The IT Nerd

Today, Sonos is announcing new speakers that expand its home theater and portable line-ups, offering listeners more ways to easily connect with the content they love. As with all Sonos products, the brand’s newest speakers deliver great sound that helps you play more, hear more and feel more, whether at home or on-the-go. 

• The Sonos Ray is a compact soundbar with impressive sound for its size that brings your entertainment to life. Ray makes it easy to build your first home theater setup or enhance TV sound in more rooms. It will be available globally on June 7 for $279 USD and $349 CAD.

• Sonos also introduced Sonos Voice Control, the first voice experience created purely for listening on Sonos. Sonos Voice Control will be available in the US via a free software update on June 1, with additional regions to follow. After a careful search, Sonos chose award-winning actor Giancarlo Esposito – best known for his roles in Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and The Mandalorian – to deliver a familiar voice for US customers.

• Finally, Sonos Roam, the ultra-portable Bluetooth speaker, is now available in three fresh new colors – Olive, Wave and Sunset – which are available today, for $179 each.

You can see more at Sonos.com

Heads up for those who are looking for a deal!

The Sonos Roam will be available for $199 CAD from Thursday, December 24 – Monday, December 27th as part of Sonos’ Boxing Week offers in Canada. That’s a $30 savings (or 13% discount) and the only offer on Roam this year.

You can treat yourself to a new Roam (or belated holiday gift) at Sonos.com and retailers nationwide. 

Sonos has a few ideas for pretty much anyone on the list – whether that’s the ultimate holiday host, the movie buff or even the wanderlust. Here are a few products that I’d like to highlight:

• Roam ($179): Launched earlier this year, Roam is the first ultra-portable speaker from Sonos that you can bring on all your listening adventures, whether it’s around the fire, by the pool or an outdoor yoga class. This season’s most stylish sound accessory is also drop proof/water resistant and small enough to fit in a stocking! 
• Beam ($449): Looking to splurge? Look no further than the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), the smart TV sound bar, which was just announced last month. Bring the sounds of the stadium and theater to your home with immersive sound and Dolby Atmos support.

• Move ($399): As one of the most highly rated products on BestBuy.com, the Sonos Move is the ideal indoor and outdoor speaker for the entertainer of the family, with room filling sound that can power any occasion. 
• One ($219) and One SL (starting at $199): The essential Sonos speakers for any person on your list. One and One SL are stylish speakers that elevate any space and are the perfect introduction to the Sonos world. One also makes a great gift for new parents with hands free voice control (Alexa, play sleep sounds!).
• With Sonos Radio and Sonos Radio HD, you’ll also have access to hand picked stations for the holidays and any day. No stress about picking the perfect playlist either! 

More inspiration can be found on the Sonos holiday gift guide here,

Hot on the heels of the North Face partnership, Sonos’ has announced their latest campaign, Wild Tracks. 

According to a recent survey conducted by Sonos, 74% of consumers chose music as their preferred travel companion (even over friends and select family members!). Catering to these preferences, Wild Tracks invites consumers to explore the world’s most beloved National Parks and outdoor destinations by tapping partners with an affinity for the great outdoors to create original playlists inspired by their own experiences in nature. The campaign saw the creation of eleven unique playlists curated by adventure aficionados and inspired by North America’s premier outdoor destinations, including: 

• Glacier National Park, curated by Peloton Senior Instructor Emma Lovewell
• Kings Canyon National Park, curated by founder of The Ocho System and Health + Wellness Consultant, Joe Holder 
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park, curated by Diversity & Inclusion Educator and Sustainability Advocate, Laura Edmondson 
• Chattahoochee River National Park, curated by Meditation Expert and Model, Nikia Phoenix 
• North Cascades National Park, curated by Adventure Enthusiast and Travel Photographer, Renee Hahnel 
• Bugaboo Provincial Park, curated by Mountain Climber, Andrea Ference 
• Banff National Park, curated by Nature Photographer, Eric Rubens 
• Cape Scott Provincial Park, curated by Adventure Enthusiast, Karin Keller 
• Horseshoe Bend, curated by Travel Journalist, Travis Levius 
• Grand Teton National Park, curated by Adventure Photographer Max Seigal
• Watkins Glen State Park, curated by Travel + Adventure Photographer Max Loewenstein

Wild Tracks serves as an inspiration for fans to immerse themselves in their natural surroundings. Encouraging wanderers to get outdoors, the campaign features a :60 hero film exploring the relationship between sound and natural environment – check it out HERE! 

To learn more about the campaign and stream the partner playlists, please visit sonoswildtracks.com.

In celebration of the newly launched Sonos Roam and just in time for summer, Sonos and The North Face are teaming up to offer adventurers and wanderlusters an opportunity to explore the great outdoors in brilliant sound from home!

According to a new survey conducted by Sonos, 60% of North Americans feel they have been missing a great joy in their life because travel has been more limited in the past year. Sonos and The North Face are hoping to bring that joy back through this partnership, which includes: 

• Expedition Soundscapes on Sonos Radio: Never Stop Exploring – Original field recordings from nine of The North Face’s most-far-flung adventures have been mixed, sequenced and combined with an original score to take you on a global journey with the world-class athletes who were part of the expedition. From the comfort of home, you can journey with Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison as they become the first ever people to ski down Mt Everest’s neighbor Lhotse for the first time, or trek across Antarctica with Free Solo climber Alex Honnold. The sound experiences will be exclusively available on Sonos Radio new station, Never Stop Exploring, launching today. Previews are available on Mixcloud here and YouTube here.

Whether you’re ready to board a plane tomorrow or you’re still more comfortable on the couch, Sonos is making it easier to explore the world around you – no matter where you are. 

Today, Sonos debuts Sonos Radio HD in Canada, giving millions of Canadian listeners access to the ad-free, high-definition streaming tier with skips, repeats and an expanded catalogue of exclusive programming. The premium service is available on Sonos’ S2 app for $7.99 CAD per month after a free 30-day trial.

Canada subscribers to Sonos Radio HD will now be able to access and enjoy even more incredible content and exclusive programming, including:

• Artist-curated stations that go beyond the playlist to offer commentary and interviews heard nowhere else, including Brian Eno’s The Lighthouse – an exclusive new station available on Sonos Radio HD today, featuring hundreds of tracks spanning over 50 years of Brian Eno’s illustrious career. Listeners are also encouraged to share their feedback on the station: if you hear a track that you’d like to use in a film, you think you may have contributed to, or even one that particularly moves you – please get in touch at thelighthouse@sonos.com. 

Subscribers can also tune in to Dolly Parton’s Songteller Radio, Ghostface Killah’s Blue & Cream, FKA twigs’ Main Squeeze and more. 

• Deeper exploration into genres and music scenes with the help of curators and hosts including Ann Powers with Nashville Now and Americana Ramble and Kenny Gamble’s The Sound of Philadelphia. 
• Soundtracks for life at home that promote mindfulness, productivity and relaxation including The Inner Now, Chill Beats and Mellow Morning, along with six sleep stations for any preference – white noise, pink noise, brown noise, rain, rainforest and piano – all mastered and tuned specifically for Sonos speakers for the most natural, calming sounds for a better night’s sleep.

The JUNOS are turning 50 this year! 

In the lead up to this incredible milestone, Sonos is excited to announce the launch of a brand new radio station in partnership with the JUNOS to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the awards. Highlighting the best of Canadian music, with over 500 tracks and hundreds of artists, All Our Sound premieres exclusively on Sonos Radio today.

Artists featured on the station include a mix of winners and Hall of Fame inductees from the last 50 years, and includes personal anecdotes between tracks from artists like the Arkells, Corey Hart, Dallas Smith, The Glorious Sons, July Talk, Lennon Stella, MacKenzie Porter, The Reklaws, Rufus Wainwright, Sarah McLachlan, and Savannah Ré. 

Any Canadians looking to get their JUNOS fix in the lead up to the awards can access a preview of the station here, featuring almost 1.5 hours of content from All Our Sound. 

Today Sonos introduced Sonos Roam, the ultra portable smart speaker that allows you to bring the Sonos experience with you everywhere you go. Sonos’ smartest and most versatile speaker yet, Roam offers incredible sound for its size, is effortless to set up and control, and packs new innovation into a premium, lightweight and durable design.

Roam connects to the rest of your system at home on WiFi and automatically switches to Bluetooth when you’re away.

• With an all-new feature called Sound Swap, you can switch the music to the nearest speaker on your system at the touch of a button, making it easy to move music from room to room.
• Automatic Trueplay, now available on both Bluetooth and WiFi, means Roam is always tuned for the best listening experience in any environment.
• Available in shadow black or lunar white, Roam’s tactile triangular shape and soft profile is comfortable to pick up and looks great inside the home. 
• Roam is dust proof and fully waterproof with a rigorously tested IP67 rating. 
• With a versatile design, you can place Roam vertically for a smaller footprint or horizontally to provide added stability on uneven surfaces outdoors.
• Roam is ready for any adventure with up to 10 hours of continuous playback on a single charge and up to 10 days of battery life when not in use.

Roam is available starting April 20 for $229, and you can pre-order today on sonos.com. 

Sonos has just announced one final Boxing Week deal to cap off 2020. Enjoy $100 off Sub ($799 CAD) and Beam ($399 CAD) between Dec 24 – 31. You can visit the Sonos promotional offers page to confirm when this and other savings are live.

Sonos reached out to share some holiday news from Sonos – including a Giving Tuesday initiative and new Cyber Monday one day only offer. 

As part of Sonos’ efforts to promote the power of music bringing positive change, this Giving Tuesday (Dec 1) the company is: 

• Donating 10% of its Giving Tuesday profits (up to $230K CAD) through Sonos.com to participating nonprofits around the world. New partners include SMASH Seattle, Music Heals Us, Jazz Foundation of America, and Guitars for Vets as part of it’s Soundwavesprogram. 
• Dedicating 100% of its ad space on Sonos Radio to nonprofit organizations to give them a platform to raise awareness for their causes during a time when many are encountering severe funding constraints. This initiative will continue beyond Giving Tuesday as Sonos has committed to dedicating 5% of its ad space to nonprofits that align with Sonos’ social impact mission moving forward.

On a separate note – here’s a reminder about Sonos’ great savings for the holiday season.

Cyber Monday (**Nov 30 only**)

• Save $150 on Five ($449) and Amp ($649)
• Save $70 on One ($179) and One SL ($159)

Save on Brilliant Sound (Nov 22-30)

• Save $150 on Move ($349), Beam ($349), and Sub ($749) 

Treat Yourself (Dec 4-13)

• Save $50 on One ($199) and One SL ($179) between Dec 4 – 13