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Linux HiFi: The Sonos Digital Music System
TractorJector writes "Mad Penguin published a 5 page review of the Sonos Digital Music System, a wireless music distribution system built on Linux. According to the site, you can use a single remote to control up to 32 "zones" (locations throughout your house where the receivers are placed). The interface is intuitive and well done for such a compact device. According to the review, it's extremely simple to setup as well."
Apple does't make the click wheel for the iPods. They buy them from Synaptics, the same company that makes touch pads for laptops.
These guys probably got them from Synaptics too.
I asked them this exact question at CES in Vegas. First off, it IS a touch-sensitive scroll wheel. Second, they said they had someone else design it and got around the patents somehow (this was their salesperson speaking, not their patent attorney). Anyone from Sonos care to weigh in.
The Fat Man Walks Alone
Interlink Electronics http://interlinkelec.com/
If you forget about the future, the future will forget about you.
I assume you are trolling, but here you go.
Therefore, what I did opt for is a system from Russound. Their "CA-Series" is very nice. Check them out at russound.com. I have two six-zone systems, creating a total of twelve integrated zones.
You definitely loose the oohs-and-ahhs factor that Sonos brings with their remote LCD. However, when I walk into a room in my house, I can control that zone from any one of six sources: two AM/FM radio tuners, XM Satellite radio, a CD player, my MP3 collection, and even a cable TV feed. Yes, I can even tune the station I want on the radio, skip tracks on the CD player, etc.. This is all done via the in-wall control panel.
It's not as [fancy|sexy|cool] as the Sonos, however, it's more functional for my listening style.
The Keyspan Express Remote plugs into the USB port on the Airport Express and lets you control playback. You still need a computer that broadcasts the music, just like the Sonos. Sadly. the Express Remote is nowhere near as cool as the Sonos remote.
For more information, click here.
The company I work for. http://magnoliaav.com/ sells these and I had a change to demo them for use on our network. We only used three zone but they were dead simple and worked great. If you can afford them (I can't) you will love it. Before I hear the cries of "astroturfing, astroturfing!" I did not submit the article.
I'm a RealNetworks employee, and we recently saw these things demoed after they added support for RealNetworks' Rhapsody service. Add a Rhapsody subscription to the cost of the device, and you get a massive library of music accessible for high-quality streaming. It was pretty impressive.
"The big selling point for him was being able to have all the "zones" synchronously play the same song in every room. None of the other solutions he looked at were able to do that."
Squeezebox (www.slimdevices.com) does that, but isn't standalone and assumes you're providing the computer and hard drive holding your music collection. Each player ("zone") is $300 ($250 if you don't need wireless) and requires external amp/speakers. For those of us who like the sound of our existing systems, it seemed better.
If you already have "Media PC's" hooked up, they can run the free and open source squeezeplayer software (really! they just give the stuff away!) and sync up along with the squeezeboxen.
Again, my only point really was that squeezeboxen can be sync'ed if you wish.
Mark
Happy Soundbridge owner. Awesome product and great support. The wireless can be flaky(check their compatible router list before buying), but they are constantly updating the functionality. And with a Rhapsody subscription to pipe through it, I pretty much don't buy cds any more....
I'm thrilled to see this post and admittingly biased. I've had 4 ZonePlayers and 2 Controllers for a few months now and can't recommend them enough. I've plugged them into a B&W Speakers and they just rock.
Why is Sonos great? (in no particular order)
1. No need to put your MP3s on it's HD. You store them where you want and simply mount a drive
2. A remote anyone can use with no training. My previous hacked together PocketPC device accessing internal website via 802 was a disaster.
3. Use traditional audiophile grade gear (amps with sonos as preamp) and input devices (DVD, tape deck, LP, etc) as inputs to Sonos. Nothing beats an LP streamed all over the house
4. Play multiple zones "in Sync" (all playing the same thing in time) or each zone plays what it wants
5. It just works. Well. Hugely high Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF).
6. Software upgrades (flashable ROM) to hardware. I've never got an upgrade to my old, black rack audio gear.
7. water-resistant remote
8. Desktop client, if you can't find a remote, use your laptop
9. we just listen to more music.
10. whole home networking without running wires (here in Boston, old home networking can be tough)
11. programable interface
12. active developers community
What I don't love about Sonos:
1. Cost
2. No support for real/MS/quicktime, only shoutcast. For now, hoping for an upgrade
That's really it. The wife and I just love it.
I can't recommend it enough.
Feel free to post questions about the devices if you like and I'll try to answer.