Sonos Introduces the ZonePlayer ZP80

Posted by Admin on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 02:49 am:

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ZP80 Makes Existing Audio Devices Part of a Wireless, Multi-Room Digital Music System

Sonos, Inc., the developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the digital home, introduced a new ZonePlayer to complement the Sonos™ Digital Music System suite of products. The Sonos™ ZonePlayer ZP80 allows music lovers to play all their digital music, all over their house, on all of their favorite audio equipment – a home theater system, powered speakers, a premium table top radio such as a Bose Wave® Radio, and more.

By connecting a ZP80 to any amplified audio device via the analog or digital outputs, that device instantly and seamlessly becomes part of a wireless, multi-room digital music system. This provides the consumer with the power to use the full-color Sonos™ Controller to control all of their music, in all of their rooms, all from the palm of their hand.

"We created the ZP80 because many of the rooms where consumers want to listen to digital music already have an amplifier," said John MacFarlane, chief executive officer, Sonos, Inc. "Our goal is to provide digital music lovers with a range of products for building a wireless digital music system throughout their homes."

The ZP80 can also be used to retrofit a conventional multi-room audio system with home-run speakers or as a wireless extender to increase the wireless range of Sonosnet™, the peer-to-peer wireless mesh network created by Sonos.

As with the Sonos™ ZonePlayer ZP100, the ZP80 includes auto-sensing line-in connectors that can digitally encode any line-in source. This provides Sonos users with the ability to connect an external audio source, such as an Apple iPod®, a CD player or satellite radio, to the Sonos Digital Music System and to listen to that source throughout their home.

The Sonos ZonePlayer ZP80 will ship in Spring 2006. The ZP80 will retail for $349.00 / €399.00 (including VAT) / £269.00 (including VAT). The new ZonePlayer will be available at Sonos authorized retailers worldwide and directly from Sonos at www.sonos.com.

Sonos ZonePlayer ZP80 Technical Specifications:

• Sound quality - THD+N<0.02%, 20-20kHz
• Line-out connections - Analog (RCA), optical and coaxial digital audio, fixed and variable settings
• Line-in connections - Analog (RCA), auto-detecting, able to digitally encode line-in sources
• Ethernet connection - 2-port switch, 10/100Mbps, auto MDI/MDIX
• Wireless connectivity - Sonosnet™, a secure AES encrypted, peer-to-peer wireless mesh network
• Audio formats supported - Support for compressed MP3, WMA, AAC (MPEG4), Ogg Vorbis, Audible .AA (format 4), Apple Lossless, FLAC (lossless) music files, as well as uncompressed WAV and AIFF files. Native support for 44.1kHz sample rates. Additional support for 48kHz, 32kHz, 24KHz, 22kHz, 16KHz, 11KHz, and 8KHz sample rates. Firmware upgradeable to support future audio formats. Apple "Fairplay" and Microsoft "Plays-for-sure" DRM-encrypted and WMA Lossless formats not able to be supported.
• Audio services supported - Rhapsody 3.0+, Audible
• Internet radio - Streaming MP3, WMA. Pre-loaded with more than 190 Internet radio stations.
• Album art supported - JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF
• Operating systems - Windows® 2000, Windows® XP, Macintosh® OSX, v10.3 and v10.4; NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices supporting CIFS
• Power supply - AC 100-240, 50-60 Hz
• Dimensions - 5.4 x 5.5 x 2.9 in (136.0 x 136.8 x 74.0 mm)
• Weight - 1.5 lbs (0.69 Kg)
• Finish - Light gray, high-quality PC grade with Aluminum details

The Sonos Digital Music System is the first and only wireless multi-room music system with a full-color controller that lets consumers enjoy digital music all over the house. To learn more about Sonos, to place an order or to locate an authorized Sonos dealer, please visit www.sonos.com.

About Sonos, Inc.
Sonos is the developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the digital home. The award-winning Sonos™ Digital Music System is available direct from Sonos or at more than 500 retailers and custom integrators in North America. Sonos is a privately-held company, headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA with offices in Cambridge, MA and Hilversum, Netherlands. To find out more about the company or the Sonos Digital Music System, please visit: www.sonos.com.