SONOS Quality problems

[moosey]

I would agree with the majority of others here, and say its been the easiest bit of HiFi/computer kit I have set up and used. Over the past few years I have only had two issues:

- initially had some drop outs, but it turned out to be a badly wired master socket that needed replacing.

- after a couple of years, it became unreliable. After trying many fixes, it turned out to be a dying sky router causing chaos with network. Replacing the router sorted it straight away.

With hindsight, on both occasions, I was also having intermittent internet issues.

So, apart from a faulty master socket and a dead sky router, it's worked almost perfectly for several years. All 600 albums are alac, and no dropouts.

Good luck getting it sorted- it should be worth it in the end

Mike

 

[stevenjonas]

I have found this a very interesting stream.

I have AVI pre-amp, AVI monoblocks, AVI tuner, AVI CD player & ATC SCM 20s & I am about to buy a new TV & naz for my music. Possibly a DAC too. I want to link everything up to play from my speakers, particularly the TV. I had assumed that the Sonos system was the only option but I have not seen any real discussion on the quality of the sound, once it has been routed through the Sonos system. It's particularly relevant when playing my classical music selection, which I want to transfer from my cds. Are the Squeezebox or Nairm systems any better?

 

[The_Lhc]

I have AVI pre-amp, AVI monoblocks, AVI tuner, AVI CD player & ATC SCM 20s & I am about to buy a new TV & naz for my music. Possibly a DAC too. I want to link everything up to play from my speakers, particularly the TV. I had assumed that the Sonos system was the only option

What do you mean by "everything"? I don't really understand what you're trying to do, you have a pre-amp, surely you plug "everything" into that? In the case of your system, Sonos would just be another source, it's not designed to have multiple sources plugged into it.

 

[stevenjonas]

Many thanks for your response. The source is going to be probably lossless ripped from CDs, on a naz, which will be in a different room from my hi-fi equipment. I want to send that material to my pre-amp. The question is how to do that wirelessly?

 

[The_Lhc]

Many thanks for your response. The source is going to be probably lossless ripped from CDs, on a naz, which will be in a different room from my hi-fi equipment. I want to send that material to my pre-amp. The question is how to do that wirelessly?

Ah, ok, nothing more than that, get a Sonos Connect and wire it to the pre-amp (or if you are getting a DAC, wire it to that instead and then the DAC to the preamp). Be aware one Sonos device must be wired to your home network, so either the Connect or you'll need a Sonos Bridge and also Sonos do not support the music source being wireless, so your NAS should be wired to the same network as well.

 

[Shanka]

Hi,

I currently use a squeeze box touch but find it quite clunky when using Spotify and am considering Sonos as a replacement streaming system.

I use Spotify on my laptop and am hugely happy with this, I was wondering how Sonos would compare with both of these.

The Sonos would be played from a bridge into a dac. I also use android controllers for spotify and sbt.

Thanks for any advice, I will go for a demo at some point but was hoping to hear from those with experience.

 

[matt49]

Hi, I currently use a squeeze box touch but find it quite clunky when using Spotify and am considering Sonos as a replacement streaming system. I use Spotify on my laptop and am hugely happy with this, I was wondering how Sonos would compare with both of these. The Sonos would be played from a bridge into a dac. I also use android controllers for spotify and sbt. Thanks for any advice, I will go for a demo at some point but was hoping to hear from those with experience.

I find the Sonos interface excellent; it has all the functionality I want, and is the easiest to use of any streamer interface I've tried.

Spotify is fully integrated into Sonos. There have in the past been some glitches with Spotify in Sonos, and it continues to be the case that you might occasionally have to reregister your Spotify account on Sonos, which is a simple process taking a minute or so.

The Sonos apps for desktops/laptops and tablets/smartphones are excellent. All flavours are catered for.

Matt

 

[stevenjonas]

Very useful, thanks. What I am intending to do is connect the NAS to the router & connect a Sonos Bridge (hard wired) too. Then I intend to connect a Sonos Connect to a DAC, which I will then connect to my pre-amp. Does that sound sensible?

Then I was considering connecting another bridge to my TV, in order to play its sound through my hi-fi too.

Does that sound like a plan?

 

[The_Lhc]

Very useful, thanks. What I am intending to do is connect the NAS to the router & connect a Sonos Bridge (hard wired) too. Then I intend to connect a Sonos Connect to a DAC, which I will then connect to my pre-amp. Does that sound sensible?

Sounds good.

Then I was considering connecting another bridge to my TV, in order to play its sound through my hi-fi too.

That won't work, a Sonos Bridge has no audio capability, it's purely a network device (so you could take a network cable from the TV to the Bridge to give the TV internet access). In order to do what you suggest you'd need a Sonos device that has a line-in, the cheapest of which is the Connect (the others are the Connect:Amp and Play:5) but it's still a lot of money just to get a line-in.

 

[audioaffair]

I think like most people will agree, Sonos is technically very good at what it does.

However, (whilst not exactly the same as Sonos in any way) we are seeing quite a few sales of Sonos 'alternative' such as the Audio Pro All room speakers http://www.whathifi.com/news/audio-pro-allroom-air-one-offers-airplay-and-dlna-wireless-streaming which are starting to prove incredibly popular.

I would always ask anyone who wants to go down the Sonos route, how many rooms do they think thay need in reality, as it is often far less that they originally planned

 

[Andy Clough]

Wouldn't disagree with that Nick, we gave the Audio Pro Allroom Air an Award last year in the wireless speaker category (Best Buy £400+):

http://www.whathifi.com/review/audio-pro-allroom-air-one

 

[The_Lhc]

I think like most people will agree, Sonos is technically very good at what it does.

However, (whilst not exactly the same as Sonos in any way) we are seeing quite a few sales of Sonos 'alternative' such as the Audio Pro All room speakers http://www.whathifi.com/news/audio-pro-allroom-air-one-offers-airplay-and-dlna-wireless-streaming which are starting to prove incredibly popular.

I would always ask anyone who wants to go down the Sonos route, how many rooms do they think thay need in reality, as it is often far less that they originally planned

500 quid? And people think Sonos is expensive? :doh:

 

[stevenjonas]

No, you're quite right. Sonos Bridge connected to the router, to 'broadcast' music from my NAS, then Sonos Connect to input the signal in to the pre-amp & another Sonos Connect, attached to the TV to 'broadcast' the sound signal from the TV. I think that's correct now? Then I also intend to have a couple of Play 3s in the kitchen, configured to produce a stereo sound.

 

[The_Lhc]

No, you're quite right. Sonos Bridge connected to the router, to 'broadcast' music from my NAS, then Sonos Connect to input the signal in to the pre-amp & another Sonos Connect, attached to the TV to 'broadcast' the sound signal from the TV. I think that's correct now?

Yes, that would work, but as I said that would be an awful lot of money just to use a Connect to send TV audio to other parts of the house. Will you be having an audio system in the room with TV at all?

Then I also intend to have a couple of Play 3s in the kitchen, configured to produce a stereo sound.

Cool.

 

[stevenjonas]

Yes. The router is in an upstairs bedroom/study. The plan is: (1) listen to music & internet radio in the kitchen (probably through 2 x Sonos 3 speakers, paired to play stereo); & (2) listen to music, internet radio & the TV (particularly films) in the living room, through the (below) hi-fi. I agree with you about the expense & would welcome alternative suggestions.

 

[The_Lhc]

Yes. The router is in an upstairs bedroom/study. The plan is: (1) listen to music & internet radio in the kitchen (probably through 2 x Sonos 3 speakers, paired to play stereo); & (2) listen to music, internet radio & the TV (particularly films) in the living room, through the (below) hi-fi. I agree with you about the expense & would welcome alternative suggestions.

I think I've confused myself, what room is the TV in and what else of the equipment mentioned previously is also in that room?

 

[visionary]

If you're putting a Connect in the living room with the hifi and the TV then phono cable from the line out from your TV to the Connect's line-in

OR

optical out from TV into the DAC and lineout (tape out) from the hifi amp into the Connect (just be wary of grouping your lounge with the other zones while Sonos is set to "line in" if you do it this way

 

[stevenjonas]

Yes. I tried (unsuccessfully) to simplify matters. What I actually intended was a Bridge hard-wired to the router in an unstairs bedroom/study. Then a Connect hardwired to the TV in the living room. Then another Connect hardwired to a DAC which would be hardwired to the pre-amp (which is hard wired to a power amp., etc.) Then, seperate from that lot, 2 x Sonos 3s in the kitchen, configured to play stereo. That all sounds expensive to me & I would welcome alternative suggestions!

 

[stevenjonas]

Sorry for the confusion I'm creating. The TV is in the (ground floor) lounge, with the below hi-fi system. The router is in the upstairs bedroom/study. I've not been able to find a practicable alternative to the Sonos system, for what I want to achieve?