Using the Controller
 The Controller is comfortable to hold and intuitive to use. |
Although it's about twice the size of an iPod™, the Sonos Controller isn't bulky or awkward to use. On the contrary, its 3.5" backlit LCD came in quite handy for looking through my music library and picking tracks to play. In designing it, Sonos clearly took a page out of the iPod's book — the Controller has a scroll wheel for navigating through tracks, with a button in the center for entering your selection. It also has a mute button, volume and transport controls, and a few other buttons for adjusting system settings and navigating through menus.
The Controller's menus and buttons are pretty intuitive and easy to use. It only took me a minute or so to figure out how to cue up and play music. There was often, however, a slight lag between pressing a button on the Controller and hearing the result.
The built-in rechargeable battery powered my Controller for quite a while — I used the system for several days before I had to recharge it. But to me, the coolest Controller feature was its motionsensor; you can set the Controller to automatically "wake up" from its power-saving sleep mode whenever you pick it up. Talk about smart — you don't even need to turn it on.
Great-sounding wireless playback
As I mentioned above, the trait that really sets Sonos apart from other systems is its ability to let you listen to different tracks, from the same computer, in different rooms, wirelessly. This is the only system I know of that can accomplish this — and it does a wonderful job.
My past experience with wireless audio products has been spotty, causing me to wonder whether the Sonos system would pump out static or whether the music would drop out intermittently. Those worries were unfounded. Music played flawlessly, and sounded great. I switched to Party Mode, which caused both ZonePlayers to play the same songs simultaneously. I couldn't tell by listening which player was getting the music wirelessly and which was connected to my computer via Ethernet — they sounded completely in sync.
 Additional input options on the ZonePlayer add flexibility. |
The Sonos system doesn't limit your playback options to PC music, either. Each ZonePlayer has an audio input for connection to an audio source like a CD player. You have to control the source's playback functions separately, but you can adjust its volume from the Sonos Controller.
Compatibility
The system's manual specifies that it's compatible with Windows® 2000, XP, and later operating systems, as well as Macintosh® OS X v10.2 or later. But you can also use it with another operating system, or with a networked hard drive, as long as you enable file sharing. (Don't worry, the Sonos setup software tells you how to do this step by step.) And don't forget, a broadband Internet connection is recommended.
As for file types, the system can play MP3, WMA, AAC, and WAV files — but not copy-protected files. So if you've got Audible, Apple Lossless, or protected files you want to listen to, you'll have to re-encode them in a compatible format.
Sonos: An elegant solution to the problem of multi-room PC audio
When I first unpacked the Sonos system, I was intrigued and my husband was skeptical. By the time we got it set up, we were both impressed.We had become used to playing our computer speakers really loud in the living room so we could hear music in the kitchen. When we disagreed about what to listen to, we had to compromise. Not anymore.
Sure, it boasts easy setup and an intelligent interface. But more importantly, this system is like having a PC music library in every room of the house. Now that I'm used to it, I wonder how we ever got along without it.
