Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Off Topic OT: SONOS Not Viable...Need Advice...Read On...

I currently have 8 SONOS unit in my home and one them (an S5 that is in my office) simply will not work as a result of i) SONOS not allowing network tree spanning and ii) too much wireless interference. This is NOT the case of resolvable netwrok problem because:

i) the cost of running a network cable is prohibitive due to the tree spanning limitation; and

ii) the wireless interference being unresolvable was per SONOS senior engineering support.

I need/want to find another solution for music my office...I think that I need something that i) works of my wirelss network noting that I have an access point in my office (noting that SONOS works off of its own betwork) and ii) playback of my losslesslky encoded music collection and satellite ardio are key...the options that I have found are as follows:

1. BOSE SoundLink (cringing on even thinking BOSE) at http://www.bose.ca/controller?url=/...ems/wireless_systems/soundlink/index.jsp :

Cons: a. Need to use a separate remote control to control the volume.
b. Price

Pros a. Aesthetics and form factor
b. Any laptop source can be played (i.e. iTunes, internet radio, satellite radio over the internet).
c. Likely sounds better than the Squeezebox


2. Logitech Sqeezebox Boom at http://www.logitech.com/en-ca/speakers_audio/wireless_music_systems/devices/4707 :

The pros and cons are the opposite of those for the BOSE.


As there are a number of Squeezebox users here I am looking advice and feedback on the two options as well as any other options that people feel should be considered.

And, in responding, please note that I need an all-in-one unit based on teh function and size of my office (i.e. adding in-wall speakers, rewiring, etc.) is NOT in the cards because if it were then I would simply hardwire the SONOS.


Thanks so much for your feedback...

Hi Joel,

I use a SB Boom as a bedroom clock/radio/wifi player. Not F80 quality sound but for the money it's absolutely perfect.

If you are at a computer screen in the office you can control it completely from that.

The Boom will play iTunes library, server files, internet radio etc etc so not sure I agree with your pro/cons 'being opposite' statement.

cheers

Nick:

1. Appreciate the response.

2. Can I stream satellite radio over the ineternet to the SB Boom

Thanks so much.

Hi Joel,

I'm not terribly familiar with the Sonos or large installations of their gear, but I'm really curious about the technical issue you've encountered. I couldn't quite follow from your description of the precise nature of the problem preventing the Sonos from working in your office. Could you provide more details about the issue?

Also, could you clarify the reason why you cannot hardwire the Sonos in your office?

Thanks,

Dan

There is too much wireless interference in my office...keeping it simple my office abuts my family room and on the two sides of the common wall arE:

- access point
- cordless phone
- Crestron controlprocessor
- Crestron wireless touchpanel
- SONOS controller
- SONOS units, 4 of them
- Etc.

There is no where else to move any of this gear -- trust me, we looked and tried everything. The net result being that the signal is not getting to the SONOS because of all the interference.



It is physically possible to wire the S5 but because of the tree spanning limitation the S% would have to connected/wired to the 4 other SONOS units notes above...this would involve a lot of curring of holes, platering, painting, etc. which is neither worth the effort nor cost when other options are available...

It would be great were SONOS to address the tree spanning limitation...

Thanks, Joel, appreciate the additional information and details.


I have no doubt that you did and am certainly not questioning that. I've been a hardware and software engineer in networking for the last mumble-mumble years, so am just curious about the technical issues you've run into. For the record, I view RF as a black art...


Ah, I see. So, it's not just a question of getting a network connection to the S5 in your office.

What exactly is the "tree spanning" limitation? Is this part of the Sonos mesh networking?

I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to read up again on Sonos' technology and how the gear gets deployed.

Aside from my own curiousity, the other reason I ask is that several former co-workers of mine currently work for Sonos and I may be able to ping them about your issues.

Dan

Dan:

Any help would be great...

As I understand the tree spanning issue it is as follows...the hard wired SONOS units must all be connected to one common router and not pass through any other routers/switches on teh way...

This means that there are essentially three ways of wiring a SONOS system:

1. "Start" approach where each unit is wired to the same router;

2. "serial" approach where the units are all wired together and one unit is wired back to the router; or

3. A combination of 1. and 2.

What is not allowed -- after numerous network crashes and speaking with a senior SONOS engineer -- is to hard wired a SONOS unit by connecting it of a router / switch which in turn is connected to the main router...this a big no no...

With that, let me know what you think and what you may eb able to find out....

TIA,

I did a cursory google search, avforums.com in the UK had a posting that said the STP limitation of Sonos meant that only a maximum of 7 switches could be used in a LAN(presumably all the switches have to support STP).

The critical question seems to be, do your switches support STP and what is your cat5(e) topology, I suspect most Sonos homes have structured cabling in which all the cat5(e) goes to a central closet.

As described I have six Sonos ZP's hardwired to switches, one in the basement and one in the attic , all connected to a central switch that is in turn connected to the router that connects to the Internet. This works fine because I upgraded all the inter-connected switches to ones that support STP. The Dell 28XX series is affordable and supports STP. The HP switches are well reviewed as well.

Oh yeah!

Hi Joel,

Yes...I stream radio each day from the web as the alarm. I pull music from my server if I'm in the room generally.

cheers

I think you should further investigate the hard wired option using switches that support stp. STP was recently discussed in another thread and a number of switches and topologies were mentioned - one switch iirc was under $40.

My understanding of stp is that you only need one switch that supports stp to break the multi route circular issue that causes the network storm. I may be wrong but if this is the case then a new switch may be a cheap option.

Thanks to everyone....

Very helpful and will give it a go....