Lay My Hat

I have a Sony 'Airplay' system at the finca but it is playing up and will need to be replaced. I have been looking at Sonos and Bose systems but one thing is putting me off - no dock. I know that docking is a bit 'quaint' in this era of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth music streaming, but the internet at the finca can be decidedly patchy and during poor weather non-existent. On this basis it will be a case of 'no internet, no music'. The Sony has an iDock which I dock my iPad to via a Lightning connector when I cannot stream wirelessly. Any suggestions??

I think if you get a system with usb & bluetooth connection you will cover most guests needs. I have a system in my salle de fete with this and there has never been a problem they either use a phone, laptop or tablet as source. It also takes sd card but to my knowledge its never been used.

Thanks for your reply Bassman The problem is that a lot of the latest multi-room systems rely wholly upon Wi-Fi/Bluetooth. I have looked and several do not even have USB ports (Sonos for example). My Wi-Fi drops out all the time and it is mega frustrating when you are streaming wirelessly from iTunes. A connection which is not dependent upon an internet connection is vital for me. I think the new Bose systems have one USB port but the reviews are mixed.

You can set up Sonos equipment as a separate network to your home broadband so it is not reliant on the actual internet working. At Christmas we lost our broadband at home , but as the router and the Sonos were still working, the music still played. We bought a Sonos Connect to add in our record deck and amp, and a soundbar for the lounge which serves for both TV and music. For those old-fashioned Cd's we just use the DVD player connected to the dock. I've got plans to add a couple of speakers in soon, and as the dock has broken at the apartment.

Hi Helen. I will go back into the Sonos site, but I gained the impression that Connect is now discontinued, as is the Dock.

I don't need one. You just use an app to connect to the Sonos system via the network. I have only just bought the connect, but you only need one to add your existing hifi (I have record deck and amp). A Sonos speaker or two should be sufficient otherwise.

I'm being uber-ignorant now. If you have no internet and no dock or other direct connection between your music source (i.e. an iPad with iTunes) and your Sonos speaker how do you relay music between devices? I stress no internet, including no mobile phone connectivity.

It is a home network, not a broadband connection, obviously you can't access external streaming such as Spotify, but you can access the music on your phone, computer and other devices, as they are an internal thing. Wifi is not the same thing as internet.

You can connect the speaker to an Ipad/iphone/laptop etc without a dock and without an internet connection.

Helen is absolutely right. Internet is only one input to your network and does not affect WiFi. Trying to provide a dock for all devices that guests may bring would be nearly impossible.

We have a Sonos system. I can't say we're using it fully, but it's very adaptable to whatever you need it to do. They do still make a Connect. http://www.sonos.com/en-gb/shop/connect

I can't say I understand the technology behind it Casscat.

I remain utterly confused. This Sonos page contains a statement in the Q&A about whether or not an internet connection is required:

"Sonos is not designed to work without a broadband internet connection and a router. Sonos was designed to let you listen to all the music on earth, in any room of your home, wirelessly. As a result, our system requires a broadband internet connection and a router to function properly."

Well I was led to believe when we bought it that it was linked to the home network not the broadband, so perhaps I haven't understood it either. It is linked to the router, but so is my network drive, and that doesn't need internet either. We've used the dedicated SOnos network by connecting one of our devices (the soundbar I think) via ethernet to the router to give a dedicated network. Remaining sonos items work wirelessly via this not the broadband wifi.
http://www.sonos.com/en-gb/sonos-explained

It does need a router but I think it creates its own wi-fi zone within the house, so if you were streaming or listening to the Internet radio and your connection died, you would no longer hear that source. However if you've connected it to other devices, such as a device playing CDs, records or downloaded music somewhere, then I believe it would still work.

You'd therefore have a music system that gave you options with and without a working connection. Yes I still don't understand it and I'm not sure if I know enough about it to test it out at home. I can disconnect the internet to the router I guess by unplugging the wire, but I assume if I turned the power off (to the router) it wouldn't work if I am understanding it slightly!

Yes, the router definitely needs a power source for the network to function.