Sonos launched Sonos Radio more than a year ago. It is a free radio music service for Sonos users that can only be used on Sonos devices. Now Sonos has activated the extension Sonos Radio HD for Germany – but not for free. The service was previously available in the USA and Great Britain.
Sonos Radio HD offers more exclusive content – in CD quality. There is an exclusive new channel for paying customers, The Lighthouse, with over 300 previously unreleased tracks by Brian Eno.
The new Sonos Radio HD only works if you have switched your Sonos system to the new Sonos S2 app. Then Sonos will convert your app after booking and you will hear the Sonos radio stations in “outstanding CD audio quality”, according to Sonos. This is 16 bit / 44.1 kHz FLAC. That is the highest quality sound that a radio streaming service has to offer. The selected, curated and programmed songs would be played back in more detail on Sonos Radio, according to Sonos.
In addition, with Sonos Radio HD you can skip songs without ads or play them from the beginning. What is not possible, as with Spotify & Co., is to select specific songs. So, as with radio, you have to be surprised by what the makers of Sonos Radio have planned for the respective playlist.
Sonos Radio HD – can you hear the difference?
Shortly after the announcement, Sonos activated the Sonos Radio HD service for free for a test and first impression. So we were able to gain our first experience with the HD sound. In fact – it seemed purely subjective – the music seemed more dynamic and voluminous than one was used to, regardless of the genre. In a direct comparison, we then looked for the song played by the radio on Spotify and listened to it in comparison. The setup: One Sonos Arc together with Sonos Sub and two Play: 1, i.e. a surround setup.
In a non-representative blind test, however, we were unable to hear any or only marginal differences. In the end, no noteworthy differences could be heard on other speakers such as the Sonos One or the Sonos Roam.
Is Sonos Radio HD worth it?
Sonos Radio HD is free for one month and should cost 7.99 euros per month. So you can see for yourself and test whether you can hear a difference. We think that given the fact that you cannot select your songs specifically, but only listen to curated lists, this price is too high and the sound advantage too low. In addition, you can only listen to Sonos Radio HD on Sonos devices and not even via the mobile app.
In our opinion, you have to be very audiophile and have very good hearing to enjoy Sonos Radio HD. Although Sonos does not advertise its own radio stations when it comes to the payment service, we continued to hear Sonos self-advertising.
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