Sonos Bridge now optional following Sonos software update

Sonos is helping their customers cut cables with a software update that now allows their speakers to work without any additional hardware, like the Sonos Bridge, and without wired connections.

Sonos version 5.1 works with any existing WiFi networks, replacing the need for Sonos speakers to be connected to a router through a wired connection, or through the Sonos Bridge.

The software update will work for any customers where their WiFi network extends to cover the location of their speakers, however Sonos does recommend a wired connection to a router as the most “bulletproof experience”, especially in the case of Sonos 3.1 and 5.1 home theater configurations.

For customers who are already using a Bridge or wired connection, Sonos does not recommend changing anything.

The software update effectively saves most customers $59.99, which was the cost of the Bridge, and Sonos has done extensive testing to ensure that customers can still stream high quality sound without “dropouts, echoes, or delays.”

“Following our largest beta test to date over the last several months,” the company announced in the press release, “we’ve studied the performance across all kinds of home environments around the world to ensure the new WiFi-enabled setup meets our high standards.”

At the same time, Sonos announced a new product called Sonos Boost, which effectively replaces the Bridge for environments where a normal WiFi network won’t work for your speaker configuration. The Boost will retail for $109 and will work to provide customers with “enterprise-grade wireless capabilities to serve even the most challenging home WiFi environments.”

On the company’s website the Boost is described as “the most powerful wireless product we’ve ever built,” that is “[u]p to two times more powerful than Bridge.”

The Sonos Play:1, the company’s entry-level speaker, retails for $219, and Sonos works with a range of music services including Rdio, Google Play Music, and Spotify.

Get more information on how you can setup your Sonos speakers at www.sonos.com/rock-solid-wireless.