Sonos BU130 Digital Music System Bundle

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Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 18 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B000QU8J8E
• Item model number: BU130
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #26,050 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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  Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Multiroom Digital Music Systems

• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 9, 2008

Product Description

From the Manufacturer
If you're looking for a simple, powerful, and stylish way to play your favorite music all over the house, look no further than the Sonos BU130 digital music system bundle, which includes everything you need to set up the audio system of your dreams. The system gets you started with two Sonos ZonePlayer units (one ZP100 and one ZP80) and a Sonos controller, enough equipment to cover two rooms with full digital music access. When you're ready to expand your wireless, multi-room digital music system, simply add more ZonePlayers and controllers as needed.

With speaker outputs, analog RCA inputs and outputs, and a subwoofer out, the included ZP100 makes all the right connections. View larger.

With optical and coax digital outputs as well as analog RCA inputs and outputs, the included ZP80 is just as versatile. View larger.

The bundle also includes the powerful Sonos controller (view larger). Use it to control all of your digital music, as well as your settings.

Put a ZP100 on your nightstand... View larger.

...and a ZP80 in your home office. View larger.

And don't forget the workshop! View larger.

The bundle ships with Sonos Desktop Software, which makes system setup a snap, while also giving you complete control of your music system. View larger.

The ZonePlayer 80

With the ZP80 you can wirelessly stream the music you have stored on your PC or Mac to your home audio equipment -- your home theater receiver, stereo system, powered speakers, and more. Just connect a ZP80 to any amplified audio device in any room, and that device is instantly and seamlessly part of your wireless music system. You can even play the same song in different rooms or different songs in different rooms.

With up to 32 ZP80s set up in your home, you can use the full-color Sonos Controller to wirelessly control all those devices from the palm of your hand. Sonos liberates the digital music that's stored on your PC, Mac or network attached storage (NAS) box and wirelessly streams it to any ZonePlayer in any room. You can access music stored on up to 16 devices on your home network, plus Internet radio, subscriptions to online audio services like Rhapsody and Audible.com, and even music coming from an external audio source, like your favorite CD player.

You can also use a ZP80 to retrofit a conventional multi-room audio system with home-run speakers or as a wireless extender to increase the wireless range of your Sonos system. No matter where or how you use the amazingly compact ZP80, the digital and analog outputs will deliver superior sound to every room. And because it's designed to minimize noise and distortion, the music you hear will sound virtually identical to the original.

The ZP80 features optical and coax digital outputs for superior audio quality, so it's ready to connect to your high-end home theater or stereo system. There's even an analog audio input for connecting a CD or MP3 player directly to the ZP80, and you can listen to that music on all the other ZonePlayers in your house.

The ZonePlayer 100

The ZP100 brings great-sounding music to any and every room in your house, regardless of where your music collection is stored. That's because the ZP100, with its built-in amplifier, communicates wirelessly with your PC or Mac and sends the music directly to any connected pair of speakers. You can even play the same song in different rooms or different songs in different rooms.

With 50 watts per channel of power and a guaranteed total harmonic distortion of less than 0.02 percent, you can count on superior audio quality playback--without hisses, crackles, or hums. The first ZP100 connects to your broadband router, but you have total freedom with each additional ZonePlayer. You can put one in the basement, garage, kitchen, and anywhere else, as long as you also connect a pair of speakers. You can even connect the ZP100 to your favorite CD or MP3 player and listen to that music on all the other ZonePlayers in your house. Connectivity is easy, as the ZP100 features spring binding post speaker terminals, RCA-type line-in and line-out jacks, and a subwoofer out jack.

Simply put, the ZP100 is ready for any setup you have, large or small. You can even match the ZP100 with a pair of Sonos' very own SP100 loudspeakers, which are aesthetically and acoustically designed to complement your Sonos digital music system.

Sonos in Depth

The Zoneplayers are just one part of a complete Sonos digital music system. To make your system complete, you'll need access the Sonos controller (included in the bundle). The wireless Sonos controller gives you instant control over your entire digital music collection, along with Internet radio, subscriptions to online audio services, and even music from your favorite CD or MP3 player. You can turn off the upstairs music while you're downstairs. You can change the song in the kitchen from the den. Plus, the controller's full-color 3.5-inch screen lets you see album art, browse playlists, get detailed track info, and more. To start listening, just pick a room, pick a song, and hit play. The controller even lets you queue the right tunes for the right moment; you can build, edit, and save playlists right from the palm of your hand.

The system supports up to 32 Sonos ZonePlayers throughout your home--from the bedroom to the backyard. Expansion options include additional ZP100s, or you can choose additional ZP80s, which don't have a built-in amplifier but instead connect directly to your home theater or stereo systems. You can also add more Sonos controllers to give more people access to your music library.

Sonos Setup and Software

You don't need to be a professional installer to set up a Sonos system, or a technical wizard to use it. Sonos was designed to work right out of the box. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection and a router to get started. Then, unpack your components, lay them out in your home, and the result will be music to your ears.

Sonos offers desktop software for PCs and Macs that's as simple to use as the Sonos controller. Designed with a user interface that accommodates a larger screen, the Sonos Desktop Controller software guides you through both setup and music sharing. It offers the exact same functionality as the Sonos controller, but instead of being in the palm of your hand, it's all on your desktop. You can also use it to set up music folders on your hard drive or to add and edit Internet radio stations.

Free Napster 30-day Trial

If Napster rocks your world, get ready for it to rock your entire house. With the Sonos Digital Music System you can find every song you love from Napster’s massive music catalog and then play it in every room. Discover new releases in the living room, hear 50 years of hits from the Billboard Charts in the bedroom or both. Sonos connects directly to Napster over the Internet so you don’t have to turn on your PC to turn on the music. With just a broadband connection, you can instantly access and enjoy over 5 million songs. Use search to find your favorite songs or browse to your heart’s content. Now pick a room, pick a song and hit play! And while you’re listening, check out the full-color screen with album art and track information.

Free Sirius 30-day Trial

SIRIUS radio fans can now tune in to over 80 premium channels all over the house—without wires, antennas or even a PC. That’s because the Sonos Digital Music System works seamlessly with SIRIUS Internet Radio, giving radio fans instant, wireless access to Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, 100% commercial-free music, and more—from the bedroom to the backyard. Plus, Sonos comes with a free 30-day SIRIUS Internet Radio trial so you can start listening the moment you take it out of the box. Just grab the Sonos Controller and pick a room, pick a channel and hit play.

Free Pandora 30-day Trial Just pick up the Sonos Controller, enter the name of your favorite artist or song, and Pandora will create a custom station in seconds. Pandora uses the intelligence of the Music Genome Project® to select songs that share similar musical qualities with the artist or song you selected, exposing you to new music and reminding you of old favorites. You can even rate the music you hear and Pandora will instantly refine your station’s playlist. Hear a song you can’t live without? Just bookmark it on your Controller and download it later.

Free Rhapsody 30-day Trial

The minute you took your new Sonos system out of the box, your free 30-day Rhapsody Trial was ready to go. Now, it’s your turn to start listening to all those songs, all over your house.

Simply pick up your Sonos Controller, hit the music button and you’ll see the Rhapsody Trial. Now select the Rhapsody Music Guide and browse for your favorite artists, albums, genres, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular, April 9, 2008

By	esanta "esanta" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is the absolute best digital jukebox out there, period. As an added bonus, it's flexible, scalable, multizone, wireless... and systems costing twenty times as much do not even come close the ease of use: Sonos currently has the highest Wife Acceptance Factor of any techno-gadget out there, only equaled by TiVo.

Although some amount of technical savvy is required for the initial setup, anybody can pick up the beautiful remote and immediately figure out how to use it (it's a bit like an iPod).

This bundle contains the wireless controller and its charger (but no charging cradle, more on this later), a ZP80 and a ZP100. The main difference between the two zone players is the ZP100 has a built-in amplifier so you can hook up speakers directly to it, whereas the ZP80 doesn't but it offers digital output (coax and optical) which the ZP100 lacks. Both zone players feature an analog input (you could use it for a TV or a satellite radio receiver, for instance) as well as analog line output. It's the perfect starter kit for a two-zone system; you can always add more controllers and zone players later as needed, and seamlessly integrate them into your system.

Sonos has been relentlessly adding features since its initial release: Rhapsody, Pandora, Napster, Sirius Satellite Radio (no antenna needed, you get the feed over the internet). Reliability has been exemplary.

The price may seem a little steep for a music system, but the nearest competitor (Logitech Squeezebox Duet Network Music System) is nowhere near as fully featured (no amplifier, no audio input, no Sirius) and doesn't cost much less for a two zone system. It also seems to be a lot more complicated to setup and use, but I must admit not having any first-hand experience with it.

The only blemish on the Sonos is that they sell the charging cradle separately for a ridiculous amount of money (it's just a dumb piece of plastic) when it's an indispensable part of the system. Considering the fairly high price of the system, I fail to see the rationale behind excluding it from the bundle... It must be the brainchild of some marketing moron. Other than this minor but irritating point... This is just the most enjoyable, reliable, easiest to use system out there.

This NAS box is a perfect complement to your Sonos system and will host the music files so you can turn off your computer and keep the music going: D-Link DNS-323 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure

The infamous cradle (don't forget to order it): Sonos CC100 Charging Cradle for Sonos CR100 Controller

Edit: the Logitech Squeezebox Duet now supports Sirius.

[Edit August 2008] Sonos released new ZonePlayers, ZP90 and ZP120, part of the new BU150 bundle which replaces the BU130. Don't buy the now obsolete BU130 bundle unless you can get it at a significant discount over the BU150.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Man you gotta get one of these!, July 12, 2007

By	Mike J. Hoare "Picky-bstard" (Alps, France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fantastic product. Pipe music wirelessly to every room in your house and when you're finished setting that up, send the tunes out to the garage and to the hot tub. I have 6 amps and plan on adding three more, so as you can see I'm hardly objective about the system. And why? Because it just works, and works perfectly. I have access to my entire hard-disked music library via the color remote and when I'm in the mood can stream music via internet radio or via Rhapsody etc. Let me cut this short by saying if you have the cash, this is the way to go. Easy set up, flawless operation. Couldn't ask for more.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great product, July 1, 2007

By	Douglas R. Wieringa "dwieringa" (Normandy Park, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've had Sonos for two years, and have added two zones to my original two. I'll simply say that I haven't bought a piece of consumer electronics in the last 10 years that has given more enjoyment and caused less frustration than Sonos. If you're serious about multi-room audio this is the way to go.