Sonos Connect - Any Good?

paulie.b

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Hi All

Just recently bought new amp, B&W floorstanders and Centre - they sound AMAZING!!

Amp has Spotify connect and 95% of the time it's perfect but now and again I get the odd glitch (like a delay/crackle) very annoying and now I find myself listening out for it rather than the audio the B&W's are dishing out!

already have 2 x Sonos Play's in the kitchen so was thinking of expanding my Sonos family and getting a connect to go in the lounge

1. Are they any good?...at £249 THEY BETTER BE!!!!
2. will this solve the glitch??
3. Typical!!!!..My amp has 2 x Optical inputs. using 1 SkyHD 1 from TV

would you use one of these for the Connect and RCA the TV connection or just use RCA for the Connect?.would I hear a difference??

Regards
PaulieB72
 
I have a Connect feeding Sonos loveliness to my Yamaha surround receiver. It never misses a beat in terms of sound quality or reliability. I have it connected via optical so using the DAC on the Yamaha. You could try the analogue outs and if you don't like then swap around a bit eith your other sources or add an external DAC for the Connect if you find it's analogue outs to be lacking. They are a bit expensive and I do wish they would make a product with similar functionality for sub-£100 (if Chromecast audio can do it...), but if you have Sonos already then it just makes sense.
 
A Connect will do what you need and I used my old one with hours of listening without glitches, so maybe get it checked out. I had a play 3 too, before I sold all my sonos gear. The prices go up soon, but I'd buy a used one if I were you.

I'd use the digital output and try and connect the tv /sky up with analogue if you can. Are you sure your amp has only optical inputs and not a coaxial is usually present and coaxial is the preference for all audio if you can.
 
Thanks for the responses - Sanders79 yes I've gone down the Chromecast audio route for my daughter
PiperCub - of course yes I do have a coaxial on the amp - so will that do as good a job as optical then?
 
Yes conventional wisdom is to use the coaxial if you can for better sq. I'm sure others will say the opposite but tbh it seems more to allow you to hook up all your digital components.
 
Sonos Connect is a good little box, I had one a while ago. As PiperClub says, get a 2nd hand one from eBay as there aren't any moving parts so it will last for ages.

What put me off from the Connect was the high amount of jitter coming from the digital out. The DAC I had at the time didn't handle it very and the music sounded crap. You may not notice anything though so don't worry about it for now.
 
Out of interest how or why does it have lots of jitter? As with you I thought it pretty decent for what it is, with limitations at its price.
 
I discovered the issue of Sonos jitter through the various mods that are available for the Connect. Wyred4Sound sold a modded Connect and many people also used a Synchro-Mesh digital audio reclocker too. Both approaches were designed to reduce the jitter from the digital audio out.

A lot depends upon the DAC receiving the signal of course. For example, the Metrum Octave Mark 1 DAC is bad at handling an incoming jittery signal and really benefits from a good quality transport or a reclocker. I used a digital reclocker called Monarchy Audio DIP and got noticeably better sound than without the DIP.
 
That's very interesting. I'd guess in the op's question the sonos alone would be more than up to the job and whilst I think there can be add on products for most hi fi gear, I've definetely seen sonos connects in loads of hi end systems. Not so much now but about 3 or 4 years ago many hi fi dealers had multiple connects in their shops connected up to very good kit. More a case of convenience or the way the market was maybe but if it sounded really really bad I'd doubt they would have used them in conjunction.
 
It's "OK" but is a very old product and is really showing its age.

Mine is my main music source, so gets used daily but I really, really want an updated version with:
  • AirPlay (for those music services badly supported by Sonos, i.e.: Apple Music)
  • Bluetooth (family friendly)
  • Better quality DAC/Digital out
  • Low power standby. Really not acceptable in this day and age.
  • More connectivity.
I"m not holding my breath. Sonos really seem to have lost their focus.
 
Overpriced tat aimed at lazy non tech savvy music listeners.
What would be the alternative for someone less lazy and more tech-savvy as a means of powering multi-zone audio?

My renovation has speaker cable routed to several rooms from a central hub and I've been looking for an alternative to THREE Connects but nothing competes.
 
Overpriced tat aimed at lazy non tech savvy music listeners.
I don't understand this.

Overpriced? Probably, but then so are many of its rivals.
Tat? It's a solidly built, well functioning product with decent software support.
Non tech-savvy? That's a good thing isn't it?
 
After hearing its quality at a friends house i wasnt taken by it. The recent price hike in my opinion is really taking the biscuit. I suppose for ease of use i can see why people choose it .
 
After hearing its quality at a friends house i wasnt taken by it. The recent price hike in my opinion is really taking the biscuit. I suppose for ease of use i can see why people choose it .
Fair points.

I was taking specifically about the Connect. I also have a Play 1 and 3, both of which I agree aren't much cop sound wise.

I am still to find an alternative (to the Connect) that supports both Apple Music and Deezer. Qobuz and Tidal are out as neither support CarPlay. Tidal also lacks parental controls. More recent devices support AirPlay, but that's a faf compared to the integrated Sonos App.

I'm unimpressed with the later Sonos offerings, the lack of improvements to music service integration with their App (after a promising start Apple Music integration is languishing) and the misguided (in my opinion) obsession with voice control (a pointless distraction for Classical Music). I am also unimpressed with their forums, which seem to be policed by obsessive Sonos worshippers, who do not want to hear anything negative about their beloved company, and that's coming from someone who frequents Apple forums!

I'd love to find an alternative, but every time I look I don't seem to be able to find anything better for my requirements. A shame.
 
I think it's probably stretching what's capable at that price to have better Dacs but I'd too say the sonos is still good for what it does. I think you are right, one of the most annoying things about the industry is the fragmentation for where one service does this and supports that, has this artist but not another, one file format but not another. They should come together and help consumers. Its compatibility issues doing your head in.
 
Quite expensive for what it is (it's a quality bit of kit though) but I would not be without mine now! I picked up a secondhand one off eBay for half the price of a new one.
 
I think it's probably stretching what's capable at that price to have better Dacs but I'd too say the sonos is still good for what it does. I think you are right, one of the most annoying things about the industry is the fragmentation for where one service does this and supports that, has this artist but not another, one file format but not another. They should come together and help consumers. Its compatibility issues doing your head in.
I think that's an astute observation.
 
would the remote control from the amp work - skip songs etc?
 
I use a Raumfeld Connector ii. Fab piece of kit with an eight week trial period. I think it does airplay, but I don't use apple or iTunes etc so if this piece of equipment takes your fancy make sure you double check the specs
 
would the remote control from the amp work - skip songs etc?

I would not have thought so as it has no IR, my Harmony Ultimate works fine with it though...or use the app on your phone.
 
I Think it works through Spotify connect - pretty sure my Play1's do... I'm able to use my Amps remote to skip tracks
 

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