D-Link DSM-320 Wireless Media Player, Audio/Photo/Video, 802.11g Review

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(More customer reviews)My expectations were fairly low after having read all the other reviews, but I really liked the option that you get from adding a home media drive from D-Link to this set-up (DSM 602H/4H). I've been waiting for a media server that doesn't require me to keep my PC running in my bedroom 24/7. The network drive from D-Link and this media server looked like an awesome combination.
In an effort not to repeat everything that's already been said ... here are the things I believe haven't been mentioned yet ... first and foremost, don't expect to spend any less than a solid weekend getting this up and running .. and even after you do I expect multiple hours will be spent updating firmware etc. over the next few months (at least I hope there are firmware updates coming)
The physical connection was easy and intuitive, but getting the player up and running and connected to my wireless network was a royal pain. I tried to use my media drive as it is advertised by D-link, but apparantly that's not possible without a firmware update. Of course, that firmware update is still in beta release ... do I need to say more. It actually royally p*sses me off that D-Link advertise the combination of the media home drive and the media server, before they can actually deliver that option. I wrote a glowing review of the home media drive, but that was before I updated the firmware to enable use with the media server ... after the firmware was updated, I can't access the management interface for the drive for more than one or two pages before the device has to be restarted (read pull power plug and re-insert) .. the drive doesn't seem to stream the media evenly, so every single song comes across with large gaps where nothing is playing ... pictures don't come across in the right format and shows up on the screen in some oddly twisted aspect ratio ... the media server software that's resident in the media drive firmware update apparantly doesn't read ID3 tags correctly either; it doesn't pick up genres, and artist and album data isn't alphabitized
On a slight possitive note, the media server software running off my PC works much better. It streams evenly, ID3 tags seem correct and pictures are correctly formatted. I still haven't been able to stream a single movie across the media server, but that's personally less of an issue for me personally.
Oh, and although I didn't want to repeat other reviewers .. I have to say this ... THE REMOTE CONTROL ABSOLUTELY STINKS ... worst piece of hardware I've ever held in my hand ... period ... and that includes all those awefull Sony-Ericson phones I've tried over the years ;-)

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D-Link's DSM-320 Wireless Media Adapter is a next generation multimedia product that streams all your favorite media files to your home entertainment center.It supports 802.11g wireless standards with transfer speeds up to 54Mbps. The DSM-320 supports all popular media formats including MP3, WAV, and WMA for audio files, MPEG1/2/4, AVI, and DivX4/5 for video, and JPEG, GIF, BMP, and PNG for images. Plug the DSM-320 directly into your TV to easily access all your media content through the user-friendly TV interface with the included remote control.Experience your digital media like never before with the DSM-320 Wireless Media Adapter.

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Sonos Controllers ? Wireless control of your Sonos Multi-Room Music System Review

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(More customer reviews)I have two CR100 controllers in heavy use for almost 2 years now. From that experience, I can say that they are solid and hold up flawlessly. I don't remember ever having to reboot. Personally I think that the size and weight are a plus for this purpose. The CR100 is well-designed: It does an excellent job controlling the sonos system. I like that it wakes up just by shaking it. On the downside: screen is mediocre quality and does not show full album and track names, searching large music libraries (e.g. Rhapsody) can be a challenge. Battery life is so-so, but good enough. And when compared to an Iphone or an Ipod, the CR-100 feels like a Chevrolet Lumina next to a Porsche: old-fashioned, clumsy, and looks a bit cheap for $399. But it does the job. The CR100 is at least 2x too expensive for what it contains. I'm waiting to an iphone app to control sonos. Technically that is possible and I would be willing to pay for that.
Update October 2008:
One of my CR-100 died spontaneously last week. This is disappointing: a product at
this price point simply should not die within 3 years of purchase. Since it was
out-of-warranty, Sonos replaced it by a new one for $100. Sonos tech support is
excellent and fast, but I have mixed feelings having to pay $100 to replace a faulty product.
Update November 2008:
The Iphone Sonos app is out! This totally obsoletes the CR-100, since the Iphone
with a brilliant touch screen is so much easier to use than the CR-100. Sonos did a great job
in designing this app: it is nearly flawless. Searching for music is much easier
using the keyboard interface than with the click-wheel of the CR-100.
And... its free. I expect Sonos to discontinue
the CR100 soon, since a $220 Ipod touch or a $200 Iphone does a much better job
at it than the $400 CR100. From any angle, the iphone is far superior.

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If you're a serious music lover, and you're looking for a quick, intuitive way to access your entire digital music collection, then look no further than the powerful, handheld Sonos Controller CR100. Tap into songs, albums, and even playlists from anywhere in your home, inside or out. That's because the Sonos Controller uses SonosNet, a secure wireless mesh network that extends the range of your controller throughout your entire home. Forget about running to your PC every time you want to pick a new tune, skip a track, or crank up the volume, just grab your CR100 and your music is at your fingertips.
Watch a demo of the Sonos Digital Music System.
The CR100 works in tandem with both of the Sonos ZonePlayers -- the ZonePlayer ZP100 or ZonePlayer ZP80 -- to control digital music throughout your home. In fact, you can use up to 32 controllers for each ZonePlayer. With multiple controller functionality, Sonos brings digital music control to every room and floor in your house.
Browsing and Queuing Browse your digital music collection by artist, album, genre, track, name, composer, or even playlist. The CR100 also empowers you to queue the right tunes for the right moment -- with this controller you can build, edit, and save playlists right from the palm of your hand. Of course, what you may want to hear might differ from your spouse working upstairs. Sonos has covered all the angles so you can have multiple music queues. Use any Controller to build a separate queue of music to play in each zone or a group of zones throughout your house. If you desire, you can pipe classical music into the kitchen while there's a rock opera blasting on the back porch -- Sonos gives you the tools to make music happen where you want to hear it.
The Screen and Controls The high-resolution, 3.5-inch LCD color screen makes everything on the screen bright and easy-to-see, including full-color album artwork, if available. You can view full-screen or thumbnail views of album art, plus detailed track information from this palm-sized device. Sonos designed the CR100 with a backlit screen and buttons, which makes it easy to operate in low-light conditions. You can even adjust the brightness of the LCD and buttons to suit your style or extend the battery life. The scroll wheel makes it easy to flip through large music collections and make selections, or you can power scroll by letters to jump ahead to find an artist, album, or track.
The Controller's button layout is intuitive and provides complete music management and control. Two buttons are dedicated to providing direct access to the Controller's main menus -- Music and Zones -- for quick, snappy control. The CR100 is also designed to conserve battery life with a movement sensor that automatically turns the Controller on when you pick it up, and a light sensor that only turns on backlighting when it is needed.
Also, be sure to check out the Sonos CC100 Charging Cradle, which serves as a handy charger and holder for the Controller.
Sonos In Depth The CR100 is just one part of a complete Sonos Digital Music System. To make your system complete, you'll also need a Sonos ZonePlayer. With the ZonePlayers in the rooms of your choice, you can play the same song in different rooms, or different songs in different rooms. You can have up to 32 Sonos ZonePlayers throughout your house -- from the bedroom to the backyard. Connect your first ZonePlayer to your router and all the others work wirelessly. Choose between the ZP80, which connects directly to your home theater or stereo, or the ZP100, which features its own built-in amplifier. Or better yet, choose both for the ultimate in multi-room music.
With the CR100 in hand, you'll have instant access to all your digital music, plus Internet radio, subscriptions to online audio services, and even music from your favorite CD or MP3 player. Turn off the upstairs music while you're downstairs. Change the song in the kitchen from the den. To start listening, just pick a room, pick a song, and hit play.
If you're just getting started with your Sonos system, you'll want to check out Sonos' ZP80 and ZP100 Digital Music System Bundles, which combine two ZP80 or ZP100 units respectively with a Sonos Controller. The bundles offer an easy, economical way to get in on the Sonos action. Then, when you're ready to expand you can purchase a ZP80 or ZP100 for more rooms in your home.
If you choose to extend your system with a ZP100 you can use your own speakers with it, or connect a pair of Sonos SP100 Loudspeakers, which are aesthetically and acoustically designed to look great with your Sonos Digital Music System.
What's in the Box Sonos Controller CR100, AC adapter, power cord, and controller documentation.

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Sonos CR200 Wireless control of your Sonos Multi-Room Music System Review

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(More customer reviews)Been using my CR200 for about 3 weeks and it has been a joy.
Compared to the original CR100 (which itself seemed fabulous when first received) the CR200 is from a different planet. It's much smaller, lighter, and the screen is bigger and brighter. I am not sure I would pay to upgrade for those benefits alone however.
The real advance is in the search functionality. Gone is the ipod style scroll-wheel with the tedious onscreen keyboard and in is a full touch sensitive on screen keyboard. Once you get used to it (it takes a little practice) the difference is night and day. If you have a large music collection, or especially if you use Napster or Rhapsody, searching using the CR200 is a joyous experience. Not only is the input vastly quicker now that you can type, but the search itself is predictive such that when you type "depe", for example, Depeche Mode will already be on screen vying for your attention with DePedro. The combination of vastly faster typing combined with the improved search makes the search experience on the old CR100 feel like wading through cement in comparison.
Rhapsody plus the CR200 really is a wondrous thing, it really makes searching for music a joyful experience. I frequently have to stop myself squealing with delight.
So, if the CR200 vs. CR100 = a no brainer, how about vs. an iPod touch or iPhone? My experience using the Ipod application is limited to about 5 minutes. My reasons for preferring the CR200 were twofold: 1. I really value the speed of the search experience - having to wake up my iPod, load the app etc was a trifle unappealing. Furthermore, I have a big house with lots of sonos players in far flung corners (like the basement) and I really wanted my remote to work on the Sonos Mesh as opposed to wifi (which the iPod uses). These are perhaps not big reasons, and if you already have a suitable touch or iPhone it may well not be worth the upgrade. As irrational as it may be though, I just wanted a device built from the ground up for Sonos rather than an apple product I could dumb down to do (almost) as good a job.

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Sonos Controller 200 (CR200)Dedicated wireless Controller with full-color VGA display and ultra-responsive touch screen. Pick it up or touch the screen and it's instantly on, ready to play your music. Dedicated Mute, Volume and Zones buttons get you to the functions you use most. Includes a Sonos Charging Cradle and removable battery.

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Sonos S5 Wireless Internet Music Player (White) Review

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(More customer reviews)Just got the S5 about an hour ago. Setup couldn't be easier. Step 1 - connect the power cord to an power outlet. Step 2 - hit the Mute and + button to get the S5 added as a new zone, Step 3 - hmmm....I don't think there is one. Just hit play and enjoy pure bliss.
This is my 4th Zone player (see my other gushing review of the Sonos system on the Sonos bundle page), and anytime my wife asks, "how many of these white boxes you really need?", the answer is always "one more".
Portability is the key feature of S5. Moving it from Kitchen to backdeck is just a matter of unplugging the power cord and replugging at the new location. It's all in one box. And the sound quality is not bad either. With all 4 zone players on party mode - some connected to very expensive Klipsch towers - I have ran around to compare the sound quality at various locations. The verdict - this little guy stacks up nicely against the big boys.
And the iPhone controller is not too shabby either. Don't see the need to buy the new touch controller (CR200).
Awesome product. Pure genius. Just get it.

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The reason Sonos works so flawlessly all over the house is because we designed a complete multi-room music system from the ground up. From the flexibility of our ZonePlayers to the ubiquity of our Controllers, no other company gets multi-room music like we do. Our system lets you play the same song in every room with perfect synchronicity. Or you can play different songs in different rooms and please everyone in the house.

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Sonos Wireless Dock 100 for iPod and iPhone Review

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(More customer reviews)I set this up yesterday and have been testing it for two days now. This is a wireless iPod accessory dock to combine with an existing Sonos Wireless Music system or to go along with a newly purchased Sonos system.
This item took me 9 minutes from opening the box to listening to music on my iPod Nano. It was a breeze. After unpacking I plugged it in and read the 3 step directions. I grabbed my Sonos Controller, pressed a Sync button on the back of the dock and updated my system wirelessly. The next thing I knew I had an icon for my iPod with my songs, playlists, etc. Easy and simple just the way the Sonos system is.
I can now zone the music together-so I can play that music from my iPod in multiple rooms (only the same music) at the same time, or play iPod in one room and Pandora in another. Of course it does this with a low profile-the item is very small like most accessory docks and also while charging your iPod. I can play the songs on the iPod, Playlists, artists, etc. I have also tried the dock with my iPhone 3G and it worked well-although it does take 30 seconds or so to sort of "read" whatever iPod you dock.
You can also play music while you search for other playlists to artists within the iPod that you want to listen to.
The fidelity is very impressive. I have some floor standing B & W Speakers connected to a higher end Yamaha amp and the music sounds great-better than Pandora through Sonos-and Pandora sounds pretty darn good. I also an running it through a Denon Amp and some Gallo a 'Diva Speakers that sound great as well. Apparently the dock takes the music right off of your iPod vs. converting it to analog-which is huge for original sound integrity. I found this to be the case.
UPDATE: I have now had this dock for 5 days and still love it. There is question as to why one would need this if their iTunes is already synced with Sonos and a thought is that if you have others that visit your house often-they can bring their iPod and sync it with your Sonos. An example would be if you have a significant other not living with you or Mother/Father that have different musical tastes.
The dock itself has volume +/- on the side and a sync button on the back. Note that the sync can be easily accidentally pressed when trying to move this dock-as my wife did when she was cleaning the countertop. It will sort of re-set the iPod and dock again and your music will not play properly until it has reset itself fully. Just something to get used to once you know it's there. One sized dock should fit all iPod except the Shuffle.
I love theSonos system and left a review for it several months ago singing its praises but a critical comment I made of it was that I thought I was supposed to be able to wirelessly connect my Mac and iTunes to the Sonos system and always access my music library. I have not been able to do this after quite a bit of trying but admit to not calling their tech support. I have been resigned to listening to my iTunes via wired LAN connection-essentially my MAC hooked up wired to one of my Sonos 120's or 90's but now I no longer have to do that. My Mac can be off, it can be with my wife away from home or it can simply be in my lap and not plugged in to the wired connection-but I can still access all my iTunes music library that is stored on the iPod docked to this new item.
For it's price point-this is a must have for anyone that has an existing Sonos system and doesn't have an ideal set-up to hear their iTunes library whenever they want. The fact that it charges the iPod and also plays the music with such great fidelity are also huge plusses. Sonos hit a home run with this one.

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Add iPod convenience to your Sonos Music System with the Wireless Dock 100. Wireless means it goes anywhere to charge and anywhere you've got Sonos to play back your favorites. Control the music right on your iPod or use any Sonos Controller. But what's most impressive is that the digital music stored on your iPod or iPhone is never converted to analog, like most conventional docks.

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