Sonos PLAY:1 Blue Note Gets Custom Jazz Paint Job

Sonos may be the darling of multi-room audio, but while the streaming might be flexible, so far the color options have been only one degree more than a Ford Model T. The black or white finishes are being joined by a new blue, however, with Sonos revealing its first limited edition speaker, the Sonos PLAY:1 Blue Note. Intended to mark 75 years of Blue Note Records, the custom-painted speaker comes with exclusive access to jazz playlists curated by some of the big names in the genre, like Don Was.

Sonos started with the regular PLAY:1, its smallest speaker. Launched back in October, it's moisture-proof for use in bathrooms, and can also be used as rear surround channels with a PLAYBAR.

For Blue Note's purposes, however, the PLAY:1 went in for some custom detailing. Sonos used a combination of hand-painting and robotic spray painting to give a vertical fade from dark navy through to cerulean blue: the company says that's intended to represent the deep bass and "richly detailed highs."

Meanwhile, a custom version of the app offers a special Blue Note radio station, and buyers will also get a year of Artists Selects. That has "vinyl-style" curated playlists of jazz musicians such as Robert Glasper, Jose James, Terence Blanchard, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Lionel Loueke.

There'll also be access to the two public jazz playlists from the label, Born in Blue and Blue Note 101.

Sonos isn't saying when, exactly, the Blue Note speaker will go on sale, though pricing is confirmed at $250 ($280 CAD, €250, and £220), so a roughly $50 premium over the regular model. Only around 4,100 units have been produced.

SOURCE Sonos Blue Note