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Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

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Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course it's a sarcastic comment, and I know it when I was comment. It seems that it was you, who are unfamiliar with its background and implication. "Reproducing the ultrasonics" here is a sarcastic reference to any sampling rate higher than 24 kHz (it actually backs back well before digital music). Audiophiles often prefer it because it's claimed that it has a wider frequency response, a lower quantization noise…

When recording audio, it is necessary to filter our frequencies above Nyquist frequency to prevent aliasing. It is easier to make a good filter when you have Nyquist freq. at 48 kHz rather than try to implement a filter that can silence everything above 24 kHz and doesn't touch anything below 20 kHz. Or am I wrong here?

Read the full article of Monty's criticisms of 192 kHz, it answers this question. https://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

His point is that once oversampling and filtering is done in hardware, the final output only needs to be encoded in a low sampling rate for its benefits, and all high-quality DAC and ADC already oversample the signal under the hood. Using 192 kHz for its output or music distribution is unnecessary, and only introduces drawbacks like additional IMD and wasted space.

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#172
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> First gen Ipods were a prime example Eh what?

On early Ipods music was effectively "glued" to the individual player with a primitive DRM/scambling system. So, you were dead in the water without Itunes that kept the fairplay key for that particular player

Only for music downloaded from the iTunes Store. Even then, the restrictions were functionally identical to what was applied to desktop computers.

FairPlay was never applied to MP3 (or, later, AAC) files you loaded onto the device yourself -- you could pull them back off the device with little difficulty.

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#173
post #4

Why is that not incredibly illegal?

It's more-or-less equivalent to what the government did a decade ago in the "cash for clunkers" program, just wrecked via software instead of by replacing the engine oil with sodium silicate.

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#174

This could go very bad for Sonos. Imagine a virus that looks for Sonos devices on a network and bricks them all via "recycle mode"! The API probably isn't even locked down. I think it's unauthenticated SOAP/UPnP. An even dumber attack: guests with your wifi credentials can download the Sonos app and break your gear. It's entirely unauthenticated.

Im in the market for sound equipment. I just crossed these guys off my list.

Separate from this issue here, Sonos should be off your list. The UX becomes progressively worse and opaque, your time will be wasted owing to mandatory software updates, needless churn, etc.

I have been a user since 2014, and I emphatically will not continue to be their customer once my existing devices bite the dust.

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#175
post #63
post #49

Am I misunderstanding something? Once in recycle mode you're supposed to send them back so that Sonos can actually recycle (or even reuse, nothing stops them from refurbishing) the old device. Recycle mode seems to simply be a convenience so that people can get the 30% rebate immediately once they've shown they're serious about sending back the device. What sucks is that you have to trade up to recycle, if they offer…

Except Sonos doesn't actually want the old device back, they say that you should take it to a recycling center so they can take it apart or whatever they do with them [1] [1] https://twitter.com/secresDoge/status/1210684264880189441

> whatever they do with them

Which, given the constraints applied by Sonos, realistically just means "thrown into a crusher". Calling this recycling is a sham.

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#176

So Sonos devices need "activation" via some server on the internet? Why? If I just want to stream audio within my own home, why is internet even necessary? And what happens when Sonos goes out of business and the servers are shut down? I just don't understand why people keep buying such things...

> I just don't understand why people keep buying such things...

You can't really tell if the device can be remotely bricked (that easily) or unless someone's already been burned. I miss when companies would advertise their products as "cloud-enabled" so you knew exactly what to avoid.

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#179

Dear lazy web, is there something like the sonos that is open source that makes the same synchronized sound field (I dont own a sonos, I assume that is what they do)? I believe I could hack something up using an ESP32, a microphone and/or a GNSS receiver, but does this already exist?

Logitech media server. Run LMS on one pi or a docker container, and then onother pi zeros run Squeezelite. The entirety of the installation on the receiving devices is ` sudo apt install squeezelite`.

It has been game changing for me.

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#180

This could go very bad for Sonos. Imagine a virus that looks for Sonos devices on a network and bricks them all via "recycle mode"! The API probably isn't even locked down. I think it's unauthenticated SOAP/UPnP. An even dumber attack: guests with your wifi credentials can download the Sonos app and break your gear. It's entirely unauthenticated.

Im in the market for sound equipment. I just crossed these guys off my list.

I bought two speakers they stopped supporting new features a few months later with no plans to support them. I would highly recommend against them. On their own the devices work “most of the time” but i have more trouble with them than I ever expected to have. I’ll never buy another Sonos product.
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