Sonos S5 ears-on review: a premium iPod speaker dock without the dock
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Oct 20th 2009 9:00AM
posted Oct 20th 2009 9:00AM
Here's the thing: Sonos is not known for making speakers. True, it does sell a single pair of self-branded speakers but that's only to make the buying experience easier for the consumer. It is, however, known for delivering a high quality, easy to setup wireless audio listening experience for every room in the house that just works -- something we can't say for most wireless audio solutions. In other words, we expected a lot from the S5.
Let's be clear though: the S5 is not an iPod speaker dock -- you use your iPhone or iPod touch (with the free Sonos app installed) as a remote control, not as a docked or streaming audio source. This concept can be easily lost as Sonos attempts to better explain what its products can do for a generation of audio lovers weaned on iPods and MP3 audio. Sonos will, however, source audio from many locations including your iTunes library, CIFS NAS storage, line-in connected devices, thousands of free internet radio stations, or subscription music services like Last.fm, Pandora, Rhapsody, Napster, Sirius, or Deezer depending upon your geographic location. It will then send it to any Sonos zone in the house courtesy of its meshed, proprietary wireless network.
The near-final prototype Sonos S5 we heard was running version 3.1 software which is scheduled to mirror the release of the S5 on 27 October. This update includes Twitter integration as well as some unannounced UI tweaks like unique icons to easily identify the various music services you use or subscribe to. Of interest to you Star Wars nerds, Sonos tells us that it visited Skywalker Ranch for advice on tweaking the sound characteristics of the S5 during development -- something it can do courtesy of the S5's programmable DSP. So consider the S5 Wookiee approved.Now, even though the S5 was smaller than we expected from the initial round of product images, it easily filled a room in a city apartment measuring about 30 square meters (about 320 square feet) with well-rounded sound. And the portability of the unit makes it ideal for dragging out to the terrace for a summer party or to occasionally add audio to spaces such as a formal dining room when entertaining guests -- any room, actually, as long as there's power. While the S5 couldn't compete with Sonos' own loudspeakers for stereo separation, naturally, it did a decent job with Bohemian Rhapsody at a listening distance of about 6 feet. Overall, we were impressed with the sound -- it was certainly on par with those premium iPod speaker docks costing much more. However, like any all-in-one bookshelf-type system, deep-bass selections from the likes of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion could easily overwhelm the unit's 3.5-inch subwoofer at high volumes. Nevertheless, the unit did manage to drive a decent amount of thump suitable for party goers of a certain advanced age.
Obviously, you won't be purchasing the S5 for critical listening -- that's not the point of this Sonos offering. It's our opinion that the S5 delivers on its promise of "room-filling, ear-impressing sound" for iPhone- or iPod touch-carrying music lovers while opening the Sonos experience to more people thanks to a significantly lower (though not low) cost of entry. That makes it an important product for anyone looking to make a first serious step into whole-home audio.
Sweet. This will compliment my existing sonos setup nicely.
This is a perfect all in one roaming unit. Just add power.
oops, that was meant to be a reply to the spammer below you, whose post has just been removed. LOL@engadget commenting system. Seriously, what year are we in, Engadget? There were messageboards in 1989 that functioned better than this one. :-|
As for the matter at hand, I'd still enjoy it more if it had a dock (with charging support), as well as a rechargable battery, for use on the go.
I know that's not exactly what Sonos targets itself at, whatsoever, but it's still functionality that I"m looking for, when I spend $400+ on a device. Shit, I'd even pay an extra $99 for them to throw that functionality in.
More like: LOL@you for replying with a "fuck you" to a spammer, like it serves any purpose whatsoever...
Or even more like: LOL@me for replying to someone who replies to a spammer, like...
I've got a Sonos unit I picked up on clearance, and it really just works - I've got it routed into my main stereo and the sound is wonderful even through analog (RCA) jacks. Control with either my laptop or iPhone worls quite well.
How can you call a 3.5" speaker a sub?
Ask Bose. They do it all the time. I'm not saying it's right, just that they do it.
Oh geez. We had enough 'tards come in and whine about iPod accessories LAST time you posted the Sonos S5, and in that one you didn't even MENTION iPods; we still had to point out to all of the morons that Sonos gear is not an iPod accessory, it's a home music-distribution system.
Now that an Apple product was mentioned in the *headline* we're really gonna hear it.
The ability to interface with an iPod is a huuuge feature, for the vast majority of people purchasing a $400 speaker. Are they all 'tards? Just sayin'.
An iPod dock could be included at a cost of probably only about $8 for Sonos, and way more people would be interested in it. At least I would be. Lest we forget that adding an iPod dock would also effectively add an LCD to the unit.
One of the best things about these types of units is their portability. It becomes a little less portable when you can't leave your apt. with it. (Yes I'm aware that it has a line-in jack, so my point is admittedly a little less valid).
If I'm going to outfit my house with a Sonos, I'm going to want to hook up my main speakers to it. I can absolutely see how this would be a nice addition to an existing Sonos setup, however.
I don't get the point of this product.
I have a Sonos system set up in four rooms in my house. And I have an iPhone with the Sonos app installed. What does this do that my current set up doesn't?
This appears to me to be nothing more than a wireless router with speakers for your iPhone.
It moves.
@Timm if you are a Sonos owner and can't figure out what to do with this then it is time to sell your four room set-up to me.
Does your current set-up allow you to move your music from one room to another in a single unit. If this unit were available when I bought my Sonos system, I would not have needed to install outdoor speakers on my deck to enjoy my music collection.
This is also the perfect unit in the garage, basement, guest room etc. The best part is you buy one and move it to where you want it for the moment.
So...this is similar in function to AirPort Express/AppleTV with a decent set of speakers? Both can be controlled via Apple's Remote app to stream music to any zone in the house via AirTunes. I guess the only difference is that the Sonos system allows you to stream different music to different zones, which is pretty cool.
@Timm...I agree with John. As an example, foks on the Sonos forums have been asking for something like this for a long time. I've been waiting for this myself, and can't wait to get one. My master bedroom isn't wired for speakers, and the room design doesn't lend itself to easy wiring at all. This will fit nicely on my dresser, and is all I'll ever need for that room. I'm looking forward to getting one!
Weened on? Dinning room? Deep-base?
Editor?
@Zapp
I appreciate the grammar checking. And, no, I am not being facetious...
Is it correct that if this is the only Sonos product you have, it will need to be connected (via a cable) to a router? I read the description on the Sonos site and it said that it can connect with other Sonos products through their proprietary wireless protocol, but it doesn't mention anything about being able to connect to a normal (802.11x) wireless router. Thanks.
You will also need to buy a Sonos transmitter (or bridge). They have a proprietary system. Need to plug bridge into your router, then it transmits all over the house. Upside is that signal is stronger than my N wireless (I know because Apple Airport Express dropped all the time, but Sonos works great in same location). Downside is need to buy a bridge. But once you spring for the bridge, you can add audio to any room with this all in one solution.
Beware:
Sonos systems all still have a 65,000 track limit. Serious users are disqualified from owning any Sonos equipment until this limit is fixed, and engineering has claimed that outliers with large libraries are not their market since inception, rather than growing their indexing hash above two bytes.
The 65,000 track limit only applies if operating in serverless mode. This is the mode that most people will use as most people don't have anywhere near 65k tracks. It's also a mode that competing systems don't support, so it can't be compared with these other systems which require a server.
"Serious Users" who have more than 65k tracks can run a server (just like the other systems out there) which will give them an unlimited number of tracks. You can also use services like Rhapsody and Napster to give you access to millions of tracks at your fingertips.