Amen. Sonos has finally concluded that, under most conditions, they can provide reliable music streaming over existing WiFi networks without requiring their $50 Bridge. Not only does this represent a cost savings for potential new customers, but it also provides a far simpler conceptual approach for civilian consumers who may be most familiar with Bluetooth speakers. Sonos can now (or soon) be described simply as a WiFi speaker (with whole-home benefits). And, of course, some neurotic folks such as myself will just be happy with less clutter. Beta testing commences in the next few weeks – register your interest here.
Still needs a lower cost Connect. :-)
Agreed… and I want a way to beam ANYTHING from my smarthphone – they need to bite the bullet and license Airplay. Maybe dropping the Bridge requirement will allow them to do that.
Since they have been giving away bridge for free with any purchase (except maybe Play:1) for almost a year I don’t see this being a big change. I also didn’t mind the bridge too much since I used it and other Sonos as Wi-Fi extenders since there are places I have Sonos that I don’t really use for Wi-Fi.
The promos have been on again, off again. Don’t think any have run since their lavish Philips Hue-inspired Super Bowl ad. ;) I assume they saw higher new customer sales with the deal in place, so why not save a few bucks and solve this via software. And, as I said, I do believe it has presented a psychological and conceptual hurdle. Our readers are far more savvy than most…
By the by, I want to sell my Play:5 and use the funds for a pair of Play:1s. Right now, I have the Play:5 in the basement (my office and lab), a Play:3 in the kitchen, office, and bedroom. I’d probably move the kitchen Play:3 to the basement and replace it with a Play:1. The other Play:1 would go into the master bath – supposedly it’s humidity resistant.