Hands-On with the New Sonos CR200 Controller and BU250 Digital Music Bundle
If you're not familiar with what a multiroom music system is, here's the short version: multiroom music systems allow you to take digital music from a single source, such as your PC, and play it on one or more other sources. The simplest types of these will be, say, an AV receiver that can connect to your home wireless network and stream music off of your PC or laptop. On the other end of the spectrum, you have Sonos.
Sonos is a system that lets you stream music from multiple sources or the Internet and play it on any attached source in your home. While the field of multiroom music systems is starting to grow, particularly in the last year with new products from Linksys by Cisco and Philips, Sonos was one of the first to really figure out the ecosystem--and it's still one of the best. Many multiroom music products require special software, wireless network configuration, or even hardware installation, but Sonos is essentially a drop-in ecosystem for wireless music. It requires no setup beyond attaching your speakers and registering your units, doesn't need to be linked to your existing network, and will work with any product that can connect to it (i.e., most anything). It's completely modular, supporting anywhere from one to 32 zones (rooms); if you want to expand your wireless music network, just plug in another receiving unit and the proprietary mesh network will immediately "see" and configure it for you. Other products can give you this functionality, but we've always liked Sonos for its complete no-brainer setup.
Then last October they upped the ante even further when Sonos went out on a limb and released a free Controller app for the iPhone. The app complelely replicates the functionality of the then-current CR100 Controller, which itself cost several hundred dollars. Rather than an attempt to cannibalize their own sales, the idea was to give the general public a taste of how Sonos works--Sonos is one of the leaders in the multiroom music field, but even now it's still a pretty small field. Their gamble worked, as the app was downloaded by many, many more people than there were Sonos units out in the wild. CNET pronounced the iPhone app interface, which differed substantially from that of the CR100, "better than the system's own [controller]", going so far as to say, "It will definitely make you want to ditch the CR100 after you've used the app for a while."
But the developers at Sonos had another trick up their sleeve: the iPhone app was actually the interface to be loaded onto their newest controller, the CR200. At half the size of the CR100, the CR200 runs more or less the exact same software as the Sonos iPhone app. And with its 3.5-inch, oleophobic, full-color LCD touchscreen and adjustable LED backlighting, it clearly took design inspiration from a certain Apple-y device. The CR200 is the core of the updated Sonos starter bundle, the BU250.
The BU250 consists of the CR200, one ZonePlayer 120, and one ZonePlayer 90. The ZonePlayers are the receiving units, differentiated by the fact that the ZP120 has an amplifier and just needs passive speakers hooked up to it, while the ZP90 doesn't have an amp and is a simple receiving unit. The bundle also comes with the Desktop Controller software, which gives you a similar interface of controlling the system on your PC. It's not driver software, and you don't have to install it for the system to work, it's just there as an extra option. The BU250 bundle is enough to create two zones of wireless music. (One will have to be attached to an existing system since the ZP90 doesn't have an amplifier.)
Setup consists of this entirely:
- Unbox the devices. Charge the Controller if needed in the included cradle.
- Connect the ZP90 to your PC or whereever your digital music lives. Plug it in.
- Connect speakers to the ZP120 anywhere in your home. Plug it in.
- Turn on the Controller, select "Set Up Your Sonos System" and follow the on-screen instructions.
- That's it.
Because it runs on its own wireless mesh network, you don't have to configure it to work with your wireless system. You don't really have to configure it at all, beyond naming your zones and linking or unlinking them, and signing in to one of the many compatible digital music services like Rhapsody and Pandora. I've been living with the BU250 for a couple of weeks now and it has required no maintenance--software updates happen automatically, and I've had no issues with devices "falling off" my home network, as I've had with some similar multiroom systems in the recent past.
One of the key questions here is: If you already have an exising Sonos system such as the BU150, is it worth the upgrade? The CR100 is still a pretty handy controller in its own right, so replacing it's really up to the "wow" factor of the CR200. (Also it's worth nothing that the CR200 comes with its own charging cradle--the CR100 cradle had to be bought separately.) You're not really getting a suite of completely new and different features, just a better method of controlling them.
However, it's a must-have if you're only just getting into multiroom music systems, or expanding an existing Sonos system; nobody's really figured out the digital distribution game like Sonos, and each iteration of the series gets noticeably better. The CR200's screen quality, size, and ease of control don't really have an immediate peer in this space, which is kind of odd since many of Sonos' competitors are at the same price points.
The Sonos CR200 Controller has an MSRP of $349, and the Sonos BU250 bundle has an MSRP of $999. Both are available now.
--Aric A.
photo paper on September 22, 2009 at 09:30 PM
Hey it simply seems to be type of controller.
I am interested with the multiroom music system.Actually I had checked out philips music system which quite good.But Sonos one is new for me as it supports stream music from multiple sources or the Internet and play it on any attached source in my home.It really a good one.Thanks for posting.
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australian wholesale dropshippers on February 28, 2011 at 02:03 AM
The Sonos Digital Music System has lot of things to like, but the thing that attract people at its first launch was the controller: it looked a bit like Apple iPod, complete with touchwheel navigation and a big, beautiful screen.
Now, the controller has started to seem a bit heavy and clunky. So it is the time for Sonos to update its remote, and the company has done a fantastic job with the Sonos CR200.
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