Sonos has just upped the stakes in the attach Hi Fi market by launching a new $419 Play: 3 wireless speaker system that delivers incredible sound from an iPhone or any Android device and well and truly puts the likes of Bose on notice that there is a new sound kid on the block.Likened to the Bowers and Wilkins Zeppelin the beauty of this system is that if you buy two of them you have this incredible stereo system that sounds like a $2,000 sound system.
I have just spent the last hour playing with this system which has 3 speakers, a bass radiator and a bucket load of performance grunt.
Unlike the Apple AirPlay the Sonos system integrated within seconds of me downloading the Sonos software to an iPad.
And if you don’t already have a Sonos wireless system you will need the Sonos Bridge which connects via Ethernet to your home network and enables the wireless stream of audio throughout the house.
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Out of the box the new Play 3 was extremely easy configure, as I already had a Sonos Bridge all I need to do was download the Sonos software from the Apple app store.
And because I had already configured a prior version of the Sonos software on both my iPhone and iPad I suddenly got an upgrade and a whole new look for the application as well as the ability to communicate with the new Play 3.
What was interesting was than when I went to my PC I was able to instantly use my Sonos application to communicate with the new Sonos Bridge and the new Play 3, and just to be a devil’s advocate I downloaded the Sonos Android application to the new HTC Sensation and the new Toshiba Honeycomb tablet and within minutes all of the devices were able to see the music I had sent to my queue.
The really big experience came when I wacked another Play 3 onto the network and paired the speakers to deliver stereo sound. Big thumping music resinated from the system with stereo sound as good as any high end sound system. Remember this is not some $2,000 system. This was two $419 wireless Hi Fi systems that simply need power to perform.
John MacFarlane, the CEO, of Sonos said “PLAY:3’s innovative design sets a new bar for Hi Fidelity audio in a compact package and makes it simple to amplify the music experience in any room of the home.”
This is an understatement and when Sonos competitors hear the sound being output from this system they are going to be worried not just by the price which is $100 more expensive than the same device in the USA but by the sheer quality that is being delivered from such a small system.
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The Sonos Play 3 has 5 integrated speakers and 3 dedicated digital amplifiers which provide the crystal-clear, wall-to-wall sound.
An internal sensor detects if the speaker is positioned vertically or horizontally and modifies the speaker’s output to ensure clean, balanced, room-filing sound in any position.
The grunt in this system which is nicely weighted at 2,6 kilo is delivered via three Class-D digital amplifiers and three drivers – one tweeter and two 3″mid-range. One passive, rear-firing bass radiator delivers a rasping rich sound.
The dimensions are 132 x 268 x 160 mm which is really small a tad like the old Bose speakers.
The Sonos Play:3 is available in white and black and I am tipping that this product will make it onto a lot of reviewers best of best lists.
This Sonos system is going to be hard to beat because of the sub $500 price and the quality output. It’s sexy because it is wireless and it interfaces with both Apple and Android Apps.
On the downside it’s hard to fault even though it is $100 dearer than the USA price, but that issue evaporates when you hear the sound and ease by which it can be integrated with the Sonos application.
