sonos or squeezebox. what leads needed. digital out on laptop help.

[method man]

Ok so my AVI 9.1s are on order. Should be here next week.
I have my second hand but pristine Dreadnought stands sitting empty in my bay window.
So now I need some more advice. Or rather opinions. I am undecided as to whether to get a Sonos or a squeezebox duet. I have tried the sonos, and it was very easy to use. But over double the price of the squeezebox. Music is stored on a PC in the same room, always on, but a long way from the speakers and around a corner.
Has anyone tired both? What would you recommend? And do I need to buy a cable for either to connect to my awaited speakers?
Also my wife would like to still be able to simply play a cd. I’ve checked that my old Arcam 7se has an optical digital output. So could you recommend a cable that will suit for that too? Possibly a long one as I might be able to use the DVD player as a spinner if it has an optical out but that will be about 5 foot from the main speaker.
Laptops. We have about 3 here knocking about. I would like to be able to rig up one to the speakers for Spotify. ( until its supported by sonos or squeezebox). Ive checked them all but can’t see an optical digital out socket that looks like the one on my CD Player. But ive read they can look different on laptops or even share a socket with a 3.5 jack? Anyone know how i can tell if i can get digital out? And if not are their any converters?
Lots there but all good fun if you’re interested

 

[Tonestar1]

I have demo'd both Sonos and Squeezebox, Same dealer, same kit, same cables, same stand :-D and found the Sonos to sound far superior. No idea why this would be. Dealer agreed with me and also said the Sonos was far more user friendly. I would however think about investing in an Ipod touch with free Sonos app rather than the Sonos controller as it has far more funtionality, looks better (IMO) and costs about the same.

 

[Tonestar1]

Quote from Wiki

"Mini-TOSLINK" or Optical Cable is a standardized optical fiber connection system. Its most common use is in consumer audio equipment. Many new laptops now have a combination Headphone/Toslink output. The connector looks like a mini stereo jack except the tip has a fiber connection.

Fujitsu Siemens calls this output the S/PDIF out. If the output is enabled in software you can see a red light inside the Jack socket when adjusting the baudrate or for a short period when removing a normal analogue jack from the socket.

 

[method man]

the sonos IS user friendly. me and my bro set it up easily. both unskilled in this area.( well once we realised that an AVG firewall had been left on) and me and the wife were using it in 5 minutes with no instructions needed..

she liked the control of the sonos too. but we might be able to get the ipod touch for nothing from IT guys at her work. so it might tip the balance price wise as we would only then need a z90 and a zonebridge

 

[The_Lhc]

The ZP90 has both optical and coaxial digital outputs (as well as analogue, but the AVI's DAC will be far superior), so either one of those cables will be fine.

5 foot isn't a particularly long cable incidentally, it's about 1.5 meters, pretty standard length.