Which Sound System for iPad

rookies

rookies

Suspended / Banned
Messages
8,064
Name
Andrew
Edit My Images
No
I am torn between the Sonos 3 and the new Airplay Bose SoundLink to play tunes off our ipad and iphone in the house.

I like the look of the Bose but people say sonos is better??
 
Sonos is way better than Bose unless you prefer the looks over the sound.
Add in a pair of AVI active speakers or whatever and you have a very capable system.
As one who has downsized from a very expensive and wonderful sounding hifi to the above I can honestly say that only very rarely do I miss my old hifi. I also lived in a house with a Bose system, and during that time I just didn't bother listening to music as is doesn't make music in any way, no matter how impressive it sounds in the showroom..
 
I have never heard either, and I don't own any Apple products, so have no idea how well integrated the software is with Apple, but in audiophile circles, Bose is often referred to as Buy Other Sound Equipment.....
 
I've generally heard good things about sonos. Bose always seems to be more mouth than trousers somehow.
 
stevewestern said:
Sonos is way better than Bose unless you prefer the looks over the sound.
Add in a pair of AVI active speakers or whatever and you have a very capable system.
As one who has downsized from a very expensive and wonderful sounding hifi to the above I can honestly say that only very rarely do I miss my old hifi. I also lived in a house with a Bose system, and during that time I just didn't bother listening to music as is doesn't make music in any way, no matter how impressive it sounds in the showroom..
Click to expand...

I plan to for a sonos 3 and I guess I need the bridge too since the router in wrong room. Can we play music direct off the ipad as I was told this was not possible before and not sure if that had changed?
 
Yes you can play music directly from the iPad on the Sonos. The app is pretty good now too. You can also access and control music from other laptops etc on your network. I have.a selection of music on iPad and iPhone but the main library is sitting on my Mac mini. You have the choice of picking the network library or your iPad to play.

The sonos also sets up its own network so you will only have one stream if playing from your iPad rather than two for the airplay devices.

It's a very flexible system too.
 
Johnd2000 said:
I use various amps, speakers and Airport expresses.
Click to expand...

+1

I've just gone this route also, as I have decent hifi setup already and actually am a vinyl fan, but sometimes just grabbing the ipad is easier
Optical output from airport express doesn't sound bad at all....of course it does rather depend on the quality of the source recording and will in no way satisfy the audiophiles....although not tried it with uncompressed FLAC or WAV formats yet.

Airport express has the advantage of acting as a wireless extender and allowing you to plug in a USB printer to give you AirPrint capability too
 
siblingchris said:
+1

I've just gone this route also, as I have decent hifi setup already and actually am a vinyl fan, but sometimes just grabbing the ipad is easier
Optical output from airport express doesn't sound bad at all....of course it does rather depend on the quality of the source recording and will in no way satisfy the audiophiles....although not tried it with uncompressed FLAC or WAV formats yet.

Airport express has the advantage of acting as a wireless extender and allowing you to plug in a USB printer to give you AirPrint capability too
Click to expand...

In nerdier days, I did some (sort of) blind tests with a mate. ITunes lossless (via an airport express into a fairly cheap DAC) versus an arcam alpha 9 CD (into the same DAC). We couldn't reliably differentiate between the two, using the same DAC. Of course, there was a big difference when comparing against the CD players own DAC.

These days, I'm generally happy with a 256 mpg, apart from a (very) few "special" recordings which I've ripped as lossless. At my age, and with most of the music I listen to, I can't really hear the benefit of better quality.
 
Johnd2000 said:
We couldn't reliably differentiate between the two, using the same DAC.
Click to expand...
Which is exactly as it should be :) (and I'm an audiophile who has a lot of expensive hi-fi - but who doesn't believe in the snake oil sold by many)
 
Bose kit is uniformally over-priced for the sound it delivers. Build quality seems fine but all their stuff has horrible over-powering bass and a almost complete lack of warmth.

FWIW I bought the gf a B&W A7 for xmas, astonishingly good piece of kit, perfect for a compact HK apartment too, amazing sound from such a small unit.
 
mid_gen said:
Bose kit is uniformally over-priced for the sound it delivers. Build quality seems fine but all their stuff has horrible over-powering bass and a almost complete lack of warmth.

FWIW I bought the gf a B&W A7 for xmas, astonishingly good piece of kit, perfect for a compact HK apartment too, amazing sound from such a small unit.
Click to expand...

A5 is the one I would get if I did but they cost more so must be that good
 
I am biased but Sonos is a great system when coupled with a decent set of speakers (don't go for the Sonos ones!)

You may be lucky and beagle to pick up a Play:3 with a free Bridge included from their winter promotion.
 
rookies said:
A5 is the one I would get if I did but they cost more so must be that good
Click to expand...

Sonus has built itself a good reputation, and probably deservedly so, but don't overlook the Klipsch G17 and Audyssey Dock (£270 on Amazon).
Heard the Audyssey briefly and relatively low volume a while back in the Apple Store, and it sounded very appealing.
Seem to have done a lot of App integration to add some useful features.
B&W Zeppelin is another you'd be wise not to casually dismiss as well.
 
Last edited:
rookies said:
A5 is the one I would get if I did but they cost more so must be that good
Click to expand...

I went to the B&W showroom planning to get an A5, but when I auditioned them side by side I had to go for the A7, it's definitely worth the extra :)

The A7 is the top of the line model now, sitting above the Zeppelin range, in a more practical form factor.
 
Trouble with Zeppelin the big one is too big the small one isnt Airplay :(
 
The big zeppelin is indeed an annoying size and shape! I would definitely recommend giving the A5 and A7 a listen if you are interesting in a zepellin but want something a bit more practical.
 
Sonos really is an impressive system. I have several Play:3 Play:5 and a Connect and the whole system really is excellent.

The iPad app is great the firmware improvements have been continuing all the time bringing new features and tweaks.

You really would not be disapointed in a Sonos system. The only problem will be you end up wanting more zones!

I came from a Cyrus system to Squeezebox and then Sonos. I really would not swop it for anything add into the mix Napster and Spotify. :thumbs:
 
Thank guys. Just torn between B&W and sonos at the moment. It be A5 or play 3. People keep saying B&W way to go as more friendly with iPad?
 
Take a look at the run through on www.sonos.com - the controller app on the iPad and indeed iPhone/iTouch (i have it on all ours) is easy to use and intuative.

latest upgrade means you can stream music stores on your iDevice through Sonos which was always a stumbler before.

Internet radio offering (via TuneIn Radio) is great as is the Napster streaming
 
Buck said:
Take a look at the run through on www.sonos.com - the controller app on the iPad and indeed iPhone/iTouch (i have it on all ours) is easy to use and intuative.

latest upgrade means you can stream music stores on your iDevice through Sonos which was always a stumbler before.

Internet radio offering (via TuneIn Radio) is great as is the Napster streaming
Click to expand...

Have you never had any wireless issue with this ie with the bridge?

Also is the radio free. I never use Napster but are songs free to play off it does it eat up bandwidth?
 
rookies said:
Have you never had any wireless issue with this ie with the bridge?

Also is the radio free. I never use Napster but are songs free to play off it does it eat up bandwidth?
Click to expand...


Sonos creates a mesh network between the devices. I've never had any connection issues. Cannot remember the last time I saw my bridge as it is tucked away with my router.

Radio is free.

Napster costs £5.00 per month, it uses bandwidth, but not that much. However the music is almost limitless....

There are other free solutions such as last.fm. However I believe the Napster £5 per month represents great value.

You do not need to subscribe to any additional services should you not wish to, as there are enough free solutions.
 
Care to share free solution for music :) but might try napter. What about the other music services.

What temp me to sonos is radio as it the play free we after
 
Right I been out today and here we goo..

I have been looking into the following 3

Bose SoundLink Air
B&W A5
Sonos Play 3

I believe all 3 have got to be connected to our home Wifi to get them to work. This meaning I cant take it out of Wifi range to listen to music ie when going caravanning so these system are not really portables like the Bose SoundLink Bluetooth am i right here?

Anyway out of the 3 listed I am stuck on which to get. B&W a bit pricey but you get what you pay for I guess. Sonos can be a expanded system at affordable prices and have radio napter etc (not too fuss on that) Bose I think work the same was as sonos can be linked up too but cost a bit more.

I love to hear your comments and though

I do like them all they are all nice but which is the one soooo far Sonos and Bose.. But B&W was fantastic sound wise but more dosh

Cheers
 
rookies said:
Have you never had any wireless issue with this ie with the bridge?

Also is the radio free. I never use Napster but are songs free to play off it does it eat up bandwidth?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply - just seen your post.

No connection problems - very stable for me.
Yes, radio is free.

It will take some bandwidth as you stream but I've never had an issue with it. You can also link in a digital radio on the aux nut if you want to move from Internet streaming (which I think is 192kbs)

As you say, when you are out and about you'd need a wifi connection. Ultimately it's a streaming music service/player rather than a dock if that makes sense?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top