Sonos Controller V iPod Touch

[rs6mra]

Hi Guys,

My wife is just about to treat me to a Sonos bundle but I need some help. Is there any reason whatsoever as to why anyone would buy a Sonos Controller (CR200) @ £279 instead of the Apple iPod Touch (8Gb) @ £189. I am struggling to figure out what makes it better than the iPod Touch and would appreciate your comments and/or advice.

Thanks

 

[Clare Newsome]

If you've got either iPod Touch or iPhone (or indeed iPad), you can happily forget the Sonos controller. Struggle no more, and enjoy your new system

[EDIT] There are some Apple deals around, too - for example, Asda Direct has the 8GB for £167 (deal here) - that's better than Amazon etc...

 

[cram]

Ipod/Itouch/Ipad all use your wifi. The sonos controller uses SonosNet (created by your sonos devices). The coverage of both of those wireless networks may possibly be different. ie if you wanted to use the S5 in the garden, does your wireless network extend that far.

In general he sonos controller is felt to be a bit more immediate/snappy to use than the Ixxxx devices. They have to locate the sonos devices each time you start the app. This can give a slight pause.

Is it worth almost £300 for these slight improvements - not in my opinion. I've got a 3 zone setup and use various combinations of Iphones, Itouches and an Ipad and find it perfectly fine for my usage.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Damn fine point there re the wi-fi

 

[rs6mra]

Clare, Thanks ever so much for your prompt response and reassurance and the link and ...........................

 

[rs6mra]

Cram, Thanks for the breakdown as to how the Sonos controller works and I am also of the opinion that at almost £300 for a slight improvement, is not worth about £100 extra. I have not tried the Ipad in the garden as yet as I have only had it a couple of months. In any case what I'll do if it doesn't work well is to use an old router as a wireless bridge.

 

[cram]

That should work for you fine. The Ipad app is really nice.

 

[cram]

Your other option is to go for an older CR100 controller. These can be had for £100 or less

 

[Dan Turner]

I picked up an older CR100 on ebay for about £100, all in with dock just so that there would be a controller in the house for my girlfriend to use when I'm not there with my iPhone. It's a little clunky in comparison to the iXXX apps or CR200.

I've been using my iPhone (3GS) as my main controller for a while, and although it functions perfectly, the battery does take a hammering. We had some friends over the other day and the battery barely lasted an evening of being passed around. Not sure what the battery performance would be like on the iTouch or Pad.

So I'm thinking of treating myself to a CR200 to use as my main controller. I totally agree though that the cost is too high for what it is.

 

[rs6mra]

I looked into the battery life with the iPod Touch and it's fairly decent according to Apple's website. If the iPad's battery life is anything to go by then it should suffice. If my memory serves me right, I believe the 4G iXXX products supposedly have a better battery life in comparison to their predecessors.

Another option I have is to swap between the two iXXX products and at the very worst get a charging cradle for either product and thus still make a saving. I just like the idea of having a multi-tasking product as opposed to a dedicated controller. It does make me wonder though what the sales figures are like with the controller.

 

[Lee H]

I have both. The wi-fi usage does make a difference plus I treat it as a secondary controller. There's also a third party android app that works quite well. There's + and - to each one

iPhone/Touch/Pad - search is easier because the keyboard is FAR better than the Sonos one

Sonos controller - you don't have to wait for the app to start each time you want to make a change. Plus, as mentioned, the Sonos net usage rather than your own bandwidth.

 

[progwardy]

Have found the iphone app frustrating due to a slightly flakey wifi network towards the back of the house and the app having to open and find as per other comments here. No such problems with the CR200. Agree with the keyboard issues - especially with fat ol' fingers

Expensive yes - but as you've gone for a premium solution - you're worth it! The deals on Amazon at the moment are tempting aren't they? Do I need another one? No. Do I want another one? Yes.......

 

[Dan Turner]

Doesn't really help the OP, but just had to share (sorry), got myself a great deal from my local dealer for my Christmas/bonus treat to myself - a Naim HiCap2, Snaic (the lead to connect it to my amp) and a CR200 - £1200 all in - which, based on TSPs is the equivalent of the CR200 being free! :0)

 

[Anonymous]

i have an iphone, and ipad and the plan was to sell the cr200 that i bought as part of the bundle, however, after using all 3 i decided to keep the cr200, the reasons for this have already been stated (sonosnet, immediacy of response & battery life), ultimatly its down to you what you value most, as much as i love the ipad inteface when i want to change a track i always reach for the cr200..... you can pick up a previously owned (but almost new cr200 for ~200 as many people buy in a bundle and sell the cr200 on)

 

[rs6mra]

I can see where you guys are coming from in terms of using the CR200 as it links straight in to Sonosnet instead of going round the houses by loading up, connecting to my wi-fi network and then connecting to sonosnet. I will hold off buying the iTouch, use the iPad & PC and see how I get on.

On another note, would I be correct in thinking that using the PC control would be as good as the Sonos control especially on a gigabit network running Cat 6???

 

[Lee H]

PC control is just fine

 

[rs6mra]

My Sonos kit arrived about an hour ago, it took 5 minutes to set up and I just love it!!!!! So far only the ZP90 is hooked up.

I decided to hold back and not buy the controller and thus utilise the iPad. So far so good and it appears to working perfectly with gr8 timing whenever I select a new track.The wife and kids are out in the morn and I will have a good play around then. The controller is still running on the iPad so that I can determine how long the battery life survives for. I do wonder what my ultimate decision will be: to buy or not to buy a controller and instead settle for the iPod Touch?!!!!!!!

 

[rs6mra]

update: the PCs and Laptops are all now connected as well as my Nexus One Android handset using the unofficial Android control!

So Far So Good......