon Home. But nether The hood, it’s still HEOS moving The show.

You’ll find HEOS-compatible AV receivers from Denon and sister marque Marantz, which greatly grow your options for multiroom sound without The request for abstracted web euphony streamers.

Denon’s Home portfolio of speakers isn’t arsenic expansive arsenic Sonos’ — there’s presently nary portable speaker in The lineup, and only 1 size of soundbar — but prices are akin for what you get.

Like Bluesound, HEOS components are hi-res audio compatible up to 24-bit/192kHz. They don’t activity pinch MQA, but they will play DSD 2.8MHz and 5.6MHz tracks, which neither Sonos nor Bluesound Can do.

With a 2023 update, The HEOS mobile app performs astir each of The aforesaid functions arsenic The Sonos app. YouTube Music is 1 of The fewer euphony services that isn’t supported in-app.

Bose

The champion for easy setup

Bose is different institution that has been diligently pursuing Sonos’ lead connected wireless multiroom speakers, and it now has a lineup of “smart” products that Can spell (almost) toe-to-toe.

Soundbars in aggregate sizes and prices (including models that support Dolby Atmos) that Can besides beryllium expanded to fresh larger rooms, subwoofers, portables, and of course, noise-canceling headphones — there’s a Bose merchandise for each scenario.

Each constituent Can beryllium grouped and controlled via The Bose Music app, and they person a wealthiness of wireless relationship options including Bluetooth, AirPlay, and Google Cast.

One of The things that makes these products “smart” is their built-in sound adjunct capabilities. On immoderate speakers, you Can take from either Google Assistant aliases Amazon Alexa, while others are constricted to conscionable Alexa (but pinch Google Assistant compatibility if you already person a Google Assistant speaker).

You won’t find support for precocious audio formats for illustration MQA, DSD, aliases hi-res FLAC, but that doesn’t extremity these speakers from sounding excellent.

The Bose Music app, while awesome for controlling Bose smart speakers, is constricted compared to Sonos in position of euphony work support, creating and redeeming playlists, and queue management.

Wiim

An breathtaking caller option

Wiim, a newcomer to The wireless audio space, doesn’t make wireless speakers (yet) truthful it can’t rather beryllium considered a afloat Sonos alternative, but The company’s web euphony players (with and without integrated amps) are impervious that you Can person Sonos-like features without paying Sonos prices.

We’ve tried The Wiim Pro and Wiim Amp, and are mightily impressed by their technology, design, and sound. The Wiim app is perchance The first of its benignant to not only replicate Sonos’ champion features (like cosmopolitan search) but besides transcend what Sonos has done.

There’s afloat support for grouping and individual power of components, hi-res audio compatibility including MQA, and respective of Wiim’s products are Roon-ready for fans of that euphony guidance software.

Each Wiim constituent has a plethora of integer and analog inputs and outputs, and wireless connectivity includes Bluetooth (usually two-way), AirPlay, and Google Cast.

About The only point you don’t get pinch Wiim is DSD compatibility, and, overmuch for illustration each non-Sonos competitors, you can’t entree Apple Music straight wrong The Wiim app.

Apple/Google/Amazon

The 800-pound gorillas

Finally, if you’re a instrumentality of The large 3 tech companies and their respective ecosystems, Apple, Google, and Amazon each offers ways to do wireless multiroom audio. They not only make wireless speakers — they besides person smart location apps that Can power a assortment of third-party speakers from different companies.

For example: If a wireless speaker is AirPlay-compatible, it Can beryllium added to The Apple Home app. Google Assistant smart speakers and Google Cast devices Can beryllium managed from The Google Home app, and there’s a elephantine ecosystem of wireless audio products that Can beryllium added to The Alexa app.

To beryllium clear, these smart location apps are basal erstwhile compared to The functionality of a Sonos system, truthful it’s not rather a 1:1 replacement.

Moreover, Apple, Google, and Amazon only person a fewer wireless speakers from which to choose, and nary of them makes multiroom-compatible soundbars (though Apple’s HomePods make a awesome soundbar substitute if you person an Apple TV 4K).

Still, if your needs are simple, possibly a fewer Apple HomePods scattered astir your location will do The trick.