[iypx]

I'm in the same vein as the OP you're replying..

I got a cheap HIFI (I think) Samsung system from 20+ years ago (paid $100 second-hand at that time), I use it as an amplifier through aux for the last 15 years (2x15W). Beside that, still have my tiny pc speakers, even older, from around the win98 era.

Neither seem to be asking for any firmware update, seem to be working fine so far. Haven't seen any other speakers in stores so far which could beat in quality the pair of Samsungs I got, they're basically monitors..

They now make soundbars, sonoses, bluetooth speakers... it amazes me that people put up with all of this, it's truly amazing people are convinced this is better than the old, wired, boring stuff.

[NoPicklez]

If you buy what I could call a standard/proper home theater receiver, it is likely to last you a lifetime. But with Sonos you are buying cutting edge features that have not been tried and tested in the long term and are likely to change.

The idea with Sonos was that they wouldn't release new hardware each year, but that the hardware would improve through software updates. For example, I have had two Play 3 speakers and the Sub since 2016. These worked great, then Sonos released TruePlay which allowed your speakers to configure themselves based on the space you were in. Its important to note that these speakers have been around since 2011 and 2013, so not a short space of time when it comes to technology.

The amazing thing with Sonos, was that anyone in the house could open up the app and play music through WiFi AND have a home theatre setup that could play from the TV. The beauty of the app is that it operates on its own, it doesn't rely on your mobile phone once you have left the house.

[iypx]

This is what I was talking about..

Sonos basically reinvented my Samsung remote. (+ the 8 meter cable I made as a 14 year old kid so I can connect it to the TV which was on the other side of the living room, cause my parents asked me if I could connect both for a house party).

Amazing.

[NoPicklez]

I think the Sonos home theatre which consists of two rear channels, a sub and a dolby atmos playbar would give your cheap two Samsung speakers a run for their money. The beauty of it all is that don't need to plug anything in apart from power and a HDMI cable.

It's important to note that the creators of Sonos speakers were ex-JBL engineers. Not just randoms who wanted to create a smart speaker.