Video hands-on: Sonos ZonePlayer

Sonos is definitely a fav around the Engadget Mansion, and during CES we got to take a second and talk to them about the new ZP80 ZonePlayer. The new device supports Audible and Rhapsody, but unfortunately still lacks PlaysForSure support. Peep the vid below for a moving picture demo of the new software update for Sonos, and new ZonePlayer.

Format
[Download] QT MPEG4, 1:37, 6.13 MB

[John Harrington @ Jan 16th 2006 4:56PM]

I too have the Sonos system, and it was my gem of a purchase following last year's CES. These cheaper ZP's will allow me to more economically expand my system.



One of the great things is being able to listen to all my XM channels through Sonos. I was pleasantly surprised about this, and apparently I can't with Sirius.

[Oliver @ Jan 16th 2006 5:01PM]

I really hope i'll be able to get myself a sonos setup this year.

[joelfinkle @ Jan 16th 2006 5:09PM]

At this point, it's in a poor position. The original Sonos didn't seem that outrageous in price, until you found out you almost doubled the cost to get the remote. The salesman I talked to said, "You can have one remote with a bunch of players" but in a house with four people, I'd want a remote NEAR each player.



I'm assuming the remote is still another $399 for this amp-less player.



I've been looking for a compact kitchen media streamer, and unfortunately, the Sonos was the only one with an amp in it. Price just didn't justify, and I didn't want something sitting on a shelf anyway.



Current plan is a SpeakerCraft SoundSource (in-wall CD, AM/FM and amp for $280 online), and add a Roku, Creative or other streaming media player later.

[aa @ Jan 16th 2006 6:49PM]

I had the privelage of meeting one of the people who worked on this at Macworld UK in late 05, and to be honest i gave him a good 30 mins and he tried to convince me....i thought it was great then he slapped me with the price $300 odd for the machine and a further $400 for the controler...and to be honest its useless without the controller.

I simply said, i'd rather just get an airport express or two and wait for apple to come up with some remote.

This piece of kit is WAY overpriced for what i can do. No one was impressed at macworld uk with this.

[sara @ Jan 16th 2006 7:33PM]

I've read their forums, and from the looks of it EVERYONE who actually gets one is very impressed with it. i thought that they just announcedthis at ces so dont see you could have seen it in 05?

[GadgetTV @ Jan 16th 2006 7:37PM]

These are definetly great systems, but the price is a major concern. If they can push the price down they are shure to sell alot more. There is too big of a price diff. between this a lesser systems.

[Avi Greengart @ Jan 16th 2006 10:30PM]

I have a Sonos system in for review now. There's no question that Sonos is a premium-priced product, but whether it is overpriced depends on your point of view.



If you're willing to settle for less -- remember, the Sonos includes control over multiple zones, a beautiful and easy to use interface, and an embedded mesh network -- there are plenty of streaming media players to choose from. The simplefi I've been using flakes out every once in a while, has a terrible UI, and did I mention the terrible UI? The Roku is probably the best of the bunch, but even that carries a premium over its competitors.



But if you compare Sonos to most custom installed distributed audio systems with equivalent functionality, the Sonos is a flat out bargain even for new construction where running the wires isn't the primary expense.



-avi

[John Harrington @ Jan 17th 2006 12:43AM]

Here's the thing --



Sonos isn't for everyone. Neither is Nordstroms. If you just need clothes, go to Sears or Marshalls. If you are good with your hands, you can cobble together clothes by hand, and save money. The Sonos system is like Nordstroms or Saks, it's an amazing elegant system that needs no cobbling together of Airport Expresses, it's simply amazing.



Flame me all you want, but Sonos IS all that they claim to be. If it's not for you, no problem. I've spent near $4k for all my zone players and extra controllers. My wife loves the system, uses it all the time, and not only did she not need to read a manual (it's that intuitive) she didn't have to ask me for any help with using it, she figured it out in less than five minutes. When you're relaxing after a hard days' work, and your wife comes to you saying the speakers connected to the airport don't work, and you have to get up and then find out that there's an IP conflict, and you spend the next hour or so troubleshooting, you'll wish you were just relaxing while she plays XM's 80's on 8 in the kitchen while dinner is getting ready.



Maybe you'd rather buy an Alienware box for $4k, not me. I'd rather spend that money on a whole house system that does exactly what it says it does, and will do far longer than the Alienware box will be around, and my hard-to-get-buy-in-on-my-tech-purchases wife will see that I bought something that she can enjoy too.



I'll be getting this new box because I can add it to my daughter's room, and can stream XM Kids and Disney for Kids in her room, so that not only can she enjoy it, but she'll be less likely to beg for it when we are riding around in the car, where she asks and asks again for XM Kids.



One of the greatest pleasures in my life is watching my two young daughters dancing around to Laurie Bruckner or the Chipmunks song, or whatever XM Kids is playing next. I will happily exchange the price of a few upgrades on my PC for this box so I can have that. And, when they are falling asleep during nap time to their music, I can go into my home office, and without interruption, stream XM Top Tracks to my office speakers and get some work done, muting only my speakers when a client calls on the phone.



So, Thanks Sonos (and XM) for a really great system that makes my whole family happy.



John

[housedigital @ Jan 17th 2006 7:37AM]

Mr. John Harrington...I couldn't agree more. Nice post. Hands down the most seamless system I've ever used...and yes the wife factor is huge. Quick question..Did you actually get the XM stations on the controller...or just a line in source?

[Carlton Bale @ Jan 17th 2006 8:28AM]

I couldn't agree more that the Sonos system is hands down the best out there. The controller is expensive, for sure, but it blows away any other system in terms of speed, easy of use, aesthetics, and multi-room control. The one-way IR remotes used by other systems just can't provide this type of functionality; they rely on the text-based display on the player itself.



When it comes to cost, it is also necessary to factor in the value of your time. The Sonos just plain works; I had multi-room listening up and running in 30 minutes, and that includes unpacking and software installation on the PC. I'm positive that a speakercraft system would not deliver this.



For those who want to purchase a Sonos system in steps, a ZonePlayer is fully controllable via their free PC software, so the purchase of a remote could be delayed. I wouldn't really recommend this, because the remote is what truly sets Sonos apart from the others, but it's an option.

[Carlton Bale @ Jan 17th 2006 8:59AM]

By the way, it is possible for XM subscribers to stream XM stations to thier Sonos ZonePlayers via the internet (no line-in required). Here is the info on how to set this up:

http://forums.sonos.com/showthread.php?t=2322

[lany @ Jan 17th 2006 9:13AM]

The Sonos systems are low quality and over priced. Their customer service is also very poor. Save your money and avoid these at all costs.

[dan selzer @ Jan 17th 2006 1:36PM]

I just got v2 of the Squeezebox and I'm having a blast with it. I'd think engadget readers would go for it, seeing as how it's open source and has all kinds of plug-ins and add ons and such.

[Scott @ Jan 17th 2006 4:46PM]

#3: For the love of God, stay away from the Creative. The remote is nice, but the thing never worked properly: lots of dropouts and lockups, the software sucks, limited file support, no internet radio. I returned it after a couple weeks and got a Squeezebox. For your application, powered speakers would be good, or the little T-amp, which sounds really good.

[bigyogamuffin @ Jan 18th 2006 5:34AM]

Lany - you clearly don't know what you are talking about. I've had 4 ZonePlayers and 2 controllers for a year now and this is the most awesome piece of music equipment I have owned. I have tried all the other major ones.

Mr Harrington - you are spot on.

My girlfriend hates my spend on gadgets but she just LOVES this system. She uses it all the time. Everybody that comes round to my house can play music immediately without having to be told what to do. Something that never happened before with the alternatives.

I defy anybody to buy it and not be impressed.

[Sachy @ Jan 19th 2006 2:18AM]

I agree with , lany, here. Sonos has terrible customer service and the units themselves suffer from very poor build quality.

[beebopman @ Jan 19th 2006 4:27AM]

#16... do you have the products? i followed one of the posts that linked to how to get XM to work and read some posts while i was there.. didn't see anything put people raving about the system and saying fantastic things about there support.

[Anthony2005 @ Jan 19th 2006 8:22PM]

I HAD MY SONOS SETUP FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 MONTHS BEFORE IT STARTED SPUTTERING. AFTER VISITING THE SITE AND EVENTUALLY TALKING TO A TECHNICHIAN THEY ESSENTIALLY LET ME KNOW I WAS ==SCREWED== AND OFFERED NO HELP! THERE IS A REASON PEOPLE SAY SONOS HAVE TERRIBLE COSTUMER SERVICE. STAY AWAY FROM THESE AND LOOK FOR AN ALTERNATIVE.!

[Jay M @ Jan 23rd 2006 11:40PM]

I supprised at how many negative comments there are. On most A/V forums owneers love their Sonos system.

I don't own one yet but plan to very soon. The ZP-80 will offer great value to me. In the home theater I have no need for the amp, but do greatly desire the digital output the the ZP-80 has.

People who say that the Sonos is too expensive for a media server don't quite understand what the product is all about. It is a whole house distributed audio system. It can be completely wireles, or wired as part of an ethernet network- it's not proprietary.
Some features that make it special:
1. All zone players have an input that can be routed to any or all other players on the network
2. All the Zone players play the same audio in sync
3. The full color iPod style remote is completely wireless
4. The mini ethernet hub on each zone player is very convenient
5. A PC is not needed to store music files- only attached storage is required.

To my knowlege no other media streaming system does any of That.

If you want a simple Media streamer with a cool remote, I suggest you just add a Belkin BlueTooth adapter to an iPod.

But for a whole house system, the Sonos is a true bargin.

~Jay

[LB @ Jan 24th 2006 7:36AM]

I'm surprised by the few negative comments on this forum - although I suspect the people airing these negative views have a different agenda. On the Sonos board and the other AV forums the users rave about this system. I have invested in it and it is definitely the best multiroom solution available. I have also been extremely impressed with their customer service.
Nothing but praise for them.

[graham @ Jan 27th 2006 3:26PM]

Hi,

I'm the customer support manager at Sonos. For those users who have posted about having a negative experience, i'd be happy to work with you personally to ensure that you're happy. We work hard to make sure all of our customers are happy customers.

Please send contact us via phone or email and ask for me. http://www.sonos.com/support/

Best,
graham

[graham @ Jan 27th 2006 3:29PM]

The comment system mixed up our support URL with my sign-off. the correct link is:

http://www.sonos.com/support/

[Allan Menzel @ May 23rd 2007 7:15PM]

Hi there !
First of all , my brother beat me to it and bought the sonos system today and I must say that it is the greatest sound system I have come across so far !
The setup was really easy and the control is just what we were looking for.
Unfortunatly I don´t have the money to by a system my self, right now but it´s on the top of my shopping list !
Hopefully Sonos will, at some point, integrate there fantastic system with with a movie player.... I for one could see great potentials in that.
But anyway... I give the Sonos Zoneplayer 100 + Control 9 out of 10 and hope that I will find a system among my birthday presents in the near future :) ...
Ps. Even my wife loved the thing !!!??? ... and she is not easily impressed !
Best regards..
Allan

[PdP @ Jan 22nd 2008 11:48AM]

Set one of these up today - was quite impressed. It's not Crestron, but then it's not supposed to be. Any sign of it supporting video at some stage, or is there a similar (priced) system out there that does?