Quick Look: Sonos Gets Green(er)
by Alan Graham, Portland, Oregon on 08.15.08
I've written before about the idea of green music. The idea is to cut your footprint by investing in high quality equipment (not gadgets) with a long shelf life, low energy or Energy star compliant, ROHS compliant, obsolescence resistance, streaming capabilities or digital downloads vs CD's.
Over three years ago I got a wireless Sonos music system for my house. I've used it every day since then, stopped buying CDs, and stopped buying every new iPod to come down the pike. What started as a two room system (living room & kitchen) eventually grew to add the bedroom and patio. I recently added another one for my office, the new Sonos 120.
In case you aren't familiar with the Sonos system, it is a high end wireless music system that allows you to stream music to any location in your home or office. There are both amplified and non-amplified units and they can not only play music from virtually any source in your home, they are also capable of streaming music from internet radio stations, Rhapsody, Pandora, and many more. The big selling point for me was the fact that you could seamlessly sync multiple units to the same song with no gap, or listen to different audio in different locations. Best of all, since it works on its own wireless network, it doesn't compromise the speed of your computer network.
Greener than previous models, the 120 is a power efficient way of building amplifiers by bringing a Class D digital amplifier together with a resonant switching power supply. This means most of the power goes directly to creating sound.
Amplifiers generally use a power supply with a large copper coil which can waste a huge amount of the power as heat. This is why you often see stereos in large metal boxes. The Sonos 120 on the other hand is in a very compact case because it converts most of its power to sound and the aluminum case absorbs the remaining heat without using a fan.
More sound, less heat, less waste. In addition the form factor is much smaller, meaning less materials and as before, still ROHS compliant (fewer hazardous materials).
Comparison between the original Sonos 100 and the new 120
The Sonos will never be Energy Star compliant, (since it is a wireless system, its "radio" is always on listening for other Sonos units and controllers), however it does switch into a low power mode when not in use. I have several units on automated timers so their power is cut at night when I'm asleep.
I think my favorite feature of the new device as well as the past units is what Slate recently called, "The Death of Planned Obsolescence." Basically the idea is that today's technology becomes increasingly less valuable every day after you purchase it...often doing less and less and requiring you to upgrade or update to new gear year after year. By building a robust technology, Sonos has avoided this trap by ensuring that their firmware was upgradable, bringing new updates and features to their customers several times a year...for free.
I hope we're seeing a trend here and more companies start thinking long term and not just about dropping old models for new models every six months. I think we're long overdue for a new business model based on value first and less on what's "cool."
I'd love to discuss green music, my own system, or the idea of planned obsolescence in more detail. Why not join me in the forums?
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Cell Phone Sales Slump Is Good Green News
- Green IT Report Round-Up: IBM, Toshiba, SAP, Xerox
- EarthTech Offers More Geeky Green Gifts
- Eight Green Music Festivals That Rock
The author is lucky to own this system. They are not cheap. Who says this idea will not die out for another? I though the same when I bought the first Macintosh. Surprise, surprise!!!
I do like the idea behind Sonos but I do not trust technology anymore (not even from them). I tune-in to the birds, frogs, crickets around me (very GREEN). Needless to say our society makes sure we are drown by our noisy mechanical junk. Although beautiful to listen the "sound of silence" does not exist anymore!
I don't think companies need to focus on better goods. I think it is the consumer that drives the market. I believe the quality goods are out there, but very few end up in a Sunday newspaper sale flyer. I've always bought top-end quality "stuff" that lasts years and years and years. My last laptop was 10 when I retired it. I have clothing older than that. My blender is 30. The drawback is: it's expensive. But overall, I know I spend less on quality goods than constantly replacing their "disposable" equivalents over the same time period. Besides, when you find something you really like, and it actually does what you want it to do, you really want it to last a long time.
The Sonos is fine, but you can't mention it without mentioning the Squeezebox (http://www.slimdevices.com), which is even smaller than the Sonos, but requires an amp. A Sonic Impact T-amp (also Class D) works well with it too. And it's cheaper.
Another consideration of any wireless music system is that most people likely run them against a PC running 24/7 as the music server. People serious about this and power savings should invest in a dedicated NAS or low-power server to store and share music, and manage power saving features very well.
I fail to see how buying single purpose proprietary hardware is greener.
I've got my Mac on anyway, which you'd still need on with the Sonos unless you only listen to internet radio, and it's using a tiny Airport Express router which has built in audio out and optical out as well as being a pretty handy wireless router, print server and ethernet bridge. The Airport Express cost me £65 and does more than the Sonos 90 does for £249. But the main point is it's on anyway for net access. Essentially it's 'free' power usage for music whereas the Sonos would cost.
My phone is also on anyway and controls iTunes remotely aswell as being a phone - it was free. The Sonos controller is £279 - more than even an iPod Touch which I could also use as a controller.
My amp is a lovely old Rotel Amp - why would I throw that out to use an inferior amp that will become obsolete such as the Sonos 120?
iTunes on a PC or Mac will play to multiple sources simultaneously. There's more than enough bandwidth on an 802.11n network to stream music, even Apple's lossless codec that it uses as transport to each of the Airport Express units.
I really don't think you've thought through how green your solution is in the grander scheme of home networking. It sounds more like you've been swayed by audiophile wankery.
How much juice are you pulling in addition to your home computer network?