Review - Sonos Play system

Hardware Review - Sonos music system 

We had been looking at various solutions for listening to music at home for a while now and after much deliberation, discussion and scouring the internet we decided to go for a Sonos system.

We wanted something which would let us stream our music between rooms and listen to internet radio. The most basic option would have been a wireless/Bluetooth speaker to play content from our phones or iPad. Sonos gives a bit more functionality and seemed like the best all round choice.

The speakers themselves come in a range of options from the entry level Sonos Play:1, through the Play:3, Play:5, soundbar and a Subwoofer. The speakers connect to your wireless network and can be added at any point. The speakers are controlled by an app on your phone or tablet and can be named when setting up to allow for easier management of your music zones. This gives you various options and this is what separates Sonos from a simple wireless or Bluetooth speaker.

From the main interface you can play music from various sources. It can be music stored on your device or across the network from a PC or NAS. You can also listen to internet radio stations via TuneIn radio. You can play music from various streaming music services too such as Spotify, Deezer or last.fm. You have options for playlists, favourites, preset stations or shows and navigation between these is very straightforward.

The app allows you to play different music across each speaker or they can be grouped to play the same thing in different parts of the house. It's fairly easy to switch between rooms and sources or control individual volumes even when grouped.

Speakers can also be paired within a group to split the sound and give a more traditional stereo effect.

Over the last couple of years the Sonos range has expanded, the most recent edition being the Play:1.

The Play:1 is the recently released entry level speaker for the range. Priced to go against other wireless or Bluetooth speakers such as the Bose sound dock. This is a good idea as it would get users into the Sonos ecosystem where they may then add bigger components at a later date.

The most popular component is the Play:3, it uses three digital amplifiers and three speakers to give a full spread of sound. We have two of these and they are great, they easily fill the room with sound and its a good mix of bass, middle and treble to give a good spread to the sound.

The Play:5 is the biggest of the three main speakers. It has six speakers and amplifiers to give the fullest reproduction of the sound. Sonos have recently announced a new Play:5 with some touch sensitive controls and trueplay tuning which adjusts the sound to the shape of your room.


If you are in the market for some wireless audio or music streaming devices then in sure Sonos would be one of the options on your short-list. Check them out and let me know what you think. 

Up Periscope!

One of the newest Social Media Apps is Periscope which launched back in March. 

The Android and iOS app allows users to broadcast a live video stream from their mobile devices. I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and have been impressed by how some brands are using it to get the most out of the app and its style of broadcasting.

The main difference between this and something like YouTube is that viewers can interact with the live broadcast by sending messages to the broadcaster, and by giving love in the form of hearts which scroll up the screen. This allows viewers to comment, question and almost direct the broadcaster whilst they are filming.

Videos can also be watched at a later point, this is a bit more similar to YouTube or a SnapChat video in that you simply watch the video play through. Again however you can see the interaction between the broadcaster and the viewers who were commenting at the time of recording. It is associated with twitter so links into your follower lists. 

Periscope is starting to increase its user base and popularity. Some brands are now making sense of the style of content and how best to fit it in with their marketing. Periscope seems to be used to supplement their existing YouTube or snapchat video channels.

Car competition website Best of the Best have recently started using periscope to showcase some of their prize cars and a winner presentation. This works well for them as viewer can interact asking to see certain aspects of the cars or hear them rev the engine for example. 

Glasgow based wrestling company Insane Championship Wrestling have started using Periscope to show behind the scenes footage of their podcast and interview recordings.

Fitness and personal improvement entrepreneur Chalene Johnson has embraced Periscope in a big way. She is broadcasting some of her workouts on there along with interviews and some motivational speaking. Chalene has been hosting some Q+A sessions based around building a business and brand on periscope and highlighting other broadcasters to watch.

If you haven't tried Periscope yet it is certainly worth a look. You may find some of the users you follow on twitter are already active on Periscope, and perhaps find some new users to follow. Let me know your thoughts on it and if you have tried broadcasting on there or any other sites.