07-13-2010, 04:42 PM

I'm building a house and have been researching solutions for multi room audio and streaming devices. No doubt Sonos dominates this market with the Sqeezebox in close second (not a post to debate this).

With the price point of $350-$500 per device I can't get over the fact that it really only streams/plays audio and at $200 per device you could essentially do something similar with an iTouch/iPod/iPad.

I'm not saying an iTouch alone could replace Sonos however it would appear one could create a similar setup based off multiple iTouch devices and still come out cheaper. Then if someone wanted to commercialize the solution, throw in an app, dedicated remote, and some custom docking stations and you'd quickly have an iTouch based solution with all the features and more Sonos provides.

Thoughts?

07-13-2010, 05:20 PM

Let me give an example to base the discussion on. I understand the solution must satisfy a very wide range of scenarios however for the sake of keeping this discussion simple lets look at this scenario.

Situation:
-3 rooms with independent speaker setups
-Family room using A/V receiver as amp and 5.1 speakers
-Porch using un-powered in-wall speakers
-Bedroom using un-powered in-ceiling speakers
-1 Mac with iTunes music collection
-1 iPhone used as a controller
-Wireless Network



To stream music independently to all three rooms and have the ability to completely control (volume, songs, stream, etc.) each from an iPhone you would need the following.

Sonos
-1 ZonePlayer 90 for Family room $350
-2 ZonePlayer 120 for Porch and Bedroom (has built in amp) $1,000
-1 Remote (use iPhone app) $0
Total: $1,350



iTouch Solution
-3 iTouch $600
-2 Amps (iTouch can't power speakers on Porch and Bedroom) $200
-2 iTouch Docks (with outputs to amp and charger) $60
Total: $860


I know the above solution doesn't completely compare however if it were to be commercialized and the following added it would still be cheaper, allow for more functionality, and you'd have the iTouch for more diverse use.

-A dedicated app that synced and controlled all iTouch and computers in your setup as well as pull in iTunes library (similar to the app Sonos created)
-A dock with built in amp designed to work with this solution (similar to the ZonePlayer120)
-A dedicated remote to control system if you didn't/couldn't use iPhone (similar to Sonos controller)