DaleCooper
Established Member
I confess to indulging in a bit of schadenfreude when I read this. Most of my speakers are 40 to 50 years old and have never needed a software update.
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Sonos speakers will work 'as long as possible'
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pdeaves
Established Member
Why on earth do speakers 'need' software upgrades? If they work now, why do they need a so-called upgrade to keep working?
Just goes to show that you can't trust these tec giants, even though they like to show how 'cool' they are, through having pin-ball arcades and bouncy castles in their offices etc.
They're as shifty as an 18th century mill owner and will screw you over in a thrice.
They're as shifty as an 18th century mill owner and will screw you over in a thrice.
I have to chuckle that the chief executive is called Patrick Spence -
"The king sits in Dunfermline town, drinking of the blood red wine ......"
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Because they aren't just speakers, they're more like e.g. an Amazon Echo Dot which is more of a screenless tablet. If you want speakers that will last forever, buy traditional wired ones.
That's definitely a sign of modern decline - "don't expect modern technology bought to do what it's supposed to do, to a actually work" rely on your parents wired hi-fi instead. At least you still get a turntable!
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
No, it's just a sign of buying the right thing. Software-based tech is basically a continuous beta programme - features and security patches get added all the time. In effect you're just renting it.
If you don't want that, it's the wrong thing to buy.
Like all modern crap is the wrong thing to buy.
Thank heavens for my mp3 player that just plays songs.
DaleCooper
Established Member
Even that is too newfangled for me, I like a piece of stone wobbling in a plastic groove.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Quite a lot of people will have both that and an iPhone. Vinyl is great but not if you're walking down the street.
Another advantage of wired speakers is latency, i.e. the only real latency from an analogue system is related to cable length and distance from the speakers. The other benefit is the ease of availability of un-compressed media for non-smart systems, you can even still buy un-compressed media in shops on shiny discs with no downloading!
Rather than waste money on smart speakers (if you really need smarts) the best option is to get a wireless adaptor for either a standard Hi-Fi system with aux inputs (2nd hand from a decent manufacturer (most if not all Japanese manufacturers made decent kit)) or a set of decent powered speakers. I have somewhere an adaptor from Lidl that could do just that, with spotify integration and the ability to play over WiFi from either PC or mobile.
My Hi-Fi is very much low tech, a near complete Technics SA-X900L system, with originally supplied SL-J7 turntable, and recently acquired correct cd player (SL-PJ25), although the speakers are not the originals as they were damaged. It was brought by my Grandad as a retirement present to himself and as my gran wanted rid of it I acquired it. It has an AUX in if I need to attach a digital media player but for most uses a CD Player works quite fine.
I still do have a mp3 player but as it can't read WMA Lossless and WMP mucks up the tagging when down converting to 192k WMA it is relegated to being a portable FM radio.
Rather than waste money on smart speakers (if you really need smarts) the best option is to get a wireless adaptor for either a standard Hi-Fi system with aux inputs (2nd hand from a decent manufacturer (most if not all Japanese manufacturers made decent kit)) or a set of decent powered speakers. I have somewhere an adaptor from Lidl that could do just that, with spotify integration and the ability to play over WiFi from either PC or mobile.
My Hi-Fi is very much low tech, a near complete Technics SA-X900L system, with originally supplied SL-J7 turntable, and recently acquired correct cd player (SL-PJ25), although the speakers are not the originals as they were damaged. It was brought by my Grandad as a retirement present to himself and as my gran wanted rid of it I acquired it. It has an AUX in if I need to attach a digital media player but for most uses a CD Player works quite fine.
I still do have a mp3 player but as it can't read WMA Lossless and WMP mucks up the tagging when down converting to 192k WMA it is relegated to being a portable FM radio.
DaleCooper
Established Member
I honestly can't blame you !
But the mp3 is very portable
Did you know there were once record players for cars?
Could they do 78's as well ?
Busaholic
Veteran Member
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I used to have a portable (battery) record player, played 45 rpm vinyl. That was 1967 and the good burghers of Minehead, Somerset, had the benefit of 'God Only Knows' and 'Whiter Shade of Pale' at 11 p.m. should they venture down to the benches on the seafront. When it went down to 39 rpm I went back to my digs.
DaleCooper
Established Member
The one I saw could only play 45s unfortunately, perhaps a software update was needed for 33s and 78s.
DaleCooper
Established Member
I used to have a portable (battery) record player, played 45 rpm vinyl. That was 1967 and the good burghers of Minehead, Somerset, had the benefit of 'God Only Knows' and 'Whiter Shade of Pale' at 11 p.m. should they venture down to the benches on the seafront. When it went down to 39 rpm I went back to my digs.
Funny you should mention burghers, here's the Audio Technica Sound Burger.
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/audio_tech_sound_burger_stereo_disc.html
cactustwirly
Established Member
I have a hifi system with a Chromecast audio attached, which probably sounds a lot better than a Sonos system tbh
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
The issue with Sonos systems is that you build them into a house but they aren't long-term things as they are heavily software dependent. If I was building in audio to a house I'd use a classic system and plug in a device to control it which itself might have an "expiry date".
FWIW I do have whole house audio but using Amazon Echo Dots costing a total of about £100. Quality isn't there compared with Sonos but TBH I'm very happy with it at the price.
FWIW I do have whole house audio but using Amazon Echo Dots costing a total of about £100. Quality isn't there compared with Sonos but TBH I'm very happy with it at the price.
Indeed, and perhaps 16's (no I've never owned one but my first record player had it).
So what is the point of the "heavily software dependant" sonos system. Is it not just a fancy hi-tec con ?
D365
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Plug and play music streaming (Spotify, internet radio, NAS drive etc) as well as voice control functionality is touted as being the benefits of smart speakers. As far as I understand.
Sonos the company I’ve never been a fan of, personally. However in the era of smartphones requiring regular software updates to stay relevant, it’s really not all that surprising.
Personally I would always favour a Raspberry Pi with “amplifier hat” and a suitable Linux media distribution. This means that I stay in control of software updates, and I also get to load the software that I want. But that obviously doesn’t have the “plug and play” capability that is demanded by the modern day consumer market.
I take it from that that it's no better than a decent mp3 player !
D365
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To be fair, that’s probably the easiest way of summing up most “smart speakers”. Voice controlled internet MP3 players with a built in speaker.
Anything that’s connected to the internet in the modern day is at the mercy of software updates.
TrafficEng
Member
A few years ago I had been thinking of building such a device, but in the end I bought a Brennan B2. It's a small box that contains a Raspberry Pi, small display screen, amplifier, CD drive and can have either an SD card, hard disk drive or SSD to store the music files. Mine has a 1TB HDD. It comes with a credit card size remote control. You can connect the B2 to your LAN using an (optional) WiFi dongle or ethernet cable. Once connected you can then control the unit using a web browser or their android app. The built in software allows you to rip music CDs but you can also load music files from a USB drive, or transfer them from your PC using the web browser interface. The B2 can power suitable speakers itself or you can connect it to an existing HiFi amp and speakers. The software is updated several times a year, mainly to add new functionality. However, the user has control of the update process and can decide if and when to do so.
I find that the system works very well. The only complaint I have is with security. For example you can connect a bluetooth dongle which then allows you to play music on a bluetooth speaker, or send music from your phone to be played by the B2. However, there are no checks on which devices can pair with the unit which means that if your neighbours are close enough, they can connect their phones and start playing their music on your system (this has happened to me). Brennan say the lack of security checks is to make it easy for the owner to pair with the B2. I guess they don't have any neighbours close enough to interfere.
Too true !
Agree that a modular solution is by far the better. I rip (my own) CDS on a a PC to at least 192kb/s mp3 or if it is special, FLAC. All media files are stored on a self-built NAS. I can play tracks using Kodi on a Raspberry Pi contol lingerie it with Kore running on an Android smartphone. The amp. Is a Denon 7.1 AV Rx and my 18 year old Kef 'eggs' and sub perform as well now as they did when they were new. Kodi/Kore is updated from time to time but it is free. Other media players are availble, -all connected to the same network, e.g. a Panasonic TV, the Denon receiver itself, a Sony Blu-ray player, smartphones, PCs and even the tablet that I'm typing this on. The music is also available from the server to be included in video productions.
Puffing Devil
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Sonos are the Apple of the smart speaker world - touted as easy to use for people who can't or won't get into the weeds of a "proper" system. Unfortunately, digital systems do not last forever as technology marches on and it's not always possible to support older technology with newer releases, video game consoles and even Windows 7 being other examples. I can see many people becoming unhappy with Google and Amazon when support is dropped for their first-generation smart speakers at some time in the future.
People are more accepting with phones and other items that have an expectation of a shorter working life, while speakers you would expect to last for 10 years plus. If you want to ensure a longer life, you need to be more aware as a buyer or seek more advice before committing.
People are more accepting with phones and other items that have an expectation of a shorter working life, while speakers you would expect to last for 10 years plus. If you want to ensure a longer life, you need to be more aware as a buyer or seek more advice before committing.
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