[Closed] "HiFi" - Advice Sonos vs Chromecast + Active Speakers

Sonos is the simpler option if a little pricey. If you are not tied to using a particular brand then chromecast audio in to a set of amped speakers of your choice will do as good a job.

Sonos 1, 3 and Connect here. for me, a pair of 1's is the smart money. unless you need the grunt of a 5, but for me thats not whats required in the kitchen

can someone please, please just tell me what to buy?

There's too much out there. I want multi-room music streaming. Household is android/chrome inc chromecast for telly, but have Amazon music for failing to cancel Prime in time (and generally not being arsed.) Mid-range in terms of price. As in a few hundred tops.

Please. Preferably with a link I can just click so it's done, and no decisions to make as my brain is all used up. Thank you!

sonos.

I can't tell you what to buy as I have never used Sonos. But I can say that I have 2 chromecasts, one in the kitchen and one in the sitting room for multi room audio and I also have Amazon prime.

I use the main HiFi in the sitting room and an SMSL 36A Pro amp with a small pair of bookshelf speakers in the kitchen. The speakers are out of the way on top of the cupboards. I use a phone or tablet, and the only way I have found to use Amazon music is through casting through the chrome browser. There didn't seem to be native support for it like there is for streaming internet radio, google music or Spotify.

I don't bother using Amazon music much through it as it didn't seem that convenient. If you can put up with it consider a Chromecast setup, if not go with Sonos.

If you want multiroom then Sonos, it's a much neater solution.

Sonos. It's a little pricey perhaps (although in the US they had a good sale in the last couple of weeks), but it's pretty much just plug and play, and allows for expansion later should you move house, decide you want more sound, etc. You can set them up in stereo pairs, and have as many rooms as you want all playing the same thing, with the other rooms playing something else. It recognises any NAS you may have, works with Spotify and Google Play music. The latest software update also allows you to stream anything you may have on your phone.

I have Play 1s dotted around the house (study, kitchen, dining room), and a Connect hooked up to my hifi setup in the living room. I looked at Play 5 because the reviews were so good, but the price difference over 2x Play 1s ruled it out for me.

@Bimbler what is the source of your music? You've not said whether this is for CDs, radio, MP3 stored on the device, MP3s stored elsewhere on your network or just streaming from a service like Spotify, Amazon or Apple Music, which can be done via the device directly or from a mobile device you already own...

...or all of the above 🙂

For kitchen use there are umpteen options at umpteen price points if you simply need something that will receive bluetooth audio from your phone (which is what I do; places like PCWorld have loads on display to demo). Likewise in the lounge there is huge choice if the source is your phone/tablet. If your source is NOT a mobile device, I shall step away unqualified to comment further 🙂

Sonos every time

Dont bother with chromecast if you want gapless (mixed cds/classical/dark side of the moon etc). I dont, and have too much hifi kit that I cant bear to make redundant yet. While I love my spotify/chromecast multiroom audio, Sonos does it better and will replace it within the next few years.

TLDR: Sonos.

Sonos

no way, im not an audiophile but after selling my cyrus setup and listening to a sonos setup i have just bought another hifi. yes its super convenient and neat but it sounds like a muddy old confused bucket of sh!!t..

Can you stream music from a tablet to two Chromecasts at once to create multiroom? Sonos too expensive to play with and have enough hi fi equipment to do this on the cheap, I hope...

99.9% of our music is now streamed from Spotify.

We have a Sonos 1 in the kitchen (which is not small at all but the single 1 does the job) and another in our bedroom - this one sometimes comes down to create a stereo pair).
They look great, sound great and work as alarm clocks - wish I'd got them sooner than 12 months ago. I may pick up another, or maybe a 3, in January.

I used to stream using airport express's and Apple TV but sonos just works better.

Sonos now finally integrates nicely with Spotify, which is a truly wonderful combination. I'm using a connect with the Hifi I already had.

If spotify is your source, then there's a bunch of cheaper devices that support Spotify Connect - spotifygear.com for the list.

Can you stream music from a tablet to two Chromecasts at once to create multiroom? Sonos too expensive to play with and have enough hi fi equipment to do this on the cheap, I hope...

Yes you can. You can create groups and add each individual Chromecast to the group. You can chose to cast to an individual device or a group so it's easy to configure how you want it.

As I mentioned above I have one linked in to my seperates Hi Fi and another linked up to a cheap amp and a pair of speakers in the kitchen. It provides a much fuller and better quality sound than the JBL flip we have.

Cheers drewd, will give it a whirl.

I recently set up the house with Chromecast Audios. They were £15 each a few weekends ago.

Very easy set-up - literally 5 mins each with the smartphone app.

Plugged one into my existing stereo, and another into the back of a Pure digital radio (radio dosen't work, but it has and aux in 3.5mm jack) I also bought a portable/rechargeable Blaupunkt speaker for using elsewhere in the house.

You can set-up groups of Chromecasts very easily, so sending to one or multiple speakers works well. I've even managed to have different music going on in different rooms by casting from 2 different devices (iPhone and an Android tablet).

If you want to play music from an existing music library (iTunes etc.) you can cast from a PC (and Macs, but it needs a bit of a workaround) However, I would recommend downloading the Google Play extension onto your computer. This then uploads your entire music library to the cloud. You get 50,000 songs storage free - so about 4000-5000 albums!

The you download the Google Play app to any mobile device and you can cast your entire music collection wherever you have a wireless signal. Works very well, and it's nice to know all my music is also backed up in the 'cloud'. So if my computer were to go phutt I'd still have all my tunes (I have kept all the CDs, but uploading 100's of albums is a long winded process!)

When I was looking for an alternative to Tidal, I tried the Chromecast dongle with Qobuz streaming but found that it degraded the sound quality unacceptably.

Your notion that you can get quality cheaply might need a rethink. In my experience, the two don't go together.

I use a NAIM streamer and eventually gave in to the siren call of Tidal lossless 1411kbps. Superb quality but expensive.

The Sonos/Spotify combo seems the best bet for you, if you find you're satisfied with 320kbps (above which the human ear can't hear the difference. Apparently.)...

We have Sonus and a Hifi and there is a big difference in quality. Sonus is very convenient and integrates well with Spotify etc, but the sound quality is pretty mediocre, like listening to music through those freebee headphones they give out in economy class on an airplane...

Having said all that, we listen to it more than the Hifi as it's always on and can be controlled from our phones etc.

I have 3 Chromecast Audio's (kitchen radio Aux, garage radio Aux and living room HiFi) setup in a Home Group along with a Google Home I imported. I tell the Google Home what I want played and where I want it played (group or individual).
It works pretty well with Play Music and Tunein, but it's early days and I'm sure there's a lot more to come.

I have chromecast and Sonos. I would buy chromecast and an amp/ speaker just due to the cost difference and future proofing as the amp and speakers are always going to be able to play good music, chromecast is cheap so can be replaced but Sonos although really good has the strong possibility of being a redundant dead box in a few years.

Sonos feeding a Tidal into my hi fi. Sonos in the kitchen, lounge and bedroom too. It's not cheap but it really is seamless and simple.

@Bimbler what is the source of your music? You've not said whether this is for CDs, radio, MP3 stored on the device, MP3s stored elsewhere on your network or just streaming from a service like Spotify, Amazon or Apple Music, which can be done via the device directly or from a mobile device you already own...

Main source will be Spotify (unless I switch to another streaming service) iPlayer radio, and a NAS loaded with lossless flac files. Oh and some sort of Android based podcast player/service

Thanks all btw. Still uncertain, will prolly demo Sonos in the new year but I am leaning towards Chromecast. I don't really care about having multiroom really, as long as I can listen to what I want where I want.

Bimbler, the tipping point for me was when I found out that you can start a Sonos system playing and then leave the room/building/country - it will carry on playing as it makes the connections to the services/devices itself.
This means that the load is taken off your phone (for instance) and you can pop out without the music stopping.

I also have both our Play 1's set up to start playing music automatically at certain times (i.e. 7am in the bedroom and kitchen, and 3:50pm in the kitchen for when the kids get home).

A Chromecast will not allow you to do any of the above. Once your out of wifi range the music stops - oh and phone notifications go through to the Chromecast as well AFAIR.

I have two chromecasts and a chromecast audio and think they're great - but Sonos is simply better for everyday use for us.

interested if there is possibly a cheaper/better alternative?

I use a very cheap option, less than £50 per room.
I use Pi's with PiCorePlayer (free), a NAS with LMS and the stereo's I currently have, along with a HiFiBerry for decent quality where I'm not using HDMI. The players have Airplay, Bluetooth and sync'd aka Multiroom across the house. I use the iPeng app, as above it doesn't use the phone, it makes a direct connection between NAS and Pi. The one downside is I have to manually turn on the stereo's. 🙄

As far as I know if you want to play Spotify on Sonos or any other WiFi audio player, you will need a premium account.

A Chromecast will not allow you to do any of the above. Once your out of wifi range the music stops - oh and phone notifications go through to the Chromecast as well AFAIR

Are you sure that's right? I often start casting from chromebook, then simply turn it off and the cast stream carries on running (unless casting a tab). Is it different for phones?

Oh and thanks all: on the basis of this thread I've just bought 3 Sonos 1s, setting up two as a pair for the living room, one for kitchen (currently in the bedroom, but I'm a rebel.)

Not had chance to play with it properly yet but can you set 'kitchen' to play same as 'living room', so you're hearing the same track as you move between them?

Bimbler, the tipping point for me was when I found out that you can start a Sonos system playing and then leave the room/building/country - it will carry on playing as it makes the connections to the services/devices itself.
This means that the load is taken off your phone (for instance) and you can pop out without the music stopping.

Not sure that's correct, definitely incorrect for my main amp which has built in Spotify Connect, the phone is just the remote control, the streaming is direct, not via phone, same as all streaming devices innit?

Chromecast depends very much on the service you are casting. In theory the phone is just a remote and the chromecast goes straight to the source file to get it.

Certainly works like that on my Synology NAS whether I'm at home or on the road and casting to it.

the phone is just the remote control, the streaming is direct, not via phone, same as all streaming devices innit?

I'm pretty sure that's right, we sometimes cast from a desktop PC to Chromecast (audio and video) and the controls appear on my (Android) phone as if by magic.

I dip into this thread with great interest, wondering if I have a problem I need Sonos to solve. I leave the thread once more none the wiser 😆

We have Sonus and a Hifi and there is a big difference in quality. Sonus is very convenient and integrates well with Spotify etc, but the sound quality is pretty mediocre, like listening to music through those freebee headphones they give out in economy class on an airplane...

+1

I have a Play 3 for my home office only because it is neat and requires less wiring than a proper Hi fi ( my cats were trying to eat the wires of my Linn system ).

Sonos good for ease of use and neatness, less so for sound ( and bloody expensive for what you get ).

chromecast is always taking a stream, however there is a choice over where that stream is coming from (hosted) 🙂

I think the main use case (for most apps that have a 'cast' button, on your android), is for your phone to simply act as a remote and just tell the chromecast to connect to an internet streaming serivce such as spottify, netflix etc.
for these types of streams, once the chromecast has been told to hook up to the remote host, there is no dependency on anything else on your local home network except for your router / internet connection

However, (probably the less common use case) is that you can create your own streams locally on your own network. the ways I (personally) do this are to cast a tab from chorme running on a desktop PC, cast the screen from my android phone (using google home) and I also use the desktop Videocast app to cast films I have stored on my pc, to the chromecast on the TV downstairs.
for streams you are creating locally, you have to hasve somethign to serve up the stream, so your chromecast is dependent on whatever you are serving the content from.

for these reasons of flexibility, for me chromecast is the better solution to Sonos (plus also the expense of Sonos vs. chromecast, and having decent hifi gear to use anyway)

Sonos Connect here, connected to my amp and speakers. I also have a 3.5mm jack in the Sonos Connect the connects to some Harmon Kardon soundsticks in the kitchen.

johnx2 - Member

Not had chance to play with it properly yet but can you set 'kitchen' to play same as 'living room', so you're hearing the same track as you move between them?

Yep. That's half the benefits of having a Sonos style all in one solution, as I understand it.

My Bro-in-Law has a 3 in the living room & a 1 in the kitchen & they are set-up to play the same thing.

Yep. That's half the benefits of having a Sonos style all in one solution, as I understand it.

But as has already been said; is also a feature of chromecast audio.

Except much cheaper especially if you have audio equipment lying around that takes at least one of these

RCA, 3.5mm jack or 3.5mm Toslink (fibre optic)

And if you've got some really good stereo equipment, will sound better too.

I've got two chromecast audios. Use one of them most days and sometimes in a group. It's not perfect, for example you can't use the audio of spotify free on your phone. The wifi reception capabilities are really really good. I've got one where my phone is struggling for reception but it solidly holds a signal.

But as many previous posters have already said; is also a feature of chromecast audio

Just as I thought I was getting it, now you've thrown me. I thought with Chromecast you could only cast one source to one Chromecast, not one source to multiple Chromecast simultaneously, which is the bit Sonos does.

If multiple Chromecasts *can* accept the same source simultaneously, I might be spending some money....

Take a look at this

[url= https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/6328691?hl=en-GB ]https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/6328691?hl=en-GB[/url]

Just been looking on the Chromecast site

Multi-room lets you group Chromecast Audio devices together so that you can listen to the same song on multiple speakers.

That's ace, and might be the clincher in moving back to Spotify from Apple Music, which doesn't support casting.

Well there you go..... I thought it streamed through my phone!

I still prefer the compactness of the Sonos to our (admittedly old and clunky) hifi though (plus the fact that they'll work as an alarm clock too 🙂

Noty read the whole thread but if its " kitcen diner to be" then can you not hardwire if you are redoing the kitchen?

I did my flat before in the days before streaming devices. Its hard wired for 5 pairs of speakers via a switching box. This allows me to use basic hi fi speakers giving a decent sound. Gale mini monitors and Missions of various sorts.

I can have the speakers on in the living room/ dining room, kitchen and bathroom in any combination. cost a bit over a hundred quid in cabling all hiden in the walls. sometimes the simplest solutions are the best?

That's ace, and might be the clincher in moving back to Spotify from Apple Music, which doesn't support casting.

So my current multi-room solution is Apple TVs (or other Airplay compatible stuff) connected to Amp/speakers. Music source is iTunes on my iMac controlled using Apple Remote from a phone. Can stream simultaneously to multiple locations. The only restriction seems to be that you can't search in Apple Music on the remote - it only works for music that you've 'added to your collection'.

Cheap alternative to Sonos, to connect to existing hifis, and allowing multiple outputs looks like
https://gramofon.com/

Buy some and let us know what they're like

Of course, much cheaper and better audio quality option would be your mobile and a decent pair of headphones...

doctorgnashoidz - Member

But as has already been said; is also a feature of chromecast audio.

Except much cheaper especially if you have audio equipment lying around that takes at least one of these

Yes, I know that. But the poster I was specifically responding to had asked if it was possible to have the same speakers playing the same songs in different rooms WITH SONOS, because that is what HE HAS JUST BOUGHT.....

There's loads of ways of doing this & many manufacturers are now getting in on the act. But he was specifically asking about SONOS......

@simons_nicolai-uk I have an Apple TV and a Airport Express so familiar with Airplay, but in that context they are basically dumb devices in that you use a source such as iPhone, iPad, Mac etc. Granted the Apple TV now has Apple Music built in and also works with home sharing via iTunes, but from what I'm reading above, there are neater and more flexible solutions. I didn't think you could Airplay the same source to multiple receivers at the same time, or use one device to Airplay different output to different devices, but I'd very happily be educated on that.

It begs the question why you need a family subscription to Spotify if Chromecast and Sonos let you stream different music to different devices in your household...?

there are neater and more flexible [b][and more expensive][/b] solutions

For some reason a mac can stream the same source via Airplay to multiple receivers but an iPad/iPhone can't. You can use Apple remote to control the mac (which is pretty much the same as controlling your own music library from a computer using Sonos). The one thing you *can't* do is Spotify to multiple Airplay receivers (though theres meant to be some sort of workaround with Airfoil).

Gramofon looks like the cheap alternative to Sonos Connect

Thanks Simon. I not used Apple Remote for a long time, but it looks like it will achieve some of what I want to achieve without me spending any more money. Result 🙂

Noty read the whole thread but if its " kitcen diner to be" then can you not hardwire if you are redoing the kitchen?

Thought about hard wiring but it's yet another complication in an already fairly complicated build. Also what's the point now you can have wireless, it's just much more flexible. Did think about ceiling speakers, but I was amazed at how expensive they were plus we're combing a new build extension onto the old galley kitchen and dining room so the ceiling void on the existing rooms is insufficient.

Thought about hard wiring but it's yet another complication in an already fairly complicated build. Also what's the point now you can have wireless, it's just much more flexible. Did think about ceiling speakers, but I was amazed at how expensive they were

Really not complicated, not expensive and if you get the speakers in the right place (which is much easier with wall or ceiling mounting) then there's no need for flexibility. You do need to wire back to a single location (ie you need to have a fixed place for your source) but nothing to stop you having two amps/sources there - ie it doesn't need have the same music as the other room

Ceiling speakers usually seem to be massively overpriced as they are aimed at the 'custom install' market. No reason they should be. These are a bargain with the smallest at <£40 a pair. BK's subs are excellent - I don't believe they'd sell anything crap.
http://www.bkelec.com/Ceiling_Speakers/C_Speakers.htm

I use Spotify through a Gramofon into my HiFi. Works a treat, or at least it used to but has started skipping. I looked into Chromecast Audio but read a review that said that the Gramofon wiped the floor with it. Anyone here tried both?

I like the Gramofon because of the large pause button on the top...
[img] https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTd0zOGYglElzrLKrZYR37IHN3xyWzzhDzmV347-hhy8n1xqjt4 [/img]

I use the Spotify Android App to stream into a Chromecast Audio which is plugged into a 15yr old Sony Hi-fi.

This outputs to a multiway speaker switch, and decent wiring goes up some sleek trunking to the loft.

Lounge has the original hi-fi speakers, bedroom is another set of standard speakers, kitchen and dining rooms have a pair of moisture resistant ceiling speakers which are much better than expected.

Cheap, simple, and as a bonus, I can control the tunes when I go to bed with a sleep timer on the hifi, and then it wakes me up to the radio in the morning.

The only real downside to the whole set up is the volume isn't adjustable to suit each room, but you can adjust it from the phone easily.

[url= https://www.orbitsound.com/social/blog/chromecast-audio-vs-gramofon/ ]Re: Gramofon vs Chromecast[/url]

Seems the major downside of Chromecast is the lack of PC control. Can't say I'm bothered by that. Feel sorry for Gramofon though nice product was looking at one myself a couple of years back and then bam Chromecast audio.

Thanks for the link Bimbler. I hadn't realised that Chromecast didn't work from the Spotify desktop. I use a laptop mainly so I guess I'm keeping the Gramofon...