Wanted: Not Sonos (Premium)

I really enjoy the sound quality and reliability of Sonos wireless smart speakers. But I don’t like the cost or compatibility issues. I’ve looked again and again for a viable alternative to Sonos. But I’ve never found it.

In many ways, the Sonos issue is similar to the situation with Apple: It’s a premium hardware maker with a locked-down ecosystem. If you can do it with Sonos, it generally works really well. But there is just too much that Sonos can’t do.

That puts me in a tough spot.

As a user, I want this kind of quality, but I can’t live with the limitations, which I’ll outline below. And I simply cannot afford to put expensive Sonos speakers all around my home.

As reviewer, I have the same issues: The incompatibilities—what Sonos can’t do—and the cost is just too much for me to recommend these products. No matter how good they sound.

So what are the limitations? Unless you buy the very most expensive Sonos speaker, the PLAY:5, there’s no line-in capability, so you are stuck using the Sonos app or the small but growing list of Sonos-compatible apps (including Spotify). That speaker costs $500. Yes. For one speaker.

But all Sonos speakers suffer from other incompatibility issues. None support Chromecast (though you could add it with line-in were that available). None support Bluetooth. None support Apple’s AirPlay. None, except the just-released Sonos One, support any digital personal assistants, and even that one is limited to Amazon Alexa only.

Put simply, you can’t use the services of your choice (Audible, etc.) or the ecosystem (Apple, Google) of your choice unless Sonos explicitly supports it. And even then, you are often stuck with their lousy mobile app.

This is unacceptable.

But I know from decades of experience that this kind of exclusivity breeds copycats. And just as various PC makers started copying Apple’s Mac designs over the years, and various Android handset makers have copied the iPhone, some company or companies must have stepped up to the plate and copied Sonos. Surely.

As it turns out, some have. But these other smart speakers, from the usual suspects, are often just as expensive and limited as Sonos. What I’m really looking for is that value sweet spot: Everything I like about Sonos—wireless multi-room audio, great sound—combined with fixes for everything that Sonos gets wrong.

And I thought I had found it. In researching this kind of product for the upteenth time over the weekend, I came across the Riva Arena +, which appears to be a take on the Sonos One (or outgoing Play:1). It costs $200 normally, which is expensive for sure. But that’s the same price as a Sonos One, and it was on sale over the Black Friday weekend. So it was actually less when I bought it.

What you get from this purchase is a single standalone wireless speaker that looks a lot like a Sonos. Upon closer inspection, it’s not as nice, however. The top, in particular, has a cheap plastic look to it. But the advantages here are obvious.

First, the Riva supports everything I want, and more. It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and line-in capabilities. It supports Chromecast natively, so it will work with the whole-house audio solution I prefer. It also supports Spotify Connect, AirPlay (for Apple compatibility) and even DLNA, meaning that it should work natively with Microsoft’s stuff too.

So I had to buy one.

And … It’s OK. From a sound quality perspective, I’d put the Sonos Play:1 speakers I purchased previously in the “excellent” to “superior” range. The Riva is “very good.” It’s a bit too bassy, and there’s no way to fix that, no software or app-based controls.

It does work. And it’s louder than the Bluetooth speaker I had been using in the master bath. (I like to listen to podcasts and audiobooks when I’m shaving and getting ready.) But it’s not the Sonos killer I had hoped for. And it’s still pretty expensive.

Still, the compatibility. This is exactly what I wanted, functionally.

Compared to the Edifier R1280T powered bookshelf speakers I’m using in our sun room, this solution is a lot cleaner. The bookshelf speakers sound better (like Sonos they are excellent), but I have to dangle a Chromecast Audio off of one to add that capability. The speakers and the Chromecast both have their own power cables. And the speakers are not wireless, so there is a tangle of cabling back there.

The good news? This solution is a lot less expensive at about $135—$100 for the speakers and $35 for the Chromecast Audio—and there are two of them.

So I’ll stick with what I have for now. But I’ll keep looking.