AirPort Express Option (instead of Sonos)

In this previous post, I listed some options in lieu of spending relatively big money on a Sonos system.

Now I found another option.

If you have an Apple AirPort Express you can connect it to your AirPort Extreme Base Station. Now from your computer, you can control each of the AirPort Express devices and which music plays to each of them. Plus, there's an iPhone or iPod touch app (for free of course) that allows you to remotely access your iTunes library and control all AirPort Express devices. You can also simultaneously play the same music file through all speakers.

I think the only downside I see is that your computer needs to be on the entire time. With Sonos, your computer can be off because the files are on a network-attached drive.

At right around $100 each, you can fairly inexpensively "pipe" music into other rooms. There are no built-in speakers and you will need to connect the "Audio out" jack to some sort of amplifier/speaker system.

Just a brief search revealed that some have technical difficulties trying to connect their AirPort Express with non-Apple routers.


Click here to go to Apple's site for more information about AirTunes and this functionality.

Click here to view Apple's video tutorial on how to set this up with either a Mac OS or a Windows computer and also how to use iPod touch or iPhone as the remote.

Couple of (cheaper) alternatives to Sonos

In an earlier post (click here to read), I discussed the features I would enjoy with the Sonos Multi-Room Music System.

Update: I forgot to mention that Sonos also scans all the free Internet Radio Channels and allows you to listen to them just like any files stored on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device.

If you are not willing and/or able to acquire a Sonos system, here are a couple of cheaper alternatives. Unfortunately you'll need to weigh the costs, benefits and downsides for these options.

Option #1: One or more MP3 players.

For this example, I will use the iPod classics on Amazon.com. For around $249 retail ($229 on Amazon) and a memory capacity of 160GB, it would easily hold most music collections. There are other manufacturer and storage size options for MP3 players.

Benefits:

• You can take the iPod with you. Sonos stays at home.
• Cost. You can buy four iPods (not counting speakers) for the price of the entry package Sonos system which only gives you rooms.
• 160GB device holds more than 30,000 songs (per Apple's website).
• Can also hold pictures and video.
• Can use for portable storage of files.

Downsides:

• No Internet Radio Stations.
• Limited storage for music collections that aren't compressed and/or are very large.
• Need to purchase one iPod for each room you want to hear music.
• Need to purchase speakers (or equivalent) for each iPod.
• Unable to synchronize playback on all iPods like Sonos. Sonos can play a single MP3 in all rooms. Think of "piping" music throughout the whole house.

Option #2: vtech Wi-Fi Internet Radio
Initially I was very excited to hear about this device until I reviewed the features a little more closely. Click here to check it out. For retail $199 ($138 on Amazon.com), you get a radio that will connect via your wireless Wi-Fi internet connection and allow you to tune in to the free radio stations. It also has RCA and phono input jacks.
Benefits:

• Cost. $199 is cheap for a ton of radio stations (their website lists 11,000 stations). If radio is all you need (or want) then you could get five of these for the price of the Sonos entry-level system.
• Built-in FM tuner.
• Clock with alarm.
• Fairly small at around 6"x12"x3.5"
• Battery operated so that it can be moved around the house or outside. It still needs to be within range of the Wi-Fi connection
• Can plug in an external MP3 player.

Downsides:

• 2x3W speakers plus a 10W subwoofer may not satisfy some who want to pump up the volume.
• Cannot connect to an NAS device.
• Able to connect to files on a PC or Mac. This means that the computer needs to be left on for the files to be played (read: energy use).
• Not portable (beyond Wi-Fi). Sonos isn't either.

Option #3: MP3 player + vtech Internet Radio
This would mean purchasing one MP3 player and one vtech Internet Radio.
Key Benefits (look above too):

• Can take MP3 outside of the house.
• Device can store pictures and video.

Key Downsides (look above too):

• At about $450 or each combination, the cost for two (2) sets is very close to the Sonos entry-level set which also gives you the ability to play in two rooms.
• More electrical plugs and power cables (sometimes they seem to be everywhere!)
• 6W (3Wx2) + 10W subwoofer output is nothing compared to Sonos 110W (55Wx2) output.

Bottom line: it all comes down to weighing needs vs. wants and then costs for certain features.

Competitor to Sonos
Note also that Linksys by Cisco has a system very similar to Sonos called "Wireless Home Audio." You can read more by clicking here: Cisco Linksys Wireless Home Audio Executive Kit--Includes One Director with IR Remote and One Set of Speakers. Sonos had their product out first. Maybe for an upcoming post, I'll do a more direct comparison. The retail pricing is very similar to Sonos at $999 for a two room system.

Disclosure: at the time of this post, I did not directly control shares of Apple or Cisco.

What I love about the Sonos "Multi-Room Music System"

Earlier this year, I converted my existing CD collection into MP3s. The huge question in my mind is what do I do with it. It's great that all the music is readily accessible, but how do I get it from my computer(s) to the rest of the house?

I have been keeping an eye on the system that is available by Sonos. The key features Sonos offers are the following:

• Source music typically is a Network Attached Storage device. This means your computer doesn't need to be on in order for this system to work. You do need a wireless router (or network).
• There is virtually no size limitations when ripping music. Since your music is stored on a hard drive, the limits are based on how large the hard drive is and how many CDs you have. You could save your music in lossless formats and not lose quality with compression. There are minimal problems streaming uncompressed file formats. I'm sure there are limits at some point (IE, you probably can't stream 16 different lossless music files simultaneously).
• You can access all Internet Radio stations and also access Rhapsody (requires subscription).
• There are options for amplified and non-amplified Zoneplayers. You can have up to 32 of these in your house! Non-amplified Zoneplayers need to be connected to some sort of audio video device (like an AV receiver with their own speakers) in order to work. Amplified Zoneplayers will need only speakers.
  
• Option to have each Zoneplayer playing different music or all of them playing the same music simultaneously.
• Free iPhone app that can control all of the Zoneplayers. (You would obviously need an iPhone).

Now with the above comes a cost. The starter bundle is just around $1,000 and that includes a controller, an amplified Zoneplayer and an un-amplified Zoneplayer. Additonal amplified Zoneplayers are about $500 each and un-amplified Zoneplayers are about $350 each.

To me, this is a luxury. Sure, it would be cool to be able to "pipe" the same piece throughout the entire house or play one genre of music upstairs and another downstairs, but at what cost?It would also be nice to control the volume of each room's music. But, you could easily fork out about $3,000 to outfit a house with a Zoneplayer in nearly every room. This would get you 6 Zoneplayers (5 amplified and 1 that is not) in total and one controller.

Look for future posts on some possible cheaper options and their limitations as compared to the Sonos system.

If any of you do explore purchasing the Sonos system from BestBuy. Please shop through the following link and type in "Sonos" in the Best Buy "Search for" section:

Buy Online, Pickup in Your Local Best Buy® Store.