Sonos: The Audiophile's Dream

By David Chaitt

Last year, I bought my now wife/then girlfriend a Sonos speaker system for her birthday. For those who are fans of The Simpsons, my motivation was partially similar to the episode when Homer bought the “Homer” bowling ball for Marge. Needless to say, the one thing she wanted it to do (play audio from movies on her computer into the speakers), was not possible at the time so I returned it wondering when I would truly be able to test out the next wave of connected speakers.

Flash forward a year when I attended a Hype Machine event that was hosted in conjunction with Sonos and was given two speakers and a bridge, which connects the speakers to a WiFi signal. Setting it up, I realized that it’s not a plug-in-and-play type of speaker. You have to download the mobile or desktop app, connect the bridge to the router, plug in the speakers, and follow the app’s instructions for a simple installation.

The more effort you put in from the start, the smarter and easier the system can be, whether you place the speakers in separate rooms to play different music simultaneously, find your favorite radio stations to broadcast, or sync your various music accounts including Spotify, Hype Machine, or Pandora.

With my Sonos set up, I can easily shift between passive (radio or randomized music) or active (specific artist, album or playlist I’ve created) listening, which is very powerful. Plus there’s the bonus of being able to do this from my ease of my phone or computer.

The design aesthetic of the speakers is modern yet vintage, like something that could fit in THX 1138 or a fancy, expensive new gadget Don Draper might buy on Mad Men–it fits their brand and personality well.

All-in-all, Sonos is for the music junkies, people who can’t live without music or those who know the power music has in bringing people together. Sonos is for those who engage in living room conversations with friends, queuing up a track by an obscure producer on Sonos via the Hype Machine application.

Nothing could replace Sonos’ immediacy and ease of use. If you have $200 to spare on a speaker and a bridge, you’ll find yourself ditching the ones you thought were good during freshman year of college.

David is a music and food obsessive. He works Live Nation by day, but produces Backyard Brunch Sessions for fun and is a board member here at SoundCtrl.