A couple weeks back, I began acquiring Bose SoundTouch connected speakers to replace Sonos. I’m no audiophile and not really equipped to compare acoustic properties, other than to say both platforms sound good. Whereas the Bose app experience and linked music service offerings are generally and significantly inferior to Sonos… the Bose-bundled physical remote control to tune up to six pre-assigned stations or playlists and adjust volume is priceless — it pretty much trumps all else. (Which makes me sad given the beautiful new Sonos Play:5.)
My initial experiences with SoundTouch were somewhat frustrating given my currently preferred music streaming services: iHeartRadio and Spotify. The Pandora-esque iHeart stations I’d created were inaccessible and would error out while Spotify access was largely and bizarrely managed via the Spotify app. But I held out hope, given this product’s intent, that things would improve. And, yesterday, Bose delivered — resolving both my issues.
Software 10.0.x features
- The best way to enjoy Spotify® Premium at home: (availability varies by region)
- Now enjoy complete control over Spotify content and your SoundTouch® system using either the SoundTouch® or Spotify app. Access any song, album, artist or playlist from Spotify or Spotify users. You’ll have the freedom to use whichever app you prefer
- FLAC support:
- Enjoy lossless audio files in FLAC format, up to CD-quality 44.1Hz/16 bit
- SiriusXM satellite support: (availability varies by region)
- Listen to all your favorite SiriusXM channels through your SoundTouch® speakers. All that entertainment you enjoy in your car is now available at home too
Bug fixes/Improvements:
- Moved Wi-Fi to the top level in Settings
- Fixed an issue where users could not connect to last-played MacBook device
- Updated the menu structure for Local Music to properly display “Composer” for classical music
- Resolved and issue where the side AUX input was unavailable for CineMate® systems
- Fixed an issue where iHeartRadio™ would stop playing after 4 continuous hours of play
- General fixes and enhancements
Does the SoundTouch 10 still support AirPlay?
Previous systems that had it will keep it. New systems will not have it. That’s my understanding anyway. It does support Bluetooth and apps can build in support like Airplay/Cast to beam audio out – that’s sort of how Spotify was working. But it’s not universal and not sure how many will build it though. For me, the remote is key. Wonder if Sonos could retrofit their line with a physical remote. WiFi would be pretty power intensive, not sure they can pull that off for existing systems and there’s no integrated RF at the moment. :/
“Spotify access was largely and bizarrely managed via the Spotify app”
Spotify actually announced they would no longer let 3rd parties build Spotify directly into their (3rd party) app. Rumor was Sonos was grandfathered in but thats why Heos and other competitors had to use that Spotify connect service (which I hate). Interesting to see Bose has somehow worked around this.
I doubt they worked around in this case. Rather, I assume it’s a business relationship that serves both companies. Next thing I need is Amazon Music… Hope that’s on the docket.