S5

Sonos S5 goes black

For the last several years, every time the Sonos PR team meets with us to talk about its new products, we ask when the black version is coming. It's become sort of a running joke, so much so that I like to think we had a little something to do with the company's decision to finally put out a black-colored product after years off sticking to white.

Whatever the case (somehow I doubt the company takes us too seriously), Sonos has a new black option for its single-speaker streaming audio system, the ZonePlayer S5. No, it isn't … Read more

Denon S-5DB: When a home-theater-in-a-box isn't good enough

People buy home theater-in-a-box systems for a lot of reasons, but sound quality isn't one of them.

The problem with HTIBs, even the very best ones, is they don't come with great speakers or subwoofers. Denon has a solution at hand: the S-5DB. Think of it as a HTIB that doesn't come with speakers or a subwoofer. No HTIB ever made has speakers as good as the better ones I've reviewed from Aperion Audio, Atlantic Technology, Definitive Technology, Energy Speakers, Klipsch, Mirage, or Polk. You want great sound? You gotta have great speakers.

The S-5BD combo … Read more

450 horsepower Audi RS5 announced for Geneva

The Audi A5 is one of (if not the) best looking vehicles that Audi makes. In the S5 trim, with its 354-horsepower direct-injected V-8, nobody's arguing that the coupe is short on power. However, there's no such thing as too much of a good thing, which is why we're grinning ear to ear at the announcement of a new, more powerful RS5 variant due to bow at the 2010 Geneva auto show.

The RS5's V-8 retains the same displacement as the S5, a healthy 4.2-liters, as well as its direct injection system, yet manages to … Read more

Denon unveils AV receiver-Blu-ray player combo

LAS VEGAS--We don't see many home theater AV receivers at CES, with home audio manufacturers generally waiting for their own line shows to release new product lines. However, most AV receivers don't have Blu-ray players built-in.

Denon has announced the S-5BD AV receiver/Blu-ray Disc player combo unit at CES 2010, melding the two components into a sleek, glossy package. Here's the initial info from the news release.

Key features of the Denon S-5BD:

Blu-ray player and AV receiver combo unit 5.1 AV receiver 2-zone, 2 source capability 3 HDMI 1.4 inputs Dolby Pro Logic IIz … Read more

The five most welcome digital audio products of 2009

The economy took its toll on digital audio in 2009, with CD sales continuing to decline (even as vinyl makes a resurgence), digital start-ups going bankrupt or disappearing after takeovers, and labels expressing dissatisfaction with would-be digital saviors like MySpace Music. Even so, there was actually quite a lot to cheer this year. The following five products aren't necessarily the best, but to me, they did the most to move the state of digital audio forward in 2009.

Windows 7. Microsoft appears to have recovered from Vista with a new OS that runs efficiently, looks good, and satisfies users. … Read more

Hands-on with the Sonos ZonePlayer S5

Last week, Sonos unveiled the ZonePlayer S5, the first product in its streaming-audio family to boast built-in speakers. Monday, we got the opportunity to see (and hear) it in person for the first time when Sonos reps dropped by our New York office for a demo.

The setup was a two-zone system (two S5s) pulling music from an Apple Time Capsule. The one caveat of a Sonos setup is that at least one component needs a wired network connection. In this case, a ZoneBridge BR100 was connected to the Apple router via Ethernet, which in turn enabled both S5s to … Read more

ZonePlayer S5: An iPhone-friendly Sonos with built-in speakers

We've long been fans of the Sonos Digital Music System, which lets you stream all manner of digital audio throughout your home. The latest BU250 bundle is an enthusiastic CNET Editors' Choice, in part because it can be controlled either via the included touch-screen controller or with any iPhone or iPod Touch (running a free Sonos Controller app). Unfortunately, it costs $1,000--not bad for a two-room system, but still out of reach for many consumers--and it needs to be connected to external speakers or audio components to hear the music.

The new Sonos ZonePlayer S5 aims to address both of those issues. It boasts an all-in-one design with built-in stereo speakers, so it's plug and play. And it costs $400--not cheap, but well within the price range of refined iPod speaker systems we've seen from Bose, B&W, and other luxury brands.

Indeed, the latest Sonos combines the features of a ZonePlayer ZP90 with the sort of integrated speaker you'd find on a Bose SoundDock.… Read more

Music 2.0: Where stereo rules

Face it: Most people listen to music on CD, LP, radio, or some form of downloaded file, and each and every one is a stereo format.

Even high-resolution formats like SACD have stereo mixes, so it's no surprise that Onkyo just introduced two new stereo components: An integrated stereo amplifier, the A-5VL, and a stereo SACD player, the C-S5VL.

The amp seems like a rational alternative to a feature-laden AV receiver, jam-packed with so much wizardry you need to read and comprehend a 100 page user manual to get it to do much of anything. Stereo is simple; no need to navigate multilayer menus to turn the bass up or down. No, with the stereo Onkyo amp, all you'll ever do is select the input--CD, aux, radio, etc.--and adjust the volume. Then sit back and enjoy the tunes. … Read more

Viliv S5: Are UMPCs lost between Netbooks and smartphones?

Ultramobile PCs have always found themselves to be the tweeners of the mobile world: too large to be easily pocket-size, yet too small to be usable as full-fledged computers. While the landscape just a few years ago was marked with products ranging from Samsung's Q1 to the OQO, often costing way too much money, now cheaper smartphones and Netbooks have crowded in on either side with portable power to spare.

The Viliv S5, currently an import-only product, returns to the scene of the crime with a lower-cost Atom-based touch-screen device that runs full Windows XP, has Bluetooth and GPS … Read more