Digitizing music changed all the rules — even though we took almost two decades, from the introduction of the CD to the rise of MP3, to explore its full potential. Freed from the limitations of hard-wired analog circuits, new software-driven digital music systems can be amazingly powerful and flexible, especially when combined with networked computers.
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A new breed of digital components — from MP3 players to digital music servers to media receivers — are redefining how we store and listen to music. The Sonos Digital Music System is one of the latest examples of just how cool the new gear can be. The Sonos system I reviewed consisted of three ZP100 ZonePlayer modules, one of them connected to my Windows XP PC (you can also use it with a Macintosh computer), and a wireless CR100 controller.
Not surprisingly, a digital music system looks very different from traditional analog audio components. The only physical controls on the ZonePlayer are volume up/down and mute buttons, and the back panel has speaker outputs as well as line-level inputs and outputs. You can connect a ZonePlayer to your computer with the supplied Ethernet cable, and multiple modules can be connected either via Ethernet cabling or the proprietary Sonosnet wireless network — each module has two wireless antennas.
Each ZonePlayer also has a 50-watt-per-channel stereo amplifier to drive a pair of connected speakers (not included) and plays MP3, WMA, and AAC music files as well as those stored in the uncompressed WAV format. It also recognizes playlists from Musicmatch, Windows Media Player, Win-Amp, and iTunes. To avoid obsolescence, the decoding software can be upgraded via Internet downloads.
You can control all connected ZonePlayers from your computer, using the supplied Desktop Controller software to select music files on your hard drive and stream them to ZonePlayers in different rooms. (Early Sonos systems use a limited Mac application, but a full-featured Mac Desktop Controller is promised by the end of March.)
You can also connect a CD or MP3 player, or even an A/V receiver, to a ZonePlayer's analog inputs and stream music from it to other ZonePlayers. The system encodes audio signals on the fly into either the WMA or WAV format. And you can simultaneously stream different music to each zone.
Each module defines a zone, which can cover more than one room — say, a living room and dining room. The system can handle up to 32 wired players and from 6 to 15 wireless ones, depending on the bit rates of the streaming files — CD-quality WAV files take up a lot more room in the “data pipeline” than medium-quality MP3 or WMA files.
But the coolest and most flexible way to operate the system is with the Sonos handheld CR100 controller (see opening photo), which even lets you access music stored on a device that lacks an operating system, like a network-compatible external hard drive, as long as it's connected to a ZonePlayer. And you aren't tied to the computer running the Sonos software but can control the whole system from anywhere within the 100-foot range of any ZonePlayer's antennas.
The controller's iPod-inspired design features a white, touch-sensitive scroll wheel, nine backlit buttons, and three unlabeled buttons whose function is determined by the menu displayed in the 3 1/2 -inch (diagonal) color LCD screen above them. The battery can be recharged using the supplied AC adapter (a dedicated charging cradle should be available by the end of March).
SETUP Setting up the Sonos was a snap, thanks in part to the user-friendly quick-setup poster. I placed one ZonePlayer near my home-office computer, connecting it by an Ethernet cable. If you have an Ethernet router, the Sonos can be plugged into that instead. I connected a pair of speakers to the outputs on the ZonePlayer, plugged in another supplied Ethernet cable, and ran that next door to my bedroom, where I connected it to another ZonePlayer. For playback there, I connected the ZonePlayer's line-level stereo and subwoofer outputs to a receiver that was already hooked up to speakers. I placed a third ZonePlayer outside on the patio and hooked it up to outdoor speakers there. Since it would have been a hassle to run wires that far, I let that ZonePlayer talk to the others wirelessly. Cool, huh?
Returning to my PC, I loaded the supplied CD-ROM and installed the Desktop Controller software, which guided me through a short procedure to establish the connection to the first ZonePlayer. Once the PC could “see” it, I added the other two. Finally, the program asked me to identify the location of the music files I wished to use and to identify them as shared files.
OPERATION Once the Desktop Controller window appeared, I could begin playback. The user-friendly interface works like music-ripping software. One panel showed the contents of my music library, another which zones were active, and a third what was currently playing in the selected zone. The Now Playing panel includes play, pause, stop, and fast-scan buttons. In no time, I scrolled through the music files on my PC, selected an album, and directed it to the ZonePlayer in my office. Voilà! Music! I selected another album and directed it to the ZonePlayer in my bedroom. Voilà! Since I have broadband Web access, I could even select Internet radio stations.
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Then I powered up the wireless CR100 controller, which quickly found the three ZonePlayers as well as all my music files. Like the Destop Controller, it let me select any music file and play it on any or all of the players. The Music button let me pick songs from my library and add them to music queues. The Zone button showed me what was playing in each zone, and once I selected a zone, I could control its music. And the scroll wheel let me zip through my library catalog. When I found the song I wanted, I used the center button to indicate my choice.
The CR100 controller talks to the nearest ZonePlayer, and from there it can access all the music sources and players on the network. My PC's display changed according to the selections I made on the controller, but with it in my hand, I was free to operate the Sonos system anywhere in my house. Awesome!
The controller software is very impressive and well thought out. For instance, I could remotely adjust the volume, bass, treble, and balance for the individual ZonePlayers. The displays even show album artwork when it's available. Sweet.
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PERFORMANCE I streamed a variety of files from my computer through the ZonePlayers. The sound quality depended on the bit rates of the files. For example, in Mark Knopfler's fine album of ballads, Shangri-La, slight inflections in the vocals add humor or sadness to almost every line. Encoded at 192 kilobits per second (kbps) or higher, the vocals stayed clean, with all of the nuances clearly audible. At rates of 128 kbps or less, nuances got lost in the mush.
Sound quality was very good when I connected the analog outputs of a DVD player to the ZonePlayer and played CDs, using the Sonos module essentially as a power amplifier (the fancy software can't control an external analog source). It proved to be very peppy, able to drive a pair of speakers reasonably loud (and clean).
BOTTOM LINE In the old days, a typical music collection consisted of hundreds of round plastic platters stored in individual paper sleeves housed on shelves or in milk crates. Today a collection can reside on a hard disk where every song is quickly accessible. And this kind of music library doesn't need a disc player — just the software and the network connections to let you play your music wherever and whenever you want it.
Sonos lets you do just that. It's a serious music system that supports high-fidelity sound when used with good speakers and high-bit-rate files. I was thoroughly impressed with its performance and usability. This is a terrific example of how far music can go once it's digitized.