I love my SONOS System.

Two years ago, I helped my folks design and build a mixed SONOS System. Their house was pre-wired in many rooms, but others not, and they wanted connectivity between rooms with Tablet/SmartPhone control. After exploring the options out there, we went with SONOS. It works really well, but, there are some quirks when you mixed technologies.

When we moved to Texas last year, the house is not pre-wired for anything. There is no basement, and it is a two-story house, with the main viewing/entertainment rooms not having an attic. Wiring was going to be miserable. Well, I ditched literally all of the home theater head units and went full SONOS in the house.

Room 1 is a SONOS 5.1 using the Play:Bar, Sub, and two Play:1s as surrounds.

Room 2 is the upstairs gaming area with just a Play:Bar.

Room 3 is the kitchen with a Play:5.

And now "Room 4" is a Play:3 used as a portable speaker - in the office, on the patio, in the garage.

Basically, when I see a sale, or "Open Box" at Best Buy, or enough reward certificates, I expand out the system.

It is sooooo goddamn easy, the sound is great, and the on-the-fly linking of groups for parties and events is phenomenal.

That's it, just really, really, really enjoying reduced hardware and increased capabilities.

I just wish they would either do a software/firmware update to allow 7.1 pairing on the surround system, or a hardware update for it. (I would upgrade the Play:Bars, and move the old ones to new rooms or give to family...)

Where's the poll?

Where's the poll?

Originally Posted by porschephiliac

At the top of the thread...

Like..this is more of a blog...but still like. I'm glad you shared this.

Room 4 was a spur-of-the-moment purchase. Best Buy had the Play:3 as an open box, $50 off. Then all open box was 20% additional off, another $50. Then I had a $100 off reward. So, $100 for a Play:3 that we can move around until we finish out the house.

(Yes, finish out the house.)

Plans include:

Sub and 2 Play:1s for the upstairs area.
Play:Bar, Sub, ad 2 Play:1s for the Master Suite.
Play:3 or Play:1 or Stereo Pair of Play:1s for Guest Bedrooms (2 bedrooms, a setup for each) and Kid's room (1 kid, so 1 setup)
Something in the Office/Conservatory, not sure what that will look like, yet.

Best poll ever!

Today is "Do shit around the house even though you till have a cough and get winded moving light shit, so why did you try to move that desk?" day at Casa futiles.

We have the 4 systems linked, playing the entire catalog from Faith No More. I go into one of the rooms not built yet, and my first thought was, "Aw, I cannot hear the music well. I need to fix that."

No love for Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday

No love for Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday

Originally Posted by Mephisto4thewin

Well, since the poll was added on Friday, and there has not been a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, yet...

Is the sonos a wireless system ?

Is the sonos a wireless system ?

Originally Posted by MrGompers

It is. Basically the Play:Bar (which is your fronts and center in a surround sound setup) has an optical cable that comes from the source (usually your television) and decodes Dolby Digital. Everything else, though, is wireless. Which means EVERY speaker is powered, so, while you will not need "wires" running everywhere, you will need "cords" - basically, you have to have each speaker near enough to an electrical outlet. But, everything else is done over your home WiFi to setup and change settings, and the speakers themselves speak to each other over a proprietary variation of WiFi called SONOS:NET.

It is. Basically the Play:Bar (which is your fronts and center in a surround sound setup) has an optical cable that comes from the source (usually your television) and decodes Dolby Digital. Everything else, though, is wireless. Which means EVERY speaker is powered, so, while you will not need "wires" running everywhere, you will need "cords" - basically, you have to have each speaker near enough to an electrical outlet. But, everything else is done over your home WiFi to setup and change settings, and the speakers themselves speak to each other over a proprietary variation of WiFi called SONOS:NET.

Originally Posted by futiles

Sounds like a nice set up. I would imagine very expensive though. I still have a traditional wired 5.1 system. Still sounds good after approx 15 years of use, but if I were to upgrade I would go with wireless. Needing power outlets near the speakers shouldn't be an issue and would be less ugly than speaker wires IMO.

Sounds like a nice set up. I would imagine very expensive though. I still have a traditional wired 5.1 system. Still sounds good after approx 15 years of use, but if I were to upgrade I would go with wireless. Needing power outlets near the speakers shouldn't be an issue and would be less ugly than speaker wires IMO.

Originally Posted by MrGompers

Expensive, sort of. Personally, I would never have exposed speaker wires. I fish everything in wall, and if this room had an attic or a basement, then the SONOS never would have happened. However, it is a ground level room, on slab, with a full room over it. So, running wires means tearing out some drywall, running the wires, patching the drywall, floating, sanding, texturing, and painting. Probably a little cheaper than a SONOS system, but not a lot.

Then, it also depends on perspective. The speakers do not seem to lose much value. You can go on eBay, or Craigslist, or where ever, and a $800 home theater receiver purchased a month ago can be bought for $400. But, a $700 SONOS Play:Bar bought whenever, sells for $600-$650. So, you could drop a decent amount of cash on a system (each piece is going to be $200-$700 depending on what you want), decide you don't like it, and sell it second hand for 75%-90% of what you paid for it.

But, yes, just walking up off the street, if you wanted a SONOS 5.1 system in a single room, that would be $700 Play:Bar + $700 Play:Sub + $200 Play:1 + $200 Play:1 = $1800. So, it can be an intimidating start up cost.