Sonos CR100 Controller

Sonos puts the control of all your music and all your rooms in the palm of your hand. With the Sonos wireless, handheld CR100 controller and Sonosnet, you can instantly access your entire digital music collection from anywhere. No more running back and forth to your PC every time you want to turn on, change or turn off your music. No more pointing or line of sight requirements. Just freedom of movement and freedom of music.

Sonosnet is a secure wireless mesh network that extends the range of your Controller throughout your entire home. You can control everything from volume to music selection in any room from anywhere.

When it comes to scrolling through your music library, browsing titles, viewing album art, queuing up tracks, choosing zones, and more, the large, full-color LCD screen and scroll wheel make it very simple. No other digital music system lets you do all that.

The Sonos controller is rechargeable. You can do this either by simply plugging in the power supply unit to the controller when it warns you, or by placing the controller in the optional charging cradle.

A key component in achieving your multiroom Sonos music system is the Sonos ZP120 Zone Player or the Sonos ZP90 Zone Player.

Sonos CR100 Charging Cradle (optional)

The optional Sonos CR100 Charging Cradle allows you to store and easily recharge the controller. The cradle can be mounted on the wall (brackets, wall plugs and screws are included in the kit) or you can stand it on a table or bookshelf.

Whilst in the charging cradle, the Sonos Controller is fully functional. The Charging Cradle does not come with a power supply unit, it is designed to work with the power supply provided with the controller.

How does the system work

The Sonos supported configuration generally requires that you hard-wire your computer or hard disc storage storing the music to the first Sonos Zone Player. Thereafter all transmission between Zone Players can be wired or wireless, the latter using SonosNet 2.0. This upgraded version of the original secure AES encrypted SonosNet runs on 802.11n for twice the distance between ZonePlayers or ZonePlayer and ZoneBridge. This first connection can be direct between the computer and the Zone Player, using a patch lead, or via your home network (LAN). You can also make this link using an Ethernet over mains 'HomePlug' system, or using Ethernet over Co-ax if you have co-ax cable running between the ZP120 and Hard Disc storage.

Providing your computer or LAN has broadband Internet access, you will also be able to listen to your favourite Internet radio stations directly streamed to whichever Zone Player you want.

It is possible to avoid this first hard-wire link by using a Sonos ZoneBridge as shown in the schematic. As shown, using this ZoneBridge connected to a modem router and then the Internet will also allow you to access Internet radio without your computer.

If you already have a LAN over the whole house then you can connect some ZoneBridges to this, especially if you have areas in your home where the WiFi signal is a problem.

Music sources

For music stored on any computer, it needs to be turned on. However, if you have a Networked Attached Storage (NAS) device such as one of the Buffalo Linkstation range your music is always available without your computer being on, and the music does not occupy your computer hard disc space. The NAS can be connected to any Zone Player either directly or over your home network (LAN).

For an even easier way to rip and store your music the RipServer removes the need for the use of a computer in the process.

The Ripserver is a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device with a fully integrated CD ripping engine. The Ripserver is made by Ripfactory, experts in the provision of software and services for ripping audio. By utilising their core Ripstation technology for high quality CD conversion in a truly hands off way, Ripfactory have ensured that the Ripstation operation is simple: Once Ripserver is plugged into a network connection it takes care of storage of up to 1TB of music files, integrates a UPnP media server and offers a fully automated ripping system.

In use, no monitor or keyboard is required - simply insert a CD into the slot loading drive and the CD is converted within a few minutes, added to the media library and available on a network share, and then gently ejected.

Irrespective of the locations of your digital music they are consolidated and shown on the controller as a single library that can be accessed by album, artist or genre.

You can connect conventional analogue music sources such as DVD or satellite digibox and these are shown as the local source to a particular Zone Player by default, although you can name this on the system. These then become available throughout your house system.

All Zone Players are displayed on the Controller and named according to their location, eg living room, kitchen, and so on. This allows you to decide which room will play which music all from a single controller.

Napster and Sonos

Millions of songs at your fingertips — that’s the power of Napster® and Sonos. With a catalogue of over 6 million songs — pop, hip-hop, rock, country, jazz, classical, and more — you’ll have unlimited music on demand. And you’ll never have to rip another CD, download another song or even turn on your computer to access all that music.

With all Sonos Bundles you receive 30 Days FREE access to Napster. When this period has expired you can continue to subcribe to Napster if you wish for a flat fee. A monthly subscription of £9.95 to Napster allows you to stream any music held by Napster (or any service offering DRM-free tracks) direct to your room. This means that virtually any album or track is available to you at the touch of a button on your Sonos CR100 controller or by using the Sonos PC software.

With Sonos and Napster you can:

• Quickly find and play over 6 million songs in any and every room of your house
• Discover new music and rediscover old favorites with playlists, radio, charts, and more
• Create custom playlists based on your favorite artists and songs using Napster Automix
• Get new releases delivered right to your Controller

For your free trial just hit the Music button on your Controller, select Music Service Trials and choose the Napster Trial. No signup or credit card required.

Sonos Desktop Controller

The Sonos Desktop Controller software supplied free with every ZonePlayer lets you control all your music and all your rooms from any desktop or laptop computer in your house. The Desktop Controller software for PC and Mac is included with every ZonePlayer so you can turn any…or all of your computers into multi-room music Controllers.

The software also guides you through setup and music sharing. The Desktop Controller offers all the same functionality as the handheld ZP100 Controller with a user interface designed to take advantage of your computer’s bigger screen and keyboard. Find and play music from your personal music collection, Internet radio and the most popular online music services including Napster.

Use search to find your favorites, and quickly link and unlink zones to play the same song in every room or different songs in different rooms. You can also use the Desktop Controller to add new Internet radio stations with ease.

Requirements:

• Sonos Zone Player
• 1 pair of stereo 8 Ohm speakers per Zone Player
• Music file storage device, eg PC, MAC, NAS

Specifications:

• Screen: 3.5" colour LCD with LED backlight, 240x320 (QVGA)
• Scroll wheel: Touch sensitive wheel with centre mounted selector button
• Function buttons: 9 backlit buttons, 3 soft selector buttons below screen
• Battery: Rechargeable Li-ION Polymer, factory replaceable
• Wireless connectivity: Sonosnet, a secure peer-to-peer wireless mesh network
• Weight:360g
• Dimensions:165x97x24.5mm