Roger Fingas
Sonos on Wednesday announced the Amp, a peripheral bringing the company's signature wireless audio to conventional wired speakers.
A successor to the company's existing Connect:Amp, the Amp is a "home audio hub" capable of powering up to four speakers at 125 watts per channel. It has multiple line-in ports, subwoofer support, threaded connections for left and right channels, and built-in HDMI ARC for use with televisions.
The gear otherwise operates much like other Sonos devices, supporting over 100 streaming services — including Apple Music — and multi-room audio. AirPlay 2 compatibility is expected at launch, allowing people to push audio from compatible apps on Apple devices, and integrate the Amp into HomeKit and Siri.
Owners can also connect it to an Alexa-compatible device such as an Amazon Echo or the Sonos One for more elaborate voice control.
While it does compete against Apple's HomePod, the Amp effectively breathes new life into existing home speaker systems, especially those that do not offer network-connected features like in-home streaming.
Professional installers in the U.S. and Canada will get access to the Amp starting Dec. 1, but the general public will have to wait until Feb. 2019 to buy an Amp for $599.
AppleInsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
14 Comments
HomePod is a better choice.
I chose Sonos because of the Connect:Amp. I wish it would get upgraded to support AirPlay2, but that’s not looking so good now. One can hope.
Amp is the best solution for anyone who cares about sound quality. Choose your speakers. I wonder if the Connect (non-amplified version that connects to existing home hifi systems) will be getting an upgrade too.
Why is this thing so dam expensive? I get that is has more connectors and knobs, but $600 seems out of this world. I'm really considering getting an Airport Express now...
Why you would buy this vs. a receiver that can manage multiple input options and multiple output options including surround sound speaker setups, atmos, etc.?