Will a firmware update make an Onkyo receiver a Sonos player?
by Volker Weber
Some websites report that an upcoming firmware release will make certain Onkyo receivers into Sonos players. Bzzzt goes the bullshit meter. You will need a Sonos Connect to integrate the receiver into your Sonos setup. It's right in the promotional photo. Wait, you can do that today, right? Yes, you can. But you wont be able to control it.
So what is that new integration? Look here, on the "Works with Sonos" website. All of the vendors listed there control Sonos players. You will be able to wake up the Onkyo receiver when Connects wants to play something. You will be able to select Connect as the input source and control the volume. The integration will be like a Sonos:Amp player. Just with a more powerful amp.
The short answer to the title is no. Your Onkyo receiver will not be a Sonos player.
Comments
Habe ein Paar Devialet Opéra am Connect hängen. Geht gut bis 11. Aber auch leise.
The Onkyo receiver will not become a Sonos player, but the combination of Onkyo receiver and Sonos connect will be massively upgraded.
I have a Sonos connect and an Onkyo receiver in the living room for home cinema. In all other rooms the Play1 and Play5 are used intensively, only the connect in the living room wasn't. The effort to turn on the receiver and change the channel was already too high. Since I can activate the receiver by voice over a Harmony Hub and Alexa to play Sonos, the use has increased dramatically.
Based on this observation I think that the announced update of Onkyo will certainly bring a good improvement for such a setup.
When it comes to home cinema, Sonos doesn't work without a receiver for all requirements. In my case there are four HDMI input devices and two output devices (TV and beamer), which are located on different places in the room.
You are right. That is a reason I always discouraged the purchase of Connect. It just does not get used as much, as you rightfully stated. I just wanted to make sure everybody understands that a Onkyo receiver does not work within the Sonos ecosystem without a Connect.
