Since I decided to take the plunge and sign up for Sirius satellite radio, I've truly fallen down the Internet radio rabbit hole. And, I'm loving every minute of it. About a month ago, I took the next big step and bought a Sonos player primarily so I could get my Sirius service off the Internet and not have to worry about the quirkiness of the temperamental antenna.
So, I should first explain exactly what Sonos is and how it works. It's been around for a few years and I had always thought of it as a solid though expensive way to share music around your house and certainly cheaper than wiring the whole place. Believe me, I've been there, done that and it's a giant pain in the rump and the wallet. But, what I didn't realize is that Sonos is so much more than just a way to distribute music. It's also a gateway to Internet music and if you've not experience it, you are in for a real treat.
The Sonos device (I have a ZonePlayer 90) connects to the Internet via your wireless router. Just plug and play, no passwords, user names, etc. It then sends its output through my AV receiver. But that's just the half of it. You can buy additional ZonePlayers, with and without amps, that you can put in other rooms and connect to speakers. The music is transmitted wirelessly and it's great quality. But, there's more. You can play different music in every room and indpendently control the volume in each room. You can put together a system like this for around $1k.
The Sonos comes with its own hand-held controller or you can download a desktop controller that runs on your computer or you can download the controller app to an iPhone or iPod Touch free. The controllers are all excellent and give you vast control over a massive music library.
So, enough with the equipment. It's all about the music. Not only can I access Sirius and my iTunes library, but Internet radio and Internet music services such as Pandora (free), Napster, last.fm and Rhapsody. I sometimes wonder why I even bother with the iTunes anymore. I can literally find anything I want and play it instantly online. Or, you can build your own stations with the artists and songs you love most. Just put them together, tailor them and play them. You can even pass your playlists along to others on Pandora. Sonos also lets you build custom playlists drawing from all your music sources. Amazing.
My guess is that a music snob with amazing equipment would find fault with the quality of the music over the Internet. Most services are at 128kbps. Rhapsody is at 192kbps. But for relaxing background music while you're entertaining or just hanging out, it's more than just fine. If you're a music lover and if you like all kinds of music as I do, this really can't be beat.
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