Be gentle, this is my first post here
I wouldn't consider myself a great hifi specialist but it has been a life long dream of mine to get myself a proper HIFI system, so I recently treated myself to a NDX > NAC > NAP 200 > B&W CM9 for the living room.
The library is currently a collection of ALAC files on iTunes stored on a time capsule.
I also have a Sonos system that reads from the TC which got rave reviews from my wife for its ease of use.
To my surprise, the NDX doesn't read ALAC files on UPNP and the Timecapsule is not UPNP compatible out of the box. Nothing impossible to solve as I can convert the ALAC files into FLAC on a UPNP NAS but I have considered another option.
I have connected a Sonos Connect as a source to the NDX which gives me the benefit of a full blown multi room system, not having to change my library set up and benefiting from the better control interface of the Sonos. I have connected the Sonos via the s/pdif.
Can anyone tell me if I am doing a big mistake or if the (expected) slight loss of quality is compensated by the better ease of use?
Thank you in advance for your support,
Red
Posted on: 30 March 2012 by Guido Fawkes
> Can anyone tell me if I am doing a big mistake
Welcome Red
No sorry to disappoint on your first post, by I can't tell you that you are making a big mistake.
I have a Sonos ZP90 with Rich Cullen's board in it (the W4S ZP90) and it sounds great with a Naim DAC and it is very reliable with a great user interface. The only downside is that it won't play 24 bit recordings. Of course, in this form it up-samples, which many will say is diabolically, but to which I say it works and sounds rather good.
The s/pdif out from the Sonos ZP90 has a bit more jitter, but the NDX should cope. s/pdif is your best option as the only other way is to use the Sonos on-board DAC's analogue out and it is not commensurate with the sound quality from the NDX DAC.
Apologies if I've let you down, but I think the Sonos is a splendid piece of kit. I do think you would improve the sound a bit if you went UPnP from your NAS to your NDX, but ... well why not try it with a few tracks and see if it is worth the while. nStream is good, but the Sonos interface is better in my opinion.
All the best, Guy
Posted on: 30 March 2012 by scillyisles
Fully agree with Guy.
I also have a W4S Sonos ZP90 which I used to link into my NDX - worked very well and sound quality was very good. I now feed the W4S Sonos ZP90 into my NDAC the same as my NDX and HDX and the sound quality is even better.
The Sonos controller on Ipad is better than nStream in my opinion too.
Posted on: 30 March 2012 by Red
Great, thanks for the feedback, this is a relief (even though I was already amply satisfied with the quality of the output).
I guess that I would really use the NDX direct when my library is in 24 bits.
