A Sonos wireless home sound system streams directly from network connections to streaming services for uninterrupted sound.
There are some people who like to live life with a soundtrack. The right music makes experiences richer and livens up dreary tasks. Music makes life better, and now, Sonos makes music better.
Eyehear Technology Group recommends Sonos speakers. People in Montana have come to rely on the recommendations from Eyehear in Kalispell because the company has worked for over a decade to match solutions with the needs of their clients. Eyehear stays up to date on the latest technologies to help guide clients’ choices toward what will work best for them, their homes, and their lifestyles. This includes designing and installing the convenience of smart home technology to manage music, multimedia devices, heating and cooling systems, window shades, elevators, garage doors, security, and surveillance. Eyehear also installs studio-quality home theaters, networking systems, and integrated technologies for video that source entertainment from many different media.
Sales Director Russ Vukonich explains the depth of services that Eyehear offers. “It’s really about a partnership with the homeowner or a builder’s team. We can compare products in different price ranges, recommend products based on performance, design systems, program for simple operation through a phone or iPad, install, warrantee, troubleshoot, and repair. Technologies are supposed to make lives easier, and not more complex. To get there, we help make clients’ decisions more informed. Plus, versus an online purchase, we are here to ensure it works, to familiarize customers with operation, and to back up warrantees.”
“Technologies are supposed to make lives easier, and not more complex.”
—Russ Vukonich
Sonos Speakers Exceed Earlier Technology
“The term ‘speakers’ is really insufficient for Sonos,” Vukonich begins. “It is a wireless home sound system for music, movies, and television. You can stream music from a device, like a phone, to the Sonos unit, however it is preferred to allow streaming directly from the wifi to the Sonos speaker. Some people just start with one speaker and add on, and other customers buy the system for the whole house.”
Vukonich explains that the Sonos app individually controls the operation of each speaker. The app is loaded to a smartphone or device like an iPad, and the app controls access to a variety of online streaming services like GooglePlay, Pandora, Spotify, and more. “I’m impressed with the ease of control through the app. It’s easy to synchronize rooms to play the same song, or to play something different through some or all of the speakers,” Vukonich adds. He notes that the Sonos app is compatible with the operating systems of desktops and laptop computers, while other brands are not.
For televisions or home theaters, the Sonos Playbar (or Playbase if the television will rest on top of it) incorporates nine speakers and adds full theater sound for television. Plus, it can also stream music. With the addition of a Sub for deep base tones and two Play 1 speakers, it creates 5.1 Surround Sound. Vukonich finds that if someone doesn’t want Surround Sound, the Playbar and Sub can be sufficient for many clients’ TV rooms.
The quality of sound depends upon the size of the speaker, the size of the room, and the reflective qualities of the room. “The ability to tune acoustics is another Sonos innovation that makes these speakers standout products. All speakers have Trueplay, which is custom speaker tuning,” Vukonich explains. “Using a phone with a microphone, the software determines the sound reflection off the walls, furniture, and other surfaces, and then it makes precise acoustic adjustments for optimal sound for where the speaker is placed. Anyone can easily hear the improvement, and, with upcoming upgrades, it will only become more intelligent over time. If the speaker moves to a new spot in the room or a different room, the sound can be adjusted using Trueplay. For other speakers, the sound quality is set at the factory and never alters.”
Play 1 speakers are perfect for an office and True Play tunes the speaker specifically for the room’s acoustics.
Versatile Play 3 speakers fit anywhere: mount it or place it on a shelf upright or horizontally.
Play 5 fills larger rooms with full sound and rich bass.
Choices for Rooms and Use
Sonos offers four choices in speakers. The smallest is the Play 1. Vukonich describes, “It has good sound quality for its diminutive size. If a client wants stereo-quality sound in a room, it takes two Play 1 speakers to achieve stereo sound. The Play 1 speakers are also good models for completing the rear of a 5.1 Surround Sound. A Play 1 by itself is usually more than adequate for a bedroom, small office or den, and it can sit on something or be wall–mounted.
The next size up is the Play 3, which upgrades to stereo sound in a single unit. The Play 3 is often placed in kitchens because it has the ability of fitting on shelves vertically or wall-mounted. According to Vukonich, placing two Play 3s in a larger room achieves a good quality stereo sound.
The Sonos deluxe speaker is the Play 5 model for larger rooms. It has an even higher sound quality including a heavier bass sound. “For truly great sound, you can place two Play 5s in a room, and they will rival much more expensive speaker systems for a lot less money,” notes Vukonich.
For home theaters or those who like a heavier bass in a large room, there is also the wireless Sub speaker, which can be added to any room. “The Sub is often paired with the Playbar in large TV rooms,” Vukonich says. “This configuration can eliminate the need for a surround receiver and achieves good sound quality to replace the deficient sound of TV speakers alone. Sonos has perfected ease of installation and simplicity of operation.”
The true test of Sonos speakers is to see and hear the difference. Vukonich invites you to the Eyehear showroom/design center in Kalispell to compare the different Sonos models and to experience their capabilities and ease of control and operation. Sonos can fill your home, and your life, with music.
