One of my favorite electronics purchases over the last five years continues to be the Sonos wireless music system that delivers digital music throughout the home. It’s easy to set up and use, and the company continually enhances your purchase with often-free software updates delivered over the Web. A recent upgrade: the ability to turn your Apple iPhone or iPod touch into an additional wireless controller.
That’s why I was intrigued when a company called IntelliTouch recently introduced its own wireless audio system at less than one-fifth the price of the $1,000 Sonos. With the Sonos system, you get a Sonos controller and two “zone” players that can be placed in different rooms of the house. The $149 Eos Wireless Audio system comes with an iPod dock and a single wireless speaker — so you may need to spend more for speakers to connect to the zone players. The system can accommodate up to four more zones throughout the home; each additional speaker-receiver combo costs $130.
While I was pleased with the IntelliTouch setup and wireless range, I found enough drawbacks to keep me from recommending it without reservation. With a music system, looks matter, and the aesthetics of the Eos base station meet with a mixed review. Nice silver metal grills cover the stereo speakers, and both my iPhone and iPod Touch fit snugly into the middle dock. But the glossy black plastic casing and controls feel a bit cheap. IntelliTouch tries to spruce up the look with blue lights on the control buttons sitting below the dock and the wireless antenna.
Lack of Control
The remote was an even bigger disappointment. It’s small, with extremely limited usefulness. You can play, pause, forward, and mute the dock. But since there’s no screen, you can’t search your iPod or other devices for music or…