Sonos & Sonance - Outdoor Speaker Streaming Audio Bundle with xPress Audio Keypad

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• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Fantastic Backyard Upgrade

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor
  • My Best Buy Premier Silver Review

  When the bespoke Magnolia Outdoor Streaming Bundle arrived, I was surprised how large the packaging was. Inside the box were 4 items, all individually packaged, so this has been put together as a kit by Magnolia/Best Buy. You get the two Sonance MAG 06 Outdoor Speakers, the Sonos Connect:Amp and the iPort xPress remote. (Description says 'Audio Keypad' but lets face it, it's a remote!). I opened the Sonos Connect:Amp first, as it's the coolest looking piece of kit in the box. It's a nice, sleek designed box in aluminum and white. It has three buttons on the front, play, and volume up and down. That's it. On the back, you get four really nicely engineered, spring loaded speaker wire terminals. They push and grab the wire when you place it in the hole. Very secure connection. There is also a subwoofer connection and a voltage switcher, two ethernet ports and audio left and right connections. It's vented on top to let out the heat. This unit is NOT rated to be left outdoors. It is not waterproof or weatherproof at all. Next up was the iPort xPress remote. It is a relatively simple remote with play/pause, next track, favorite, volume up and down buttons. This remote is wifi enabled, so it will work anywhere that you have wifi signal in the house. So you don't have to worry about a signal not going through walls or glass to get to your Sonos Connect:Amp. It charges via an included USB adapter and charges within 3 hours. A little LED status indicator on there lets you know what state it's in and charge apparently lasts 6 months. Next I opened the Sonance MAG 06 Outdoor Speakers, which are IP66 Weatherproof rated. They were larger an slightly heavier than I was expecting, but their build quality is excellent. They feel really tactile, the included mounting hardware and brackets feel nice and solid. They have connection terminals on the front of the speakers in an IP rated and sealed area, making it easier to keep them water tight, but to also access them during installation. I mounted the brackets using the screws from my pre-wired speaker housings on my back patio. The holes in the mounting bracket match up perfectly with an electrical box outlet, and being as that was cemented into my wall, it was the perfect place to mount the bracket. Two screws and pulling the wires through the center of the bracket was a breeze. (Please note that no speaker wire is included in this kit at all). My house was pre-wired for outdoor speakers, so that is what I used. The speakers are a little heavy to hold in one hand and feed the speaker wire from the back to the front, so I ended up resting it on my shoulder as I did do. The clip into the speaker bracket with a satisfying and authoritative 'click'. They are adjustable up and down (or side to side depending on how you mount the bracket), with a locking mechanism as well. There is a black IP rated cover to go over the speaker connections, and then white vanity grills to go over the front of the speakers. With the outside part sorted, I headed back indoors and got to work setting up the Sonos Connect:Amp. Using the spring clamps in the back I hooked up the speaker wires into the back of the Sonos Connect:Amp and plugged it in. It turns on with a green light on the front and that is it. Downloaded the Sonos App and also the iPort app for the remote.Setting up the Sonos Connect:Amp was really simple, you find the product within the app and it walks you through setting it up. Took about 4 mins total to set up (assuming you have your wifi password to hand!). The iPort app is equally as easy to use and connect to your Sonos system. I then linked my Spotify family account and my Amazon Music account to the Sonos system and pressed play. First song I played was Disturbed's rendition of 'The Sound of Silence', which has amazing clarity, and depth of bass along with rising intensity throughout. It sounded good, but not amazing, like the Klipsch and Pioneer Elite setup I have in my living room. Delving a little deeper into the app, I found out why... you have control over EQ and Loudness settings as well under 'My Room'. Click on that in the app and you can adjust the settings there. The whole system 'woke up' then, filled the patio with strong, dynamic sound, enveloping me while I was grilling! Sounded a lot, lot better than I was expecting for an outdoor system. Very impressed with the sound. It's bright and loud without distortion. The bass is strong without being overbearing. I would highly recommend this package to anyone wanting to extend their music collection out into the back yard! Very impressed!

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  Posted 7 years ago by Cupra

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Fantastic Backyard Sound!

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  Bought 3 sets for my 3 tiered deck. I can use just one to watch my TV shows or a movie, another when I’m on the lower deck to listen to music while in my hot tub, or all three when I throw a party! I’m located on a golf course and get compliments on the sound all the time. Definite plus to have controls on my phone! Great sound quality and volume!

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  Posted 6 years ago by ChessiePk

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  A definite upgrade for home entertainment

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  • Top 100 Contributor

  A few years back, we invested a lot of time and energy in sprucing up our back patio area. We added a pergola, some inviting furniture, and a shiny new grill. Over the summer months, we usually have at least one get together with family and friends and we wanted a comfortable place for everyone to enjoy. As nice as our patio has become, we have been missing one valuable piece of technology — a speaker system. In the past, we would take single Bluetooth speakers outdoors for entertainment, but as our gatherings have grown, those just aren’t a viable option because the crowd overpowers the single speaker. So, we decided to add in a streaming system from Sonos and Sonance. WHAT’S IN THE BOX This was my first experience with being a Sonos system owner and prior to this system, I had not been aware of Sonance as a brand. But, as I researched them and discovered that the entire system is part of the premium Magnolia brand family from Best Buy, I knew I was going to be happy with the quality that the system added to our home. The first overall impression of the system was good. The Sonos/Sonance Outdoor System comes well packaged in a single box with each part individually boxed inside. The system consists of the Sonos Connect: Amp, Two (2) Sonance Mag O6 Outdoor Speakers, xPress Audio Keypad, mounting equipment for the speakers, a power cord for amp, and a flat ethernet cable should you want to directly connect your Connect:Amp to your internet modem, router, or switch. If you read carefully through that list, one thing you will notice is the absence of speaker wire, which is required to connect the speakers to the Sonos amp. You will have to provide that outside of this packaged kit. SET-UP Overall, the system is not difficult to set-up. Getting started, you will want to select the places you want to mount the speakers paying close attention to their proximity to the amp and your selected length of speaker wire. You want to keep in mind that while the speakers are weather resistant, the Sonos Connect:Amp is not. It will need to be placed somewhere out of harm’s way. Once you’ve selected the proper location for your speakers and amp, you can mount the brackets provided with the speakers. For me, I mounted them into our wooden siding with little problems. After they are secured, you can snap the speakers into place, but you will want to make sure to run the speaker wire through the speaker first. The speakers have a spring clamp located on the front of the speaker. You attached the wire to the clamps and then run it through a channel at the bottom of the speaker and out the back through a rubber grommet. This seal keeps the speakers weather resistant. Hanging the speakers isn’t difficult, but they aren’t particularly light so it can be a bit awkward. I was able to use my shoulder to brace the speaker while I slid it into the bracket. When I heard the ‘click’, I knew they were locked in. At this point, you will run the speaker wire to your amp. You may choose to tack the wire up against your house (this was my choice) or run it through a wall. Again, this step isn’t ‘hard’ per se, but it’s time-consuming. The Sonos Connect:Amp is the ‘brain’ of the entire system. To get started, you will connect the speaker wire to the back of the unit and plug it into power. You need to download the Sonos app and follow the in-app set-up steps provided. The amp should automatically connect to WiFi (if available) during the app set-up. Sonos includes connection to a variety of streaming services (Pandora, Slacker, Rhapsody, Spotify, SiriusXM, etc.) so that you don’t have to connect your mobile phone or computer in order to have those services. The final step in the set-up is connecting to the remote. The xPlay Audio Keypad is connected to the system through WiFi and will allow you to pause, play, and skip songs as well as adjust the volume remotely. The xPlay app for the keypad is separate from the Sonos app. So, you will be downloading two apps for one system. One thing to note here - the keypad that accompanies the system can only be controlled with an app that is only available for iOS devices. Since Apple is the main brand I use for mobile devices, this wasn’t a big problem for me. Both Android and iOS users can enjoy the Sonos app and control your music, but only iOS users can use the remote. SOUND QUALITY I’ve been incredibly impressed with the quality of the sound this system produces. It has a wonderful even tone for music that is rich with highs and lows and even those who are hard of hearing thought all the audio was crisp and clear coming from the speakers. Even though I don’t consider myself an ‘audiophile’, I do appreciate good quality sound and the Sonance speakers push it out well. While the bass was nice and smooth, the addition of a subwoofer to this set-up might provide extra depth, but if you are using them outside, that might be difficult to add in. I didn’t notice and distortion even when we cranked up the volume quite high. While we didn’t receive any complaints from the neighbors, the speakers are LOUD. Our backyard is about 25 yards deep and someone at the back of the yard had no problems hearing the music played on the patio. NOT A WIRELESS SYSTEM As I mentioned above, the kit is devoid of speaker wire. This is an essential part of this system as it’s NOT a wireless system. Even though the description of the product does not spell out ‘Bluetooth’ or ‘Wireless’ system, it does describe the set as “Sonos & Sonance - Outdoor Speaker Streaming Audio Bundle with xPress Audio Keypad”. The ‘streaming’ part is misleading somewhat to anyone who doesn’t pay close enough attention to the rest of the specs of the system. Even though I had done my research, I was surprised to find that speaker wire was required and not included. When you look over the description of the product, it does not state that speaker wire is included with the bundle and the word ‘wired’ is no where to be found. So, at first glance with the product name indicating a streaming system, I could see how someone might think it’s a wireless system. The only wireless part to this system is the WiFi connection from the Sonos Connect: Amp, but even then you could hard wire it to your internet using the provided ethernet cable. Honestly, I was disappointed to find that so much wiring was involved in a system like this. MISSING WIRING Another thing I didn’t like about this system is that speaker wire isn’t included. I feel that with any product if a part is essential to its operation, it should be included with the product. Without the speaker wire, this system doesn’t work. In addition to that, it’s an annoyance to bring home this system to find you have to go back to the store for a lot of wiring to run from outside to inside where the amp will be located. You do have the option of setting these up indoors, but since we specifically wanted them for our patio, it was a disappointment to find a part missing from the installation kit. CONCLUSION The quality of the pieces of this system is undeniable, I just question the missing speaker wire and product description. We are very happy with the ease of set-up (once we had all the essential parts) and how the system sounds. If you go into this system with the knowledge that you will have time and additional money invested, then you will be happy with it. Audiophiles won’t be disappointed with the quality of sound produced and it’s definitely an upgrade for home entertaining.

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  Posted 7 years ago by nickcal