Product Reviews

iTunes is great for playing your music while you're at your Mac. But when it comes to playing music properly through your hifi, running an audio cable from your Mac is definitely a second-rate solution - and the kit from Sonos is the very best option we've seen. This hooks your music library directly into your regular music system and manages playback itself, leaving your Mac free to play its system beeps to itself rather than throughout the house.

The Sonos system consists of a number of different units, although you certainly don't need them all. In brief, a ZonePlayer is the heart of the Sonos setup. It will hook into your own amplifier as a regular hifi component, and one model can also drive a set of standard speakers directly.

Sonos units don't store the music themselves, so the setup involves pointing it at your iTunes music library or, in fact, any network-connected hard disk containing music files, including regular network-attached storage (Nas) drives. You can even use music stored in multiple locations on your network and add it all to your Sonos library. This can be set to update for you on a regular basis, so new music will automatically appear in the library without manual intervention.

Controlling the music - browsing your library, searching for specific tracks, setting up playlists, and so on - is done separately from the ZonePlayer itself. You can download the free Sonos Desktop Controller software and do this from your Mac, or break free of your computer and use the wireless Sonos Controller instead. This device is about the size of a paperback book, and links to your ZonePlayer using wifi.

The interface is impressively simple, and it does everything that the software controller can. You can even use both at once, as the ZonePlayer devices themselves do the work of remembering your playlists, library contents and so forth. The hardware and software controllers both show the current queue, and changes made with one are shown instantly everywhere. Embedded song data including album cover art is shown as well.

Multiple ZonePlayer units will link together using the Sonos system's own wifi network, but there has to be

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one wired Ethernet link to your network. This can be simply through running an Ethernet cable from your router to a ZonePlayer, or by using the tiny ZoneBridge 100. This acts as the Sonos wireless basestation for the rest of the kit, so you don't need to run a network cable to your hifi - rather helpful if your amp is in a different room.

Like other non-Apple devices, Sonos systems can't play DRM-protected music from the iTunes Music Store. You can play most other audio file formats - MP3, WMA, non-DRM AAC, Ogg Vorbis, Audible book files, Apple Lossless, Flac, and uncompressed Wav and AIFF. As you'll be pushing your music through a proper amp and speakers - remember, the Sonos kit is designed to deliver high-quality sounds - you should start collecting high-quality digital music now or be prepared to hear the flaws. This means no more 128kb/sec iTunes Store AAC files - stick to 192kb/sec at least in AAC or MP3 formats.

Another trick up the Sonos sleeve is support for Napster music subscriptions. This lets you browse the entire Napster library of millions of songs and add favourites to playlists as if you had them locally. You'll need a broadband connection, of course, and Napster charges £10 a month for access, so this won't suit everyone. But it is currently the only way for Mac users to access Napster, so it is worth noting.

In short, the Sonos system is the high-end hifi equivalent of the iPod - a great product, well designed, that makes your music even more accessible. The cost of kitting out a house or office with a full Sonos system is not low - the ZonePlayer 80 costs £249, the ZonePlayer 100 with the built-in amplifier (and four-port Ethernet switch) is £349, and the Sonos Controller 100 itself is £279. Yes, the controller costs more than the ZonePlayer - but this is a sophisticated wifi device with large colour screen and recharging battery.

The £69 ZoneBridge makes the initial connection to your network without needing to run Ethernet to your hifi setup. But there are options to consider. For example, the Sonos Bundle 130 (priced at £699) contains two ZonePlayers (the 80 and 100) and a controller, enough to set up two different music sites in your home. Alternatively, you can get up and running with a single ZonePlayer and add more later whenever you want - although putting a controller on the shopping list is definitely recommended.

The benefits of its flexibility and ease of use shouldn't be underestimated. In our tests, this turned a Mac-bound music library into one that was fully and easily accessible to everyone, including dinner guests, anywhere in the house. In fact, I'm putting my money down for one of my own - my wife won't let me return the test kit until I do.