Kumar Kane
13-03-2012, 10:02 AM
With Harbeth to produce the sound, a great step forward for home audio is to add Sonos to the home.
Here is how it works, in brief.
Sonos does not need any computer to be on to stream the music. All the music, ripped from CDs, sits on one network server - which can be as simple as a HDD plugged into the USB port of a wireless base station that is the hub of the home wifi network. One of the Sonos units has to be wired to this base station via LAN cable. Alternatively, a Sonos bridge can be so connected, if wiring a playing Sonos unit to the router is inconvenient. This Sonos unit or the bridge then pulls the selected tracks from the HDD and broadcasts them via a proprietary Sonos network. Other Sonos units that serve different rooms work on a peer to peer basis on this network. Peer to peer allows for wider network extendability across the home, and a more robust network as more Sonos units are added for additional rooms/zones. The proprietary and dedicated nature of the network to audio means that spikes in demand on the home wifi network do not affect the audio streams.
Using a Sonos controller app, one can then play different music from the same HDD in different rooms at the same time. And the music can be selected by as many users as have access to the Sonos controller app, a free download to i devices and android phones. Each user can build their playlists, that are accessible by all users on their app, and play the music of their choice.
If the need is to play the same music across all rooms in sync, that is possible too.
Finally, Sonos has different units to meet different user needs. Units are available to connect to existing dac or amp driven audio systems/active speakers, to connect to and drive passive speakers where the Sonos unit provides amplification as well, and also where no audio system exists - with players that are self-contained boxes that include amplification and speakers. One picks what one needs for each room. And one can start with one room, and add others to taste and budgets.
Music selection in the above manner is possible from all the music that is on the HDD, or, via the wireless router, from internet radio stations, or internet music service providers such as Pandora, Spotify and the like.
Sonos works equally well in Apple or non Apple environments.
Finally, and most important, Sonos works very well out of the box in most cases. But for the times it does not, there are two world class support systems in place.
First, there is a Sonos user forum, of a very high quality akin to this one, moderated by very knowledgeable volunteer moderators. Second, Sonos support, available free to all Sonos users for the life of the units, is world class. Aided by an ability to receive remote diagnostics of user systems, that allows them to pinpoint problems for resolution via emails/phones/chat.
With Sonos as a front end for a home wireless streaming solution, and Harbeth speakers to voice the sound, one really does not need to have things such as turntables and CD players any more. With lossless CD rips, the sound heard is as good as via a high quality CD player. Of course the quality of the recording and the mastering of the CD will always matter, as it does for CD player driven music.
It looks like the future of audio is in this direction, and with music streamed from internet audio service providers such as Pandora, or Spotify. Why buy the music when it is available on demand for a monthly fee? Even with lossy streams, the quality of heard music through Harbeth speakers is brilliant. And the sheer convenience of track selection and making up playlists on the go means that one listens to a lot more music than before, which is a worthwhile end in itself.
Harbeth speakers will still be present in the future because they are needed for quality sound reproduction, but the rest of the upstream is headed in this direction.
Sonos leads today in this field, and as a delighted Sonos owner, I hope for that to continue. Even if it doesn't, it seems to me that this is where the future of home audio is headed.
Here is how it works, in brief.
Sonos does not need any computer to be on to stream the music. All the music, ripped from CDs, sits on one network server - which can be as simple as a HDD plugged into the USB port of a wireless base station that is the hub of the home wifi network. One of the Sonos units has to be wired to this base station via LAN cable. Alternatively, a Sonos bridge can be so connected, if wiring a playing Sonos unit to the router is inconvenient. This Sonos unit or the bridge then pulls the selected tracks from the HDD and broadcasts them via a proprietary Sonos network. Other Sonos units that serve different rooms work on a peer to peer basis on this network. Peer to peer allows for wider network extendability across the home, and a more robust network as more Sonos units are added for additional rooms/zones. The proprietary and dedicated nature of the network to audio means that spikes in demand on the home wifi network do not affect the audio streams.
Using a Sonos controller app, one can then play different music from the same HDD in different rooms at the same time. And the music can be selected by as many users as have access to the Sonos controller app, a free download to i devices and android phones. Each user can build their playlists, that are accessible by all users on their app, and play the music of their choice.
If the need is to play the same music across all rooms in sync, that is possible too.
Finally, Sonos has different units to meet different user needs. Units are available to connect to existing dac or amp driven audio systems/active speakers, to connect to and drive passive speakers where the Sonos unit provides amplification as well, and also where no audio system exists - with players that are self-contained boxes that include amplification and speakers. One picks what one needs for each room. And one can start with one room, and add others to taste and budgets.
Music selection in the above manner is possible from all the music that is on the HDD, or, via the wireless router, from internet radio stations, or internet music service providers such as Pandora, Spotify and the like.
Sonos works equally well in Apple or non Apple environments.
Finally, and most important, Sonos works very well out of the box in most cases. But for the times it does not, there are two world class support systems in place.
First, there is a Sonos user forum, of a very high quality akin to this one, moderated by very knowledgeable volunteer moderators. Second, Sonos support, available free to all Sonos users for the life of the units, is world class. Aided by an ability to receive remote diagnostics of user systems, that allows them to pinpoint problems for resolution via emails/phones/chat.
With Sonos as a front end for a home wireless streaming solution, and Harbeth speakers to voice the sound, one really does not need to have things such as turntables and CD players any more. With lossless CD rips, the sound heard is as good as via a high quality CD player. Of course the quality of the recording and the mastering of the CD will always matter, as it does for CD player driven music.
It looks like the future of audio is in this direction, and with music streamed from internet audio service providers such as Pandora, or Spotify. Why buy the music when it is available on demand for a monthly fee? Even with lossy streams, the quality of heard music through Harbeth speakers is brilliant. And the sheer convenience of track selection and making up playlists on the go means that one listens to a lot more music than before, which is a worthwhile end in itself.
Harbeth speakers will still be present in the future because they are needed for quality sound reproduction, but the rest of the upstream is headed in this direction.
Sonos leads today in this field, and as a delighted Sonos owner, I hope for that to continue. Even if it doesn't, it seems to me that this is where the future of home audio is headed.