What's wrong with this picture? Right this moment, you can whip out your cellphone and call Directory Assistance in Sri Lanka, halfway around the world. On the other hand, you need wires (probably poorly concealed under the carpet) to run audio from your home theater to your home office. Even worse, maybe you use a "sneakernet" to carry armfuls of CDs (careful, those jewel boxes shatter when they drop!) from room to room. Even your local Starbucks has a wireless network, but not your listening rooms. Really, does that make any sense?
Now imagine storing all your music on a disk drive, and accessing that data from anywhere in your home, without wires. That's what these systems from Philips, Sonos, and Yamaha are all about. With their wireless streaming capabilities, they make your music even more readily available than the phone number of the Domino's Pizza in Sri Lanka. Literally, within minutes of powering up — and in less time than it would take to run wires between two rooms — you'll be jamming to tunes all over the house. We auditioned all three systems to see how they differed, and here's what we found.
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What We Think
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| Philips | Sonos | Yamaha |
| Its simplicity is a plus, though its small hard drive could be a drawback. | An expandable and elegant solution if you've got a library of ripped music. | Remarkably sophisticated and flexible, it's also the most expensive system of this trio. |
Philips Streamium Wireless Music Center
You have to admit that Philips came up with a pretty catchy name for the technology used in its Wireless Music Center: "Streamium." The $999 two-room system includes the WAC700 base station and a single WAS700 remote station (you can add up to four more at a cost of $299 per station). They share cool, high-tech styling — glossy upright control panels with LCD menu screens — and integrated amps and speakers. You also get a full-featured remote with LCD readout for the base station and a more compact wand for the WAS700.
SETUP The base station's 40-GB hard drive holds about 450 hours of music ripped at a respectable 160 kilobits per second (kbps) — more than enough for an all-night rave. On its own, it's a very capable music system that can play from its own hard drive, CD player, or FM tuner, or from an auxiliary source. Ripping is easy: Load a CD, hit Record, select tracks via the screen, and press OK to rip to MP3 at four times real-time speed (4X), at either 160 or 128 kbps. The system's Gracenote database supplies disc and track information. You can even copy from CDs containing MP3 or WMA files (as long as they're not marked for Digital Rights Management) and rip from the FM tuner or an external source.
If you've got MP3 or WMA files on your PC, you can wire it to the base station through the Ethernet port and drag your files to the hard drive with the supplied Digital Media Manager software. The software also lets you create playlists and edit track information on your PC.
Cool as it sounds, Philips Streamium technology is basically Wi-Fi 802.11b/g. The company optimistically claims a maximum range of 750 feet over open space, but inside a home, 150 feet is probably about it. Setup was completely turnkey: A few moments after powering up the two stations, they recognized each other and I was good to go.
PERFORMANCE From three walls and 40 feet away, the meter on the remote station showed diminished signal strength, but it was still fully operational. Music arrived with no interruptions, and communication was essentially instantaneous. If I hadn't known that the files I was listening to in my office were actually stored in my home theater room, I wouldn't have guessed.
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The Short Form
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| $999 / WAC700: 24 x 12 x 7 IN / 16.9 LBS; WAS700: 14.25 x 11 x 5 IN / 9.2 LBS / philips.com |
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Plus
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•Easy setup and operation •Excellent main remote •Cool styling |
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Minus
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•Can't stream directly from PC •40-GB drive is pretty tiny |
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Key Features
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WAC700 Base Station: •40-GB hard drive •Slot-load CD player, FM tuner •Plays MP3, WMA, PCM files •Rips MP3 (160/128 kbps) at 1x/4x speed •Records FM or auxiliary source to drive •Gracenote database for track information •Ethernet connection for transferring files from PC and Gracenote data updates •Supports up to 5 WAS700 clients •2-way LCD remote control •Onboard amp/speakers: 2 x 13 watts (tweeters), 2 x 22 watts (woofers) •Digital Media Manager software (Windows; Mac available on Philips website) WAS700 Remote Station: •Wi-Fi receiver/player for WAC700 base •Onboard amp/speakers: 2 x 4 watts (tweeters), 1 x 8 watts (woofer) •Card-style compact remote control •Price: WAC/WAS700 bundle, $999; WAS700, $299 |
Selecting music from the scroll-down LCD menu was a snap. You can choose by playlist, artist, album, or genre. Very conveniently, the main remote's LCD mirrors the base unit's display — too bad it can't be used with the WAS700.
I really liked the convenience of the Music Follows Me and Music Broadcast buttons. Music Follows Me lets you easily stop playback in one room and pick up where you left off in the second room. Music Broadcast lets you stream the same music to all connected stations.
BOTTOM LINE Given its modest 40-GB hard drive, the Philips Streamium Wireless Music Center's inability to stream music directly from a networked computer or drive may be a limitation. But this system's great strength is that it makes complicated tasks so easy. Everything worked intuitively — within minutes out of the box, your airwaves will be filled with your favorite songs.
Sonos Digital Music System
The Sonos Digital Music System earned several honors last year, including a Sound & Vision Editors' Choice Award. The company recently added a new receiver/player module but was smart enough not to mess with this simple and elegantly styled product. The controller and ZonePlayers (as the receivers are called) are housed in white or gray plastic with minimal controls, and the handheld LCD controller boasts an iPod-like scroll-wheel. But the Sonos notably lacks a hard drive, CD player, or any onboard media storage. Instead, it taps into your computer, auxiliary drive, or audio source component to distribute music around the house.
SETUP The CR100 controller's menus and few buttons run the entire Sonos system. With it you can access all the music on your computer, as well as on any network-compatible external hard drive (such as the pre-loaded 200-GB Maxtor drive Sonos supplied for our review). The wireless CR100 remote ($399) operates from anywhere within 100 feet of any Sonos player, and can be used as a handheld or docked in the optional CC100 charging cradle ($50).
A ZonePlayer goes in each of your remote rooms to receive streaming music. The system is quite expandable — it accommodates as many as 32 players via wired Ethernet or six to 15 players via Wi-Fi (how many depends on the bit rates of your files).
The original ZP100 ZonePlayer ($499) has a built-in 50-watt-per-channel stereo amplifier to drive a pair of speakers — either your own or Sonos's matching SP100 bookshelf speakers ($179 a pair). The new ZP80 ZonePlayer omits the speaker amp for rooms where you already have a sound system to plug into. The ZP80 is available individually ($349), or in a bundle consisting of a controller and two ZP80s ($999). Sonos also sells a ZP100 bundle ($1,199).
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The Short Form
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| $1,297 as tested / CR100 Controller: 6.5 x 3.9 x 1 IN / 12.5 OZ; ZP100 Zoneplayer: 10.3 x 4.5 x 8.3 IN / 10 LBS; ZP80 Zoneplayer: 5.5 x 5.5 x 3 IN / 1.5 LBS / sonos.com / 800-680-2345 |
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Plus
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•Excellent integration with PC and Mac •Tasteful minimalist design •Superb wireless LCD remote |
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Minus
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•No internal storage •Needs Ethernet link to at least one client |
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Key Features
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CR100 Controller: •3.5-in color LCD screen •Touch-sensitive scroll wheel •Wireless system control from all zones •LCD shows disc/track data and art •Controls up to 32 clients (6 to 15 wireless) ZP100 ZonePlayer: •Wireless or Ethernet receiver/player for music stored on computer or external drive •Analog audio input for auxiliary source •Onboard speaker amplifier: 2 x 50 watts •Supports MP3, WMA, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF files; Rhapsody and Audible subscription services •Sonos Desktop Controller software (Windows and Mac) ZP80 ZonePlayer: •As ZP100, with digital audio out, no amp •Price: ZP100 system, $1,199; ZP80 system, $999; ZP100, $499; ZP80, $349; CR100, $399; CC100 charging cradle, $50; SP100 speakers, $179/pair |
For this test, I used the PC in my home office as one source and the hard drive Sonos loaned me as another. Sonos Desktop Controller software (Windows or Mac) facilitates setup and also lets you control all the players from your computer. Installation went smoothly: I made a local Ethernet connection from my PC to a ZP100 and hooked up a pair of speakers to it (if you already have powered speakers on your PC, you can get by here with a ZP80). Then I placed a ZP80 in my listening room and fed its digital audio output to my A/V receiver. The software guided me through a short setup procedure, and soon the computer saw the players. Then the controller found both players and displayed the music contents of my PC, along with any artwork that was available. I could also access Internet radio via my computer, and Sonos is compatible with the Rhapsody subscription music service (PC only). Even with my PC turned off, I could still listen to the auxiliary hard drive on my home network and a source component plugged into one of the ZonePlayers.
PERFORMANCE The ZonePlayer accepts MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis, and Apple Lossless files from your computer or external drive, with no explicit limit on bit rates. (Analog signals fed to its line input are encoded in real time into either WMA or WAV for output.) I could stream the same music to all players or different music to different players. Selecting music and directing it to a zone was as easy as scrolling with the controller's wheel as I strolled through the house. The color screen provided full title and source information. The controller also made it easy to set up playlists and consolidate zones into groups. My entire digital music collection was literally at my fingertips.
I got reliable transmission through walls over a 40-foot range, and the power amp in the ZP100 had plenty of guts to drive bookshelf speakers to loud, clean levels. I liked how the ZP80 let me wirelessly feed my PC's music library into my home theater. I've always run audio from my listening room to my office, but was surprised to learn how great it was to go the other way.
BOTTOM LINE The Sonos hits a sweet spot between simplicity and complexity. If you're not afraid of an Ethernet cable and have an established library of music on your computer, the Sonos will get you up and running into the future.
Yamaha MusicCAST
The Yamaha's MusicCAST system set an early benchmark for home wireless servers, proving that newfangled computer technology could successfully be merged with traditional audio. Its newest incarnation shows that convergence is alive and well. The heart of the system is the MCX-2000 digital audio server ($2,200). Housed in a formidable-looking black chassis, it has a 160-GB hard drive, CD-R/RW disc drive, FM tuner, and all the 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Ethernet circuitry to distribute your music.
The MCX-2000 has numerous connections on the back, including input jacks for auxiliary components, an XM Connect-and-Play antenna jack, and both stereo audio and video outputs: The former connects to your main listening system, while the latter connects to your display for setup and operation.
The hard drive stores about 200 hours of music in uncompressed PCM audio format or about 2,000 hours worth of MP3s at the minimum 160-kbps bit rate. Song details are provided by Gracenote. The MCX-2000 can support as many as 15 remote clients, with up to five configured for wireless communication.
Yamaha offers two clients. The sleek MCX-A10 receiver ($600) is nicely styled in silver and white and features a small LCD readout and slim remote control. It can be wall-mounted or sit angled on a tabletop using the supplied stand. The MCX-A10 talks to the server via a wired Ethernet connection or Wi-Fi and plays music from any device on the network via stereo speakers connected to its built-in digital amp (matching speakers cost $120 a pair); there's even a line-level subwoofer output. You can also feed the A10's stereo audio outputs to an existing music system.
For custom installation, Yamaha also offers the MCX-C15 distributed audio controller and the MCX-CA15 distributed audio amplifier ($650 per bundle). Together they provide the same functionality as the MCX-A10 in an in-wall package, though the MCX-C15 has no wireless reception and requires a direct Ethernet connection to the server.
Yamaha's Windows-based DiXiM Media Server software lets the MCX-2000 access MP3, WMA, and WAV music on your PC via Ethernet and send it across your network.
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The Short Form
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| $3,450 as tested / MCX-2000: 17.1 x 3.8 x 16.1 IN / 14.6 LBS; MCX-A10: 8.3 x 9.3 x 3.1 IN / 4.4 LBS / yamaha.com/musiccast / 800-492-6242 |
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Plus
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•Comprehensive control and operation •Excellent integration with PC •In-wall expansion options |
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Minus
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•Client amplifiers underpowered •Pricey |
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Key Features
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MCX-2000 Server: •160-GB hard drive •CD-R/RW drive, FM tuner, XM-ready •Rips PCM and MP3 (320/256/160 kbps) •Records CDs from hard drive (4x speed) •Streams MP3, WMA, WAV from PC to clients •Gracenote database for track information •Supports up to 15 clients, 5 wireless •Works with MCX-A10 standalone or MCX-C15/CA15 in-wall clients •Video out for onscreen user interface •Broadcast Play function plays same song on all clients •DiXiM Server Software (Windows XP) MCX-A10 Client: •Wireless or Ethernet receiver/player •Onboard speaker amplifier: 2 x 17 watts •Card-style compact remote control •Price: MCX-2000, $2,200; MCX-A10, $600; MCX-15/-CA15 bundle, $650; MCX-SP10 speakers, $120/pair |
For my test, I linked my PC and an MCX-C15 client to the server via Ethernet and connected an MCX-A10 client via Wi-Fi. Total setup took less than 30 minutes and fairly painless. With the onscreen menu, it's easy to specify which wired and wireless clients the server will talk to; your screen displays a complete diagram of the system you have designated.
PERFORMANCE Once the MusicCAST system was set up, operation was very straightforward. The MCX-2000 allows CDs to be ripped to MP3 only at 160, 256, or 320 kbps, which provides good or transparent playback. The system can store a ripped song in either PCM (WAV) or MP3 format.
Recording from an external source to the drive was pretty cool — onscreen VU meters show levels, and you can easily adjust input levels using a submenu. The system even automatically inserts a track number when it detects a silence.
Since I had an XM Connect-and-Play antenna/receiver on hand, I plugged it in and was soon directing satellite radio to any client at will. The server's FM radio, external sources (such as an iPod), and PC files were also readily accessible, though you have to manually operate your external sources.
The system worked fine over 40 feet through several walls; sound quality was unaffected by the Wi-Fi or Ethernet links. The amplifier in the client had enough gas to drive speakers to reasonable levels but not much left over; to really light up the room, tap the client into an external music system.
BOTTOM LINE As the most sophisticated of these systems, MusicCAST sets a high standard for full-featured audio networking.
And the winners are...
All three of these systems are great solutions that will get you live on the air with your personal music library, but they're surprisingly diverse in their architectures, setups, and even prices. I can no more declare a winner than I can say whether you prefer rock to jazz, but each is recommendable in its own right.
The Philips Streamium Music Center is what I'd call the simple solution: Everything is self-contained, and it's a snap to set up. In fact, you don't even need a computer (though it makes sense to have one around). It was easy to operate via its handheld remotes (the LCD screen on the main remote is an excellent perk), and its built-in speakers were quite serviceable for desktop playback.
The Sonos Digital Music System is a step up. It's simple to operate and highly engaging with its slick wireless LCD controller. It does a fantastic job of seamlessly integrating your music files into a playback system, though you'll need to rely on your computer or another external drive for media storage. With that small caveat, it allows great expandability and flexibility, and offers attractive pricing.
The Yamaha MusicCAST, though much costlier, is also more formidable, more fully featured, and even more flexible than the Sonos. It will do almost anything you'll need in a home network system, providing both internal storage and online access to your Windows computer. And it's the only system here that offers in-wall clients.
In the end, all three systems offered noise-free wired or wireless distribution of your music. So let your needs and budget decide which is best for you. Whichever you choose — good, better, or best — you'll be changing forever the way you enjoy your music at home.
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