Sonos music systems now support AirPlay, but there's a catch
Sonos, creator of a well-reviewed, multi-room, wireless music system, has updated its software to support Apple's AirPlay. It means a Sonos music system owner can wirelessly send music from an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to any room that has a Sonos Zone Player. The catch is that you have to buy a US$99 AirPort Express to plug into one of the Zone Players to get it working.
It's understandable that Sonos has to do this. AirPlay support is a hardware and software solution, and Sonos is not building AirPlay hardware into its Zone Players. I'm not sure this will be a big deal to many Sonos owners. The company already provides a wireless dock with iPhone support that allows the phone to stream to any Sonos device. That dock needs to be plugged into AC power, but the connection into the Sonos system is wireless.
The Sonos software update also includes support for multitasking for its iPad and iPhone app. That means it will run in the background and not force a relaunch, which will speed up operation of the system from any iDevice. Those updates are available on the App Store for free. The Sonos system has become very popular over the years, and feature updates have included even the earliest devices the company has made. Supporting AirPlay is a nice addition to the feature roster, and for those who already have an AirPort Express to dedicate to this task, it will be welcome.
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Sonos, creator of a well-reviewed, multi-room, wireless music system, has updated its software to support Apple's AirPlay. It means a...
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I'm not that familiar with Sonos. What's the benefit to a Sonos system compared to using an apple tv connected to my stereo or powered speakers? I could then use an iPhone or touch with the remote app for the controller?
I've been looking into a solution for a big room in the house as well as a bed room. I already have a mac/server with my iTunes library and my playlists that I could stream from. I think I could just add two apple tvs to do this.
I tried it last night with the Airport express. It does work. The sound quality is still awesome, and NO it is not connected to my home network!!! That is AWESOME.
I can take my S5 anywhere plug in the airport express, connect my iphone to the AXP through the wireless connection, and stream music to the S5. Very happy I can now take it with me!
If anybody has any questions shoot me an email
I should add to my previous comment. Using your iphone or ipod touch and Apples remote App you can then play music from an S5 anywhere. I am going to try this tonight.
The ability to play wireless music from your iphone or ipod to your sonos network has already been a capability from day one almost. That isnt the big deal. I have always wanted a way to take my S5 with me on vacation etc. I hope this works. I have seen a few forum write ups saying it will. I have an email in to tech support but no reply yet.
This is actually pretty nice (in an automated way), and keeps me from turning off my network securtiy when I have people over for a party (my sonos is on a seperate router anyway)
This will then allow them to share what ever music / audio they have without having to download the sonos app or dock their phone in the now useless (in my home) iphone sonos dock lol
Nice addition..
Guys from what I understand here. With the Airport Express. you plug it into a wall outlet use a cat 5 cable to an S5 and a 1/8" phono cord for the music and you can now take your Sonos S5 with you anywhere! That is HUGE!!! The airport express acts as your network.
April 19 2011 at 3:26 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI have sonos and don't see the need to add airplay to it. I can access all of my itunes library, Last.fm, SiriusXM, etc. Anything on my iPad or iPhone originated from my computer...iTunes...so I have access to it. Not a big deal for me. Sonos crushes Airplay....however, when Airplay will allow you to stream different songs/playlists to different devices at the same time, there will be some competition. Love my Sonos, but don't need airplay with it...
April 19 2011 at 12:02 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyTo those that think this is dumb/old-news/etc, please re-read what Mel said, please...
I'll also add, that the unique nature of the Sonos wireless network is why you just can't AirPlay right to the Sonos system. Nothing else out there can. It's separate, it's not a part of your regular network... which is why it's actually pretty badass.
I've been bum-wreslting wireless music networks for years, and I keep crossing my fingers that one day the Apple system will get there. But the fact is its them bum-wrestling the way wireless networks work, and until they put AirPlay on a dedicated, managed network (like Sonos does) it's going to continue to be plagued with the gremlins that always seem to make an appearance during a party... damn gremlins.
Sorry, why do you think the Sonos is disconnected from your network? It most certainly is not - you must have one Sonos ZonePlayer or ZoneBridge connected to your network for anything to work at all. Yes it runs its own mesh network but that's irrelevant here.
You can use any ZonePlayer as an wireless Ethernet bridge if you want. They all have 2 or 4 port switches on them.
There is no reason why each ZonePlayer couldn't host an AirPlay server. They run Linux so they can certainly host a server. The only questions are whether Sonos wants to pay for a license to do so and whether Apple wants to allow them.
One AirPort Express will be able to deliver music to any SONOS unit in the house via this solutoin. I own 5 SONOS zone players - with a single AirPort Express I now have a useful solution to enable my nearly 5 year old SONOS system to do something new. Still the best tech investment I've ever made - it just keeps getting better the longer I own it.
April 19 2011 at 10:07 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyPlugging it into an Apple AirPort Express essentially enables AirPlay by default, this is nothing new, you can do it with any speak system that has a line in.
April 19 2011 at 9:50 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyEven better, you can stream from an Airport Express to an FM transmitter (I use this one from CCrane: http://www.ccrane.com/radios/fm-transmitters/fm-transmitter.aspx , a bit of Googling will yield instructions on how to crank this up to max legal power). Tuned up and centrally placed, I can get the FM stream all around the house and yard. The only problem is finding a sufficiently open FM frequency.
April 19 2011 at 9:45 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThis is totally DUMB! If you have an airport express you can stream your music from iTunes on your computer (or from Remote on your iPhone) to ANY speaker system!! I've been doing it for years!
April 19 2011 at 9:40 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI agree, this is a lame article. I am not even sure why someone would take the time to "report" this.
Most Sonos units have a Aux. line-in and the Airport Express has supported streaming iTunes with a line out via its 1/8 inch jack since its release.
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