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Sonos Play:3 'Wireless Hi-Fi' ships as CEO prepares for AirPlay assault and ...

I came away fairly impressed with the Play:3 after receiving a 30 minute preview at Sonos’ European HQ in the Dutch city of Hilversum. One feature unique to the Play:3 is an orientation sensor that automatically fine tunes the output depending upon the Play:3′s horizontal or vertical placement. This is useful for placing the speaker in a bookshelf, on a desk, or even on the wall thanks to a standard 1/4-inch, 20-thread mounting socket. Unfortunately, my ears couldn’t detect any change as the speaker was rotated in front of me. Regardless, it was immediately clear that the three-driver speaker (one tweeter and two 3-inch mid-range) featuring three dedicated digital amplifiers and a passive, rear-firing bass radiator would make a good choice for anyone looking to fill a bedroom, large bathroom, or a small city living room with wireless music. While the stereo channel separation was barely perceptible on the tightly packed Play:3, the Sonos controller allows you to quickly create a stereo pair from two Play:3 speakers as it does with the $399 Play:5 (previously known as the S5) — unfortunately, you can’t mix-n-match the two. Listening to two Play:3s in stereo pairing mode (one Play:3 dedicated to the left channel and one to the right) made it obvious that Sonos was onto to something clever with its latest all-in-one speaker. We’ll post a full review just as soon as we’ve accumulated enough listening time.

It was in Hilversum that I also caught up with Sonos’ affable CEO, John MacFarlane. John was refreshingly candid for a chief executive, whether discussing Apple’s competitive AirPlay technology or the opportunities he sees in home theater audio. According to John, the latter “is awfully attractive” to Sonos because it’s so “horribly done” by the home theater industry. The entire conversation was free of bureaucratic double-talk and non-answers. Just frank honest discussion from a man who clearly understands his customer base and remains boyishly enthusiastic about the company he founded in 2003. Click through for the full read.

Thomas: By talking about wireless audio or “Wireless Hi-Fi” as your new tagline reads, the mind wanders to a major competitor in the market.