Sonos BU130 Digital Music System Bundle
by Sonos
|
List Price: Category: Receiver or Amplifier See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sonos BU130 Digital Music System Bundle
Customer Review: Excellent product, some minor flaws
Summary: 4 Stars
Got my Sonos bundle a week ago. Installation, as many reviewews have already pointed out, couldn't be simpler. I have had toasters taken longer to "install". I am also using a Sonos bridge as I didn't wanted to waste a zone player in my home-office where my wi-fi router sits. Same ease of configuration there. Let's move on to actually using the product....
Well, this is where I have a few complaints. It seems to me that the system is preferrentially optimized for folks getting their music piped directly off internet using services like Rhapsody and Napster. You say, what's wrong with that. Nothing, if that's how you get your music. Actually Rhapsody's integration with Sonos is done in such a nice way that it could be fairly addictive.
But my situation is a bit different. I like to listen to Bollywood and Indian classical music, most of which is not (yet) available on Rhapsody or Pandora. My primary music source is CDs, which I rip in pristine lossless WMA (Windows Media Audio) format, and carry them on my Zune. This is where Sonos fails to deliver for me. It doesn't support either lossless WMAs format or Zune playlists. The alternative presented to me was to rip my music (if I can even find my CDs) in either MP3 or lossy WMA formats. The workaround for the Zune playlist issue is to recreate them in Windows Media Player. Needless to say, these limitations marred an otherwise pleasant experience with the system for me.
I am still giving it a 4 stars for all the other great stuff the system offers.
Customer Review: Outstanding in every way!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had wanted to buy the Sonos system since it came out. I could never justify the money until this year.
After using it for a month, I can say without a doubt that it is worth the $1000 and much more.
- Incredibly easy to set up. I had the whole system running, updated and software installed on the PC in 45 minutes (includes running wires)
- More features than I expected. The system can be controlled via my PC and the controller. Free internet radio is very comprehensive. It synchronized with my Buffalo NAS drive including album art seamlessly. Sonos even thought of the little things like being able to turn off the power light on each unit (great for the bedroom). No other company that I know has thought of programmable power on lights
- The units are solid, the way you wish your consumer electronics was built
- The one time my controller locked up (its a little PC), I called tech support - waiting all of 30 seconds. They showed me how to reboot it (easy) and provided me with a firmware update to prevent recurrence
- The zone players are small, unobtrusive, and look good
- Both players have built in ethernet switches so you don't need additional switching (only 1 zone player actually needs to be wired)
- Wireless music streaming with no dropouts and no interference
It just works! My wife and teenage daughter love it. I even bought Rhapsody and got my daughter to stop downloading. I plan on getting more zones.
Customer Review: Does exactly what it claims, but a bit pricey
Summary: 4 Stars
Strengths: One hour and it was all set up.
Excellent customer support.
Great wireless range (we have trouble with wireless phones but the sonos signal went 50' through old plaster walls and ceilings, no problem).
Excellent audio quality.
Pulls album art on its own.
Intuitive remote. Learn on the fly.
Lots of internet radio stations and has Sirius radio capability.
Weaknesses: Very pricey.
Must use controller wheel, no touch recognition on screen.
Slightly outdated with no video capability.
Needs its own wireless network with at least one unit wired to your computer. Need a $99 Zone bridge if you don't want to leave a full unit attached to the computer.
Won't play protected itunes songs (most of the ones bought on itunes are protected).
Can only handle 50k songs so if you have a huge hard drive of music you cant use it all at once.
No up and down channel controls for Sirius radio. must go to menu w/ track wheel to change channel. Also must add $2.99/month to upgrade internet radio account if you already have a Sirius account.
Music management is not very robust.
Overall its awesome, but at a price. For $999 for the combo set it should not have many of the issues i cited. If Price does not matter to you then it is five star.
Customer Review: Best Wireless System Todate
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me start off by saying I was just looking for some good wireless speaker when I came across the Sonos System. It seems like every audio speaker website had an advertisement or comment about this system. I went to the Sonos home page and saw the demo and was impressed.
The Sonos system is one of the few electronic in my house that my wife approves of. We use it in conjunction with Pandora Music Radio and we love it. The only thing that I have to complain about is the distance of the wireless. I had to buy a Sonos ZoneBride 100 ($99.00)to help extend the players distance. The ZoneBride is a must have if you live in a large house/apartment, or a place that has interior brick wall instead of plasterboard.
I purchased the Sonos system from Amazon because they had a special going on, when you got the Sonos BU130 bundle they would throw in a Sonos CC100 charging cradle ($34.00) and a set of Polk Audio R150 ($100.00) for free. I was happy to receive my order from Amazon but when I plugged in the ZP100 it would not power up. I came back to Amazon and started on the paperwork to have a new system sent out. Within an hour I received an e-mail saying a new system was already on its way. I didn't even get a change to package up the broken one before a new system was at my door. Great work Amazon!!
Customer Review: Best Electronics Purchase of My Life
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the Sonos BU 130 Digital Music System Bundle, along with an additional Sonos ZP 100 player and two sets of Sonos speakers. Set-up was amazingly simple and I was soon playing my music library all over the house. The controller is one of the more amazing products I have ever owned - - allowing you to add and drop rooms, pick any artist, track or album to play, create playlists, adjust volume, play internet radio,podcasts,Sirius (I enjoy blasting Howard Stern throughout the house) and search music services. I am using the free trial of Rhapsody and it is an service and so easy to use on my Sonos controller. Rhapsody is amazing to have millions songs at your fingertips at a low monthly fee, and the ability to play those songs in any room almost instantly (bye bye Itunes). My only challenge was accessing music on a second computer, but the Sonos tech support had this resolved for me in 5 minutes. (This was actually a file share setting on my second computer that I had to make). I am so happy with the $2,000 investment I have made to put digital music all over my home. The "fun" factor of the Sonos system puts this product near my Infiniti M35 as my all-time favorite purchase. Viva La Sonos!!