Open source Symfonisk WiFi speaker
Speaker of the House
© Lead Image © sergeypykhonin, 123RF.com
Build open software, open hardware smart WiFi speakers for the home with the Sonos and Ikea Symfonisk.
Smart WiFi speakers are ubiquitous, attractive, and easy to use, but if you don't always want to buy the latest model – or simply love your independence – you can build your own loudspeakers to grace your living room. What you learn in the process also helps if you decide to convert high-quality passive loudspeakers.
With smart speakers from major manufacturers, the smarter the speaker functions the more problematic the speaker longevity. Additionally, you are dependent on the manufacturer in terms of the feature set and potential updates. Only what is deemed to be useful ends up on the loudspeaker feature list. For example, Sonos hasn't upgraded the Samba client that it comes with for years [1], saying the device doesn't have sufficient hardware resources. Surprisingly, they found enough scope for several other new functions.
After Sonos announced it would discontinue support for the first-generation operating system [2] and switch to the next generation, S2, fully functional devices suddenly experienced massive limitations [3]. Other manufacturers are not exactly excelling in this respect either: Competitors to the pioneer of cross-room loudspeaker components often discontinue support for their equipment far too early.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.
-
Arch Linux Available for Windows Subsystem for Linux
If you've ever wanted to use a rolling release distribution with WSL, now's your chance.
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.