CD5x v. Sonos SP90

I have never heard a Sonos but in principle a ripped CD through a streamer can sound at least as good as the CD original. It's a matter of choice. If you go for it it's worth putting the rips on a nas, which means you don't need to use a computer to play the music. Another option is to swap the CD5x and 202 for a 272, if you want fewer boxes. I

I started using the ND5 XS with a NAS and love the streaming. Love using Tidal and playing the CD's from the NAS. 

I have been slowly ripping my CD's to the NAS for several weeks and have reached the 'J's......  Listening to music using Tidal HiFi and some Internet Radio has been wonderful. Tidal allows easy access to music I have not listened to and then being able to decide to buy (download hi-res versions) to the NAS. I would move towards the home demo sooner than latter.

Good luck with your decision.

I am surprised.  The difference in the DACs should be audible.  I have heard Sonos players sound very fine, except the one I bought, which never did -- not even through a Naim DAC.  I have loved my CD5X from the very first spin.

Nick

I should add that I like other streaming sources a lot, including local rips and Spotify through NDX, Mac Mini, and Squeezebox Touch -- all through a Naim DAC.  The only outlier was the Sonos Connect -- even local rips sounded lifeless compared with even Spotify from all the other sources.  I may have a bad Sonos sample; but it goes to show, you cannot rely on performance meeting your educated expectations.  You have to believe your own ears.

Nick

Matt, the ZP90 is a very good source and the control interface is top class. To get the best out of your rips make sure they are uncompressed or transcribed to WAV - there's plenty of info on this and the dbpoweramp forum.

I'd agree with Nick about the difference in DACS. If you're using the Sonos' RCA out you're missing the real musical potential of the Sonos as a streamer. Of course, using the digital out means you need an external DAC but that will bring significant improvements of the Sonos DAC.

Steve

Matt - If the Sonos works for you then go for it. As others have said, it's an excellent user experience and a great way to dip your toe in the water of streaming. Later on you can upgrade by adding an external DAC or going for a Streamer (either a ND series or replace the 202 with the 272 streaming pre-amp). 

James

I am a bit surprised because of the DAC but I do think streaming can often sound better than CD replay - I think it should as the equipment doesn't have to read and error correct the CD in real time.

I heard CDX2 vs Linn majik DS through 202/200 in a dealer demo room and preferred the Linn. But then preferred a SU to the DS/202/200

I run a ZP90 through a Rega DAC into a SN2 amp and another ZP90 direct into a 72/140.  Both sound pretty good. I did compare the ZP90 to an old Cyrus CD player I had, both through the Rega DAC and I couldn't hear any discernible difference.  One thing to make sure - fix the volume level to max on the ZP90,  It sounds better than leaving it variable - I wonder sometimes if this is why some people say that Sonos sounds fine and others poor.  Just a thought.

Though I've heard Naim streamers I haven't compared one to a ZP90 yet. One day.....

I would have been less surprised if OP had preferred either the Sonos or the CD5X, rather than hearing no discernable difference.

In my own experience I expected my CD5X to sound about the same as my Oppo BDP95, but was disappointed to hear the CD5X beat the 95 handily.  I had to keep both.

I think my old AirPort Express, while inferior to the NDX, Mac Mini, and SBT, still sounds decent for the money/convenience, and better than my Connect, all through the Naim DAC.  Swapped cables around to rule that out, of course.

Unfortunately, in isolation, it is hard to say my Connect "sounds broken", so I have not pursued a remedy or refund, especially with so many good alternatives at hand.  I reconnect it occasionally to see if firmware updates improve it.  I like the interface, and access to Deezer.

My Naim dealer sometimes demos using  a Connect, so I know they can be good.

Nick

My system is 122x 150x flatcap 2x neat motive2. My cd5x is used with a powerline & hiline, to my ears it is much better than my sonos.

I am a little surprised by this.
Taking a CD ripped to a WAVE file; then comparing the original CD to the file played back via the Sonos SP90, I'd expect the CD5X to sound better.

I'm wondering if there's something else going on here masking the differences.  Candidates are:

Poor / dirty connections...
How good are the solder joints on the NAC A5 speaker cables?
When was the last time the contacts were cleaned?  (Turn the system completely off and unplug it from the mains Unplug and replug all the audio connectors 1 cycle for DIN connectors, 5 cycles for phonos, speaker plugs and mains IEC connectors).

Speaker / Room interactions...
Do you have reflections from the side walls or the wall behind you?
Are the speakers close to the wall (e.g. to get wall reinforcement of the bass)
Are the speakers near the corners?
is there sufficient acoustic damping (e.g. soft furnishing carpets/rugs etc) in the room (does it have a discernible 'reverberation')?

Incorrect system support...
Is the system placed on a proper rack?  (Or is is it on a resonant cabinet or on an excessively acoustically damped table?)

Huge posted:

I am a little surprised by this.
Taking a CD ripped to a WAVE file; then comparing the original CD to the file played back via the Sonos SP90, I'd expect the CD5X to sound better.

The OP says he ripped to FLAC,   Sonos doesn't play WAV it gives a message "file is in an unsupported format" although I understand it can get something with some fiddles.  

My daughter/hubby have Sonos playing ripped CD to FLAC throughout the house & it also has a ZP90 into a NAD CDP, Pre/Pwr.   I could not hear any difference between it playing into the NAD amp via digital & the CDP spinning the same disc.      OK its not a Naim,  but don't dis the Sonos as a 16/44 digital source.

Mike, my Sonos plays WAV files perfectly, all standard and never had any issues, but I can only play 44100/16/2 files on it - i.e. no hidef

S

OK Simon,  but according to son-in-law its not straightforward, & reading www Sonos forum/blogs seems to agree.   Whatever OP says he ripped to FLAC & my real point was on S-i-L's NAD I don't hear much difference (that was the OP question)   

Mike for a £400 streamer, the Sonos connect is good, but compared to a £2k (ish) Naim CD player into a fairly revealing system?

Well the CD5x should win if the downstream system can show the difference (and a 202/200DR/Linn Katan system certainly should do so).  That's why I suspect the OP's system may not be operating optimally,

Mike-B posted:

OK Simon,  but according to son-in-law its not straightforward, & reading www Sonos forum/blogs seems to agree.   Whatever OP says he ripped to FLAC & my real point was on S-i-L's NAD I don't hear much difference (that was the OP question)   

It just worked for me out of the box, simples - and just checked Sonos support page and it says clearly wav support too, so I don't have some freak firmware. Browsing their forum i think some have had difficulty with wav files created by iTunes and lack of meta data  .... well that is nothing to do with Sonos.  Streaming my Sonos into my NDX->3rd party DAC, the Sonos as a transport source sounds pretty good - if I was picky I'd say it is a little off compared to a  native NDX streaming - and of course no hidef on the Sonos, but with the Sonos I get my integrated streaming front end which is really useful sometimes..

As far as the OP observation, I'd not be surprised - the 202 is a great NAC but is not all about transparency and resolution and so through it there may not be huge amount to be heard between the sourcces.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

It just worked for me out of the box for me, simples.

OK I will ask him,  they've had it for some years & added stuff since,  maybe Sonos revised software since then.   He's no mug with this stuff,  maybe just a choice to gain disc space.   But for sure he did say he had problems with WAV - I will ask again.

Hi Matt,

I too am surprised.

Do you have any other equipment plugged in with your HiFi?

Can you try listening to your system via the CD5x with the Sonos unplugged - does that make any difference?

M

My own experience of the "Sonos Connect" AKA "ZP90" was that even when compared to my old CD3.5, it was lacking in enjoyment. It wasn't something I could easily pinpoint, it just "lacked" in most departments.

Try listening solely to the ZP90 for a week or so, then switch back to the CD5 and see if you still feel the same.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Mike, my Sonos plays WAV files perfectly, all standard and never had any issues, but I can only play 44100/16/2 files on it - i.e. no hidef

S

It can actually plays 48000/16/2. Not a lot of people know that

I discovered this when downsampling a 24 bit album so that I could play it with my Sonos system (for use in multiple rooms simultaneously). I use dbPowerAmp , so now whenever I downsample I select the 48/16 profile I created. 

Steve