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- My rating: 0 stars
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
5.0 stars
"THE Solution for your music collection..."
Pros: User Interface, wireless streaming, easily expandable...
Cons: None - it's that good.
Summary: I own a really fun audio system (B&W 803D's; Classe Processor and Amplifier; Rotel CD, DVD, Power Conditioner; and AudioQuest cables) and I've been looking for a really great music server. I've played with ReQuest, Escient, Kaleidescape, AppleTV, and numerous WMC implementations. Here were my criteria:
RAID Array:
A big selling point for me was a RAID array hard drive. ReQuest and Escient aren't RAID arrays, Kaleidescape is but a system starts at $12K, Apple TV requires a PC or Mac to be running to transfer files and wile it?s a great product it didn?t fit my needs, and I don't want WMC anywhere in my house. My PC gives me enough trouble even when it's working right. One great feature about the Sonos system is the ability to choose any storage system that you like ? so long as it?s NAS. I went with the Buffalo TeraStation NAS. It has 1TB of storage (4 x 250GB drives) that can be configured in any RAID 0,1,5,etc. In full RAID mode you have 700GB of safe storage - one drive fails you replace it and no data is lost. Oh, and the Tera goes for $600. If I want more storage I just go buy another one and place it on the network. Try to do that with any of the other solutions...
Sound Quality:
It was really important to me that the server not destroy the sound quality of the recordings and that it let my processor do the D/A. The ZP80 allows you to take a digital out via Coaxial or Optical. It's worth mentioning that the ZP100 does not - no worries, it?s fine for the office system. The next step was to rip all of my CD's down to the hard drive. I used iTunes for ripping and chose Apple Lossless to maintain premium quality. Stereophile magazine did this same thing on their test bench and achieved bit-for-bit throughput. I have done several listening sessions and I am really happy with the quality. Compared to the original CD it's almost impossible to discern a difference. Running an analog cable and using the D/A from the ZP80 is an immediate and noticeable degradation in sound quality. Let a better D/A or surround processor do the work and you won't be disappointed.
User Interface:
Escient, ReQuest, Kaleidescape, and WMC all need a display device of some sort. I don't want to turn on my TV to listen to music. Sonos has a very slick, iPod-like, interface in a small wireless controller. If you have never seen one of these, go to a store and pick one up. This thing is so simple your grandma can use it. You'll be navigating your music, looking at the cover art, moving from room to room and someone will tell you to wipe the grin off of your face (my girlfriend did).
Wireless Streaming:
With one unit on the LAN you can place up 32+ units around the house wirelessly (or wired). This is a very simple process. In each of the zones you can play the same source in party mode or select a unique stream for each. You are limited by total bandwidth and this is made worse if you use larger and less compressed files (as I do). In my system I don?t have any issue running two apple lossless files with one wired (Living Room), and one wirelessly (Office). I may add another zone or two (Bedroom and Kitchen).
Other:
It?s a shame this is all the way at the end as these are really great features. You can stream Sirius, Pandora, Rhapsody, and Napster. All of the services are available free for 30 days and then cost $10-$15 per month. They all work over the wireless controller, too. There?s also a PC interface that let?s you run the entire system. It?s a great GUI and my only complaint is that I have a ZP100 at work, too, and you can only have one system tied to the GUI at a time. You can get around it, but it?s a few extra clicks when I go back and forth. I?m sure they?ll address it in a software release at some point.
I can?t recommend this product enough!
Happy Listening,
Chris
Where to buy
Sonos Digital Music System (Bundle 130):
$788.88
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$788.88 | Yes |
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