Wireless Streaming

Squeezebox Touch

Qute

Direct connection to MacMini or MiniPC

Mac Mini via optical into SNDAC is an elegant solution, you could use Apple Remote on your iPhone or iPad as your control point. The latest Apple Remote upgrade made it a joy to use. Main advantage, you stay in the Mac ecosystem and get to play hires, if you wanted to. An equally good choice is the Sonos Connect, you don't need an Airport express, it picks up your music files over the network or wireless from whatever computer you're using, pc or mac. The Sonos iPhone and iPad apps are both great examples of what software should look like and at least en par with Apple Remote. Only drawback, Sonos doesn't do hires, if that's important to you. Wouldn't bother with the Qute, don't see the point really, too expensive as a bit feeder for your SN. Squeezbox is discontinued and never reached the ease of use of the Sonos, IMHO. I presume you have a pc or Mac at home and not just the iPhone?

Hi,

Yes i am currently using a Macbook Pro, Apple extreme base station (dual band) and apple tv3.

What i would like to do, is leave the ATV in for TV duties, and use a Sonos Connect (or similar) for music duties.

From what i have read on the Sonos website, is that to use Airplay with the Sonus, i would need to use an Airport Express?

Or is it if i wanted to use one of the Sonos players?

I am happy to be corrected though!

https://sonos.custhelp.com/app...ers/detail/a_id/1241

EDIT:

Ah, just realised i was looking at the wrong page.

So, yes thanks, it does stream, although not from the cloud, not that that is a problem.

Is the Sonos a good alternative to the Naim offerings?

I was looking at the ND5, but its a little out of my price range at the moment!

Can't comment on the ATV as I got no personal experience. I do have a Sonos ZP90 though (now called Connect) and it works flawlessly. The Sonos mesh network is rock solid. Best option would be to use iTunes on your MPB for library management, Sonos recognises the iTunes folder structure, playlists, etc. and it can pick up files from the MBP over Wifi, although the sound is better when the MBP is connected to you router via Ethernet. With a good digital cable the plain vanilla Sonos into SNDAC sounds pretty good IMO. An ND5XS might sound slightly better but it costs nearly 8x as much (in EUR). IMV Sonos is your best low cost option and the sound is more than decent. Of course you could always have your MBP connected directly to the SNDAC via an optical cable for a lot less money still. It will sound pretty much the same as the Sonos. I often have my MBP sat on the top shelf of my Fraim feeding my Naim DAC, the sound quality is superb IMHO and to my ears...

Both ATV and Sonos work well ... i have both ... The ATV does some unnecessary upsampling, which is why i prefer the Sonos ... my Sonos connect is Wired 4 Sound ... It won't play high resolution music,  but it is otherwise nigh on perfect .... i use a Mac Mini because it will play high resolution ... but if that is not important then the Sonos is a great choice. My W4S versions upsamples, but unlike ATV does it properly .... Please note although ATV upsampling is just wrong (mathematically speaking) it still sounds OK. 

I don't use my UQ wirelessly because of drop outs ... never had dropouts with Sonos ... to do it wirelessly you need a Sonos bridge connected to your router/switch. At least that is how i do it. 

I have never used the Logitech stuff, but that has good reoutation.

Great stuff..

Thanks for all the info.

So, i think ill go the Sonos route for now, as i do like to stream from my iPhone via Airplay.

And yes, all i need is a bridge by the router. (Not sure why though?).

Lastly, what are 'hires'? Is it Hi Def audio?

Thanks again!

You don't need a bridge. They are for extending the wireless network and so even if you did have one you would not put it next to the router.

You might be able to find a s/h ZP80 very cheaply.

HTH

As Mark said, you don't need the Bridge, the Connect works on its own. Just to clarify, I am not sure you can stream from your iPhone, I am pretty sure you can't. The Connect picks up files from your Mac either over the network or over Wifi, so it grabs them, rather than the Mac doing any streaming. By that logic you couldn't "stream" from your iPhone and I am not sure that the Connect can pick up files from an iPhone either. More importantly though, I don't see the point really because on your iPhone you'll have compressed files, hence sound quality will be poor. Save your files uncompressed (AIFF or ALAC) on the Mac, it's a very important factor influencing sound quality. What you can do, however, is have your MBP and Connect connected to your network, preferably via Ethernet, and use the Sonos App on your iPhone to controll what music you want to play via the Connect and into the SNDAC. Works a treat.

Yes, hires is high definition (resolution) audio, e.g. 24bit/96khz or 24bit/192khz. Sonos can only play 16bit/44.1 or up to 48khz, i.e. CD quality and slightly above. It will not play 24bit files. Not really a huge issue at this stage of the audio game as likable music in 24/96 or 192 is few and far between - well, depending on your taste of music that is....

Check out this with the latest Sonos software ... Please Click. 

Can you run Sonos players in the house with none of them connected with wired Ethernet now? 

Just to be clear, the first Sonos device must be wired to the router. The Sonos wireless bridge is designed to be that first device if it is not practical to have a player connected by an Ethernet cable. 

That's what I thought ... it is certainly how I have it set up - thanks. 

Yes, Sonos connected via Ethernet and MBP over Wifi or Ethernet is what I meant.