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Global Head of Editorial

Sonos now supports high-resolution audio from Amazon Music Unlimited. In this post, we break down what “hi-res” means and help you decide if you want to be streaming hi-res music.

As more and more streaming music services offer tiers of higher-resolution audio, a lot of numbers, terms, and abbreviations are tossed around. You may be wondering, Is hi-res the same as HiFi or HD? What’s the difference between 16-bit and 24-bit? Does the number of kHz matter? And is lossless better than lossy? If you’re confused, you’re not alone. While some aspects of what constitutes hi-res audio are clearly defined, some are not. And as the industry evolves, streaming services are applying their own terms to brand their higher-resolution tiers.

With this blog post, we’re going to walk you through the basics so that by the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of what hi-res actually means, setting you up with the knowledge to make an informed decision on what kind of audio you want to stream.

Whenever you’re discussing hi-res audio, you’re ultimately trying to answer one central question: How accurately does the audio track I’m listening to reflect what the song sounded like when it was recorded in the studio? The best way to determine that is to evaluate a digital audio track using two different measurements: bit depth (which is expressed in “bits”) and sample rate (expressed in kilohertz, or “kHz”).

Bit Depth (or: Can you hear the really loud elements and the really quiet elements?)

To begin, we need to state something obvious: There are some sounds too quiet for humans to hear, like a wispy feather drawn across a pane of glass. It makes a sound, but we can’t hear it. And conversely, there are sounds that are so loud that listening to them would do damage to our ears. (Probably why you never want to stand next to a jet engine.) Between those two extremes is a range of sound that humans can hear and enjoy.

Bit depth is the measurement that tells us whether we can hear the quietest sound in a song, all the way up to the very loudest sound—from the faintest whisper to the loudest cymbal crash.

When you’re listening to music, there are two different bit-depths that matter: the bit depth at which the original song was recorded in the studio and the bit depth of the actual music file you’re listening to, which is either streamed, downloaded, or played from a CD.

The two most common bit depths that you’ll hear about are 24-bit and 16-bit.

24-bit: This is the bit depth at which digital music is recorded in the studio. It is also the bit depth at which a music file you’re listening to is considered “hi-res.”

16-bit: This bit depth is often referred to as “CD-quality.” If you’re listening to a song on a CD, you’re listening to a 16-bit song. At this bit depth, we should be able to hear the absolute quietest sound in a track, as well as the absolute loudest. Why would a song be recorded at a bit depth higher than 16-bit then, if 16-bit covers the full range of loudness that we would want to hear in music? We’ll get to that in a moment.

Graphic depicting two circles: a smaller 16-bit circle and a larger 24-bit circle.

Sample Rate (or: Can you hear the really high elements and the really low elements?)

First off, a quick refresher on frequencies. Our ears can only hear within a certain range of frequencies. You’re probably familiar with a dog whistle, which produces a sound at such a high frequency that we as humans cannot hear it, while dogs can.

As with the range of quiet-to-loud sounds that a human can hear (discussed above), there is also a finite range of frequencies we can hear. For a human with absolutely perfect hearing, that range is from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz (or 20 kHz).

So, at the same time that 16-bit was chosen as the standard bit depth for CDs, 44.1kHz was chosen as the standard sample rate because it includes the full range of frequencies that humans can hear.

Now, you may have heard of sample rates higher than 44.1 kHz (from 48 kHz all the way up to 192 kHz). In contrast to the agreement that a song be considered “hi-res” if it has a bit depth of 24-bit, there is less agreement among the professional audio community around what sample rate constitutes a song being “hi-res.” However, because 44.1 kHz covers the entire range of frequencies humans can hear, you can be confident that you’re hearing all the frequencies in a song if you’re listening at that sample rate and above.

Why haven’t we always listened in hi-res?

If we want to listen to music that sounds exactly like it did in the studio when it was recorded, why don’t we always just listen to the original files themselves—the 24-bit digital files recorded in studios? The short answer is: because those files are huge. And the process of getting such large files from the studio to our ears has been (and continues to be) somewhat of a challenge. To explain how that process works, we have to talk about audio files. And that story begins, as most good stories do, in the early 80s.

When the CD was first introduced, it could not fit an entire album of 24-bit songs. So, when making a CD, the original 24-bit tracks from the studio had to be converted into smaller, 16-bit files. This bit depth was chosen because, in addition to being smaller than a 24-bit file, with 16-bit you can still hear the full range of quiet-to-loud sounds in a song (as described above). Because of that, CD-quality music has, rightfully, been associated with high-quality audio for decades.

And then the internet came along, changing the way we share virtually everything. Letters became emails. Brochures became webpages. Conversations became chats. But while words can be transferred electronically quite easily through very small files, even 16-bit files were too large to transfer online, much less the original 24-bit music files. (In case you don’t remember, the internet was really, really slow in the beginning.) So in order to transfer music online efficiently, music files had to be made even smaller. And to do this, the original audio files were compressed.

There are two methods of compressing a file: lossy and lossless.

(Examples: mp3, AAC, WMA, OGG): With this method, small parts of a song are completely discarded from the original, uncompressed track in order to make it smaller. The parts that are discarded are chosen based on how unlikely someone is to miss them. For example, let’s say that in a song, the sound from a very faint percussion shaker occurs immediately after the loud crash from a hi-hat. Your ears will most likely not be able to hear the sound made by the shaker under the much louder, brasher sound made by the hi-hat. So in this example, the sound of the shaker is something that could be removed from the original audio file without most people noticing or missing it. However, it’s a slippery slope. In order to make a lossy file smaller and smaller, the more sounds need to be removed. The more sounds removed, the more likely the listener will notice there are elements missing. And the more sounds the listener notices missing, the more they perceive the song as low quality.

One additional note here: the quality of lossy audio tracks is not evaluated in the same way as uncompressed and lossless tracks. Instead, the quality is measured in kilobits per second (kbps), also known as bitrate (not to be confused with bit depth). However, since the focus of this blog post is on the highest tiers of audio resolution, we’re keeping our emphasis on the measurements used to evaluate hi-res and CD-quality audio: bit depth and sample rate.

(Examples: FLAC, ALAC): The best way to compress a file without degrading the quality of the music is through “lossless” compression. Similar to the concept of a ZIP file, compressing a song into a lossless file means that when you open that file up again in order to listen to the song (or “uncompress” it), nothing has been lost. You’re hearing the song exactly as it was before it was compressed into a lossless file. Today, streaming services that offer hi-res audio do so with lossless files.

A graphic depicting the evolution of a song, from the studio to mastering (24-bit and 16-bit) and compression (lossy and lossless), through streaming.

You now know three important things: 1) Uncompressed and lossless audio tracks are evaluated using two measurements: bit depth and sample rate. 2) Listening to a song at 16-bit and 44.1 kHz (or “CD quality”) covers the full range of loudness and frequencies humans would want to hear from music. 3) In the studio, songs are recorded with a bit depth of 24-bit.

With that knowledge, you may be wondering two things: 1) Why are songs recorded at a higher bit depth than CD quality in the first place? and 2) Why might I want to listen to hi-res instead of just CD-quality music?

Greg McAllister, Senior Sound Experience Manager at Sonos explains why sound engineers record music at 24-bit with a simple analogy. “Let’s say you’re trying to catch a small fish with a small net,” he said. “Because the rim of your net is slightly larger than the fish, you 

 be able to catch the fish with the net you have. However, if you have a larger net with a much wider rim, it is going to be a lot easier to catch that same fish.” He then extends the analogy into the studio: “Recording at 16-bit is like capturing the audio with a small net, while capturing the audio at 24-bit is the big net. You’re giving yourself a larger margin of error and making the process a lot easier by using the big net.”

A graphic depicting how 16-bit captures the full range of loudness, while 24-bit captures more than the full range.

For years, the highest bit depth and sampling rate you’ve been able to stream on Sonos has been CD-quality. And because 16-bit and 44.1 kHz audio files include the full spectrum of loudness and frequencies in a song, that quality of audio sounds fantastic.

And, as of today, you can now listen to hi-res (24-bit, 48 kHz) audio on most Sonos products by streaming from Amazon Music Unlimited. Why would you want to listen to music in hi-res? Again, McAllister explains. “The benefit of listening to hi-res music is that you’re listening to the actual file from the studio,” he said. “No conversion had to take place to change the 24-bit track into a 16-bit track. Listening to a track at 24-bit is a guarantee that you’re hearing the audio exactly as it sounded in the studio. To get a bit technical for a moment, if all digital files are made up of just ones and zeros, the file you’re listening to in 24-bit is made up of the exact same ones and zeroes that came out of the studio.”

So, let’s circle back to our original question: How accurately does the audio track I’m listening to reflect what the song sounded like when it was recorded in the studio? Answering this question depends on two things: the track you’re listening to and the device with which you’re listening. Naturally, the speakers in your cell phone are not going to do a hi-res audio track justice. However, if you’re listening to a hi-res track with quality headphones or a Sonos speaker, you’re setting yourself up with the best possible circumstances to experience that track as it sounded in the recording studio.

As of this post’s publish date, the following Sonos products are capable of playing 24-bit music at 48 kHz: 

, SYMFONISK Bookshelf, SYMFONISK Table Lamp, Play:5 (Gen 2), Connect (Gen 2), and Connect:Amp (Gen 2).

Sonos currently supports streaming hi-res audio from Amazon Music Unlimited (which streams up to 24-bit, 192 kHz). In order to listen to hi-res audio from Amazon Music on Sonos (which Amazon calls “Ultra HD”), you’ll need to sign up for Amazon Music Unlimited. (Note: when streaming on Sonos, the maximum sample rate is 48 kHz.)

If you prefer another streaming service that offers hi-res audio not currently available on Sonos, know that we look forward to introducing more high-resolution experiences in the future. Make sure to keep your Sonos system software updated and follow us on 

 to keep up to date on our newest features.+

You’ll note that we’ve exclusively focused on hi-res, rather than “HiFi” (high fidelity) or “HD” (high definition) audio. Here’s why: While the professional audio community is in agreement on what constitutes hi-res audio (24-bit), there isn’t a solid, agreed upon definition for HiFi and HD. If you see those terms, they might be used to refer to CD-quality (16-bit), hi-res (24-bit), or something else. Just remember, when you’re evaluating a higher-resolution audio track, the bit depth and sample rate are the most consistent ways to determine the quality of that track.

Image of what the Now Playing screen looks like in the Sonos app when streaming hi-res music from Amazon Music.

Ultimately, the only person who can decide if hi-res audio is for you is you. So give it a try! Amazon Music Unlimited offers a free trial. Choose a song you’re familiar with, listen to it the way you currently do, and then listen again in hi-res and see if you notice a difference. Or, you may already know that you want a guarantee that you’re streaming the best quality audio on your system. Once you’ve subscribed, take a look at the Now Playing screen in the Sonos app, where we’ve added a badge that clearly indicates when you’re listening to hi-res audio from Amazon Music.

Your options for listening to hi-res audio will continue to evolve. And so will we. We are constantly evaluating the state of audio and updating our products so that you can be sure you’re getting the best quality audio experience with the simplicity, ease, and reliability you expect from Sonos. We’ll continue to update this post with new information, including when we introduce new hi-res offerings from other streaming partners. And we want to hear from you. What else do you want to know about listening to hi-res audio on Sonos? Just tag @sonos or send us a DM.

User with a black Sonos Roam controlling it with the Sonos app on their phone.

The Beginner’s Guide to Hi-Res Audio

Huddle up. We want your pre-party to sound just as good as the main event, so we’re sharing five tips for throwing a winning tailgate—including advice from grilling/smoking extraordinaire Jimmy Ho on how to uplevel your outdoor cooking game. Ready, set, hut!

Whether you love, hate, or are indifferent to sports, there’s one aspect of game day we can all enjoy: the well-executed tailgate. While a game is usually the reason (or excuse), a tailgate seamlessly blends all the elements of a great party—food, drinks, games, the outdoors, and a shared cause. What’s not to love? Just don’t forget to bring 

 along to get your guests hyped for kickoff.

As the air turns cool and we start tuning in to ESPN2’s game coverage, we wanted to share some of our best tips for throwing a tailgate to cheer for. And remember, even if you’re planning on watching the game with the new 

 in your living room, there’s no reason why you can’t throw a pre-game tailgate in your driveway. In fact, we encourage it.

Imagine heading out to the field without a play in mind. It’s not going to go well. “I know this is very adult-ey, but you gotta plan,” said Austin-based grill/smoke master Jimmy Ho. “Have a checklist. And the reason why you want a checklist is because you should always over-prepare.” And he should know. Scroll through 

 and you can tell that Ho does a lot of thoughtful pre-planning in order to create his photo-worthy outdoor feasts.

Make a game plan.

Ho shared a few more things to consider for your pre-planning: “You want to have extra fuel, whether that’s charcoal, wood, or pulping. You don’t want to be caught needing extra fuel in the middle of cooking and then have to leave your food unattended while you go find more.”

As you’re planning your meals, consider how long things take to cook and your balance of high-maintenance food (which needs to be kept cool or hot) and low-maintenance food (which keeps well at room temperature.) “And always bring extra,” Ho said. “When you’re cooking things that take a lot of time to cook, like brisket, you need a plan B in case you run out. But if you run out of brisket, you won’t have time to cook another one, so bring easier meats to cook, like sausage.”

Bonus Tip: If you slept through cooler-packing 101, here’s a refresher: Drinks at the bottom, then a layer of ice, and finally: food. Pack it with as little air at the top as possible. And if you want to get drinks cold quickly, remember these three elements: ice, water, salt. Then swirl, wait, and enjoy.

Depending on where you live and in what part of the season you’re tailgating, the weather can vary widely. When it’s hot, make sure to create oases of shade with easy-to-assemble tents, water spritz bottles, and hand-held or battery-powered fans. For colder games, bring extra blankets and sweatshirts. And regardless of the weather, bring plenty of water to keep everyone fully hydrated.

Make it comfortable.

While most people stand at a tailgate, provide lots of seating options for eating and relaxation. Because, really, no one wants to have to ask Grandma to get up in order to get a drink from the cooler.

Is it even a tailgate if it’s not drenched in your team’s colors? Everything is in play—cups, plates, napkins, silverware, table cloths, streamers, banners, and more. Raise everyone's spirits with a dessert featuring a healthy dose of food coloring. Cupcakes designed to look like mini footballs? That's a win for everyone.

Make it festive.

To offer more drink options (beyond those that come in cans and bottles), you don’t have to bring your full home bar. Pre-mix drinks in jars and add them to the selection of other alcoholic beverages. You can do this with mocktails too. Just make sure that you clearly label what’s what. Note: this is also your moment to shine with a signature cocktail. Name it after your mascot, or take it as an opportunity for some good-natured ribbing of your opponent.

When we asked Jimmy Ho for his advice on making a great meal on the grill, the first thing he brought up was food safety. In addition to recommending wearing gloves so that you don’t cross-contaminate the food and bringing things to help keep cold food cool and hot food warm, he recommended getting a meat thermometer—but not just for safety reasons. “For the average Joe, getting a meat thermometer is important for both safety and tenderness reasons,” he said. “Pros often know when meat is done by feel or touch. But if you haven’t been doing it long enough, you might not know what the meat should feel like when it’s done. So if you have a thermometer, this will help make sure you’ve cooked the meat long enough, but also, from a tenderness perspective, not too much.”

Make it safe.

He also recommends giving yourself plenty of time to fully cook your meal. “I always think I know how long something will take to cook—and it always winds up taking longer,” he said.

Ho encourages bringing along a source of power, such as a generator or a power inverter for your car, because “At the very least, someone always needs to charge their phone.”

No matter how thoughtful you are about using reusable materials at your tailgate, you’re going to generate some trash. Rather than awkwardly hang a trash bag off the side of the table (which will inevitably end up on the ground, susceptible to bugs), bring two collapsible laundry hampers—one for trash and one for recycling—and line each with a trash bag.

We saved the best for last. Nothing gets everyone more pumped up for a game than music.

Make it fun.

 help create the ultimate mood for a tailgate. Just place them wherever it makes the most sense to get the best sound—and don’t worry if that’s in the direct sun or next to the cooler. They’re designed to hold the line against both heat 

Now, what to play? Create a collaborative playlist and fill it with your team’s fight songs, upbeat classics, tracks that bring you back to high school or college, and Jock Jams. Lots and lots of Jock Jams.

Or, to make it easier, check out ESPN’s collection of 

, featuring the “top hype up music of all time.” Each playlist covers a different genre, from pop, hip hop, and dance to country, rock, and Latin.

When it’s time for kickoff, don’t worry if you weren’t able to score tickets. Stream 

 of the game to your speaker via Bluetooth. If you’re closer to home and within range of your WiFi, you can find local sports coverage on 

, which is especially helpful if you don’t live in the same city as the team you’re rooting for.

And, to get everyone in the competitive spirit (and distract them while the brisket cooks just a little bit longer), bring along yard games like cornhole, ladder toss, and spikeball.

Football has been bringing people together for generations. And a tailgate is a fun, easy way for both casual and hardcore fans to connect. Win or lose, if you show up prepared with food, drinks, and great 

It’s College Football Season. Let’s Tailgate.

Enrich your holidays (now and in the future) by harnessing the benefits of nostalgia. Take a deep breath and learn how tuning into your five senses can make for a cozier, more connected holiday—one that looks, feels, smells, tastes, and sounds merry and bright.

The holidays offer up many reasons to celebrate. Delicious smells. Beloved movies. Colorful decorations. Lively parties. Cozy conversations. And if you’re lucky, presents.

But if there’s one thing that really lets you know the holidays have arrived, it’s the music.

The feeling holiday music evokes can be unexpected and sudden. One minute you’re grocery shopping while Bing Crosby croons about silver bells, the next minute you’re remembering how you once ate a handful of sprinkles while decorating gingerbread cookies with your grandma.

This occurrence might be attributed to the experience of nostalgia, officially defined as “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past.” While this feeling can come from out of nowhere, intentionally engaging in nostalgic reflection by tapping into your five senses can positively impact your current holiday, as well as future holidays.

In the short-term, nostalgia benefits us by reaffirming that our lives have meaning. That’s because nostalgia usually features significant life events—occasions like birthdays, weddings, and the holidays. Further, these events usually include close loved ones. So reflecting on these events re-establishes our sense of connection and belonging, making us feel more loved, protected, and secure about our existing relationships.

And it’s these short-term benefits that we tap into when our holidays don’t go as planned—whether it’s because of a cancelled flight or an unexpected snowstorm. In the case of the missed flight, nostalgia is what makes reminiscing in the airport lounge over a warm mug of cocoa a soothing comfort in the face of massive disappointment. With the snowstorm, it’s ordering a spread of take-out Chinese food when you can’t make it home because it reminds you of the year your parents burned the roast. These aren’t perfect substitutes, of course, but by bringing forward elements of previous cherished holidays, we infuse our present with comfort from the past.

Nostalgia has benefits that extend into our future as well. Studies have shown that engaging in nostalgic reflection is a powerful social motivator, propelling us to pursue social goals like making new friends, reconnecting with loved ones, and finding a partner to share our lives with. This turns out to be great timing; experiencing nostalgia during the holidays is setting you up to achieve the resolutions you make regarding your social life on New Year’s Eve.

With all its benefits, nostalgia might seem like it would be difficult to invoke. Lucky for us, it’s simply a matter of tapping into smells, sounds, tastes, visuals, and sensations from our past. No matter what you’re celebrating this season, consider the five senses as you prepare for the holidays. Here are some things to consider for each one.

Build a playlist that offers something for everyone at your holiday gathering. The songs that evoke wonderful holiday memories for you might not be the same ones that do so for your grandpa or your cousin. Create opportunities to get to know your loved ones better by asking them what songs remind them of the holidays in advance of your gathering. The result will be a playlist that spans generations and genres.

If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve got you. Our Global Head of Music, Brian Beck, wrapped up 

 just for you, an enduring playlist of lesser-known classics featuring Woodie Guthrie, Pearl Bailey, Loretta Lynn, Louis Armstrong, and more.

Of all the senses, smell is the sense that most directly evokes emotional memories. When we smell something, that information goes directly to the part of our brain that is associated with experiencing emotions. Consider the scents that remind you of your favorite holidays and recreate them with candles, essential oils, room sprays, or diffusers. If you have time, tackle two senses at once by cooking or baking (see “Taste” below). Lastly, experiment with different scents in different rooms—try welcoming pine for the entryway, warming cinnamon for the living room, and refreshing peppermint for the bathroom.

There’s a lot of things that brighten up holidays…twinkling lights from menorahs, kinaras, and tiny villages that overtake every available flat surface in your home. But one of the most comforting things to gaze at during the holidays—a flickering fire on the hearth—can be impractical or more likely, impossible. That’s why we teamed up with sound designer Andrew Tracy to create “

.” With the proper log sizes, wood-to-flame ratio, and bark thickness, you can enjoy the mesmerizing flames on your TV with the soothing crackle through your home theater speakers.

Most often overlooked, incorporating the sensation of touch into your holiday can be an act of mindfulness. Take the time to bring your attention to the tactile sensations of the holidays—a rough firelog, a hand-knit scarf, a warm clay mug, the worn pages of a beloved book read once a year. And when in doubt, wrap yourself in a soft, fuzzy blanket.

This one gets the most attention around the holidays. And for good reason. But this is also where we have the biggest opportunity to expand our traditions. In addition to Christmas, people celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Diwali, Los Posadas, and Chinese New Year at this time of year. Get in the spirit of the season by learning about cultural traditions other than your own. Then, incorporate a traditional dish you learn about into your family’s meal and use it as an opportunity to share what you’ve learned. Or, if you’re a book lover, look to cookbooks with recipes inspired by literary giants like Charles Dickens, Toni Morrison, or Louisa May Alcott. Above all, share. Whether you invite friends to your family’s meal or wrap up baked goods for neighbors, sharing food is a great way to connect with those you normally just share a wave with.

The holidays can be stressful. And don’t always go as planned. By getting in touch with your senses during the season, you can tap into comforting memories of the past, get motivated to create a better future, and savor each moment of the present.

Abeyta, A. A., Routledge, C., & Juhl, J. (2015). Looking back to move forward: Nostalgia as a psychological resource for promoting relationship goals and overcoming relationship challenges. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109(6), 1029–1044. 

Hepper, E. G., Ritchie, T. D., Sedikides, C., & Wildschut, T. (2012). Odyssey’s end: Lay conceptions of nostalgia reflect its original Homeric meaning. Emotion, 12, 102–119. 

Hertz, R., Eliassen, J., Beland, S., Souza, T. (2004). Neuroimaging evidence for the emotional potency of odor-evoked memory. Neuropsychologia. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0028393203002161

Pearsal, J. (Ed.). (1998). The New Oxford dictionary of English. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Routledge, C., Arndt, J., Wildschut, T., Sedikides, C., Hart, C. M., Juhl, J., . . . Schlotz, W. (2011). The past makes the present meaningful: Nostalgia as an existential resource. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 638–652. 

Wildschut, T., Sedikides, C., Arndt, J., & Routledge, C. (2006). Nostalgia: Content, triggers, functions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 975–993. 

https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.5.975

Secrets of Nostalgia: Simple Ways to Warm Up Your Holidays

Sonos listeners are a loyal and passionate group of people. It was with them in mind that we were inspired to create our latest brand campaign, 

. We continue to be delighted by the unique and special ways Sonos shows up in your lives. In this post, we share the campaign video and a few of the stories that keep us inspired every day.

It’s my full-time job to describe what’s great about the Sonos experience and I always come up short. Always. Before I can get into why that is, I have to say something that may seem bold to anyone who hasn’t experienced Sonos for themselves, but here goes: Having Sonos in your home is not the same as having speakers in your home.

To really describe what it’s like to have Sonos, I have to communicate so much more than just the features of our products. Yes, our speakers are easy to set up and use. Yes, our speakers sound great. Yes, they are beautifully designed. But those are like pieces of a puzzle, mixed up and spread out across the dining room table. You can’t really appreciate the full picture of why people love Sonos until you fit all of those pieces together, sit back, and take it all in. That’s when it clicks. And you realize that Sonos isn’t just about listening—it’s about feeling.

One of the pleasures of working at Sonos is that when people find that out, they often want to share their stories about Sonos with us. The way their eyes light up after I tell them where I work gets me every time. And then they’re off, excitedly telling me what it was like for them the first time they heard music coming from two stereo-paired Fives. Or how incredible their favorite movie sounds with Arc. And after four years of working here, I’m still compelled to do the same, equally excited to share my own Sonos stories.

Reflecting on this, I think that one of the reasons why these encounters happen is because it’s just so fun to talk about Sonos with someone else who “gets it.” Because, like me, our listeners have probably tried to describe why they love Sonos to friends who don’t have it and felt like they weren’t really able to do the experience justice. Because of that, it’s surprisingly fulfilling to get to talk about it with someone else who understands.

It was with that in mind that we decided to let the people who best know what it’s like to have and love Sonos do the talking. We’ve included a small sampling of their stories below. Some were shared over social media, some were emailed to our CEO, Patrick Spence, and others were shared directly with those of us who work here. But they all have one thing in common: They get to the heart of what it means to experience Sonos. It’s heart-pounding suspense and the urge to dance. It’s the comfort of a classic album and awe inspired by new worlds. It’s food tasting better, loved ones getting closer, and every day feeling less everyday because you feel more.

“Last weekend my wife and I got married in a small elopement overlooking the ocean in Santa Cruz. Due to getting married on a cliff, there was a ton of wind so we weren’t entirely sure how we were going to do the music, but I decided to take my Move out just to see how well it would hold up. We were shocked. Not even at full volume you could clearly hear the music the entire length of our makeshift “aisle” that my wife walked down.

Later that night we returned to the house we had rented which had a small rooftop that we had decorated for dinner and toasts. The rooftop had built-in outdoor speakers, however when we arrived we realized they were no longer working. Luckily the Move was once again perfect and allowed us to have high-quality music during dinner and our dances. I’ve been a Sonos fan for years, but every new product I buy seems to top the last, and I think this experience has solidified my love for the Move. Thanks again for everything your company does and keep up the great work!”

“We brought our Sonos Move into our delivery room this week, and our playlist was such an important part of the birth of our first child.”

“We brought our Sonos Move into our delivery room this week, and our playlist was such an important part of the birth of our first child. I’m so glad we packed it. Just wanted to say thank you for making products that make a difference!”

“Since I’m working from home due to COVID, I took the opportunity to stay with my parents for several weeks in November and December. While there, I noticed the sound for their TV was just awful, so I knew my dad (who wears hearing aids in both ears) must have been struggling. I’ve been a Sonos customer for years, so I suggested buying them a system for Christmas. After a trip to Best Buy for a soundbar, Sub, and multiple Ones, we set up the system in minutes. My parents were thrilled with how easy it was to use and the sound quality. Later in the day, my dad and I were sitting on the patio and listening to some music. He said to me, ‘I can’t get over how good the sound is from this little speaker. It’s been years since I’ve been able to hear and understand the words in the songs.’ It almost made me cry. That statement alone made this the best Christmas gift I’ve ever given! Thank you for giving the gift of music to my dad!”

Now it’s your turn. What does Sonos make you feel? How does it show up in your life? What are some of your favorite moments you’ve had with our products, big or small? We love hearing from you. Just tag @sonos or send us a DM. #FeelMore

Feel More with Sonos

Listening is the world’s most versatile drug. Administered in the right quantities—and at the right quality—music, podcasts and other forms of culture can supercharge our mood, productivity, fitness routine, and personal relationships—yes, even our sex lives. That’s not just marketing hype from a speaker company. It’s backed by data.

Imagine, if you dare, a week without listening. No music, no podcasts or audiobooks, no dinnertime chatter with loved ones—Not even a movie or your nightly TV binge. If that sounds cringeworthy, the reasons may run deeper than you realize. As a growing body of scientific research suggests, consuming culture with our ears is an essential element of the human experience—one that naturally enhances many aspects of our daily lives.

Put another way, listening is the world’s most versatile drug. Not only does it help us feel less stressed and more productive, but the sound of music, podcasts, and other types of culture can motivate us to exercise more, supercharge our sex lives, spark new ideas, and even strengthen our bonds with family and friends. This isn’t just hype of the sort you might expect from a sound experience brand. It’s backed by science.

“Scientists have found evidence that we are wired to perceive and enjoy music as well as to bond with each other through music,” says Daniel Müllensiefen, a professor of music psychology at Goldsmiths College, University of London. “This explains why music is a ubiquitous part of the human experience, supporting the theory that music has a special, important function in our lives.”

The Brilliant Sound Survey is a new round of research that helps bolster the case for better living through listening. In an online survey of 12,000 listeners in 12 countries around the world, Sonos and its research partners found that listening, particularly to music, is reported by participants to have a significant positive effect on four key areas of life: mood, fitness, relationships, and productivity.

“Music is unique in that it appeals to different psychological functions,” says Dr. Müllensiefen. “It can trigger exactly the same areas in the brain that food and sex and other recreational activities and drugs can trigger. It can also be physical in terms of participating, like dancing along or playing drums.”

If sound matters, so too does its fidelity. According to some research, the transformative effects of listening may well be amplified when the sound quality is higher.

“It’s perfectly plausible that sound quality makes a difference, because it’s often small and subtle cues that trigger emotions, like the breath of the singer or the squeak of the guitar strings,” explains Dr. Müllensiefen. “If the sound is blurred or muffled, then it doesn’t have the same effect.”

Of Sound Mind: Listen Better to Feel Better

It hardly comes as a shock that listening has an impact on our moods. But the Brilliant Sound Survey results illustrate just how deep and multifaceted that connection between music and mood is perceived to be by listeners. Seventy-four percent of participants said listening to music helps reduce stress. Another 42% said that podcasts had a relaxing effect. Of course, the genre makes a difference. More than half (55%) of comedy podcast listeners said that those more humor-oriented shows helped relax them.

In the survey, majorities of listeners said they’re happier when listening to a favorite song (52%) and that music helps boost their mood at work (58%). More on that below.

Well sure, you might say, of course listening to one’s favorite music makes them feel happy. The connection between mood and music isn’t always predictable, however. In the survey, 36% of respondents said music has made them laugh unexpectedly. Even more (40%) said it’s made them cry unexpectedly.

“Many people probably aren’t aware of how much they rely on music to regulate their moods throughout the day,” says Dr. Müllensiefen. “We take it for granted because music is so much more available than it used to be. You can virtually listen to anything at any point in time these days.”

Once again, the quality of the sound appears to make a difference. A large majority (82%) of listeners said that a great sound system can make a party more fun.

Fitness Tune-up: The Power of Performance-enhancing Sound

Does getting yourself to the gym turn into an epic internal struggle? Next time, try putting on an uptempo playlist. According to the Brilliant Sound Survey, 68% of respondents say that music helps motivate them to workout when they’re tempted to skip it. The motivational role of sound and listening doesn’t stop when the workout gets going. Majorities of listeners say that music helps encourage them to workout longer (52%), push themselves further (55%) and exercise with greater intensity (51%).

When we’re exercising, music seems to play at least two distinct and important roles, according to Dr. Mullenfiesen: Distraction and stimulation.

“It basically distracts you from how hard you’re working out and takes your mind off how many more miles you have to run,” he says. “But you focus on something else, which is really important.”

Music also helps to stimulate us while we’re working out. “High paced, dynamic, loud music would cue to your physiology that you need to be in an alert state, keep going, and to keep the adrenaline flowing,” he says. “And if strong emotions are expressed, this can also boost your physiological system because strong emotions signal that there’s something important going on.”

If music operates somewhat like a drug when it comes to physical fitness and motivation, it appears to be a potent one. Three quarters of listeners say that music has a bigger impact on their workout regimen than any supplement does.

Sound quality can boost the impact of listening on fitness performance, according to one recent experiment conducted in the United States by Sonos and its research partners. The three-day experiment measured the physical and mental responses people had while working out in a high-intensity interval training in three scenarios: Listening on low-quality wireless speakers, listening on a pair of Sonos Ones, and working out in silence. When exposed to high-quality sound, participants reported a 26% increase in positive feelings about their workout and 34% increase in feelings of connection with their workout partners (despite a 3.5% increase in average heart rate and 2% rise in energy exerted). In other words, great sound enabled people to work out harder without feeling like they were doing extra work.

Sound & Relationships: Listen, Live, Laugh, Love

Listening also has a major effect on our connections with other people, from friends and family to lovers and long-term partners. Indeed, scientific research over the years has shown that musical taste and ability can play a role in our sexual attraction to one another. That finding is backed up by the Brilliant Sound Survey, in which 70% of respondents said they find others more attractive when they have similar taste in music. Even more people (76%) said they feel an instant connection with others when they realize the have similar taste in music.

“We seem to be hardwired to music,” says Dr. Müllensiefen. “It’s part of our evolution as a species that music has played a part of in social bonding, as a function of grooming within larger groups. It might have been useful for sexual mating as well, for example.”

The lust-fueling characteristics of music don’t just dissolve once that initial connection is made. According to the survey, most people say that music makes sex much better (59%) and that it can even make them more adventurous in bed (56%). It may come as a surprise, given how sexually-charged our relationship with music can be, that only 20% of listeners said they have a dedicated playlist for having sex.

Listening doesn’t just tighten our bonds with others in the bedroom. As the 2016 Music Makes It Home study commissioned by Sonos and Apple Music helped demonstrate, it can have all kinds of effects on our interactions with the people in our lives. In this new survey, 64% of people said that music helps them feel connected with family, while 69% said it can ease tensions at home.

“Listening to music and singing together has been shown in several studies to directly impact neuro-chemicals in the brain, many of which play a role in pleasure, closeness, and connection,” says Dr. Müllensiefen.

Your Brain on Listening: Productivity and Creativity

The notion that listening to music can help us focus and be more productive isn’t exactly breaking news. But would you believe that music is more potent than coffee? Sixty-seven percent of listeners say exactly that, according to the Brilliant Sound Survey. And just as many say music helps spark new ideas when they’re feeling stuck.

When it comes to listening and work performance, the survey results offer some pretty glowing endorsements. More than half (52%) of listeners say they wouldn’t be successful at work if they didn’t listen to music. Aiming for a promotion? Curating a playlist of your favorite focus-friendly music isn’t a bad place to start; A staggering 76% of respondents to the survey said that listening to music helps them produce their best work.

“Generally, music can have a strong stimulating effect that makes us alert and focused,” says Mullensiefen. But as with any other mind-altering substance, the results may vary based on the person and their circumstances. “There are several studies in the scientific literature that show that the right kind of music can enhance the performance on the right kind of task for the right kind of people.”

The Science of Listening: How Brilliant Sound Makes for Better Living

Guest Writer

In the new episode from The Lighthouse, Brian Eno speaks about his visual art practice in conversation with curator and historian Hans-Ulrich Obrist. With this companion blog post, you can follow along as the two delve deep into Eno’s bold visual explorations.

Brian Eno has been re-writing the rule book for the past five decades. As a musician, composer, producer, and visual artist he has and continues to innovate. The Lighthouse, his collaboration with 

, echoes several of the concepts which have defined his work as a musician, producer, and visual artist, from open-minded experimentation and the sensory overlaps between sound and vision, to the use of technology to explore new forms of creativity. But the collaboration is also a bold step forward, using a treasure trove of unreleased work and random generation to construct novel worlds of sound.

In an exclusive program for Sonos Radio, Eno guides us through the inspirations behind The Lighthouse. Interviewed by curator and critic Hans-Ulrich Obrist, they touch on everything from childhood dreams of tape recorders to music as part of an infinite process. To listen to their full conversation, click 

“Unlike many people who left art school and went into music, I also carried on doing visual art. And I noticed that gradually the two different practices were drawing closer together. At a certain point, I realized that I wanted to make music that was kind of like painting, and I want to make paintings that were sort of like music. So I think it was all to do with the understanding of time, really. What happens if you have a picture that changes very slowly? It’s different when something is changing. It asks you to stay and look at it for longer. And so I started really playing around with light.”

“One of the things I like doing is taking technology that exists for a given reason and finding something else to do with it.”

“I can remember very clearly the first time I ever saw a tape recorder; I thought how amazing it was that music could be stored like that. And of course, the next thing I thought was: what would happen if you played it backwards?”

“In the late seventies, I started working with video, but just [letting] the event, whatever it was, happen in front of the camera. I was living down on West 8th street at the time and my apartment faced south. So I took the camera and laid it down on its side, pointing downtown. And then I thought, well, I'll just turn the TV round, and suddenly I wasn't looking at television anymore. I was looking at a picture.”

“A big consideration for me with all my installations was how do I make people stay longer? I didn't want people to take a quick look and then they move on to the next picture. And of course, this was connected to music. Music says something is changing, slows people down a bit, which I think is useful. When you walk into a church and there's a beautiful window there, the sun streaming through...maybe these are contemporary, non-religious stained glass windows.”

“It became very clear to me that the idea of art as a static, fixed, finished thing was not an idea that excited me anymore. Classical music is designed like architecture, with a view of what the goal is, how it is going to be when it's finished, whereas the music [Steve] Reich and [Terry] Riley and other people were composing was more like gardening. It was more like saying ‘Here are some seeds, I'm going to plant them and see what happens.’ I started to think I was more a gardener than an architect, and I still think that.”

“Drawing is important to me because it's the quickest way for me to find certain things out. A lot of the work I do begins with drawings, actually, including music.”

“I conceive of things as shapes and as systems and how those systems interweave with each other. If I make a drawing of it, does that drawing look interesting? Does it look like that would be something I would want to listen to? In a way, modern ways of making music are much more similar to painting than to traditional music.”

“I really don't finish things until I have a sense of what they are supposed to do in the world. What is this going to be? What will it turn into? If I do this to it, what will happen? My archive of unreleased work has 7,502 pieces of music. None of them are finished, but when I want to make something for a specific task, I usually start by taking one of these, and saying, Okay, this, I think I could make into that piece.”

“I don't know how to meditate, so I don't know if it's the same thing or not, but what I do like is just letting my mind wander, which means, first of all, forgetting about the fact that there's all this news going on. I don't want to be in that world of constant activity and other people's stuff. I seek occasions to enter that childlike state again. It doesn't mean you become more stupid or less adult or anything like that, but you've become less preoccupied I think, and more open to sensation, more open to your own deeper thoughts, the things that you know are always there and you don't often focus on.”

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