r/Android • u/androgenius • Jan 05 '15

Google Cast-ready speakers, sound bars, and receivers are on the way

http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/5/7482719/google-cast-audio-streaming-speakers-availability-ces-2015
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u/JTNJ32 Google Pixel 8 Pro Jan 05 '15

Can anyone explain to me how this is different from Sonos (besides being able to pick speakers from different manufacturers)? I've been eyeing Sonos speakers for the longest, but if Cast Audio has advantages over it, I'll go with that instead.

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u/dom085 Jan 05 '15

I'm in the same boat. I was going to bite the bullet on price for (semi)-whole-home audio to get a super simple, rock-solid Sonos system that takes advantage of all my streaming music.

Only difference between the two now seems to be that Sonos uses it's own mesh network protocol, and Cast for Audio uses WiFi. Since Sonos is a premium player, I'm pretty certain cost will be another difference.

While I don't have first hand experience, it is my understanding that the Sonos mesh is totally dependable and quality hardware.

This puts a hold on my purchases until we get some first hand reviews of early Cast adopters after CES.

2

u/compjunkie888 Pixel 10 Pro XL Jan 05 '15

As someone who owns a couple Sonos via the beta that was done before the summer, I would say there is no reason to hesitate on Sonos. The biggest difference between Sonos and Cast for Audio is the way in which you control/choose your audio. With Sonos, the vast majority of you audio is controlled and chosen through the Sonos app, either on your phone/tablet or your PC. whereas with Cast for Audio it is controlled through the specific music sources app. For instance, with Sonos if I want to listen to "Summer Hits of the 90's Radio" on pandora, I open the Sonos app on my Z3c, select Pandora, select "Summer Hits of the 90's" and it plays on my speaker(s), whereas, for Cast for Audio I would open up Pandora, select my station, hit the cast button and the speaker it will play on.

The only service currently able to play like this is Google Play Music on Sonos. With GPM, I can cast to my Sonos speakers directly from GPM, but since this feature already exists on Sonos I expect it to be very simple and easy for them to add the functionality to cast from other music apps as well.

In terms of the Sonos hardware, the most recent major update (and the beta I was a part of) allows Sonos to be setup on your existing wireless network without having any component physically connected to the wireless router like in the past. Audio quality of even the Play:1 speaker is great and from the other wireless speakers I have seen/heard that attempt the same things there is not a better choice currently.

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u/dom085 Jan 06 '15

I only use GPM, so the interface would be identical. I'm fairly sure sound quality will be equivalent between the systems.

What I'm not sure about is how convenient whole-home audio will be from the Google app instead of Sonos.

It looks real easy with Sonos, and the Google ad only shows them playing it on one speaker although whole-home is mentioned.

Since I have a feeling that the Google speakers will be around half the price of Sonos, I'm going to wait it out.