I spent some time on the phone with Sonos tech support today and have to say I am VERY excited about the possibilities and the doors it can open up for new work from old customers with 12 channel amp VC systems.

I was worried about attaching legacy devices but turns out that is possible.

I was worried about customization. Turns out there are some options to change labels etc for room names and device inputs to make it more user friendly.

The added benifit of being able to load a touch in a dock and play an app like ESPN radio or MLB throughout the house makes this system very attractive.

The ipad app looks incredible too and seems like hands down the best way to stream pandora with feedback.

I know Ed wont like it but many of my clients will.


Questions:


Can you issue global commands? ie All zones Pandora - Volume X


What NAS drive is recommended? Does a PC need to be on to read the drive or can you direct it to the drive in the programming? Do any of our disties sale NAS drives or is this a BB thing?



How is the amplification on the ZP120? How do they sound with paired with a good pair of in ceiling speakers?



Has anyone found a way to get a video interface for a theater room where a separate control system is being used? I guess you could connect a PC HDMI and run control software but then a keyboard and mouse would be required anyways....might as well pick up the second controller or ipad. Just thinking out loud here. Thoughts? This is probably the ONLY downfall I see of the system and it is negligible....in fact it is a very reasonable trade out for having a 2 way interface and digital VC on multiple controllers throughout the house.


Thanks!

C

the amplified version sounds like crap. But the system is VERY cool for the money

You can adjust all zones levels and sources form one controller which is nice for some customers as well.

Does the ZP120 have any internal adjustments for bass, treble, output gain, etc? Otherwise how would you get digital VC if using a zp90 and and separate 2 channel amp?

Does anyone else concur about sound quality?

The sound quality is OK. Use the ZP90 and external amp for serious listeninmg zones.There are adjustments for bass and treble for individual zones. Dont even try and interface with other control equipment, you are wasting your time.
Zones can be named anything you like, but there are limited choices for graphics to associate with zone type. (no big deal)
We have been using the MusiM8 for a NAS drive. Works perfectly and no need for an external drive. This also rips your CDs to the hard drive automatically.
The zigbee is so stable I unplugged the network cable from on ethe other day and the song kept playing without a glitch. This led me to suspect they might run over the zigbee connection as a preference and only use the network if the unit is out of range.

Yes use the zp90 and your own amps. The zp90 has volume and tone adjustments it's basically a networked preamp. We did a couple of the ones a few years ago with the built in amp, I believe it was called a zp100 back then...sounded like rubbish with the Polk LC in-ceiling speakers we used.

Yes - you have the option of selecting all zones or each individual zone in the volume section. If you raise all - they raise proportionally to the level they were at previously.



I have no complaints. We often run ZP120's with Totem MITEs, and achieve great results. Doesn't sound as bad as being let on here.... IMHO.

The ZP90 has VC? I guess this is good and bad. How do you eliminate this from zones such as a theater with its own amp? Can you fix the output and remove its control from the controllers?

Perfect.


Good to hear. Thanks!

How about source? Can you select a global source?

Your rep must have been glossing over all the real important info. Yes the zp90 is fixed or variable out.

Actually my rep and tech support has been great. We talked about just about everything but left out this detail. I never thought to ask. I was too excited about running audio apps on a wireless dock and be able to play it throughout the house.

It sounds like the system is very flexible.

Yah I think you'll like it for the sub-Crestron kind of crowd.

You can run a "party" zone, I just checked out for a project comming up.

Yeah, you just link or group zones together and when you control volume all the zones will adjust relative to other zones. You can highlight a specfic zone to adjust the volume independently.

Amps are ok but if you have a discerning customer then install a good multichannel amp with the ZP90's.

Just remember to run line outs from TV's to zone players if there aren't located locally.

I've used Buffalo NAS's and haven't had any issues but the MusiM8 that Ozzie mentioned sounds pretty cool.

Sonos isn't for the person looking for automation but is great for almost everyone else. It's super easy to use and you'll get more referrals from Sonos than any other system IMO. Have fun with the install!

Our recipe goes like this: buffalo NAS, ZP90 and a power amp with audio sensing (more often ADM-2.1 from integra). i also think that sound quality is crap on the ZP120.

Ifyou have access to Nevo, the S70 can run a plug-in that will transform into a sonos remote with the same interface. Works ok. It's perfect for a tv room.

It would be really cool that Sonos developp an inwall control...