Sonos is taking over Apple Music with a subscription radio service...

Wireless speaker giant Sonos has announced a new level of Hi-Res subscription to its popular radio streaming service, giving discerning music lovers the opportunity to experience exclusive, artist-led shows and specially curated playlists through their Sonos speakers.

Sonos Radio HD is a new ad-free service that launches after a free 30-day trial in the US and UK for $ 7.99 / £ 7.99 per month. It can be accessed through the S2 app you are using to control your Sonos sound system.

There’s no word on a global rollout yet, but that costs about AU $ 11 a month – although the original Sonos Radio service in the S2 app is expanding to “five new countries,” suggesting more regions are adding the Hi – be preserved. Res streaming tier soon.

Audio authority

According to Sonos, the new radio tier offers the highest quality streaming of all radio services currently on the market with audio in CD quality and the ability to skip and repeat tracks.

There is no way to improve the audio quality if your WiFi is not working well. However, Sonos assures us that this is rarely a problem for its users.

In addition to audio quality, Sonos Radio HD also offers stations curated by artists, including Dolly Parton’s Songteller Radio, which “continues to develop with Dolly’s hits, favorite artists and special comments on songs and moments during her career”.

If you want to delve deep into different genres of music, stations like Nashville Now and Americana Ramble give you the opportunity to improve your country while Unforgettable and Distant Kingdom feature jazz, global retro R&B, and soul.

All playlists are hand-curated by real people – which might not sound like a lot, but considering how much streaming services like Spotify rely on algorithms to tell them what music people love to listen to, it gives Sonos some kind of authority Audiophiles will love it.

Speaking to TechRadar, a Sonos spokesperson told us that while there are some algorithms working behind the scenes to make sure playlists run smoothly and sound good, each one is “overseen by a real person” and the company is bringing in experts in more niche genres and styles.

In addition to genre-managed playlists, Sonos Radio offers HD stations “to promote mindfulness, productivity and relaxation” as well as six sleeping stations with the sounds “white noise, pink noise, brown noise, rain, rainforest and piano”. All of this has been mastered by the company’s Sound Experience team to create “the most natural, calming sounds for a better night’s sleep”.

By combining high quality music streams, exclusive content and handcrafted playlists, Sonos Radio HD could prove to be a huge rival to other radio streaming services like Apple Music 1.

However, Apple Music 1 is part of a broader Apple Music subscription that allows you to stream singles and albums on demand, which Sonos Radio can’t.

However, Sonos is not trying to compete with the major music streaming services. As Sonos told us, the new tier is “designed to complement existing streaming services” that users may subscribe to, and gives Sonos speaker owners the ability to hear great music the moment they use their new device take out of the packaging.

It’s definitely worth checking out the 30-day trial if you already have a Sonos speaker at home – or if you’re hoping to find a cheap Sonos speaker on Black Friday sales too.