How does Sonos Work?
Discover music with Sonos
Sonos makes it fun and easy to discover new music. As well as being able to access any music stored on any computer on your network, Sonos can access thousands of internet radio stations from anywhere in the world, or integrate with services like Spotify, Napster and Last.FM.
The real brilliance of Sonos though isn't just that you can access these services; but how simple it is. Imagine watching Jools Holland and seeing an artist you've never heard of before, but really enjoyed. How cool would it be if you could just pick up your iPhone® or Sonos CR200 and play their entire back catalogue, instantly, in any room of your house?
How about going even further and having your music system suggest artists similar to your new discovery? It's all possible right now. And Sonos makes it very easy.
Simple, consistent user interface
The Sonos user interface is widely regarded as being as good as they get. It is simple, intuitive and quick. To get music playing from any remote control, just follow three simple steps (click for screenshots):
We'll go into detail about each of these options below, but please remember that it's a lot easier to do than it is to describe!
Pick a room: Zones Menu
This screen lets you select which room you wish to control. You can control any zone from anywhere in your house. If you want to play the same song in more than one room, press the "Zone Group" button. Once you have selected which room (or rooms!) you wish to control, you are taken straight to the Music Menu (below). You can access this menu at any time by pressing the dedicated hard button on the CR200, or the house icon on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
Pick a source: Music Menu
A brief description of what each button on the main Music Menu does. Sonos will only show you the music services you subscribe to - so if you aren't a Napster subscriber, that button won't appear until you have added an account or accepted the free 30 day trial.
Music Library
If you have a hard drive already filled with digital music or a CD collection just begging to be digitized, you're in luck. That's because Sonos liberates all that music from your computer so you can enjoy it in every room. Sonos supports all the most popular audio formats, including MP3, iTunes AAC, Apple Lossless and FLAC. Your computer will need to be turned on to access its library; or you can put your music onto an external networked-hard-drive (NAS) .
Internet Radio
Sonos lets you tune in to more than 100,000 radio stations, shows and podcasts in every room of your house. Free of charge. The Radio guide lets you browse endlessly for both local and international stations or you can use Search to find a specific station. When you find what you love, add it to Favorites for your future listening pleasure. All BBC stations are available - including access to the iPlayer 'listen again to the last seven days of radio' service (just search for your favourite show by name).
Music Services (Spotify, Napster, Last.FM, Wolfgang's Vault, Deezer)
Don't have any digital music on your computer or just want more of it? Not to worry. Sonos works seamlessly with the most popular music services for computer-free access to millions of songs and stations - no ripping or downloading required. Just find a track and play it - instantly. Detailed information on each of the services can be found below.
Other ways to listen
Want to listen to the music that's stored on an iPod or iPhone? Just add the Sonos Wireless Dock to your system and wirelessly play those tunes on Sonos - all over your house.
Have a favorite CD that isn't ripped? Simply connect any external audio source with a line-out jack or RCA phono outputs, like a CD player, to the analogue line-in jacks on the back of every ZonePlayer to play all that music (or audio) in every room.
Access to music
The music services featured below all offer instant access to music, with no need for a computer. No waiting for downloads - or worrying about where to save the files. They work in much the same way a YouTube video does; i.e. the song is downloaded whilst it plays.
Last.FM is completely free to UK customers, but you will need a subscription account for Spotify, Napster or Wolgang's Vault. To help you choose which service is right for you, free 30 day trials for Napster and Wolfgang's Vault are included with your Sonos system. You can trial Spotify's free service on your computer by visiting their website.
Last.fm
Last.fm is a global music service that lets you play, share and discover new music. You can also create personal radio stations based on your musical tastes. And the more you listen, the more Last.fm learns what you like so it can recommend even more music to play all over the house. No computer required. Last.fm is free with every Sonos system.
Spotify
Any track you like, any time you like. Just search for it in Spotify, then play it. Any artist, any album, any genre - all available instantly. With Spotify, there are no limits to the amount of music you could listen to. Just help yourself to whatever you want, whenever you want it. Spotify Premium offers over 10 million tracks and streams in a near CD-quality 320kbps MP3 format.
Napster
Napster is a digital music service with a library of over 8 million songs and easy-to-use music discovery tools. Just pick up your Controller to explore new releases, playlists, radio, charts, and more. No computer required. Get a free 30-day trial to Napster inside every Sonos system. Outstanding value with premium accounts costing just £5 per month which also includes five free MP3s you can keep, per month. No long term contract required.
Wolfgang's Vault
Wolfgang's Vault is a premium music service with the world's largest online collection of live concert recordings, featuring Bill Graham's personal archives and more. It includes over 3,500 concerts from the last 50 years, with performances ranging from Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead to Miles Davis and the Talking Heads. With Sonos and Wolfgang's Vault you can play any concert, in any room, and listen any time - no computer required. Get a free 30-day trial to Wolfgang's Vault with every Sonos system.
Deezer
Deezer is a leading European music service that lets you play and discover millions of songs from major and independent labels. Create customized stations based upon your favourite artists with Deezer's Smartradio. Plus, listen to Deezer's preprogrammed webradio stations, organised by both popularity and genres. No computer required. Deezer is free with every Sonos system.
Advanced Player Functionality
Everything about Sonos has been designed with the enjoyment of music in mind. That's why you can build a play queue from any remote control; adding single tracks or whole albums at the touch of a button. A play queue can contain a mix of music from your library, Spotify and Napster and can be saved as a permanent playlist to be recalled again in the future or even set as an alarm clock...
There's even an alarm clock...
It's not often we'd get excited about an alarm clock. But, then its's not every alarm clock that has access to millions of songs, over 100,000 radio stations and can be set to go off in any room of your house... Nice.
Next steps
Head straight to our Sonos store pages
