35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
Genius...Pure Genius!
Just got the S5 about an hour ago. Setup couldn't be easier. Step 1 - connect the power cord to an power outlet. Step 2 - hit the Mute and + button to get the S5 added as a new zone, Step 3 - hmmm....I don't think there is one. Just hit play and enjoy pure bliss.
This is my 4th Zone player (see my other gushing review of the Sonos system on the Sonos bundle...
21 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
A "complete wireless music system" (exact wording on the Amazon website) that's not wireless...
...or at least not wireless without the purchase of a separate zone bridge. That makes it a "complete music system", or makes it a "wireless enabled music system", but not a "complete wireless music system".
After getting past my disappointment with the misleading sales literature, it's actually a pretty cool product. Setup couldn't be easier (I have a...
This review is from: Sonos S5 All-In-One Wireless Music System (White) (Electronics)
Just got the S5 about an hour ago. Setup couldn't be easier. Step 1 - connect the power cord to an power outlet. Step 2 - hit the Mute and + button to get the S5 added as a new zone, Step 3 - hmmm....I don't think there is one. Just hit play and enjoy pure bliss.
This is my 4th Zone player (see my other gushing review of the Sonos system on the Sonos bundle page), and anytime my wife asks, "how many of these white boxes you really need?", the answer is always "one more".
Portability is the key feature of S5. Moving it from Kitchen to backdeck is just a matter of unplugging the power cord and replugging at the new location. It's all in one box. And the sound quality is not bad either. With all 4 zone players on party mode - some connected to very expensive Klipsch towers - I have ran around to compare the sound quality at various locations. The verdict - this little guy stacks up nicely against the big boys.
And the iPhone controller is not too shabby either. Don't see the need to buy the new touch controller (CR200).
Awesome product. Pure genius. Just get it.
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This review is from: Sonos S5 All-In-One Wireless Music System (White) (Electronics)
I just purchased the s5 with a zone bridge and the CR200. The combination is absolutely amazing. Installation was easy and operation is intuitive. There is plenty out there on how these things work, so I won't go into details on that. But I do have two observations to share:
1) In addition to the s5, I also picked up a NAS drive so that I could stream my 5000+ track mp3 library. After all, streaming my collection with a touch screen remote was one of the main reason I looked at Sonos in the first place. But, after setting Sonos up I decided to give Napster a try. The Napster/Sonos combination gives you access to 8 million tracks on demand. For example, Napster has over 60 Bob Dylan albums, which is pretty much his whole discography. If you want to sample the latest (obscure) music, Napster also has most of the albums Pitchfork reviewed this week--pretty neat.
So, despite my deep investment in my personal mp3 collection, it only took me a couple of minutes to realize that it was completely obsolete. Deciding between $5/month for a 8 million track library vs. a $200 NAS for my 5000 track library was a no-brainier. The NAS got packed up and sent back; my mp3s are now strictly for iPod use.
2) As an NPR fan, the other great feature I didn't realize Sonos included is the ability to search and play archived NPR shows. From the Splendid Table to Fresh Air, it is all there on demand--awesome.
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This review is from: Sonos S5 All-In-One Wireless Music System (White) (Electronics)
SONOS IN GENERAL
I purchased 6 Sonos zones several months ago. Sonos has been flawless, and an absolute joy. I've got instant, automatically-updated, access to all of my iTunes Tracks, Artists, Playlists etc. They've got the best implementation of Pandora and Rhapsody I've seen. I subscribe to both of those, and it's such a pleasure to hear them throughout the house and Patio, controlled by my iPhone, and with full broadband quality sound. You can actually have a queue with a mix of iTunes tracks and Rhapsody tracks.
The ease and flexibility are equally impressive. Each zone can play any independent track or other music choice, or be instantly grouped (synchronized) with any number of other zones. Even when zones are synchronized, it's a snap to control the volume of the entire group or any individual zone within the group. Any or all of those zones can be fully and beautifully controlled (from wherever you are) by a single iphone or ipod touch or by any number of iphones or ipods.
It's all flawless with an intuitive consistent interface, and my iPhone, with its Sonos controller app, is always right there in my pocket, ready to go.
Setup for all of the Sonos zones has been a snap, and the system has been a total joy from day one.
SONOS S5
Sounds every bit as good as (or better than) my Bose Sound Dock. Looks great. Sets up in seconds, and moves easily between rooms when needed. Can be really cranked up in volume without distortion. Perfect.
One requirement to be aware of is that you'll either need to buy a $99 zonebridge OR connect this S5, OR any other zoneplayer in your home, directly to your router or LAN with the included ethernet cable. Only one sonos device needs to be hardwired to the LAN.
If you already have an iphone or an ipod touch, there are several advantages in buying a single S5 rather than a Bose SoundDock or other docking speaker.
1) Control From Your Seat: It's an absolute pleasure to have complete control over what you're listening to right where you are, keeping the ipod or iphone in your hand or pocket. You don't have to stand up to choose any specific track, playlist, artist or radio station, or to see what's playing etc. And because your iphone is only the controller (you're streaming from your desktop computer hard disk, rather than from your iphone) you're not using up valuable iphone battery life or suffering mediocre sound quality, as you would likely be from an iphone/ipod based bluetooth streaming system. Further, your iPhone is still with you for answering phone calls, or using other iphone apps, with no disruption to the music system.
2) Internet Radio: Listen to Pandora, Rhapsody, Sirius, last.fm, all of your local radio stations (local radio is quick to find, given it's independent menu item. A very nice touch.), or thousands of other internet radio stations.
3) Upgradability: Add another (or multiple additional) zone(s) at any time in the future and you're set with a multi zone system.
(I should point out that there are, of course, some benefits in going with a single Docking Speaker instead:
1) Cost Savings:
2) Can be used just as easily away from the home.)
Final Verdict: I really do love my S5 and my entire Sonos system.
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This review is from: Sonos S5 All-In-One Wireless Music System (White) (Electronics)
I have debated buying the Sonos system for several months mostly due to price and also in part wondering if it could truly live up to the claims and reviews. I am fairly technical and am usually an early adopter, although have at times, been disappointed with other purchases not working quite as well as advertised. I am thrilled with all aspects of my Sonos purchase and cannot believe how easy it was to set up and the sound quality. I received it about an hour ago, and in minutes, had the Zone Bridge connected to my router (since the router is kept hidden in a closet out of sight) and then the S5 ZonePlayer set up in my living room. I can now stream my iTunes Library from a Time Capsule (NAS) and listen to streaming music from Pandora, Last.fm, Sirius and more. Plus, as a transplanted Minnesotan in New York, I can save my favorite local stations from MN and listen to them here as if I were at home. The music is flawless, crystal clear and I would never know it is from the internet- no stutters, gaps or delay. This is one product that has surpassed my expectations completely. The only downside I can see will be now wanting to buy another S5 for my bedroom.
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This review is from: Sonos S5 All-In-One Wireless Music System (White) (Electronics)
I just received wireless controller and S5 today. Not paying attention to dimension specs I was little surprised by smaller then expected size. However in some cases size does not matter and this is the one that it is true. Sound quality is very good for portable device that can be easily moved to your deck or other room. Moving S5 is as simple as removing power cord and reconnecting it in new location. Setup of Pandora, last.fm and mp3 library was very intuitive (for initial setup use your computer, which makes this much easier). I use iphone with Sonos app that again is very easy to use and has all needed options to control the system. The good news is that you control Sonos with many devices including computer, iphone, etc. When I was buying it I was not sure if that is the case. With service like Pandora, last.fm you basically can stop buying music and discover new artists that you did not know. Another compatible great service is radiotime that works like a charm. Since it is not possible to see device locally I was little skeptic that it may not deliver what it promises and price doesn't belong to lowest. To my surprise I am very happy with it and will definitely keep it. I will probably get one or two more of these in near future (if you are planning one, be warned that you will want more).
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This review is from: Sonos S5 All-In-One Wireless Music System (White) (Electronics)
We bought the S5 after reading some of the breathless reviews. The concept of high quality, easily mobile wireless audio technology has always been appealing, but it didn't ever quite seem ripe. Well, it is now.
Setting up the S5 (if you don't have other Sonos equipment already, you're going to need the $99 Sound Bridge unless you only want to connect the S5 to your wired router . . . but why would you do that???) is about as easy as it gets. You tell it where your music is it indexes it, and it's all there, anywhere in your house, any time you want. The integration with Pandora, last.fm, and other internet radio is exceptional -- you would almost think they were proprietary services of Sonos, it's so well done.
You do not need to be a computer geek or a technician to install or appreciate this device. I am the geek in our house; my wife could care less about technology. About the best recommendation I can make in this regard is this: my wife does not have the technical interest or desire to even attempt to use Pandora and last.fm in their traditional, computer-based formats. She was setting up stations and using all of them flawlessly and joyfully within hours of the S5 arriving at our home.
If you have an iPhone and have any interest in this product, you won't be sorry.
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This review is from: Sonos S5 All-In-One Wireless Music System (White) (Electronics)
From all the previous reviews I expected the installation to be super-smooth, and everything did work right away, EXCEPT for streaming music from my iMac to the Zoneplayer: the radio streaming and the music services (Pandora/Rhapsody) were streaming flawlessly to the Zoneplayer (via the Zonebridge) because the Zonebridge talks directly to the internet. However streaming music from my iMac to the Zoneplayer was a different matter: whenever I was trying to setup music library in the Sonos desktop software, I kept getting strange errors like "could not connect to <ComputerName>", or "<ComputerName> not found". Then I talked to a Sonos technical rep, and he pointed out that I was having problems because my iMac is on WiFi (i.e. not directly connected to the internet via an ethernet cable). When I changed my setup so that my iMac was connected directly to the internet via an ethernet cable, I was immediately able to setup my music library for streaming. Somehow, somewhere it should have been clearly stated that the computer that hosts your music library MUST BE ON A WIRED connection to the internet, NOT WIFI. Other than this, I have no complaints whatsoever: it has quickly become one of the most-used gadget in my NYC apartment. Most FM reception here is crap, so it's great to have access to all sorts of internet streaming radio stations, plus you get Pandora and Rhapsody. The sound is definitely great for my living room and bed room. And best of all, of course, I can control this from my iPhone. We listen to a ton more music (and more often) just because we have the Zoneplayer. My wife was initially dismissive that I bought "yet another gadget", but when she realized all the things you could do so easily with it, she was quickly converted.
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This review is from: Sonos S5 All-In-One Wireless Music System (White) (Electronics)
I say "Amen Brother" to the preceeding reviews. I would like to add my two cents worth. One of the great features that was not mentioned is the "Line In" capability. This feature allows one to connect an external source of analog voice or music to the "Line In" and that audio to can be streamed to any or all combinations of zone players. I am a ham radio operator and have replaced my computer sound system with the Sonos. I can sit in front of my radios and listen to the hams chatting and pipe the audio all over the house while I am doing my chores...or if I decide, I can just lull around anywhere and listen to music...it's wonderful! Another point I might bring up is the wireless adapter does have a limited range and has to be connected directly to the router. One can get around this obstacle by using a Linksys PLE200 (or similar manufacturer) A/C interface and use the house A/C wiring to carry the digitial information directly from the router. Using this device, I could center my sonos wireless adapter in the house for best coverage. Also, if a player is still out of range, one can plug in another A/C adapter and plug the Sonos directly into the A/C adapter via an Ethernet cable as the S5 zone player can function equally well connected to the router system or operating wirelessly.
Also, one more tip: When you set up the wireless zone players, set them up close to your computer so you don't have to run all over the house pushing the two buttons to put them on line; put them on line near your computer. Unplug them, put them in their place and they will come up automatically as they were programmed originally.
Yes, it is pricey, but it's a keeper!!!
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This review is from: Sonos S5 All-In-One Wireless Music System (White) (Electronics)
Others have said it already: Easy set up, superior sound quality, an astonishly simple whole-house music solution. The only disadvantage of this product is that you will immediately find yourself wanting more of them.
But you know what would be __really__ cool? If you could buy two of these, pair them and put them in the same room so as to work stereophonically. Sonos, are you listening?
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This review is from: Sonos S5 All-In-One Wireless Music System (White) (Electronics)
After literally months of reviewing many other options for integrating a wireless home audio system into our house, I finally decided to buy the Sonos S5 Music Player and a ZoneBridge. As many other reviewers have already pointed out, this system is incredible! I have an electrical engineering degree and provide IT services for a few small businesses and have been researching numerous other options for home audio systems. While there are great other alternatives out there, each one had a few negative drawbacks - the majority of which revolved around ease of use and also ability to play audio from different audio sources (iTunes, music on a NAS, Rhapsody, Pandora, Napster, etc).
Sonos is simple to setup, a breeze to use, and instant music nirvana. Within minutes, I had the ZoneBridge set up and my Napster trial blasting tunes on my Sonos S5 Music Player. My wife and I spent hours changing tunes from our iPhones and she absolutely loves how easy Sonos is to use and how powerful the sound from such a small, single music unit. We completely forgot about our iTunes library with the over 8 million tracks available on Napster but really enjoyed how we could make playlists that mixed our Napster and iTunes tracks. Within 24 hours, I bought a second Sonos S5 Music Player and will definitely be adding more around the home. Some may argue that Sonos is expensive, but I would argue that you are actually getting what you pay for - a simple, powerful, wireless music system that no other product on the market can really compare. My advice, save up and dive in to Sonos - if you enjoy music, you will not be disappointed!
jxibalba
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