Sonos Launches An All-In-One Music System

Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on October 13, 2009

I’ve long thought that one of the more interesting companies making digital music hardware is Sonos. The Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company makes a clever system that uses wireless boxes known as ZonePlayers, that network themselves together into a mesh, allowing your digital music collection to be available in any room, though you have to supply the speakers. Additionally, over the years, Sonos has been adding lots of software features like the ability to connect to satellite radio streams, and new music services like Pandora and Last.fm, as well as streaming radio stations around the world. Steve Wildstrom last reviewed Sonos in 2007.

The problem with the system has always been its entry point cost, which usually runs in the $1,000 range, which gets you a set of ZonePlayer boxes and a controller. But for that I’d probably own one myself, and likely many others would too.

Today the company announced a new product called the ZonePlayer S5, a $399, wireless speaker system that does everything the Sonos system does but in a self-contained package that includes speakers, and which is controlled via an iPhone application. Sonos says it will be available at the end of the month. I’ll certainly be interested to try it out.

Sonos was for quite awhile sort of a digital music curiosity. For years it worked with everything under the sun, except for music purchased from the iTunes store. But now look at all the music formats it supports: MP3, iTunes Plus, WMA (including purchased Windows Media downloads), AAC (MPEG4), Ogg Vorbis, Audible (format 4), Apple Lossless, Flac (lossless) music files, uncompressed WAV and AIFF files. Plus the list of music stores and streaming services it supports is also long and impressive.

Of all the companies making hardware for playing digital music, and there are many, Sonos is one I’ve long thought Apple should consider acquiring.

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