It was thought that the ONLY ways to enjoy quality music throughout your home was to either pre-wire your newly-built “McMansion” with miles of audio cable, install in-wall or in-ceiling speakers and connect it all to a CD changer or FM tuner in the basement; OR pay someone to come out and retrofit your 50-year old home with all the above equipment (which costs more). Oh, there is also the old-fashioned way: Buy two powered tower speakers, hook them up to a beefy amp/receiver AND JUST CRANK IT!

Well there is another option – Wireless! Now don’t get me wrong (and let me ease the anger of audiophiles everywhere), connecting all of your audio equipment directly (wired) is still going to provide you with the best sound quality and if done right, will ensure the lowest amount of signal interference. But as technology advances, newer ways to do the same ol’ same ol’ will advance as well.

The Lowdown:

Enter Sonos, a multi-room audio system built around wirelessly sending audio signals to different components around your home without the complicated and costly process of your typical wired multi-room audio distribution system.

Sonos claims that it’s system will provide the user:

“- Wireless that works like magic
- A multi-room system that’s flawless, flexible and fun.
- Instant access to endless music.
- Setup that’s out-of-the-box simple.“

They way they accompish this is by:

1. Connecting a ZoneBridge or ZonePlayer to your broadband router

2. Placing additional ZonePlayers in all the rooms where you want music, either by connecting said players to existing audio equipment (A/V receiver and/or powered speakers). Or adding players that include amplification and sound output.

3. Once the ZonePlayers are in place, you can control the players and your music collection by either the Sonos PC or Mac program, a Sonos portable controller, or by dowloading an app that will convert your iPhone or iPod Touch into a Sonos Player (Yes, you can control your multi-room audio system with your iPhone).

You can also listen to Internet radio (free or fee) and other online music services like Rhapsody, Napster & Pandora.

“You don’t need to be a tech genius or a wireless expert. You don’t have to break through walls or hire someone to re-wire your house. And you don’t need to know what hex keys and SSID are. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection, a router and two fingers so you can push the buttons on every ZonePlayer. When you want to expand, just add more ZonePlayers and Controllers and get those fingers ready.”

Prices for the ZoneBridge and ZonePlayers start at about $100 bucks, the Sonos Controller is $350 (iPhone or iPod Touch app is free) and the Sonos program for Mac or PC is free as well. They also have bundles they suggest as a simple way to get all you need with one purchase.

For all you audiophiles that contest enjoying your music collection via a series of complex audio connections is the ONLY way to do it…do yo’ thang. For everybody else who just wants some music in the kitchen while they cook, Sonos may be an ideal alternative.

*cough*Since I did such a nice writeup, maybe Sonos will send me some products to review*cough*

If you don’t already know by now, Brotha Tech is a Crackberry Addict. As a result, I would be hardpressed to give you a un-biased head-to-head of the new Motorola DROID versus the widely popular Apple iPhone…so I will let somebody else do it (one of these days, I will branch out)

The Lowdown:

The folks over at Techno Buffalo (nice job on the new site) have put up a nice video on the two devices and how they stand up against each other in a few main categories: web browsing, typing, and apps. So for all you die-hard iPhone users, an those thinking about jumping on the DROID bandwagon, check out this video:

Maybe when the BlackBerry Storm 2 drops, they will revisit the smartphone battle *hint hint*