Top Home Theater Surround Sound and Music Technology Solutions

Whenever you are looking at projects that you need to tackle in order to implement smart home features in your home, most people look at home security, video monitoring, automation, or climate control. However, one of the most powerful components that you can add to your home, which can also be leveraged for automation, is the solution that you choose for your wireless home theater or wireless surround sound system, as well as your choices in home wireless music technology solutions. It is, often times, one of the easiest additions to make to your home, involving zero or minimal installation effort, and is also one of the "lowest-hanging-fruit" additions in regards to cost.

Music is an essential item for any smart home. It allows you to enjoy your environment, even to adjust it, according to how you wish to feel at that moment in time. It also is an essential component for entertaining guests. However, with a lot of the latest products available on the market, music isn't the only feature that some in-home wireless music players or wireless home theater systems offer. Many of them have voice activated commands and interfaces, offer smart phone or tablet controls to eliminate the need for yet another controller in your home, and even may offer the ability to control other smart home technology in your home from a single voice command.

Of course, you want to select a wireless home theater or wireless music product with the features that you are looking to have included within your current smart home technology configuration, or even for the future state of your smart home technology configuration. You want to ensure that it's a smart home feature that you will leverage to the fullest extent, you aren't paying for features you don't and won't use, and that it is user friendly for all members of your household. The last thing a homeowner wants is a bunch of smart home technology that their spouse and/or children cannot use. You want technology features available to each member of the household, and possibly even customizable features for each and every one of them. Plus, when you are looking for Christmas gift ideas or birthday gift ideas for any smart home owner, wireless surround sound and wireless music components are some of the best options for adding to their smart home technology spectrum.

PORTABLE ROOM MUSIC PLAYERS

BOSE

Bose, of course, offers an array of portable music products. They consistently offer significant audio power output, ensuring that you can fill pretty much any area with amazing music. They also have a long-lasting battery for at least 12 hours of portable music enjoyment, as well as a pretty portable plug-in cable so that you can extend your party should it last longer than 12 hours. While these may not be the best for in-home use for smart homes, they can be used in-home and also offer amazing portability for pool-side parties or fun events on the go!

Bose Soundlink Revolve Portable Bluetooth 360 Speaker

Bose offers amazing sound with the Bose Soundlink Revolve portable Bluetooth 360 speaker. It lives up to the name of Bose, offering powerful 360 degree music and significant play time. Bose is fairly new with regards to adding smart features into their products, thus only including the ability to take calls and access Siri and Google now. You can also pair two speakers together to enhance the sound within a space.

Features:
1. Deep, loud and immersive sound, with True 360-degree coverage.
2. Wireless range up to 30 feet.
3. Seamless aluminum body is durable and water resistant (Ipx4).
4. Enjoy up to 12 hours of play time from a rechargeable, lithium-ion battery.
5. Wireless Bluetooth pairing with voice prompts; easily take calls and access Siri or Google now.
6. Pair two speakers together for stereo or party mode playback - For those times when loud just isn't loud enough, use the app to connect any two SoundLink Revolve speakers.

Bose Soundlink Revolve+ Portable Bluetooth 360 Speaker

Even more powerful sound is found with the Bose Soundlink Revolve+ portable Bluetooth speaker. It puts out more powerful 360 degree music, and adds 33% longer play time. It has a fabric handle, which offers the convenience of carrying it to your place of destination and making it easy to transport when carrying multiple items. However, the smart features are still only the ability to take calls and access Siri or Google now. You can pair two speakers together to enhance the sound within a space.

Features:
1. The best-performing portable speaker from Bose; delivers Deep, loud, jaw-dropping sound with True 360-degree coverage.
2. Flexible fabric handle makes it easy to grab and go; seamless aluminum body is durable and water resistant (Ipx4).
3. Enjoy up to 16 hours of play time from a long-lasting, rechargeable, lithium-ion battery.3.6 inches Full-Range Driver.
4. Wireless Bluetooth pairing with voice prompts; easily take calls and access Siri or Google now.
5. Wireless range up to 9 m (30 ft). The Bose Connect app makes it easy to connect and automatically switch between Bluetooth devices.
6. Pair two speakers together for stereo or party mode playback.

Bose Soundlink Mini II Limited Edition Bluetooth Speaker

The Soundlink Mini II Limited Edition Bluetooth speaker offers significant power for its size, a low price point, but doesn't offer the 360 degree sound that the 360 models do. It also only has the ability to take calls with it speakerphone feature, so its smart features aren't as capable.

Features:
1. Voice prompts for easy Bluetooth pairing.
2. Up to 10-hour battery life per charge.
3. Built-in speakerphone.

SONOS

Sonos has exploded onto the scene, but not just because they are the premier wireless speaker manufacturer. They have also decided to enhance their niche by offering the most robust smart home features and capabilities within their product line. If you are looking to enhance the sound within your home, but also want to enhance your smart home capabilities, then the Sonos product line is definitely where I would focus your attention.

Sonos Original Play:1 - Compact Wireless Speaker

The arrival of the Sonos Original Play:1 finally showed us the direction in which smart home technology versatility was truly meant to accomplish. Your Sonos Play:1 can connect to any Alexa enabled device, allowing you to combine your Alexa music/smart device with your Sonos devices. You can use it independently, or combine it with other speakers to enhance surround sound in a space - this includes the Home Theater Sonos products. They have wall mounts available for the Sonos Play speaker line, allowing you to make them permanent components dedicated to Home Theater surround sound. The Play:1 was manufactured to be humidity resistant, so you can also enjoy your favorite songs in music-starved places like the bathroom and/or outdoor patios.

Features:
1. Mini but Mighty. Fits in any space, fills any room with surprisingly rich and powerful sound.
2. Connect your Play:1 to any Amazon Echo or Alexa-enabled device, then just ask for the music you love.
3. Play different songs in different rooms at the same time. Or, pump one song in perfect sync, throughout your home.
4. Set-up in five minutes using your home Wi-Fi. Easily expand your home audio system over time by adding wireless speakers to additional rooms whenever you’re ready.
5. Wirelessly Stream all your favorite music services like Amazon Music, Pandora, Apple Music, and Spotify.

All-new Sonos One

The newer model Sonos One not only allows you to interface with any of your Alexa devices, it has Amazon Alexa built right in. You can start and control your music with you voice. So, even without your Alexa speaker, you can enjoy all of the smart home features of an Alexa device. It also can be used independently or paired with ANY of your Sonos speakers in your home. It too is portable or can be permanently mounted on the wall as a Home Theater surround sound component. Control the speaker with voice prompts, or with the Sonos app on your phone or tablet device.

Features:
1. Start and control your music with your voice. Amazon Alexa built right in.
2. Play songs, check news and traffic, control your smart home and enjoy all those other helpful Amazon Alexa skills using a single Sonos speaker.
3. Ask Alexa to Play music from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn and SiriusXM. Listen to hundreds of other streaming services with the Sonos app.
4. Connect wirelessly with other Sonos Home Sound System speakers to play music in any or every room.
5. Enjoy surprisingly rich, room-filling sound from a smart speaker.

HOME THEATER & MUSIC PLAYERS

Sonos Playbase

The Sonos Playbase offers an immediate Home Theater experience, even by itself. However, it can also be paired with the Sonos Sub-Woofer and two Play:1s or two Play Ones to complete the most powerful Sonos Home Theater and Surround Sound experience.

Features:
1. Full-theater sound for tvs on stands and furniture.
2. Wirelessly streams all your favorite music services.
3. Pair with Sub and two Play:1s for full surround sound.
4. Sync wirelessly with other Sonos speakers to enjoy TV, sports and music throughout your home.
5. Custom-built 10-speaker array delivers a completely immersive audio experience.
6. Robust construction securely supports tvs up to 75 lbs.
7. Dimensions (H x W x D) 2.28 x 28.35 x 14.96 inches, feet must be at least 2.3 inch tall to allow for PLAYBASE clearance.
8. Simple two-cord setup. Control from your existing TV remote, or wirelessly connect on the Sonos app from your smart device.
9. Connect your Playbase to any Amazon Echo or Alexa-enabled device, then just ask for the music you love.
10. With software updates, your listening experience is always improving.

Sonos Beam

The Sonos Beam is one of the newest products offered by Sonos, offering a more compact Home Theater primary speaker device, and even a more versatile smart home enabled feature set. It is already Alexa enabled, allowing you to immediately use voice prompts to access music and features from Amazon - as well as other music streaming providers. But wait, there's more! Add an Alexa enabled video streaming device and you can access that using voice commands. So, you can literally start listening to music, and accessing your favorite shows, all without lifting a finger. Nothing says "Smart Home" like being able to voice prompt or control ALL of your multimedia devices within a room!

Features:
1. Listen to music, TV, movies, podcasts, radio, audiobooks and video games.
2. Experience rich, detailed sound that fills the entire room.
3. Thoughtfully designed for your home. Place on your TV stand or wall mount.
4. Ask Alexa to play music from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn and SiriusXM.
5. Listen to hundreds of other streaming services with the Sonos app.
6. Add the latest Alexa-enabled video streaming device such as Fire TV for remote-free control. Find, start and manage shows and movies just by asking.
7. With software updates, your listening experience is always improving.
8. Set-up is quick and easy. Download the Sonos app, connect Beam to power and your TV, then follow the app instructions.
9. Connect Sonos speakers wirelessly to create a home sound system. Create a home theater system with a pair of rear speakers and a Sub.
10. Play sound from your Apple devices to Sonos with AirPlay, and Ask Siri to play music all over your home.

Sonos Package Deals:

Sonos 5.1 Home Theater System PLAYBAR, SUB, PLAY:1 Wireless Rears Combination

Sonos 5.1 Home Theater System with PLAYBASE

IMAGINE THIS

You walk into your home after a night out with some friends. You offer to come back to your place for a night cap, or maybe to even extend the night out with a small party at your house. You walk into your living room, and turn on your Xbox One, TV, and Receiver with a simple voice command - "Hey Cortana - Turn On". The girls are talking about their favorite recent Housewives episode, and one of them says that she hasn't seen it yet. You then say "Hey Cortana - Watch TV". You hand your Apple TV 4k remote to your wife, and she presses the voice command button from the adjacent kitchen and says "Play Housewives of Orange County". The show immediately comes up on the television, and she starts playing the last episode for her friend to enjoy.

The guys go downstairs to access the pool table and bar. One of them asks you if you've heard the latest cover of Africa performed by Weezer. You say "No." and then ask them if they'd like to hear it now. You turn to your Sonos 5.1 Home Theater system at the end of the room where your 4K Television and Apple TV 4K are and say, "Alexa - Play Africa by Weezer". You already had all of the speakers configured for television surround sound, so the music immediately starts playing across all of the speakers - pumping out some serious power for you to enjoy this newly discovered song - allowing you to enjoy some bourbon and playing some 9-Ball while listening to great music.

You walk upstairs to your daughter's bedroom to check on her. The babysitter says she ate like a champ, and fell asleep after a short bedtime story. You're worried about her hearing the noise downstairs and it waking her up. So, you whisper to the Sonos One on her dresser, "Alexa - Play Rockabye Lullaby." The relaxing and gentle music playlist begins to play, ensuring her to hear that and not any of the noise downstairs. You gently close her door and head back downstairs to make sure your boys aren't cheating at pool.

You were just able to entertain an entire house filled with guests, and ensure a good night's sleep for your daughter, all by simply using a simple set of voice commands!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *