If you’re looking for a high-class all-in-one streaming music system, Sonos has you covered. The company today announced the Play:3, a Sonos music player that gives the user access to Sonos’ complete library of streaming music services. Users can control the Play:3 through their Sonos Controller app, available for Android, iPhone and iPad, and the whole thing just costs $299.
Ok, maybe I lied. To use the Play:3, you must first purchase a bridge that hooks into your wireless router. From there you can play whatever you want, anywhere in the house, and not have to worry that shoddy cellular service could cost you your favorite part of the song. Under the hood of the rather small Play:3, you’ll find three digital drivers, one tweeter and two mid-range amps, along with three Class-D digital amps. There’s no subwoofer on board this time, but we still had no trouble hearing the nitty gritty of those bass notes.
Since this is a smart speaker, an internal sensor can detect when it’s been turned vertically, and switches from stereo to mono output. Play:3s can also be paired and set to play the dedicated left or right channel, to put some extra power behind the Play:3. We’re still waiting for our review unit to pass final judgement, but first impressions are definitely good. We got a lot of sound out of a sleek, compact speaker, and that’s about all you can ask for. The rest is just bonus.
