Sonos announces their new ZP80 ZonePlayer

It's not like we didn't see Sonos's ZP80 device coming after we sourced it on the FCC not too long ago, but it's CES now (if you hadn't noticed) and it looks like they announced it after all. What we now know is that it'll set you back $350 when it gets released this spring, and that it'll have a two port 10/100 Ethernet switch, RCA line-in and out, and Audible support, as per their other announcement they made... about having Audible support in their devices. Sorry though, still no PlaysForSure support, so you'll only get to listen to the un-DRMed portion of your music collection.

[Flash @ Jan 4th 2006 5:19AM]

Sonos ZP80 is the best choice for the digital house. It's capable of playing music in every corner of your house. And you can easily access your media library using Sonos Controller.

[felix @ Jan 4th 2006 5:31AM]

dimensions? it looks like it would fit nicely with a mac mini.

[Oliver @ Jan 4th 2006 7:33AM]

Wait a sec, the current ZonePlayer costs $499, so is this product just a less-capable, lower-end version or are they cutting prices?

[GadgetMike @ Jan 4th 2006 8:09AM]

Seems that way, without hearing about any other new features that's the only thing that makes sense.

[Dan @ Jan 4th 2006 8:11AM]

Engadget's missed the point on the ZP80. It differs from the $499 ZP100 mainly by NOT having a built-in amplifier and by INCLUDING a digital-out as well as analogue line-level outputs.



The original ZP100 was perfect if you didn't have a stereo system in a room already, because of its built-in amplifier. Just add a pair of speakers and you were away. The ZP80 fills the gaping hole in the product line for people who already have a nice sound system in a room, and just want to add Sonos' amazing digital music distribution abilities to the mix.

[Tim @ Jan 4th 2006 8:23AM]

Its cheaper as I believe it has no amp included.

[DrWho @ Jan 4th 2006 9:15AM]

No it's not less capable or lower end. It's as capable and fully functioned as the zp100 just has no internal amp as has been mentioned already, is much smaller and lighter as a consequence. In fact seeing as it has digital out you could say it is more capable than the zp100.

[Hank Hill @ Jan 4th 2006 11:13AM]

The new version of their software will be released later today:



System Level features



* Zone Players can be set to have a Fixed Line-out.

* German language is supported on each Controller (see below).

* Support for Audible books (this requires a valid Audible account).

* SonosNet now uses state-of-the-art 128bit AES encryption.

* A Zone Player can be hidden in the Zone menu. Use this if you want to use a ZonePlayer to extend the range of your Sonos network, but do not want the ZonePlayer to play music.

* Support for the Disk number metadata tag.

* Tracks in the 'Folders' view (formerly Browse By Folder) can be ordered by Track Title, Track Number or Filename (from Advanced System settings on the Handheld Controller, or Preferences on the Desktop Controllers).

* Support for Apple Lossless file format





Handheld Controller details



* Tracks can be moved in the Queue.

* Extra menus are activated on the OK and Add to Queue buttons to provide more options.

* Press the OK button on the Now Playing screen to see a large album art view.

* Track information 'tool tips' in the Music Library (for albums and tracks) and in the Queue

* Selected Zones are remembered in the Zone Menu when coming out of deep sleep.

* An 'All Tracks' option is available in albums and playlists to make it easier to select a whole album or playlist for playback.

* Playlists can be renamed.

* Controller supports German language in UI (from the Controller's Advanced Preferences).





Desktop Controller details



* Tracks can be moved in the Queue.

* Drag and drop from Music Library to Queue.

* Click album art in the Now Playing panel to see large album art view.

* Album information 'tool tips' when you rollover an album or track in the Music Library or Queue.

* Selected Zones are remembered in the Zone Menu through launches of the DCR.

* Desktop Controller setup for Windows now handles iTunes playlists if your music is stored in a location outside of your My Music folder.

* Desktop Controller for Mac will now let you select music from your Rhapsody account (Rhapsody needs to be running on a Windows computer on your network)

* Playlists can be renamed.

* Desktop Controller's support German in UI. On Windows Machines you can choose the language from the Sonos Preferences - you should also set your Windows language to German. On the Mac, your OS system language should be set to German.

* File Sharing Permission can be optionally reset when Updating the Music Index on the Windows Desktop Controller (solves a problem with Musicmatch collections).

[A.T.McClain @ Jan 16th 2006 5:31PM]

One question I'm not entirely sure on - do I need any other Zone Players in the house for the new one to work? I know this has wireless and can mesh with other Zone players, but can this be a "standalone" unit, connecting directly to my PC via wifi and serving out my music? If so, it means I can get into Sonos for $350... Definitely looks worth waiting for - over, say, to Roku sound bridge... That would be awesome.

[A.T.McClain @ Jan 16th 2006 7:14PM]

Just looked it up and answered my own question - you need at least one Zone player wired into your network - apparently the wireless funcationality is zone player to zone player only. That's a bit annoying as I don't have ethernet near my stereo. I wonder if a wireless bridge would work. Anyone have experience?

[Muddler @ Jan 27th 2006 9:29PM]

I love the remote, but that's the only possible advantage I see over products like the squeezebox 3. The new squeezebox product, which costs $50 less for the wireless unit, can function alone to distribute your music collection to your pre-existing stereo.

See:

http://www.slimdevices.com/
I love the remote, but that's the only possible advantage I see over products like the squeezebox 3. The new squeezebox product, which costs $50 less for the wireless unit, can function alone to distribute your music collection to your pre-existing stereo.

See:

http://www.slimdevices.com/

[Tom @ Jan 30th 2006 11:01PM]

I've used Roku, Linksys, and Squeezebox, and Squeezebox 3 is the best of the lot, but not in the same category as Sonos. Sonos is not perfect, but it is in a different league. Some notable, but not exhaustive points:

Sonos will run from music stored on NAS and the others require a computer running as a music server.

The Sonos controller is at least a generation ahead of the others' remote control.

The pace of development on Sonos is much faster...great support forum monitored by the company.

The ZP100's amp is top notch and the unit is relatively small.

The built-in network switch allows the ZP100 and ZP80 to be used as an ethernet bridge. For example, I run my ReplayTV in the bedroom through it and it serves video without a hitch.

It will sync any combination of players from the controller. Squeezebox will sync all players via a setting on the server.

etc.