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Sonos Digital Music System Review

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  1. Barton •  May 24, 2005
    Rating: 5/5

    I’ve owned the Sonos system for about a month now and absolutely love it.

    A few corrections on the review:

    - You can use a wireless bridge to eliminate the need to have the first zone player hardwired to the computer. There’s info on which bridge to use in the forum at the Sonos Website.

    - The first page of the article says that it costs $900 per additional zone, but that’s only true if you want a remote control ($400) and a zone player ($500) for each zone. A single remote can control all the zones in your house, and because the remote uses the same wireless network you don’t have to be in sight of a zone to control it.

    - The review said that the system is “dead” without the remote. Not quite true because there’s controller software you can run on the PC that works just like the remote. (Battery life for the remote is quite good.)

    The Rhapsody service, which integrates very well with Sonos, is incredible. For $10/month you can play any of the songs in their 1 million track libary. Imagine being able to stream any song (via Sonos) to any part of your house.

    Bottom line: Far and away the best music system available today.

    Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  2. Doug •  May 24, 2005
    Rating: 5/5

    I just purchased the system and it has to be the easiest setup of any AV equipment in the house. I had 3 zones integrated with Rhapsody in under 30 minutes. The interface is simple to use and navigate even for my techno challanged girlfriend. The cost is quite reasonable when you consider the cost of a multizone receiver and built in speaker systems . This is truely a great system!

    Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  3. jmcclure •  May 24, 2005
    Rating: 5/5

    This looked almost too good to be an actual product, but it is. Setup was fast and simple and the interface couldn’t be simpler. The rhapsody is really what makes this product fantastic (though, there are some issues with rhapsody timing out after a day or so, but that’s not a Sonos issue. I’m waiting for them to release the wall mount for the remote, then this system will be complete. I looked at the other systems on the market, and this has them all beat (sub $5k). You’ll find yourself wishing the control could do more just so you wouldn’t have any reason to put it down.

    Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  4. danny •  May 25, 2005
    Rating: 5/5

    I am totally amazed with this system. I ended up buying two bundles (4 zone players and two remotes) for my 2 story house. Everything works beautifully and was the easiest audio component set up I have ever experienced. Totally 100% recommended.

    Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  5. joshua •  July 4, 2005
    Rating: 4/5

    just ordered from http://www.cdlabs.co.uk/sonos and also got 50 CDs ripped for free. Very easy to install, and sounds superb – have now junked my home stereo, and Cds are in the loft !! enjoying the digital age…

    Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  6. frvnieuw •  September 1, 2005
    Rating: 5/5

    Barton is completely right about his corrections on the review. That were the first things that also came to my mind.

    Sonos is available in Europe in the UK and Belgium.

    Have a look at http://wwww.tossaudio.be

    Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  7. Mike •  December 14, 2005
    Rating: 4.5/5

    An audio installer sent me a ZonePlayer, and a controller to try out , my family is considering putting it into our new house. Very very impressive. I think the review does it plenty of justice, and the other user comments as well. The only thing I would correct, is that you don’t need rhapsody for internet radio. Rhapsody would be great for their streaming music service, but the system comes preloaded with free internet radio stations, and adding more free ones is a breeze. All you have to do on the desktop controller is click add new, and then type in the streaming address of the station. Pretty easy, and very cool. Don’t forget http:// though, cause without it, you won’t have any luck.

    Great product overall though

    Rating: 9 :: 1 out of 1 people found this user review helpful.

  8. Don •  June 18, 2007
    Rating: 5/5

    I bought a bundle for my wife for Xmas – very selfish, I know – and set it up quickly. I quickly invested in another bundle and some other fun stuff (ethernet bridge/Network attached storage devise) to make this a self-enclosed music system. This adds to the complexity, but it allows you to run the system w/out any computer on – a must for those laptop owners.

    You really do end up listening to more and better music! It’s great for the transient type as well – I moved to Europe and just plugged everything in (OK, I had to change some cords and figure out the configuration in Dutch) and I have access to all of our music and all of our radio stations from home. Anyone who has the remote in their hand knows instantly how to use it too.

    Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  9. York •  April 6, 2008
    Rating: 5/5

    Yes its expensive. But this system is the BEST I have ever used (and I have bought several). There is a mistake in Digital Trends’ review: You do not have to hook at least one satelite to a router. You can hook it up to any ethernet (network) outlet. Thus, it can be connected to a router, an network hub, an ethernet wall connection, or a powered ethernet extender (use one if you need a more convenient location for the satellite but do not have an network outlet or router close by). The control unit works great and the UI is perfectly designed so you don’t even need the manual.

    Importing iTunes play lists is easy (simply copy the iTunes Playlist to the Sonos directory) or create your own playlist. The desktop interface is great. Setup is very straight forward. The price is hard to swallow, but what the heck, you only live once!

    Rating: 10 :: 2 out of 2 people found this user review helpful.

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