Almost a year ago I first got my hands on the Sonos Play:1 unit, a powerful, versatile speaker perfect for home or the office (read the review here) – and though it’s fine to use on its own, it’s built to be paired with other Sonos products. And now that the recent firmware upgrade (5.1) has come into play – removing the need for the Sonos Bridge unit to connect your Sonos product together – it’s never been easier.
This week I’ve had the chance to make use of the firmware upgrade along with the acclaimed Playbar and a new Play:1 to pair with my existing unit. Everyone deserves a friend after all.
Setup
First things first, the setup. Even for those who consider themselves tech savvy, setting up a wireless sound system can be a bit of a headache. When there were cords to lead the way, everything was certainly a little clearer. But once set up, they couldn’t be easier to manage and maintain and the lack of cords is certainly worth the trouble.
The process starts with downloading the Sonos program or app onto your laptop or smartphone. I went for the latter and found it an intuitive and easy to use program. Everything is spelt out in easy to understand graphics and instructions and it adapts to any changing situation nicely. Want to put one of those Play:1s in its own room, but then change your mind and want to connect it to another room network? Easy – and once connected it will remove that “room” from your menu. But, if you decide to put it back where it was originally, it’s a quick click to remove it from the new room. And once that happens, the app remembered the place it was before and puts it back there for you. The UI is top notch and they’ve clearly studied the way consumers use their products hard.
Now that the Sonos Bridge – a device you connected to your wifi router to speak to all the Sonos products – is no longer in play*, the setup is a little different than in the past. First, every Sonos product needs to be connected to your wifi network. This is achieved by plugging it directly into the router and then following the on screen prompts. Once the network connection is established, you can move it anywhere you need to. This proved a bit more difficult for the large Playbar than it did for the Play:1s, with my router at the other side of the room – however when I went through the process a second time, I tried connecting the Playbar through the Ethernet cable directly to my PS3 (already connected to my wifi) and it worked a treat. So a nice tip there to save you moving the unit around.
What you do next with your units depends on what you want to use the system for. Is it just a soundsystem for music? Are you using it for TV and Blu-Rays? And are they all sitting in the same room or are they separate? For the purposes of this review we will be looking at two different setups in the same room: one with all units connected for the TV, and another with the Playbar used for the TV and the paired Play:1 units used for Audio only.
Room Setup 1: TV Surround Sound
This is the most complicated option, but has the best result. The app (which I accessed via iOS) makes it an easy to understand process, but the nature of wi-fi can prove it a bit difficult, and I had to start over the process a couple of times to get the settings exactly right. But trial and error isn’t a bad thing when it comes to getting the best setup.
Once you’ve registered all your devices, you need to plug one of them into the router. The rest communicate to the router wirelessly. You set up the Playbar first, and then you add the secondary speakers second. I love the ability to dictate how far away you are from the speakers, which then impacts the sound volume and power. It’s incredibly intuitive in that respect, and adding the speakers themselves to the system couldn’t be easier. I have watched a few movies and played a few games on the surround set up and have to say it’s among the best surround experience I’ve encountered outside of the cinema.
Room Setup 2: Playbar on the TV and Play:1 as a Stereo Pair
Don’t want any of your devices to be connected to the router? Well, of course you can use the Bridge, but otherwise, you can simply use the Playbar as its own speaker for your TV (it’s good enough on its own to be honest, it’s an incredible system), and pair up the two Play:1s as a stereo unit to play music, Pandora Radio and other media through the app.
Without the need for a router connection, I found this an easy way to make use of the setup, and allowed me to play music off my phone and watch TV at the same time – should I see fit. Of course, you can move the SONOS speakers into other rooms, and the app allows you to delegate different speakers for different room setups, meaning from a few touches on the screen you can allocate TV sound in one room and music in another. Incredibly easy to use. The only problems I encountered was when you unplugged and restarted the devices – sometimes the app wouldn’t pick it up. When this happened, I simply pressed the two top buttons on the devices and it re-connected. Pretty straight forward!
But between the two set ups, I’m definitely going to maintain the “surround mode”. It’s just too good.
The Verdict
The Sonos wireless hi-fi system is unbeatable in terms of quality. The digital UI is stellar, the sound quality is outstanding (and we’re talking LOUD or soft… even without the sub, which is recommended in the 5.1 setup) and they are among the most aesthetically pleasing models on the market. Setup may be difficult for some, but you’ll find that with any wireless hi-fi system. I would expect that this is about as straightforward as you get, and its versatility will allow you to adapt to whatever environment you have around you, whether you have one Sonos device or six… and I’m a big fan of their realistic logistics, e.g. the need to also use the speakers in quieter circumstances:
If you’re using the units for a 3.1/5.1 surround set up for a Television, the loss of the Bridge hasn’t done all that much – it’s just one less piece to buy. You still have to keep one unit plugged into the router. But if you’re keeping the Playbar to the TV, and the Play:1s as a stereo pair for music – or just about whatever combination you can think of – it’s definitely a big difference in terms of accessibility once everything has been set up. Just keep in mind the Playbar will only connect to an output device via a Digital Audio Cable (supplied), which isn’t available on all players or Televisions. I was connecting through my Playstation as such.
All in all, Sonos continually prove themselves market leaders in the mid-to-high range audio market, with a strong mix of products designed for the casual consumer to the audiophiles alike. The latest firmware updates have only made things easier for either party and for yours truly, this has provided the finest surround setup I’ve ever had my paws on.
To get your hands on some SONOS speakers, find out the RRP and for more details head to: http://www.sonos.com/en-au?r=1
*Sonos still recommends the Bridge for households or offices with unreliable or overloaded connections, though I have yet to experience any problems with our set up.
