Setting up a Sonos speaker using the new Wi-Fi capability is pretty simple. Wired connections are also required for 3.1- and 5.1-channel home theater setups, though if you're using a stand-alone Playbar speaker (without the optional subwoofer) you can use the Wi-Fi setup. If you currently have a wired connection or already use a Sonos Bridge, you should leave your system as is, since it's still the most reliable way to connect. Sonos has been testing its new software for several months, and is now rolling it out to all Sonos owners. Later this year, Sonos will be introducing a new product, called Sonos Boost, a $99 add-on accessory that will help those with challenging Wi-Fi environments. Instead, you can set up and run Sonos speakers on your regular Wi-Fi network, as long as they're within range of the router. Thanks to a software update, you no longer need any wired connection to your router. The company did not see the story before publication.Sonos speakers have consistently been at or near the top of our wireless speaker Ratings, but for some would-be users there's been one drawback: At least one Sonos speaker in a multiroom system has needed either a wired Ethernet connection to your network, or to be connected to an optional ($50) Sonos Bridge that's wired to your router. Gillian Shaw’s airfare and accommodation to attend the Sonos preview was paid by Sonos. Trueplay is also due out later this year. Expect to see Android added as the software is developed to work with the various types of Android devices. Trueplay will initially be available on all Sonos Play:1, Sonos Play:3 and Sonos Play:5 speakers and iOS controllers using iOS 7 or higher. It took two tries the first time, then I was a pro and tuned the next speaker a couple of minutes. I touched the onscreen button, a video popped up and I followed the demonstration by the woman in the video as she walked around a room, waving her iPad up and down, while a sound like aliens are about to land echoed about the room. I didn’t have the vaguest idea how to calibrate speakers until Papish put an iPad mini in my hands and hid a speaker behind a curtain. But the speakers were still hidden, the only change was Trueplay. It was like Papish had carefully shifted the speakers to take into account the effect of the walls, the furniture, counters or other surfaces the sound would bounce off. All of a sudden the sound was clear and precise, as the artist intended. He switched on Trueplay and the effect was stunning. When he turned on the music the sound was muffled and muddy, not surprisingly sounding like it was playing from inside a cupboard. Sonos’ Michael Papish had hidden one inside a cupboard, the other was tucked deep back on a counter, half blocked by appliances. In the first demonstration I had of the speaker-tuning software Trueplay, I couldn’t see the speakers in the room. Trueplay could also be dubbed audio for the awkward - those among us who wouldn’t know the optimum spot to place a speaker if someone gave us a map. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. So far, Sonos says it’s “later this year.”. The new speaker will be available in matte black or white and will sell for $549 Cdn. The Play: 5 has a power cord and keeps a 3.5 mm line-in jack plus an Ethernet port. Music is streamed over the Internet using the Sonos app, with services such as Spotify, Rdio, Google Play Music and others. While it has touch controls, the whole idea behind Sonos speakers is that you run your sound system remotely, using your smartphone or tablet. Attention to detail has even extended to the branding - the Sonos name plate on the front has the same holes drilled so it doesn’t create a sound block. While the speaker is roughly rectangular in shape, Kusano points out it’s a continuous curve, with each one of the 60,000 holes in the grill individually drilled. “We ended up with a plastic grill that is more expensive.” Tad Toulis, (left), vice-president design, Sonos andMieko Kusano, Sonos senior director of design, talk about new Sonos Play:5 speaker “We needed to figure out how to make a grill that wasn’t an antenna shield,” she said. Sonos product designer Mieko Kusano said the metal grill was shielding the antenna. The Play:5 has also received a facelift, with the original metal grill replaced with a plastic one. The new Play:5 has touch controls that let you pause, adjust the volume and jump ahead or backtrack, just with a touch of your finger. It can be a horizontal speaker as a stand-alone, paired vertically with another Play:5 or paired horizontally. The newest speaker, dubbed a smart speaker, has several intuitive features, including for the first time three possible orientations.
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