What is Digg?48 Comments
- aureliusm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5What is new about it?
PCWorld article from more than a year ago:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,119792,00.asp
Pure spam! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4If that's the rich man's answer to wireless audio, here's the 'poor' man's:
- http://www.apple.com/airportexpress (Mac & PC)
Plus..
- http://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/ (Mac OSX only) - robhalifax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I second the airportexpress vote. Much more flexible then sonos and if want you add a pocketpc remote to control itunes like the sonus remote.
- Gnascher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I have to give another vote for squeezebox. I've been using the slimserver and softsqueeze for a while now ... I'm probably going to buy the real "squeezebox" in another month or so.
Slimserver is free and open source with many plugins available, and softsqueeze is a java based emulator for the squeezebox that will run on any PC ... works real nice...
Great hardware/software combo. - oddball, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3is this just an advert for Sonos? smells like spam to me.
- beelz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4sounds expensive
- Otto-Mate, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5It's a great system - here's our long term review after living with it for a few months...
http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/article1620.html - gerkin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Have a couple of airport express units and I get everything I need from them for much less $$. They also work as wireless print servers, a full WDS network in my house and work as network bridges. Pretty hard to beat for the $$ I would say -- I dare say at this point in the game you can't beat them $$ vs. feature wise.
- tarkam, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I have heard many people putting down the sonos because of its price. But let me tell you depending on what you wanted to buy it is not all that expensive. For example I bought mine a couple of months ago, when my 1970s aiwa amplifier died and I was left with no "home stereo" (except for the speakers).
After looking for a couple of sound solutions I found the sonos.
1. Defenetly Geek+Cool
2. (amazon) Ipod 60G $379 + Bose $299 = $679 and in my case if I wasn´t home my house was left with no stereo system (because I had the ipod with me).
3. Sonos Controller $399 + ZP100 Player $499 = $898 . You really can live with only one zone player depending on the size of your house.
4. Sure its still a +$200 difference, but trust me no other hardware product I´ve seen gives you the simplicity and ease of use the sonos gives you.
I know it is not for everyone but let me tell you that if you like cool-geeky-tech products its really the way to go.
I know Slim Devices gets the job done, but if you are like me that want to hear a specific song, just when you want it then this device is for you. It has DJ like capabilities, depending on the mood of the crowd (gusts) you can queue a specific song so that it plays next.
Hope this helps. (not affiliated to sonos in any way!) - gilbogaggins, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"They don't offer an option for people wanting to use existing amplifiers" - Check out the brand new Sonos Z80 system
- scotus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2weak article, no digg.
if you are looking for a nice device to stream music around the house wirelessly i highly recommend the squeezebox. maybe not as fancy as the sonos but cheaper and very hackable. - vypergts, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Agreed this is quite old for anyone who stays current with new gadgets or home audio/video products. This isn't even a link to the Sonos website it's just a TechCrunch review.
Frankly, a website calling itself "TechCrunch" should be a little more timely with its product reviews and hence diggs of said reviews. Granted this is "new" to people who haven't seen it before blah, blah, blah, ok thumb me down... - energyblue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I saw this a Mac Expo.
LAST YEAR. - MattH, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The Dlink DSM-520 does Music and HD Video and supports M$ DRM for all those online rental services that The MPAA keeps promising this year .
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=438&sec=0 - nene7070, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1the system in the picture (basic) is 999.99, roughly, from what I can tell.
- rich8899, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you have Tivo, the same can be accomplished to those boxes for free (with Home Media Option). Add squeezebox and you have a system I've had for almost 2 years.
- tlimon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ditto here, I have 3 squeezeboxen for less than the price of 1 of those Sonos thingys. Mine are all synchronized and can now play from Pandora for my own personalized stations.
- kennethp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you really want to get a great audiophile product like the one described, get a Squeezebox by Slime Devices (www.slimdevices.com). There is no comparison.
- RunLevelZero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No, it's not. If you want the music through your entire house, in sync, keyword is sync then this is one of the best solutions but for me, I simply bought a wireless FM transmitter, not of the iPod kind and transmit it through my house and my entire yard for that matter.
- 3DPeruna, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've had squeezebox since January and LOVE it. The wife & kids can use it with ease. Great hardware. It's not as "schnazzy" as the Sonos from a interface point-of-view, but it's easy to use and navigate.
- onelove, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1get a squeezbox
- lydon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sweet writeup dude.. .nice. I want one now.
- brianben1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That was one of the main reasons I modded my old xbox years ago. I can stream anything I want to my TV and surround system and it only cost $200 to do. And on top of that it plays GAMES!
- RunLevelZero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I can't believe this is the first time this has shown up on Digg... WOW!
- EnderW, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2old news
- UMRK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have had a sonos system for over a year and a lot of the comments above show a lack of understanding of the product and it's intended audience. Features aside, Sonos' goal was to make the end user experience bulletproof, which they have done (easy setup, excellent tech support in my experience). Setting up a system takes literally 20 minutes and my "I just want it to work and I don't want to know/understand any details" wife can set it up and operate it with no training. Sure "tweakers" might find the system a little limiting, but that was the goal: sophisticated multizone digital audio system with a polished industrial design for a technical and non-technical audience. The system is also network architecture agnostic. No "frankensystems" here.
On cost, as mentioned in several comments, you have to consider what you get: multizone, amps, wireless ap, wireless controller etc. Traditional multizone systems like this might be 20-30k, so cost, while it appears expensive is quite comperable to what you might pay if you bought separate pieces of quality stereo/networking equipment.
There is a lot of comparison to the squeezebox and from what I have seen (with hands on experience with a friend who is a slim user) a collection squeezeboxes coupled with slimserver can provide much of the same capability as sonos with two glaring exceptions:
1. No integrated squeezebox and amplifier
2. No wireless controller
Both of these can be overcome with other devices. For example you could get a nokia 770 or a UMPC type device to operate slimserver, but then you just added a boatload of cost (especially with a ~$1200 UMPC). Also, sure you could use existing auido amps that you currently own, but they don't integrate well. i.e. you end up with multiple remote controls to do different things. Both of these have a very low spousal acceptance factor. If Slimdevices made a squeezebox with integrated amp (basically a knockoff of the ZP100), I think the difference between the two would be almost negliable. What you would trade off is "hackability/configurability" (slim, very open) with a very polished end user experience and integrated wireless controller (sonos, features are dependent on the company). What it comes down to is you have to consider the buyer; it's the "right tool for the job" issue. Not every system is right for everyone.
Bottom Line and cost frankly is a wash when you consider everything:
Sonos: If you are starting fresh (ie you have no legacy audio equipment) and you want an expandable system that is very simple to setup/operate and you want an integrated wireless controller. You don't want to hack the system, you are OK with the existing features.
Slim: You have an existing investment in audio equipment that you want to work with. You like to hack things to get them to work the way you want. You are technically savvy.
General computer sysetms: PC/Mac based systems are just not in the same league because they do not do the multizone audio well. Airport express/itunes does not have the ability to send multiple streams to multiple airport expresses SIMULTANEOUSLY (as do sonos and slim). But these work OK, if you don't care about true multizone audio. You are cost conscious and want to use "stuff you have lying around". You like "frankensystems". - nfollmer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1buy old computers, put linux on them, put them where you want music, network them together. its that simple
- quietamerican, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1One more vote for Squeezebox.
How easy is it use? I took it out of the box, left the manual uncracked, and was streaming SomaFM to my stereo through our wireless g network in 3 minutes. That inclues the time it took to go look up my WEP key.
Pandora is a killer app but with KCRW and TFS Jazz in Paris and Radio Paradise and SomaFM etc etc etc my wife and simply cannot be bothered to play CDs anymore. I bought the Squeezebox to stream our fat mp3 collection but frankly with so much good internet radio to choose from that's fresh and unexpected I hardly bother!
aaron - angelp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1To be fair (to those complaining about the article), TechCrunch is a website that specializes in Web 2.0 products/sites....the writer on the site just happened to get a Sonos and decided to review it. TechCrunch is not a gadget site.
- ben.0081, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1is expensive. The article has some prices on it, and it costs 350 for one and 400 for another. Once the prices go down on this stuff, I'm down.
- aureliusm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Article in Digg area queue about squeezebox pointing to Stereophile eNewsletter:
"Daddy's got a Squeezebox, Momma's not gonna get any sleep tonight!"
Go digg it!
http://www.digg.com/music/Stereophile_reviews_Slim_Devices_Squeezebox - craigtheguru, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree, I'm sticking with AirPort Express and AirTunes.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It might be expensive as advertised, but it's trivial to do this sort of thing yourself. I've had this kind of music distribution system around my house for 15 years. Very old news.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Great idea, but looks very expensive
- sharey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Thumbs down to this post. I dont think this is agree on.
- Solarux, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Not only is this product old news, but it's also incredibly overpriced. I have purchased and used the Sonos Zone player before with two zone extensions only to end up returning it shortly after. In theory (and design), the system itself and how it works is great - but when it comes down to actual sound and performance, it seriously lacks when trying to justify its price. You can find a higher quality solution that works the same for less than half the cost of the Sonos system.
Another note, I have never dealt with a more smug and unorganized company as Sonos. This Santa Barbara based business may seem to have a polished product, but I would spend my money elsewhere just because of the fact that their administration are complete asshats. - saket, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I agree, Sonos is pretty good music system with easy and intutive setup and UI. But, it is for rich people. Common people don’t want to pay $1,000+ for the music system. I reviewed their first version but besides easy to setup and sharing files from the windows system nothing great about it.
They could have provided inbuilt HDD for easy caching etc.
http://mediaproductreview.blogspot.com/ - angelp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I was wondering the same thing too. I remember checking out the Sonos at Digital Life a couple of years ago.
- sharey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1The Sonos system is hot.
We have it at work where its set up with about 50 people, and 2 controllers. People are able to pass the controller around and que music up all day. Its really fast and responsive. The controller is a little clunky size0wize, but the interface is fun to use... its alot like a super iPod. Not only that, but since we have a couple of zones set up, we can have the account end of the building at a lower volume so they can talk on the phones, and the creative sides volume a bit higher while listening to the same music. They also offer ( or did offer for awhile ) a desktop application controller, which allows you to do the same thing as the handheld controller does, but also allows you to choose from a user defined list of Internet radio streams, and of course que music up/view the music que when the controller isnt around.
I think its an awesome solution for the right workplace, and for some a great solution for the home. Of course, if it was a bit cheaper that wouldnt hurt, but the quality definitely matches the price tag. - rocketboytom, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6How does something that came out like 2 years ago make it to the front page? If I find a review of the revolutionary 'new' idea like a 'pocket calculator' will people digg that too and suddenly stop using their abacuses?
no digg. - Reylas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Ok, looking at the Slimdevices site, I see that they are 299 a piece. So, I am not sure how you have three for the price of one. For 999 retail, you get 2 zones and a controller. So you have to throw a nice controller in there to be comparing apples to apples. One pro for the slimdevice that I will give you is that it is very configurable due to the open nature of it. Otherwise, it is close to the same price. You can buy individual Sonos with no amplifier, to match the slimdevice for 349. So only about $50 difference.
To me you have to decide between the refined, professional look of the sonos vs the configurability of the slimdevice. - gfarrar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0The sonos rocks.. there is nothing else like it... 999 is nothing for mutliroom audio and a controller. It would cost you that much to pull the cable for a traditional system. And the non-geek in your life can use it.
this is new news the zp80 just launched this month (the new unamplified unit with digital outputs),...
the bottom line is if you want multizone music and your time is worth anything its cheaper to go with the sonos than cobble something together, and support it.
my 0.02 - cyberghost232, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3$999. Damn thats alot. and i really dont want to spend the weekend setting this thing up.
- kurkpeterman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I see a lot of comments here about various frankensystems or media-adapters and trying to compare them with sonos; so, I thought I'd repost my /. post which attempts to break down the differences between these solutions and sonos. Also, I believe that the news here is the new $999 package they are selling which came out a few weeks ago.
I see a lot of people out there discounting the capabilites of Sonos because they really don't understand what exactly the system does versus alternate setups. To be fair, Sonos competes directly with high-end multi-room, multi-source systems such as http://www.elanhomesystems.com/ [elanhomesystems.com], http://www.crestron.com/ [crestron.com], and http://www.amx.com/ [amx.com]. All of these systems can cost tens of thousands of dollars for product/install and require that you hardwire your whole house.
Sonos
=-=-=
*multi-room capability (control up to 32 rooms on one controller)
*multi-source capability (play different songs in different rooms)
*synchronization capability (play the same in different rooms, or in groups of different rooms)
*built-in amplifier (not everyone has a speaker amp in each room)
*line-out to existing amplifier (for those beefy existing home theatre setups)
*line-in on each zoneplayer that can be streamed to any other zoneplayer (connect any legacy device like cd/dvd/tape/sat radio/etc.)
*integration with music services (rhapsody)
*integration with internet radio streams
*wireless controller w/ lcd (huge benefit on getting the wife/gf to use it)
*ease of use (anyone can use that scrollwheel interface)
*ease of setup (not everyone is a tech)
Now let's look at the other talked about solutions and compare their capabilities:
Airport Express/Squeezebox/Roku
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
*line-out to existing amplifier
*can play one audio source at a time (so can either play on my computer, or my airport express)
*walk back to computer each time you want to change anything (or line of sight remote for non-airport express)
Cheapo Dell
=-=-=-=-=-=
*computer functionality at each room [benefit, assuming you have a montior, keyboard, and mouse to take advantage of it]
*no sychronization (might was well have a indepent cdplayers in each room and burn cds)
*need powered speakers at each location (more $$$)
*walk up to computer and change tracks on it
Besides all the extra functionality (link/separting rooms of audio, rhapsody integration, ease of use/setup,...) everyone is missing the most important thing [and what makes the iPod so successful]. THE INTERFACE! Why do people buy iPods in droves instead of getting a regular flash/hard drive based player. It's because the iPod has blended simple but powerful functionality with elegant design. Sonos wireless lcd controller gives that same beautiful abstraction and gives *anyone* control of the audio in their house seamlessly. - podperson, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1This is pathetic. Sonos basically costs more than, say, plugging mac minis into speakers. Their speakers are essentially cheap third party speakers painted white. They don't offer an option for people wanting to use existing amplifiers etc. If you want the functionality, you're probably better off just using Airport Express and a Mac Mini or two.
- benhorstmann, on 10/12/2007, -13/+2Remote Control
iPod Ripoff!!
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