Rethinking Whole-House Audio (Premium)

I try to steer clear of knee-jerk reactions, but the allegations in Sonos v. Google are troubling. Worse, I’ve been having problems with my all-Google whole-house audio solutions over a long period of time now. And I’m starting to think about alternatives.

We have various speakers all over the house, including four Sonos One smart speakers, but when it comes to “whole-house audio,” by which I mean the ability to play the same music at the same time in multiple rooms, we’re currently all-in on Google. That currently takes the form of two sets of Google Home stereo pairs (one in the kitchen, plus a pair of Home Minis in the living room) and, most crucially, a pair of Edifier R1280T powered bookshelf speakers, which connect to the Google ecosystem with a now-defunct Chromecast Audio dongle. I love these speakers and recommend them highly, which explains the affiliate link. (I also have a smaller pair of Edifier R1010BT bookshelf speakers in my home office, but I can’t recommend these as highly.)

The Edifier R1280T/Chromecast Audio set up is in our sunroom, which is a pretty large room, and what we use virtually all of the time for music playback. They are loud, crisp, clear, and free of distortion, and since the speakers only cost $100, they’re an incredible bargain.

Starting early last year, however, I started experiencing problems with the sunroom speakers. Well, I knew it wasn’t the speakers per se; instead, it was clearly something else in the set up. We’d be listening to music, and while the music would never stop playing, the app I use—Google Play Music—would lose track of what was playing and could no longer control playback, volume, or anything else. Sometimes, I was able to regain control by restarting the app. Sometimes by reconnecting to the Chromecast Audio. Sometimes through the Google Home app. And sometimes I had to just unplug it all and start over. It was—still is—frustrating.

Originally, I blamed the Google Pixel 3a XL, since I was using that handset when the problems started, and I assumed it was related to that mid-level device’s sub-par processor. But then I experienced problems with subsequent flagship-class smartphones, too.

So I figured it was the Chromecast. Maybe Google had killed off this useful product because it had discovered an issue. But no: When I used Spotify or other apps, I never had the same problems. And that’s when I realized the problem was Google Play Music, an app that Google has essentially orphaned in order to replace it over time with YouTube Music.

I have a lot of problems with YouTube Music, which is nowhere near as functional as Google Play Music. But the biggest issue is that Google Play Music supports both a streaming library and your own music library, and it is one of the last services to do so; I need both because I own a lot of music that still isn’t in any cloud service and probably never will be. (The other is Apple Music + iTunes Match.)

The reliability issues with Google Play Music and Chromecast Audio became so acute that I purchased another pair of Sonos One speakers on sale sometime in November or December to test them in the sunroom. But it wasn’t even close: Aside from costing 1/4 normal price of the Sonos speakers (or 1/3 the price while on sale), the Edifiers blew Sonos out of the water. To get something as good or better than my current set up from Sonos, I’d have to buy a Pair of Sonos:5 speakers. And those cost $500. Each.

So that ended that little dream, and I returned the pair of Sonos Ones.

Heading into 2020, I wasn’t sure where this was going to go. But then I read about Sonos v. Google, and when I considered the ramifications of this suit, and the broader issue of tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Google stomping all over the real innovators in this pace, I came around to the notion that I’d be making some changes this year.

The thing is, I really do love those Edifier speakers. So I’d like to build something around them if possible.

I also don’t see myself spending $1000—the price of two Sonos:5 smart speakers—to break myself free from the Google ecosystem. That’s silly.

I want whatever choices I make—from the music service I use to the speakers/casting solution—to work on both Android and iPhone, because you never know.

And so I’m going to experiment a little bit. Here are a few of the options I’m considering.

Bluetooth dongle. I suspect this will be unreliable, but I purchased a Chromecast-like dongle, but for Bluetooth, from Amazon (about $23) and will see whether the sound quality and reliability are acceptable.

AirPlay 2. Apple doesn’t make a Chromecast-like dongle for AirPlay 2, and neither do any third parties, for some reason. But you can use an Apple TV for this purpose, and I have an extra one. A friend does this, and he uses this HDMI-to-analog AV adapter (just $12) in a set up that includes the same Edifier speaker set I use. This one is just for testing purposes: Given my preference for Android, it’s unlikely that I’ll ever move to an Apple solution.

Sonos Port. Interestingly, Sonos also makes a Chromecast-like dongle (OK, set-top box) for its own audio ecosystem. It’s called Sonos Port, and it provides a set of RCA-outs that will work with my powered speakers. (Sonos also makes a more expensive Sonos Amp, which includes an amp and can work with non-powered speakers.) Sonos port is a way to move more cheaply into the Sonos ecosystem than buying two Sonos:5s. But at $450, it’s still very expensive.

(I didn’t use affiliate links on any of those as I’m not sure yet if can recommend them.)

If you have any other thoughts about this, please do let me know. Either way, I’ll have more soon as my experiments commence.