Sonos v Bose SoundTouch

[Steve in Japan]

I have the soundbar, a couple of the small speakers in the kitchen and want to buy more as and when I can afford it. I concur with all the positive comments, except to say that on the (hopefully) rare occasion when your broadband goes down you are completely screwed and will be wishing you had just bought a normal sound bar instead!

 

[SurreySeagulls]

I have Sound Bar paired with two Sonos 1's and they sound great. Also have a play 5 in the kids play room with they love to use.

Will be getting the sub when one can afford it. Great piece of kit and the love the fact I can scare the crap out of the kids when arriving home and before entering the Surrey Seagulls mansion I can start playing music on the 5

 

[Codner's Wallop]

Had loads of separates and network kit over the years and only heard positives about the Sonos. B & W is also very well received.

Can't say the same for Bose. I've auditioned it a few times and have always felt underwhelmed. There's bit of a consensus among hifi buffs that Bose offers style over substance and really can't compete in its price class.

I'd definitely got with Sonos.

 

[Hiney]

Just bluetooth it across from your phone

How do you do that?

I thought Sonos was a wifi-based system, not bluetooth.

 

[Geestar]

Sonos!!

 

[Bozza]

How do you do that?

I thought Sonos was a wifi-based system, not bluetooth.

I think the cow is telling - you can't do that.

What you can do is to play from the phone over WiFi by going to This iPhone > Podcasts > (choose a podcast) on your phone but that relies on streaming from your Phone to the Sonos. It shouldn't be necessary to do that - it should be possible to stream from the internet straight to Sonos. Some stuff can be done via SoundCloud or Stitcher SmartRadio but it feels clunky and fragmented to me.

 

[Prince Monolulu]

How do you do that?

I thought Sonos was a wifi-based system, not bluetooth.

I use Bose since the wi-fi home stuff will soon support flac, the format almost all of my cloud music is stored. Sonos is a no go. With regards to this garden/picnic rechargeable gadget, then it's ideal for me.

 

[Prince Monolulu]

I think the cow is telling - you can't do that.

What you can do is to play from the phone over WiFi by going to This iPhone > Podcasts > (choose a podcast) on your phone but that relies on streaming from your Phone to the Sonos. It shouldn't be necessary to do that - it should be possible to stream from the internet straight to Sonos. Some stuff can be done via SoundCloud or Stitcher SmartRadio but it feels clunky and fragmented to me.

I have just been streaming music/podcasts and live radio on to the Bose Soundlink Mini via bluetooth, no clunk or moo in sight.

 

[leigull]

Stupid question - do these things link up to your telly too? Looking to get some sort of additional speakers for the TV, but don't know a lot about surround sound systems!

 

[Cian]

Had a hotel suite with the Bose system a year or so ago and it kept crashing. Never experienced that with a Sonos.

 

[Skint Gull]

Stupid question - do these things link up to your telly too? Looking to get some sort of additional speakers for the TV, but don't know a lot about surround sound systems!

Yeah the sound bar is specifically for a TV or if you have a play 3 or 5 with a line input then you can use a DAC to come from the TV to the system. Once the sound is into the one device you can set it to play through all of the speakers. I wouldn't have thought it would officially class as surround sound though, just improved sound

 

[Prince Monolulu]

As with anything like this, there is no right or wrong just horses for courses and opinions. For me, Bose suits for portability and the flexibility of playing formats. I just find playing flacs v mp3s or aac is like listening to a cassette.

 

[clippedgull]

Stupid question - do these things link up to your telly too? Looking to get some sort of additional speakers for the TV, but don't know a lot about surround sound systems!

I would recommend a trip to an independent Hi Fi shop and ask for a demo of two or three different set ups.

Steer clear of the box shifters like Comet/Currys etc!

Here in Brighton/Hove I would recommend SevenOaks Hi Fi which is at the end of Western road just before Palmeira Sq.

 

[sten_super]

Stupid question - do these things link up to your telly too? Looking to get some sort of additional speakers for the TV, but don't know a lot about surround sound systems!

Pretty sure this makes me a heathen, but for our open plan downstairs (so no multi-room needed) I bought a cheap Cambridge Audio amp and Wharfdale speakers for about £120 from Richer Sounds, plugged them into the TV and then a Chromecast for the TV for £15. Can stream music from Google Play and video from Youtube and Netflix direct to Chromecast, plus provides much-improved sound for standard TV. Ideal solution for us.

 

[leigull]

I would recommend a trip to an independent Hi Fi shop and ask for a demo of two or three different set ups.

Steer clear of the box shifters like Comet/Currys etc!

Here in Brighton/Hove I would recommend SevenOaks Hi Fi which is at the end of Western road just before Palmeira Sq.

Thanks, yeah a trip to see someone who knows what they're on about, rather than Currys, sounds like the best idea.

 

[fleet]

I'm sure Bose will be good- but Sonos is excellent

 

[Uncle C]

Sonos is better than Bose, but where are all these superlatives coming from?

Sonos are better than you average computer speaker, phone or radio, but are far from excellent.

If you think this kind of speaker gives anything other than average sound, you need to get out and hear some real Hi-Fi.

 

[Bozza]

Sonos is better than Bose, but where are all these superlatives coming from?

Sonos are better than you average computer speaker, phone or radio, but are far from excellent.

If you think this kind of speaker gives anything other than average sound, you need to get out and hear some real Hi-Fi.

I'm a long way from an audiophile and I've never trumpeted the sound quality of Sonos - I simply have no idea - it sounds fine to my ear, but I'm well aware that serious hi-fi kit costs many thousands and Sonos doesn't.

But, in terms of the functionality, the way it works is fantastic, particularly for multi-room setups.

 

[happypig]

I know this sounds like a stupid question, but where is the music stored ? I have a home server (Linux on a Raspberry Pi) which is always on, could it play the music off that or do you plug a drive into it ?

 

[Bozza]

I know this sounds like a stupid question, but where is the music stored ? I have a home server (Linux on a Raspberry Pi) which is always on, could it play the music off that or do you plug a drive into it ?

Three places:

- Online, eg Spotify, Deezer and SoundCloud etc
- Direct from a mobile device, such as a phone or tablet that is on the same WiFi network as the Sonos
- From a machine, such as yours, on the same network