I Went FULL SONOS for 2 YEARS. Here's How it Went

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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:53 Physical Features
2:52 Sound
3:56 What Sonos is Great At
5:37 The Negatives of Sonos
9:43 Which Sonos Devices Would I Buy?
10:11 Conclusion

For the past 2 years, I’ve owned Sonos related products, and over that 2 year span, my sonos collection has been growing and growing. Throughout the house I have Sonos 1s, a sonos roam, a beam, beam gen 2, arc, sub, sub mini, and even the IKEA branded symfonisk bookshelf speakers. Let’s first talk about how Sonos speakers look in general. Most sonos devices come in black or white, and aim for a more minimalistic aesthetic that blends in with more modern furniture and homes. These speakers don’t stand out as much as some more traditional looking speakers that might look a little strange in some living spaces. But overall in terms of appearance and build they are good.

Pricing for these speakers vary significantly, with the lowest end one costing $120 and their highest end speaker, which technically is a soundbar, the arc, is $900. So what about Sound? They sound pretty good. I enjoy using a pair of sonos ones for listening to music. I like the full theater setup I have and they make playing video games and watching movies sound really good. The Sonos app also has this function on iOS devices you can use called “Trueplay” which tweaks the sound of the speakers to the acoustics of the room. That being said, if you’re buying these solely for sound quality, they’re for sure not the best value for money you can get and you are definitely paying a premium for all the extra features and convenience you get with them.

What Sonos does great though, is how easy it is to use their app to control and configure their speakers at will. The app itself is pretty nice, enabling you to control the different sonos devices in your home, what they’re playing, their volume and which devices audio is coming from. You can play audio from one room, or select multiple rooms and the Sonos speakers will begin playing music in all of those rooms at once in sync, and you can even control the volume on each room individually while they’re paired. The app even enables you to create custom EQs but it’s very bare bones, so don’t expect a robust interface that lets you control the tiniest of details.

But the most appealing aspect about Sonos, at least to me, is their modularity. You can take different sonos speakers, pair them together to make something even better. Or separate them and use them individually. You can make your setup as simple or as complex as you want, it’s a scalable solution. Being able to use wireless speakers alone or together adds a layer of flexibility that just makes sense. You might have a fully loaded Sonos home theater setup in your house, and then one day move to a place that doesn’t have a nice space for your setup, and so you can part out each piece into different rooms for a new purpose. All these pairings and combinations are all handled in their app. Plug in or turn on your sonos speaker, press or hold a specific button, and then pop open the SONOS App, the speaker will appear, then you can set up your speaker individually or pair your speakers together however you like.

Sonos speakers can’t be used in groups with non-sonos speakers, only Sonos. The only way to connect other speakers to Sonos’ is through wifi and casting audio from music apps, airplay, the sonos app, or through the soundbars that are connected to your TV through HDMI arc. They also can’t be connected to with bluetooth. You can do all of those things, but you pay a massive Sonos tax for access to these basic features. That’s one of my biggest complaints about Sonos.

Sonos stopped providing features to their older devices that worked under the S1 app, and only continued adding features and updates to S2 devices. S1 devices to this day, still work like how they always worked, but do not work within the same ecosystem as the S2 devices. So they can’t really communicate with each other.

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[JimmyTriesWorld]

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[billpaxton]

I love mine. I think I’m up to three 5’s six 1’s a sound bar and two subs and a Sonia move, I love them. I’m also a tech addict degenerate with more money than I need. But seriously, waking up with a playlist slowly fading in throughout the house while my lights turn on at 50% and my coffee pot starts grinding is a vibe. It helps me forget oboist the hole in my hear that God left when he died, the same hole that I fill with Sonos products.

[TheCdM]

Sonos works best with AirPlay. Just for the simple fact that you can use Sonos with a combo of other rooms with Bose systems and HomePods and you’re not locked into just the Sonos ecosystem.

[macaddct]

Just renovated my basement and went with their in-ceiling speakers, which are hard-wired into their Sonos Amp. Really happy with them so far

[zebratroopfan]

I started using Sonos products years ago. At the time it was a bargain compared to whole house products from Crestron. My Sonos journey started with one Play 1 and over the years I've added enough speakers to cover the interior and outside of my home. It wasn't cheap but I'm a recovering audiophile and spent more on my two channel speakers than all the Sonos combined. Let me add I'm not rich. I started buying stuff in high school. I actually had a Velodyne ULD 15 on layaway at a hi fi shop who allowed me to pay it off over 10 months. I typically keep products a long time. I'm happy with Sonos. They are not perfect but its a product that has been used everyday in my home since the first speaker was brought home.

[ivvu]

What’s better value for money in term of sound quality? 3:48

[stephentroyer]

Your in depth long term reviews are awesome! Thank you

[mattgibbia]

The whole walled garden thing isn't for me. Audio tech stays good so the idea of needing an app not something that will eventually lose support is a big no. My current speakers are from the late 90s and sound fantastic through a new Amp and receiver

[kierand]

What's better value for sound quality?

[caespana]

@jimmy what would you say is a better alternative and better value?

[kzgames]

Love my full Sonos setup. I've only had one speaker fail and it got replaced under warranty.

[dcdcdc]

Are there any similar alternatives? I think Sonos might be the right fit because I can have a sound bar for TV/music on the first level and second speaker on the upper level.

[britishagent]

WiSa certified speakers. You can mix and match any of them and enjoy true wireless dolby atmos

[fanglord]

I just took the plunge on Black Friday sales and picked up a Beam Gen 2 and Sub Mini, plus have 4 x Symfonisk waiting for me to install when I get home next week.

So far so good, though want to reserve final judgement until I have set up the symfonisk surrounds and truly tinkered (also have new chairs coming so need to factor that in too_.

I will say so far that the biggest disappointment is the lack of a more advanced EQ setting. My wife has misophonia and a more detailed EQ setting would allow me to dial out as much of the pops and clicks as I can for the videos we watch. We watch a lot of YouTube on TV together and need to dial the max volume all the way down to 35% to cut the appreciable difference between the video and ads (SO LOUD!!).

Another feature that would be handy (to pair with a more advanced EQ) is custom EQ profiles so that I can switch between them for different outputs (music, YouTube/dialogue, movies, etc...)

They are minor quibbles at the moment, interested to see how the surrounds go when I install them

[dame]

Was having some connection issues when I first got my Sonos setup even with a WIFI 6 router. Bought the Boost, no issues ever since. I wish they would let you expand on the home theater setup. It seems like a software limitation.

[Muses]

I have had so many problems with sonos. I have three rooms with the built in surround sound.. outside I have sound bars on two tv’s, a move, and two other speakers that are paired in my living room. Every bedroom and master bath and garage has built in ceiling speakers. I think Im having more of a wifi problem. So I bought the eero mesh and still connectivity drops all the time. The music comes on and off. I don’t know it’s just a headache and playing all speakers at once forget it. I hope I can figure it out.

[gride]

A great and timely video - thank-you.
I was just in the store today and ready to buy a full Sonos system. Ah Sonos, I’m sick of the walled garden approach companies take. I just want seem-less integration with my Siri HomeKit smart home.
Sonos seems to be a bit too clunky with Siri at the moment.

[MrDexterSr]

A lot has changed since you’ve posted this video 😂. Bluetooth, line in, and true play are now much more accessible with the new ERA products. We need an update!

[neonsphere]

I agree. Paying a premium price for a speaker from a company which wireless connectivity is the main feature, it is disappointing to have connectivity and latent issues common among most users.

[michaelbeckerman]

Sonos products are nice, no question about it, but unfortunately, once you make the mistake of getting into that "walled garden" of Sonos products, you end up quickly finding out that you're effectively a prisoner there. Face it, Sonos wants your money - and they want as much of it as they can possibly get out of you. They design their products in a way that makes that incredibly obvious, right from the very start too. There are much easier ways to accomplish everything that Sonos brings to the table - and they can all be done at a mere fraction of the cost. As with so many other things in life, it really does pay to do your homework before buying.