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Sonos deals for Cyber Monday and beyond

At CNET, we've long ranked the Sonos family of products near the top of our favorite wireless audio gear. The secret to the bulletproof wireless streaming of the Sonos -- it operates free of dropouts -- is that the audio streamers uses their own proprietary mesh wireless network, which is separate and distinct from your home's Wi-Fi network. Up to 32 separate Sonos units can operate in your home, wirelessly communicating with one another -- and without the constrictions of Wi-Fi.

But there's one hitch: while the Sonos system is wireless, the first Sonos unit in your … Read more

Sonos Play:3 speaker review: Small but loud

Following the success of its Play:5 networked speaker--formerly known as the S5--Sonos has added a smaller, less expensive speaker to its lineup, the Play:3. At $299, it's the most affordable Sonos streaming-audio component to date.

For the unfamiliar, Sonos is a streaming-audio system that lets you enjoy all manner of digital audio. Another big part of the appeal of the system is that it can stream your iTunes music collection and also easily connect to such streaming services as Aupeo, iHeartRadio, Last.fm, Mog, Napster, Pandora, Rdio, Rhapsody, SiriusXM Internet Radio, Spotify, Stitcher SmartRadio, TuneIn, and … Read more

Sonos ships new smaller Play: 3 speaker

Back in early June we reported that Sonos was in the process of prepping a smaller networked speaker, the Play: 3. Well, now that product has become official, along with its $299 price tag.

As part of the new release, Sonos is also undergoing a brand makeover, with a slightly different logo, a new naming system for its products, and a new tagline: "The wireless HiFi system." Moving beyond the smaller Play: 3, which comes in black and white versions, Sonos is now calling the larger S5 networked speaker the Play:5. It remains priced at $399, while the company's wireless Bridge drops to $50 from $100.

In recent years, as Sonos has added free iOS and Android apps to control its multiroom wireless audio system from people's existing smartphones and tablets like the iPad, the company has been growing rapidly. The introduction of the S5 (Play:5), which integrated a speaker with the wireless networking component, made setting up a multiroom system easier and has led to a big leap in sales.… Read more