Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 54 total)
  • "HiFi" – Advice Sonos vs Chromecast + Active Speakers
  • Bimbler
    Free Member

    Anyone been on this particular journey? Looking for a fuss free, easy to operate, good sounding, good looking and unobtrusive system for my kitchen diner (to be).

    I envisage a single speaker in the kitchen-ey bit and a stereo pair (or possibly Sonos Play 5, additional question stereo Sonos 1s vs single Sonos 5) in the lounge-ey bit. Thoughts?

    Sonos would seem to be a no brainer here (oh blimey just seen the Yamaha Musicast stuff) but just interested if there is possibly a cheaper/better alternative?

    somouk
    Free Member

    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.

    petrieboy
    Full Member

    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

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    johnx2
    Free Member

    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!

    andybrad
    Full Member

    sonos.

    drewd
    Full Member

    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.

    somouk
    Free Member

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

    nicko74
    Full Member

    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.

    stilltortoise
    Free Member

    @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 🙂

    ChrisE
    Free Member

    Sonos every time

    Gilesey
    Free Member

    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.

    Mugboo
    Full Member

    Sonos

    beanieripper
    Free Member

    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..

    twistedpencil
    Full Member

    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…

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    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.

    tekp2
    Free Member

    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.

    drewd
    Full Member

    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.

    twistedpencil
    Full Member

    Cheers drewd, will give it a whirl.

    ajantom
    Full Member

    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!)

    MrWoppit
    Free Member

    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.)…

    footflaps
    Full Member

    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.

    Dibbs
    Free Member

    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.

    GEDA
    Free Member

    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.

    TiRed
    Full Member

    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
    Free Member

    @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.

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    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.

    Milkie
    Free Member

    interested if there is possibly a cheaper/better alternative?

    Yup there are a lot of options these days. Samsung, Bose, Chromecast and many more..

    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.

    johnx2
    Free Member

    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
    Free Member

    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?

    somouk
    Free Member

    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.

    irelanst
    Free Member

    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.

    stilltortoise
    Free Member

    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 😆

    cranberry
    Free Member

    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 ).

    el_boufador
    Full Member

    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)

    coolhandluke
    Free Member

    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.

    stumpy01
    Full Member

    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.

    doctorgnashoidz
    Free Member

    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.

    stilltortoise
    Free Member

    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….

    doctorgnashoidz
    Free Member
    stilltortoise
    Free Member

    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.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 54 total)

The topic ‘"HiFi" – Advice Sonos vs Chromecast + Active Speakers’ is closed to new replies.