jimzak wrote: > > However, I would be interested in the alternatives that are out there > for hi-fi networked music aside from Sonos. > In my opinion, if we look at what's available now:
*For audiophiles:* Base your system on a solution from your favorite HiFi manufacturer, you can probably forget about them being focused at whole house audio on longer terms because they are primarily focused on audio quality and will ignore features like smart playlists, advanced browsing, synchronized playback, providing good support for online streaming services and similar, or at least give them low priority. They might support a few streaming services in their solution today but believe me, if they plan to continue to be focused at HiFi they will not focus at online streaming services enough to make their implementation the best. Of course, there could be HiFi manufacturers who want to move towards the mass market and for these the situation would be different. The main advantage with HiFi manufacturers is that you know they will focus on audio quality, so you are sure that's not something they will give low priority. *For normal users who need audio in many rooms:* Base your system on Apple or Sonos, everyone else might focus on something else next year or aren't big enough so you can't be sure they will survive on longer terms. Sonos currently also provides the best solution for whole house audio as they have different kind of devices to make it a good solution in all types of rooms. Apple is a bit more limited, but with the correct docking station and their AirPlay support I believe it's possible to make it work even if it won't be the same as what you get with a Squeezebox system today. With an Apple solution (not based on Squeezebox apps) you can probably forget about synchronized playback between multiple rooms, but I'm not sure synchronized playback is important for a lot of people, I think most people might use it because it exists but could live without it if it didn't. *For normal users:* Everything will likely be good enough if you are in this user category, most of normal users just want a single device that works and is simple to use. Since they only have one or two devices it's easy for them to switch to something else after a year or two. The simplest solution for many of them might be to just get a docking station to their iPhone or a bluetooth speaker solution. *But most importantly:* If your Squeezebox system works good today it's very likely going to work good also for the next 6-12 months, probably longer, so don't go to the store and replace it with what's available today. It's a lot better to give it at least 12 months and see how the market evolves and handles the hole left by Logitech. How would you feel if you went to the store and purchased one of the limited alternatives available today and another competitor or somebody new released a system with similar features as Squeezebox in a year which fulfills all your important needs ? Wouldn't that be kind of wasted money ? The situation would have been differently if Logitech would shutdown mysqueezebox.com and maintenance completely already now, but that's not the case, so there isn't any hurry as far as I can see. Also, even though I don't have much hope that Logitech will do the right things, there is still a chance they will realize what the market really wants and do something great with the new UE Smart Radio brand, I personally don't think this will happen but at least in theory there is a chance, also here the next 12-24 months will show us if they know what they are doing or not. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ erland's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3124 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=96241 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
