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Sonos users - any experience on Noson?

A

Antifon

pfm Member
For years I've been wanting to install a simple multi-room setup, but I've never had much success. My only proper hardware-based effort used the short-lived Cyrus MR2, but that never worked well (possibly because the "open use" radio frequencies changed a short while after they built it).

So... I've been looking at Sonos as a more modern alternative. But the problem is that my media server is based on MythTV (a quite sophisticated distributed TV/PVR system) - which means that it must run Linux. As this is also the file server that holds my music storage as well, and I have no Windows-based PCs at all, it means that the central server for the Sonos devices must also run under Linux.

I really don't want to have to get something like that running under WINE or a virtual machine, but fortunately there is an open-source application in the main Linux/Ubuntu repositories called Noson, which appears to do what I want - but there is very little info out there from real end-users.

Before I start laying out money on Sonos boxes, does anyone here use it, and does it work Ok? Any snags about it that I should be aware of?
 
I’ve used Sonos for years, it’s stable and sounds much better than its modest price would suggest. I haven’t used Noson but perhaps try and contact Sonos support to ask. The Sonos forum is probably the place for doing that.
 
Thanks - I'll have to try that, although I suspect that Sonos will not be in any way happy about Noson! I don't know for sure, but I would guess that it reverse-engineers their server code.

While that's not illegal, it may well subvert the terms of use of their other software. I should add that I don't know - I'm just guessing based on what I see of other "open source" ports of similar commercial products!
 
Sonos support is usually very good. I use several Sonos components (Amp v1, Playbar, Move, Boost) and am very happy with being a Sonos sheep.
 
An alternative approach would be to look at the community supported Squeezebox / Logitech Media Server system. There is no off the shelf hardware (?) available - but plenty of used Squeezebox Touch about and lots of ways to make yourself a player from a Raspberry Pi. You can even run the LMS server on a RPi if you want to, but it will run on any Linux, Mac & Windows. They were doing multiroom before many others and it still seems to be one of the best systems around.

However if any non-audiophile asks my advice as to what to get for music at home nowadays my stock answer is "Sonos' - it's just easy, affordable and 'just works'.
 
JemHayward said:
However if any non-audiophile asks my advice as to what to get for music at home nowadays my stock answer is "Sonos' - it's just easy, affordable and 'just works'.
Click to expand...

Thanks - that makes sense, but probably only for "standard product".

As I don't run Windows anywhere I don't think that will apply to me.

I'll do as suggested and go and have a skulk on the Sonos forum(s) and see if I can figure out whether I will get kicked out for mentioning Noson, before raising the question!
 
Antifon said:
and I have no Windows-based PCs at all, it means that the central server for the Sonos devices must also run under Linux.
Click to expand...

There is no central server for Sonos, each device runs it's own OS and grouping is done via a mesh network.

Noson is a good alternative for linux and works well on Ubuntu, you shouldn't have any issues asking about it on the forum but you probably won't get much feedback as the whole linux thing has been done to death there.
 
thebiglebowski said:
There is no central server for Sonos, each device runs it's own OS and grouping is done via a mesh network.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I didn't realise. I know almost nothing about how it works. One of my difficulties with Sonos is that their website doesn't do a good job (IMO) of giving people a mental picture of how it hangs together. The one thing I still can't quite follow is how it can keep several players in sync if they are all playing the same track in different rooms.

thebiglebowski said:
Noson is a good alternative for linux and works well on Ubuntu, you shouldn't have any issues asking about it on the forum but you probably won't get much feedback as the whole linux thing has been done to death there.
Click to expand...

Do you mean that it's been done to death and nobody uses it, or that it's just common knowledge how it works, so everyone is just bored with the subject?
 
no just that people have been asking Sonos to support Linux for ages but it's not going to happen.
 
Oh yes, I see what you mean. I'll probably start with my first post by asking when Sonos is going to provide support for Linux...
 
I don't quite understand the concern about your media server as the Sonos system will run completely separately from this. Is your music storage location visible on your network ? If so just set the Sonos system to look at the location of a shared folder and off it goes. Mine looks at the internal drive of my Roon Nucleus for stored music.

Long term Sonos user here too - as others have said it just works and provides decent enough sound quality. I've just added a Move too.
 
As far as I know, you just point Sonos at your music library and It will happily use it and play it. You can control from iOS, android, Mac or Windows - you don’t need a server at all. My NAS runs some variant of Linux and Sonos interacts quite happily with it just at a file level.
 
coupe-sport said:
I don't quite understand the concern about your media server as the Sonos system will run completely separately from this. Is your music storage location visible on your network ? If so just set the Sonos system to look at the location of a shared folder and off it goes. Mine looks at the internal drive of my Roon Nucleus for stored music.

Long term Sonos user here too - as others have said it just works and provides decent enough sound quality. I've just added a Move too.
Click to expand...

You're probably right. The file server is (of course) visible on my home network, but it does not run Windows file sharing - it uses NFS. Which is probably Ok. Perhaps if I run up a Linux based DLNA server each Sonos device would find that no problem - I just don't know because I've never tried!

Am I right in assuming that Sonos will allow you to do proper multi-room where all of the playback devices play the same content, in sync? That's what I want to be able to do, in several rooms at once.
 
In Sonos you can use shared folders, just add the path and credentials for your storage.

I have a nasty feeling that sonos does not support NFS though.

Yes sonos can group all your Sonos devices with multiroom playback i.e the same music playing on all of them (only sonos devices though)
 
Ah well, SMB is supported by default in Linux (in the form of SAMBA), so it shouldn't be an issue really.

I've used it before, and found it a right pain to configure, but it's probably easier now.
 
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