Customer Reviews

Sonos CR200 Wireless control of your Sonos Multi-Room Music System

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Been using my CR200 for about 3 weeks and it has been a joy.

Compared to the original CR100 (which itself seemed fabulous when first received) the CR200 is from a different planet. It's much smaller, lighter, and the screen is bigger and brighter. I am not sure I would pay to upgrade for those benefits alone however.

The real advance is in the search functionality. Gone is the ipod style scroll-wheel with the tedious onscreen keyboard and in is a full touch sensitive on screen keyboard. Once you get used to it (it takes a little practice) the difference is night and day. If you have a large music collection, or especially if you use Napster or Rhapsody, searching using the CR200 is a joyous experience. Not only is the input vastly quicker now that you can type, but the search itself is predictive such that when you type "depe", for example, Depeche Mode will already be on screen vying for your attention with DePedro. The combination of vastly faster typing combined with the improved search makes the search experience on the old CR100 feel like wading through cement in comparison.

Rhapsody plus the CR200 really is a wondrous thing, it really makes searching for music a joyful experience. I frequently have to stop myself squealing with delight.

So, if the CR200 vs. CR100 = a no brainer, how about vs. an iPod touch or iPhone? My experience using the Ipod application is limited to about 5 minutes. My reasons for preferring the CR200 were twofold: 1. I really value the speed of the search experience - having to wake up my iPod, load the app etc was a trifle unappealing. Furthermore, I have a big house with lots of sonos players in far flung corners (like the basement) and I really wanted my remote to work on the Sonos Mesh as opposed to wifi (which the iPod uses). These are perhaps not big reasons, and if you already have a suitable touch or iPhone it may well not be worth the upgrade. As irrational as it may be though, I just wanted a device built from the ground up for Sonos rather than an apple product I could dumb down to do (almost) as good a job.

As the owner of 4 S5's and 3 zoneplayers and a zonebridge I am very familar with Sonos products and the system itself. If you are new to Sonos and are looking to get into the system then the Sonos bundle is the way to go because you save money and it comes with a CR200 which is a very capable remote for the Sonos system. But if you are looking to buy some S5's or you somehow pieced your Sonos system together like myself then buying the CR200 stand alone is just not a good value for the dollar. You could spend 229 dollars on a 8gb Ipod touch and have all the functionality of the CR200 and then some. And what is confusing is the application for the Ipad is actually the best remote for the system hands down. If you are going to spend 350 dollars for the CR200 you actually come out better if you just spend a hundred dollars more and get an Ipad. Now here is why I think the Ipod is a better controller. Not only will it do everything the CR200 will do it is also an Ipod which means it does so many other things for you. Example. I have my Sonos and I pay the yearly subscription to Napster. I download the Napster app on my Ipod touch and I can save albums off line. So now I go to a party at the beach or the park and I bring my S5 and my Ipod touch. I basically have access to my Music through my Napster app and my remote on the same device. And I saved over a hundred dollars. Unless Sonos comes up with some functionality that only the remote has that would be strong enough to justify the extra 130 dollars it just doesnt make sense to by the CR200 as a stand alone product. And if you already have a Ipod touch or an Iphone you just saved 350 dollars. And right now you can go on Apple.com and get a refurished old generation Ipod touch for 149.00 dollars. Something to think about.

I bought the Sonos and it works great and is extremely easy to set up. The controller is not needed though, if you have an iTouch, iPhone or iPad. The app is free. Save yourself the $350 and put it towards an iPad. I LOVE my Sonos system though. I have music all through my house now and it is so cool and easy to use.

Simple to set up and use. Got it for my wife who doesn't take to new tech easily. Learned to use and love it on the first day. Uses it all the time. Well-designed and manufactured product. ...just hope it doesn't get dropped.

With the complicated whole house music systems available today, the Sonos Digital Music System is by far the best and easiest to use. With in minutes of putting it in my hands, I was able to access all of my computer music, listen to Pandora and then connect to internet radio - absolutely amazing!

I wrote more information about the SONOS System Here: [...]

There's not a better system than the Sonos. I bought into the Sonos system about 3 years ago. I can't say enough good things about it. I've effortlessly added several new zones. With all that said, I upgraded to the new CR200 controller in December 2009. The new touch screen controller is an excellent improvement over the original controller; however I have had multiple problems with the controller and am now waiting for my 3rd replacement. The good news is that Sonos replaced the units at no charge and hopefully my next unit will work well. The mechanics are excellent and I would give it five stars if it wasn't for the defective units.

We've been Sonos users since 2007 and have two of the original remotes. We bought one of the new remotes and it's a big improvement. Touchscreen navigation with an iPhone-like scroll you control with a flip of your finger. Search functionality is a million times better. The only thing I'd add to a Sonos wishlist is the ability for a user to make a custom screen that pushes all of our favorites into one category, so things like our local NPR station are just one click away instead of three or four. But this is splitting hairs. We love our Sonos and use the system constantly, from streaming radio to playing entire albums via Rhapsody, or even podcasts downloaded via iTunes. It rocks.

The Sonos system works perfectly, as expected, right out of the box. I've been trying for a long time to manage a digital music collection accross multiple computers/devices, and this solves all the problems. In fact, when combined with a Rhapsody and or Pandora account, this system will change the way you purchase music. No need to buy, when you can simply "rent", with access to all forms of music, new and old, punk to classical, even foreign language.

The ease of setting up a perfectly synced, multiroom system that performs as advertised is worth the premium price. And the CR200 controller is a must to do some of the complicated searches, read reviews etc... and does so with a beautiful color display and touch screen interface. You can also use an old iphone with a free download app. The push button interface is easy to use, such that this is my daughters new favorite toy..searching for singing cat christmas records and other fun music online. Think of a kid show theme song or album...and you've got it in seconds playing throughout the house (or maybe just to the kids' rooms!)

Can't recommend enough, including the S5 stand alone unit which is perfect accoustic quality system for bedrooms, bathrooms, office,etc, with no wires or clutter. You will not be dissappointed...

Sonos is the best thing to happen to home audio since the speaker. That said, seems silly to buy this remote for that price. The Ipod/Ipad software is so spectacular AND you can multitask with those devices (the ipad software is particular spectacular). Sonos themselves seems to be promoting the use of the Ipod software when they display the S5 units, I expect to see this fazed out.

Despite the very high price for this product (one could buy a netbook instead and load the Sonos desktop controller on it for the same price or less), the quality of the touchscreen is such that it failed after six months. Enquiry on the sonos forums indicates that this is a widespread problem with people having to return their unit two or three times.

I would not recommend purchasing this new controller from Sonos.