I have wifi 6, should I wait for wifi 6 speakers?

[Adsibob]

I have a wifi 6 enabled router (Ubiquiti Dream Router) and a couple of wifi 6 access points. The firestick on the tv and our phones have wifi 6 capability. Apparently wifi 6 is more stable, faster and more secure than wifi 5. I’ve certainly not had ANY issues with our wifi since we installed it in the summer, but I’m not sure if that is the “ubiquiti factor” or the fact that it is wifi 6 capable. Probably a combination of both. 

 

I was about to buy a Sonos sound system, but in December rumours started that Sonos’s next range of speakers would be wifi 6 capable. 
 

Is it worth waiting for and how long might that wait be?

[Mattg4321]

I expect you’ll be waiting some time for them all to be upgraded to wifi 6. If you were to get a beam for example, that has only just received a major update. 
 

If you want the use of them now, I’d just buy them. I can’t see wifi6 being a huge benefit. It’s hardly huge amounts of data and Sonos is generally rock solid

[Adsibob]

16 minutes ago, Mattg4321 said:

I expect you’ll be waiting some time for them all to be upgraded to wifi 6. If you were to get a beam for example, that has only just received a major update. 
 

If you want the use of them now, I’d just buy them. I can’t see wifi6 being a huge benefit. It’s hardly huge amounts of data and Sonos is generally rock solid

Thanks. Do you anticipate that wifi 6 capability will just be a software update then? The rumours started from a patent filing, but I guess software can be patent protected in the same way that hardware can.

[Mattg4321]

I’ve no idea to be honest, sorry. 
 

I assumed it would be hardware. In which case I would imagine it will take some time to work through the models. 
 

Either way, all my Sonos kit has been flawless, so what benefit in waiting? There will always be an upgrade if you wait another year or two!

[Adsibob]

10 minutes ago, Mattg4321 said:

Either way, all my Sonos kit has been flawless, so what benefit in waiting? There will always be an upgrade if you wait another year or two!

Good point. What somos kit do you have and what streaming service do you use?

[Kelvin]

If you have busy household, plan on filling the house with IoT devices and live in a suburban area there might be some advantage with WiFi 6.  While I don’t have Sonos I do have several streaming devices (Bluesound and RPi DAC) and never had any issues using Tidal, Spotify, or streaming directly from my server. 

[MikeSharp01]

3 minutes ago, Kelvin said:

If you have busy household, plan on filling the house with IoT devices and live in a suburban area there might be some advantage with WiFi 6.  While I don’t have Sonos I do have several streaming devices (Bluesound and RPi DAC) and never had any issues using Tidal, Spotify, or streaming directly from my server. 

Audio, especially the MP3 style stuff has very low bandwidth demand, even the Tidal studio quality is not much more hungry, the latency is the issue and Sonos, other systems EG Naim are available, deals with that anyway so I can't quite see the need to wait for WiFi 6 

[MJNewton]

If you hardwire (as in wired ethernet) one Sonos speaker then it and the others will create their own wireless mesh thus not relying/impacting on your own WiFi (and whatever version it might be running). 

[Mattg4321]

1 hour ago, Adsibob said:

Good point. What somos kit do you have and what streaming service do you use?

I have a Sonos 1, a Sonos 5 and a Sonos Beam. They’re great bits of kit imo. 
 

I stream from my own NAS server via Plex, Spotify and Radio mainly. Sometimes use Airplay, but that stops if you wander off!

 

I like the long button press feature to link rooms easily. Depends if you can reach the speaker though. Saves opening the app. I don’t use voice control. 

[Adsibob]

So I’m after a Sonos Arc and two Sonos Ones. Maybe a Sonos Play as well, but the Arc is the one I want most, so can wait for the others. Question now then is where to get the best price.

[MJNewton]

3 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

Question now then is where to get the best price

I'd recommend keeping an eye on Richer Sounds and Smart Home Sounds. They both price match (sometimes undercut) Sonos themselves but offer 6 warranties as part of the price. Great customer service too. 

 

Incidentally, if the Ones are to be used primarily as surround speakers did you know that Ikea Symfonisk speakers are compatible with Sonos yet are much cheaper (arguably not quite as good sonically hence being more suited to surrounds where any such compromise wouldn't usually be noticed). 

[Pocster]

What I did with my Dali wireless speakers is find the cheapest online ( usually a small seller rather than curry’s etc . ) . Tell them I’ll order literally now if I get a good discount . Only got another 5% off but better than a kick in the crutch .

[MJNewton]

1 hour ago, MJNewton said:

6 warranties

 

Sorry, that should've been 6 year warranties in case there was any doubt!

Edited January 8, 2023 by MJNewton

[wozza]

1 hour ago, Adsibob said:

So I’m after a Sonos Arc and two Sonos Ones. Maybe a Sonos Play as well, but the Arc is the one I want most, so can wait for the others. Question now then is where to get the best price.

 

Sonos stuff wont connect to wifi repeaters and it will only connect to 2.4ghz networks

 

As has already been said - Richer Sounds and Smart Home Sounds are usually the best two retailers for Sonos, I have purchased from both without issues.

 

The Arc sounds great with a pair of ones and a sub.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by wozza

[Adsibob]

32 minutes ago, wozza said:

Sonos stuff wont connect to wifi repeaters and it will only connect to 2.4ghz networks

The 2.4ghz is fine. But why do you think there is an issue with Sonos and a wireless access point (if that’s what you mean by a wifi repeater)? I have wireless access points, not a mesh network.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Adsibob

[Adsibob]

PS: @wozza the post by jevensen1 on this forum suggests my ubiquiti APs will get along fine with Sonos:

https://en.community.sonos.com/speakers-228992/sonos-across-multiple-access-points-6767222

[Mattg4321]

An access point and a repeater are different things imo. 

[Nickfromwales]

14 hours ago, Adsibob said:

The 2.4ghz is fine. But why do you think there is an issue with Sonos and a wireless access point (if that’s what you mean by a wifi repeater)? I have wireless access points, not a mesh network.

An AP is dedicated WiFi, a repeater aka extender piggy-backs the signal FROM an AP. 

 

2 minutes ago, Mattg4321 said:

An access point and a repeater are different things imo. 

Yup. 

[Adsibob]

On 08/01/2023 at 12:11, Mattg4321 said:

I have a Sonos 1, a Sonos 5 and a Sonos Beam.

Which gen Beam do you have? Did you think about getting a subwoofer as well, or do you find this is not necessary with your setup?

[Kelvin]

I would argue always add a sub on any system. I was anti subs in a Hi-Fi setup especially as my speakers have a well controlled bass response. However I took a punt on an SVS-SB3000 during lockdown and was blown away by the difference it made. I happened to have a pair of Fyne Audio F702  and a pair of PMC twenty5 26i on loan from my local Hi-Fi place so was able to compare my setup directly against some current well reviewed speakers. My setup plus the sub blew the other two out the water so it was a much cheaper way to transform the sound of my Hi-Fi. 

[Mattg4321]

28 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

Which gen Beam do you have? Did you think about getting a subwoofer as well, or do you find this is not necessary with your setup?

I have gen 1, bought not long prior to gen 2 release. Typical!

 

I’m very happy with it, the sound is decent, although not as good as the 5.1 system I sold to make way for it. I have 2 very young children and couldn’t make use of that anymore, so this is a compromise for now. I would have a sub if not for that reason. Possibly surrounds too. I’d be looking at the arc too if I could play at optimum volume still too!

 

The above said, a beam alone will be good enough for 90% of the population imo. Depends if you are one of the 10%? Some people are happy with the built in tv speakers even!

[Adsibob]

I was thinking of getting the arc because the reviews were so good, and even the Dolby Atmos feature reviewed well, but it is so expensive and so big, I’m thinking the beam gen 2 will be more than adequate for our needs. 

1 hour ago, Mattg4321 said:

I have 2 very young children and couldn’t make use of that anymore, so this is a compromise for now.

I also have two young children. What do you think the compromise is? Is your logic that not  being able to play loudly whilst they are asleep, and therefore little point in the higher fidelity of a proper surround sound system, as at lower volumes the Sonos beam is fine?

[Mattg4321]

35 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

I was thinking of getting the arc because the reviews were so good, and even the Dolby Atmos feature reviewed well, but it is so expensive and so big, I’m thinking the beam gen 2 will be more than adequate for our needs. 

I also have two young children. What do you think the compromise is? Is your logic that not  being able to play loudly whilst they are asleep, and therefore little point in the higher fidelity of a proper surround sound system, as at lower volumes the Sonos beam is fine?

Pretty much that. I don’t get enough chance to crank the volume up to make anything else worthwhile these days really. Perhaps in a few years!

 

I think it depends how big your room is. My lounge is about 4.5mx4m and the beam still sounds good. Much bigger maybe not? Most, if not all, people who hear it are very impressed, but these are not audiophiles! How good do you want/need it to be is what you probably should base your decision upon. 
 

You could always add a sub later. Unless you have a much larger than average room then I think a beam would be adequate vs an arc. Unless you are very demanding, in which case you should be looking at 5.1/atmos etc anyway. 

[Adsibob]

Mine is smaller: 4.4m by 3.5m. So sounds like Beam will be adequate.

 

I used to have a fairly basic 5.1 setup made by Tannoy. In fact, I still have it packed away in the attic. This was in my bachelor days. I had it set up in my flat in not a very good way, because the rear L and R were only about 80cm away from where the optimal seating position was. For one viewer, it was passable and I enjoyed watching movies alone. But then I met my now wife, and based on her experience of watching movies with me on that sofa (she would have been about 35cm from a rear R speaker calibrated for the 80cm position!) she banned surround sound in our first home together. 

My clever plan is to conceal a rear L and R Sonos Symphonisk or Sonos wall art speaker (or one of each) at the back of the room (which in each case will be at least 2.5m from the listening position) in combination with the Beam. Maybe I will delay purchasing the sub for the time being.