Which Sonos bit do I need ?

[Quickben]

Hi all,

I've just bought a new stereo for the sitting room (CA 351C, CA 651A, KEF Q300) and my wife would like to be able to drift betwwen there and the kitchen, listening to the same music. I've always been tempted to try Sonos but never needed to until now.

My router is in the sitting room, but not close to the stereo, and she likes the look of those little Play:1's....

So, what do I need to buy ?

Cheers

Gary.

 

[The_Lhc]

If you want to listen to music through your existing stereo setup then you need a Sonos Connect (note, NOT a Connect:Amp), if you CAN'T run an ethernet cable from your router to the Connect then you'll need a Bridge next to the router that would be wired to it (if you CAN run a cable from the router to the Connect then you DON'T need a bridge, they are being given away for nothing at the moment though, so you might as well).

If you want a small standalone player in the kitchen then you have a choice of the Play:5 (big and expensive), the Play:3 (smaller, cheaper) and the Play:1 (smallest, cheapest), depending on the size of the room. You can also buy any two of the same model and pair them if proper stereo separation is important in the kitchen.

Other considerations, if you fancied plugging anything else into the kitchen unit then only the Play:5 has a line in. It's also the only one that has a headphone socket if that matters. All three can be paired with the Sub (probably overkill but might be worth considering in the future) and the Play:3 and 1 can be used as surrounds for the Playbar if that takes your fancy.

 

[Quickben]

As simple as that ? Excellent. Thanks for the prompt and concise reply, just the info I needed.

Gary.

 

[The_Lhc]

As simple as that ?

Well, other than questions about what you'll be listening to (internet radio, online music services, locally stored music), yes, that's pretty much it.

 

[Quickben]

Yeah, playing CD's and maybe the odd file from USB at most. I might add a NAS at some point since I'm ripping my collection to flac.

Thanks for the help.

Gary.

 

[bigboss]

You cannot play CDs through Sonos, as far as I'm aware. Only stored music in hard drive / PC & internet content.

 

[John Duncan]

if you can run an ethernet cable from your router to the Connect then you'll need a Bridge next to the router that would be wired to it

if you can run a cable from the router to the Connect then you DON'T need a bridge, they are being given away for nothing at the moment though, so you might as well

These two statements seem contradictory, do you want to clarify? I mean I know the answer but you ought to take the credit

 

[The_Lhc]

Yeah, playing CD's and maybe the odd file from USB at most.

Ah. As Bigboss says above Sonos can't play CDs directly*, it also doesn't have any provision for playing from USB, it is a network audio player so...

I might add a NAS at some point since I'm ripping my collection to flac.

This is the way forward. You don't have to use a NAS, you could use a PC or Mac but of course that means it needs to be on all the time, which is why most people end up going with a NAS as typically they consume far less power so can be left on all the time.

*You could take a line out from the CD player or amp into the Connect and then play that audio on any Sonos Zoneplayer but that's not quite the point of the system. In fact once you've finished ripping your CD collection you might find you don't need a CD player any more. I don't have one but then I've never actually owned one, outside of the car that is.

 

[The_Lhc]

if you can run an ethernet cable from your router to the Connect then you'll need a Bridge next to the router that would be wired to it

if you can run a cable from the router to the Connect then you DON'T need a bridge, they are being given away for nothing at the moment though, so you might as well

These two statements seem contradictory, do you want to clarify? I mean I know the answer but you ought to take the credit

I can't edit it now though but of course it should say "if you can't run an ethernet cable from your router to the Connect".

 

[John Duncan]

I have added your clarification...

 

[The_Lhc]

Lovely capitalization...

 

[John Duncan]

Lovely capitalization...

I was quite pleased with it yes.