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.)