Sonos is the answer

Sonos Remote

The first time I picked up a Sonos remote control, I wanted one.  It’s comparable to an iPhone but heftier.  And it only does one thing.  It’s slick but kind of dorky.   Troy McClure would definitely have one in his place. 

But it’s expensive.  This thing goes for $350. You can get an iPhone for less.  It made me think that Sonos was out of my price range.   I was wrong.

After I broke everything down, all the options and the associated costs and then factored in quality and ease of use, Sonos wasn’t that expensive for what you get.

A ZonePlayer 120 (zp120) was a pretty good base to build from.  It has a 55w digital amplifier, wireless streaming, built in music services, analog input for the record player, speaker posts, a subwoofer out and a free app for controlling it all with an iPhone.

Sonos ZonePlayer 120

Sonos iPhone App

If I purchased an additional ZonePlayer S5 with it’s built-in speaker, I could pipe music in to anywhere in the house I plugged it in.

Sonos ZonePlayer S5

An added bonus was the way it instantly connected with all of the various computers in the house.  I haven't figured it out yet, but I'm certain I can get my TVs into it somehow.

What sealed the deal was the quality.  I stopped by a Best Buy to listen to one and it sounded surprisingly good for something so compact.

First purchases:

• Sonos ZonePlayer 120 for the main unit: $450
• S5 to listen in another room: $400
• iPhone Remote Control App: Free (cha-ching)

Total: $850