Sonos makes its speaker system easier (and cheaper) to set up

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Sonos Bridge gets the boot for a simplified setup
Sonos simplified its setup process by giving the Bridge the boot

Sonos’ incredible wireless speaker system is getting even easier to setup now that company has announced its $50 Bridge that was required to stream music to any Sonos speaker in your house, will now be completely optional.

A new firmware update for Sonos will make the Bridge – which had to be connected to a router via an ethernet cable to work – nearly obsolete today, allowing users to connect Sonos speakers directly over Wi-Fi rather than setting up a proprietary network.

“Beginning today, getting started with Sonos is even easier and simpler. With a global software update we now allow Sonos to be setup on WiFi which means you can go from unboxing to playing your favorite music in minutes with a few simple steps. Start with a speaker, open the free Sonos app, enter the WiFi password and Sonos takes care of the rest.”

Now that the Bridge is optional, music fans can get started with Sonos for only $199 with a PLAY:1 speaker, though other speaker options are available up to $699 for a PlayBar. During configuration users can setup multi-speaker systems by configuring one Sonos speaker to act as a wireless bridge.

The Bridge is still required for 5.1- and 3.1-channel Sonos home-theater setups so the company will still keep it on sale, and recommends users who currently have one in their setup keep running music through it to get the best performance.

Sonos also announced that it will launch a range extender called the Boost later this year for $99. Sonos’s free over-the-air update will go out to all users later today and is backwards-compatible with all older Sonos speakers. Source: Sonos

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