Digital Trends

Sonos Digital Music System

May 23rd, 2005 | by Rebecca Day

I was a little scared of the Sonos system before I tried it out.  It had done nothing to warrant my fear but plenty of other wireless networking experience had prepared me for the worst.  So when I followed the setup instructions for the Sonos and the products performed dutifully according to instructions, I was startled, to say the least. I connected the first Sonos ZonePlayer to the router, powered it up, installed the bundled software on the PC, and waited while Sonos grabbed my music from Windows Media.  To add the second ZonePlayer, I used the remote control’s setup menu and then pressed and released the mute and volume buttons on the Player to add it to the system.  It was as simple as it sounds.

Of course, nothing’s perfect. I do have a couple of quibbles with setup documentation. The manual says to take the Controller and speakers to your router for setup, but there’s no reason to take the speakers into an already crowded office. You don’t need to hear anything during setup, and lugging speakers around isn’t my idea of fun.

The Sonos system setup in an office

Second—and this is the larger issue—I didn’t realize that after initial setup, the primary Zone Controller would have to stay forever tied to the router for the system to work.  I tried unplugging it, thinking the wireless network had been established, but then all the music disappeared from the remote control’s display.  So that means I now have two music systems in my office—my PC system and the Sonos ZonePlayer—because that’s where the router is.  Sonos says most of its customers address this issue by hiring someone to run a long Ethernet cable to another room where they want a music system. That’s not very practical in my situation.  In future incarnations, I’d like to see a small module—without the heavy and expensive amp—handle the router duties.