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WLAN speakers: These multi-room solutions take on Sonos
Not only Sonos knows how to convince: There are many multi-room audio alternatives
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Sonos has long been considered a pioneer among WiFi speakers. However, there are now many equivalent alternatives that can compete with the multi-room giant. We present four of them to you.
It used to be common practice to listen to your favorite music on a stereo system connected to two speakers. Today everything is different: In the digital age, multifunctional WiFi speakers dominate the market – they form the perfect symbiosis of amplifier, speaker and data storage. Streaming music has thus been taken to a whole new level. Thanks to the simple control with the smartphone, the wireless multi-room speaker can be set up wherever it is needed, at home or on the go. This makes it an irreplaceable gadget for music fans.
Why Sonos is so successful
Jörn Taubert, Sonos’ former Managing Director CE, asked this question some time ago interview placed. His answer to that is: “Right from the start, we have seen it as our task to promote and establish this social self-image of how we (will) consume music. With the Sonos system we offer a smart speaker system that will get better and better in the future thanks to continuous software updates and can therefore grow with our visions.” That may also be the reason why the manufacturer has always relied on manufacturer-specific wireless technology that is based on unpublished standards. In plain language, this means that every Sonos device works like a kind of independent WiFi repeater that forwards the signal to the next multi-room speaker. This is a great advantage, especially if the WiFi signal from the router is not equally strong in every room of the home, and that is the case in many households.
Amazon Echo starts the competition
In October 2016, online retailer launched a smart speaker on the German market: Amazon Echo. The voice-controlled assistant helped the company to become one of the world’s largest loudspeaker manufacturers within a short time. Similar to Sonos devices, multiple Echos (and also Echo dots) can be linked together to form a large multi-room system, providing sound to several rooms at the same time or differently. Unlike all Sonos speakers (apart from the Sonos One), all Amazon devices have Alexa voice control, which controls the entire multi-room system – which in turn is a major competitive advantage that the online giant has secured to to beat the competition.
Bose draws level with SoundTouch system
The Bose company didn’t hesitate and found an equal speaker brought out: “When developing the SoundTouch technology, no effort was too great for us to keep your effort as small as possible”. The music can be conveniently played via Bluetooth or WLAN with a smartphone or tablet from providers such as Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, iTunes or TuneIn. And since Bose, like its competitors, has also included a whole range of multi-room speakers in its range, these can also be connected to each other – to play the same or different songs in all rooms.
Google invests in multiroom technology
How could it be otherwise: Of course, Google also has a finger in the pie when it comes to outdoing competitors like Sonos, Amazon or Bose: The Internet giant has done it so cleverly that not only its own, but also almost every other speaker can be linked to the multi-room system – with the streaming players Google Chromecast allows any speaker to be connected to Google Cast technology via a wired connection. As a result, you don’t even need Google Home to convert your other multi-room products into a gigantic sound system.
Libratone takes on Sonos
Although the Danish company has only existed since 2009, it has made a name for itself within a short time – especially with its Zipp speakers, which are very similar to those of Sonos. About the Multiroom system streaming providers such as Spotify, Deezer, Napster, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Google Play Music and Tidal can be heard via Bluetooth, WLAN and also Airplay. This puts the Libratone one step ahead of the top dog, and the same applies to the look: the colored fabric covers and zip are real eye-catchers. The most important thing, however, is that several speakers can also be paired together here at the same time in order to be able to enjoy the 360-degree sound experience in every room.
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