Sonos ZonePlayer S5 – wireless multi-room music solution

There’s a lot of music out there, and a lot if us like different types of it. One person’s secret love of The Vegaboys would clash in the most extreme way with another family member’s or fellow office worker’s taste that stays more in the area of Brahms. What to do, in order to keep home or workplace harmony…

One solution is the Sonos ZonePlayer S5. The Sonos S5 accesses music on your family’s various iPods and iPhones, or on your computer or networked external hard drive, or even internet radio, and can wirelessly pump out different music to different zones in your home or office. And by zones, I mean each place you put one of the Sonos S5 speakers.

Inside the Sonos S5 is 2 tweeters, 2 mid-range drivers, and a subwoofer, powered by an inbuilt amplifier, which pushes out a pretty good sound for such a small unit.

All of this can be controlled by a separately available Sonos Controller 200 remote control, or, you can simply use the Sonos Controller for iPhone app, available for free download from the Apple App Store. This app works with the iPhone and IPod Touch, and allows you to control the choice of music and level of volume for your each and every zone.

The S5 also has a 3.5 mm jack, enabling you to connect an iPod, CD player, TV, DVD, VCR or radio.

Price and availability

The Sonos S5 will be available for $699 in November. Additional base units are $699, and if you choose to buy the Sonos Controller 200 remote control rather than use the free iPhone and iPod app, then that too is an additional $699.

UPDATE: Sonos S5 review

Read our review of the Sonos ZonePlayer S5.