Sonos’ new stackable Amp gives your traditional speakers wireless powers

In the past few years, wireless speakers have gotten good. Like, really good. But the number of options still pale in comparison to the wealth of traditional speakers on the market, especially for those seeking audiophile-quality sound.

For these folks, Sonos has had its Connect:Amp, which could power passive speakers through regular speaker wire. Today, the company is announcing the simply named Sonos Amp, which is both more powerful and more versatile than its predecessor.

Where the Connect:Amp could handle two speakers at 55 Watts each, the new model can output 125W per speaker. Better yet, you can actually stack the amps like pancakes to connect even more speakers for a full surround setup (although unfortunately it doesn’t seem Dolby Atmos is an option).

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You can use all the usual Sonos streaming sources, including the recently introduced AirPlay 2 support. The Amp also borrow the HDMI ARC connection from the Sonos Beam, making it a bit easier to connect to your TV, though you can use an optical audio adapter if your prefer. Of course, there’s also a line-in for analog sources.

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That said, after all of Sonos’ efforts to enter the voice-controlled space, the lack of microphones is disappointing. You can still use voice control with another Alexa-powered device (and Google Assistant, someday), but it would’ve been nice to have an all-in-one solution as with its newer speakers.

The Sonos Amp will cost for $599 when it goes on sale December 1 at Sonos.com.