Okay, Im blown away by Sonos

We only run Spotify through Sonos, so I can't speak from experience here. But from what I've read about Sonos, the HW really isn't capable of letting you appreciate the benefits of hi-res. There are people who are modding the digital output of the Sonos, but whether that would be enough to be (hypothetically) able to appreciate hi-res through them, I don't know.

However, I'm also on of those who thinks that the benefits of hi-res, even in highend systems, isn't that obvious, and that the skills of the recording engineer matter much more.

 

Ok.... got it. If there are individual amps for each room, then you can use a Connect for each amp. If no amp, you can use a Connect Amp (one for each room).

If you want to play different tracks in each room, you will need an individual unit for EACH room (one connect or connect amp can not send different signals to different rooms).

 

Thank you both, I now understand the requirements and budget.

 

The international radio feature via TuneIn radio is great too as a source. I listen to a classical and a jazz station out of Switzerland and enjoy them very much. There is a lot of music out in the world, all free via TuneIn radio and Sonos.

 

Exactly. 100% accurate. If I may add to this...most people have cheap wifi routers that are either in a corner of their basement or on one end of their home. This effects wifi signal poorly (centralize the router location). AND the more devices that are using the wifi the more traffic that router must direct, and most cheap routers are not good at this function.

Wifi is like audio...buy cheap/average wifi router and get so-so performance; buy a good high-end wifi router and set it up and install it properly and you'll get higher-end performance from it.

 

Oh man, if your router is 10 years old you're definitely in for a big surprise when you replace it.

 

Sonos is amazing...I have two Sonos Play 1 on the back porch, 2 Sonos Play 3 in the master bedroom, and 2 Sonos Play 5 in my drum room. I also have a Sonos
Connect that plays my Apple Music from the Sonos App to my B&W speakers in the living room. It is a great system. Very reliable and the upgrades that Sonos
forwards take about three minutes. Oh and the sound is really good!

 

I know this thread is primarily about the Sonos speakers, but I recently added a Sonos connect, a W4S Remedy Reclocker and a Rega DAC to my setup so that I could stream Tidal and it's been amazing. Very sturdy Network (significantly better than the Airport Express I was using before) and the interface is very good!

 

I haven't heard one in a while but "blownaway" was not my experience. I found it rather thin and tinny with a bloated sub to help wash that out.

Hearing that their sound bar is good has me interested. I need something for a room where I have a TV mounted over a fireplace.

 

As an aside, for anyone having an issue with Sonos connectivity, upgrade to the Sonos BOOST. The Boost connects via CAT5 to your wifi router and provides Sonos' internet connection. I replaced my original Bridge with a BOOST and the range increased dramatically. If you use a BOOST or Bridge connected via CAT5 to your wifi router then all other Sonos components can connect 'wirelessly' to the Sonos network.

 

Again another solution for some who may encounter connection issues- under the Sonos Menu select 'Settings', 'Advanced Settings', 'SonosNet Channel'. There you can change the SonosNet channels of 1, 6 and 11. Because of outside interference one of these channels may connect better than the others.

 

Great advice. I recently installed a new multi-point wireless router system (eeros) and was having lots of issues with dropouts when playing my turntable. I changed the channel a few weeks ago and have not had a dropout since.

 

A long as people don't forget, this is not meant to be a high end system, A lot of these new Bluetooth speaker sets up are quite nice sounding and convenient! I love having good sounding music by my pool, and these are the perfect solution.

 

Will a Boost handle the other functions of a bridge in terms of making the wifi work better on tablets, etc., or does it drive the Sonos units only? If the latter, seems to me like you solve one problem but create another.

 

Sonos is not bluetooth. It works via your home's wifi and SonosNet.

 

It does both.

 

I thought the idea was that it creates a dedicated network for the Sonos.

If it were me, if my existing network didn't provide full coverage, I'd invest in the modern multi-router mesh network concept before buying Sonos' solution.

 

Wrong response on my part as I misread your question. The Boost is made to create (if hardwired to your wifi router) or expand upon the SonosNet network. SonosNet is designed to carry the music only. It does not appear on your devices wifi list as a joinable wifi network for other devices.

 

Pretty sure any Sonos player if wired to your router can create a SonosNet mesh network.

 

Hi
Can I ask where the source of 'Dark Side of the Moon' came from, on your Uncle's SONOS system.
I guess it wasn't streaming.
How to Get 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound from a SONOS PlayBar or PlayBase
Thanks

 

I have a modest Sonos setup, with a Play 1 in the bedroom and a PlayBar driving the audio for our family room TV. Have not yet connected either of my traditional hi-fi music setups and I would be inclined to expand Sonos to other rooms or augment the PlayBar with the subwoofer before doing that. Though I would consider myself a casual audiophile, I'm increasingly finding that I'm a music lover first and the convenience of Sonos is getting a bigger share of my listening time, to the detriment of my hi-res/lossless and vinyl listening.

Apple Music and streaming SiriusXM (sounds much better on-line than the satellite broadcast) are my primary uses, but I've also connected my MLB At-Bat subscription for radio broadcasts of ball games. And it was pleasantly surprising to find how good the audio is on TuneIn for local AM radio stations.

 

The Sirius app on my phone and tablet includes MLB and the other major sports, though I haven't checked for this on the Sonos app. You could be double paying for the access, unless you need MLB outside of the Sonos ecosystem.

 

I decided to go for the Chromecast alternative with this one: Raumfeld One S online kopen | Teufel
I also have 2 other zones using a regular chromecast audio and 2 ams\speakers in my living and study. I know you can also do this with Sonos but the chromecast audio is $35 and the sonos connect $200. I mostly use spotify and that works on both system in the same way. So far pretty happy.

 

Sonos R&D people spent an enormous amount of time getting wireless and ethernet connectivity right. Home routers, unfortunately, are often literally made out of recycled tech garbage by the lowest bidder from any one of dozens of factories. Router circuit boards are spewed out by many of thise factories in the fastest possible way and have ridiculously high failure rates coming off the line.

Rolltide is bang on, IMO. While Sonos inevitably produces a flaky unit from time to time, cheap-as-dirt routers that have developed problems over relatively short periods of time are usually the cause of general networking problems, dropouts and other issues.

 

You are correct. I splurge on MLB mainly for the access to the TV broadcasts, so the radio access is gravy. Just quicker to find the games on Sonos via the MLB link than the SiriusXM one.