Sonos Play 5 Wi-Fi sound system

[[JiF]Uncle Stinky]

Last Saturday we celebrated my dad's 80th birthday. My two brothers and I weren't sure what to get him. We thought about a Bose radio, but the more I read the more it seemed they are overpriced. In looking for an alternative, I came across a very cool wi-fi system put out by Sonos. We got it for him, and it does sound fantastic.

The way it works is that you buy the basic unit (the Sonos 5 has 5 speakers inside it; there is also a cheaper Sonos 3), and then you get a "bridge" that plugs into your router. You install the software to the main computer that has the router and your music library, link to the folders that contain your music, and then you can use any iOS or Android device (there are free Sonos apps) to control the music. Essentially, you have access to all your My Music music, plus almost any radio station in the world. The device you're using can control the volume, and you can use it cue up a whole long list of songs.

The downside is that the only thing you can control on the unit itself is the volume. You have to have an iPhone, iPad, Android phone or Android tablet to make it work. Sonos has its own controller, but they charge over $200 for it.
The Sonos 5 was $399.99 on Amazon, and when we bought it they had a deal where you got the bridge ($50) for free. My dad loved it. He was listening to Radio Italia and his classical music library within minutes. We were also using to listen to Pandora, which is a great way to find new music you are almost certain to like. The sound is excellent; it really fills up the room. The unit is also very portable so you can carry it to different room. You can also add more units, and control each one separately from the others.

Here's a video describing it.

http://www.sonos.com/shop/products/play5#video