Over the years we've slowly been installing and growing our Nuvo whole house audio solution. Much like our renovation, it has been a slow process with a lot of prep work before we reached the payoff.

From miles of cabling, to basic installation in limited rooms, to building a DIY server rack to house the whole thing, each step has made our enjoyment and use of the music that floats from room to room just a little bit nicer. However, with all of it's cool features, and even hooked up to a computer to provide an enriched and more flexible approach to streaming music, our system left something to be desired when it came to the various Internet based music services like Pandora, Mog, or iHeartRadio, just to name a few.

Though I could use Pandora or other services from my computer and have it play over the system, control of the actual music was seriously lacking. Changing or skipping songs had to typically be done directly at the computer screen or over a laggy VNC connection from my phone or laptop. This was a less than desirable scenario, but one I would live with until I could find a better one.

Because of my described setup, and because services like Spotify and Mog are quite mature and convenient, I started to research alternatives to my hacked together computer controlled configuration. One company I had heard a lot about over the years was Sonos. Sonos makes a line of wireless and easily integrated components for whole house (or even single room) audio. I have a few friends who've installed Sonos devices and have liked their quality, easy setup, consistent improvement of their devices. Besides, I've always been intrigued myself, so I just needed a good excuse to buy something from them.

While researching I came across the Sonos Zoneplayer 90. The Sonos line contains a handful of source components that establish or integrate with their wireless systems, but this particular model is meant to hook directly into a non Sonos system. Better yet, the whole purpose of this product is to easily bring Internet streaming audio to your existing stereo, home theater, or whole house audio setup. And best of all, with an iPhone, iPad, or Android based device, the free remote control apps that Sonos offers appear to make operating the system a snap.

With all of that information, we decided to take the plunge and I ordered a Zoneplayer 90 from the Sonos.com website last week. I found a Sonos coupon code for free two day shipping, so I went ahead and placed the order. If you're shopping around, you can get the Zoneplayer 90 from Amazon or other sites, but the price is pretty much fixed at $349, and it typically takes longer for it to arrive. The only place I saw it for cheaper was from eBay, but the price typically ends up close to $349, and I just felt more comfortable buying straight from the source.

When we got home from Ohio yesterday the box was waiting for me at home (thanks to our wonderful neighbors for bringing in our mail while we were away). I tore into the box and was greeted with a nicely packaged and somewhat smaller than I expected box.

The package comes with a multi-language manual as well as a software CD for installation.