Sonos

You will certainly notice the sound quality not being half as good as your CD player using a phono link direct to your Amp... but the convenience of Sonos is what it's all about. Don't believe you will need the bridge & connect? Depends on your current network infrastructure & wireless range involved.

I found the timing delay using Sonos for this purpose impossible to live with.  I am considering NaimNet, or running speaker wire from a central source to eliminate the echo.

Nick

i'm running a sonos system into my naim with no problems. I've a play:5 in the kitchen (up high out of the way) connected via the bridge. I also have a sonos connect amp connected via the network with the digital out into my naim dac. Ok so the cdx2 is better but it gets pretty close and allows music through the house and internet radio with no hassle. It's been a relatively affordable intro to streaming and nas drives for me!

the two systems sound seamless to me as i wander between the lounge and kitchen....obviously the lounge sounds better though! One word of warning: if you aspire to hi-res, sonos doesnt support it. Overall i'm really pleased but will probably end up submitting to a cds in the end

The problem is greater when you try to distribute non-Sonos sources via the Sonos.  E.g. your CD into your NAC82 and out from the NAC to SONOS:  The timing in the main room is always ahead of the remote zones due to the time it takes for conversion to digital and (maybe) transmission over the network.  That's my theory.

As for the SQ question, digital out into the nDAC is better than the analog out, but is still disappointing, IMHO, compared to SQ from similar devices like SqueezeBox Touch, Mac Mini, or ND-anything.  But, Sonos DOES have the best interface in the Business, and is very flexible.

Nick

Mmm, I thought I'd need a Connect to hook it up to my Naim system, and a Bridge to allow wireless connectivity to the Play speakers around the house?  Or have I got that all wrong?

Bugger, that's exactly what I want to be able to do as well as the reverse, i.e. Sonos as source to my NAC82...

Are there any other options available to me?

Andrew

To connect Sonos to your network one of the zones needs to be hard wired to the router using a standard network cable.  All the other zones can be wireless assuming they are within range which is pretty good normally.

If you cannot accommodate this then the bridge is required.  This connects to your router and connects your wireless Sonos network to your current network.  In this setup only the bridge needs to be hard wired.

Concerning the issue of synchronisation.  This is only an issue on the line in input of the Sonos i.e. when you wish to stream music form a non Sonos source, outputted by your Naim system (e.g. a CD player, FM radio etc).  In the default setup there is some lag on the Sonos zones.  There is a setting that allows the stream to be sent uncompressed.  This reduces/eliminates the lag as the most of the delay is caused by the time it takes for the Sonos to compress the stream.

The trade-off of uncompressed is that it uses more bandwidth and is not recommended by Sonos if you have 4 or more wireless zones.

For multi-room where Sonos is in charge (i.e. Sonos is the source), the synchronisation is perfect.

Long term I would suggest that you rip your CD's and store them on a NAS box.  This will allow you more flexibility in being able to access your music anywhere in the house and for background listening the line out will be acceptable.  A DAC can be added later!.

Richard

Ok, so assuming the router will be in the same room as the Naim system (i.e. I won't need a Play 3/5 in the same room), a Bridge would be required - connected to the router switch port - to send the wireless signal to the Play 3/5 units upstairs.  Thank you all!

Andrew

That is correct if you don't wish to have Sonos connected to your Naim system which was your original intention?

If you wish to have the Sonos connected to your Naim system (either to listen or to broadcast) then you can dispense with the bridge and use a Connect in your main room, connected to the Hifi and the router.

Richard

So the Connect not only connects the Naim system via a wired connection, but also broadcasts the wireless signal around the house for Play 3/5 units to pick up?

Hang on - if the router is in the same room as the Naim system, then you can hard wire the Sonos Connect to the router and you don't need a bridge. Of course, if this means having an ethernet cable going across the room then you might prefer to have a bride anyway.

Basically, if the router is located somewhere close to your first zone player (Connect, Play, etc), then you can use that as the first wired zone. If it's inconvenient to do so, then get a 1m long ethernet cable and a bridge, and sit the bridge next to the router.

Any Sonos device can set up SonosNet for you. The Bridge is a cheap way of doing it without wasting a zone.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Thanks, Frank.

So, I believe that I'll need;

1 x Connect - hardwired into the router via an ethernet cable and connected via the phono connections to a spare input on the NAC82

2 x Play 3/5 units - in the bedroom & bathroom, which will pick up the wireless signal from the Connect, allowing me to listen to not only material from the Sonos (internet radio, Spotify etc... initially, with the option of adding a PC/Mac or NAS-based music collection in future), but also whatever's playing on the Naim system

Is that right?

I run a large 10 zone Sonos system connected to my Naim system and a couple of B+O Systems in particular to access music stored via my HDX. I have most of the Sonos Kit with the exception of the Sonos Play 5 - I tend to use two Sonos Play 3s and configure them as a stereo pair.

As others have said the first connection in a Sonos system needs to be hardwired via Ethernet typically to your router. Originally, when Sonos first came out you could only do this via a Zone (player or amp) but then they brought out the bridge which allows you to do this. So if your  router is next to your Naim gear then you can just attach the Sonos Connect to the router and also to the Naim system - you won't need a bridge. You can attach the Connect to the Naim kit via phono leads,coax digital or optical digital.

I first used optical digital to attach the Connect to my NDX and it worked fine.

I then upgraded that particular Connect player with the Wired for Sound 96Khz mod and attach it to my NDAC with Chord Digital Coax leads. The sound quality from this device streaming say Spotify  is excellent and compares very well to say the NDX playing Radio Paradise at 320kbps.

Andrew,

As a starter that would be fine. After all, you just want distributed music - you're not looking for high quality from the Connect into the Naim system. If you want to improve that connection, you can take the digital output of the Connect and plug it into a high performance DAC. That can be really very satisfying, if not quite in the same ballpark as a Naim streamer obviously.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Dr. Gert Volk modified ZP90/Connect/DC1 into nDAC/555PS sounds as good as CDX2.2 into same. I'd say it tops an ND5 and NDX with or without PSU for SQ. Any of the other mods, such as Wyred4Sound, should be similar. 

Thank you all for your assistance! 

Even you can not play hi res files?

Of course not, Sonos is limited to 16/48. But does anyone care? I don't, hardly any hires for the music I am listening to. Plus, if well recorded 16/41 can sound spectacular too. All in all Red Book CD quality is just fine. If hires is important to you though, get a Mac Mini, it goes up to 24/192 AFAIK. Mac Mini/nDAC/555PS still tops ND5 or NDX with and without PSU. As Guido used to say, it's the DAC and what comes after it. That's my experience too.

Hi,

the sonos is fine in case of remote control.

If you go to Mac Mini you pay more and have to find way's to control it remote in order to have the same comfort as in case of streaming.

And, you have to control it with several control tools. (for spotify, JRiver a.s.o.)

Regarding red book: People who prefer analog think different about it .......

I Agree that hi res is not a indicator for a good SQ.

BTW, the 555PS + nDac Costs much more than 2 NDX!!!

Second hand these days not much more than a new NDX. No benefit in buying new, other than a massaged ego and peace of mind, when there are hardly ever any issues. None here, ever.

Much has been said already, but I would add the following.  The Play 3 or 5 helps extend Sonos Net, so timing delays should not be a problem if using either with the connect. The Play 5 is much better sounding than the Play 3, IMO.  If used in the same room with the stereo mode option, the Play 5 sound is surprisingly good for what it is.   The Wyred4Sound mod to the Sonos Connect is a very worthwhile upgrade.    I owned the standard and W4S versions and found the latter to be closer to an audiophile sound.  I think the W4S upgrade improves the analog output but check with W4S to be sure.     

Hmm... bit late to this - sorry...

I had missed the fact that Sonos would distribute an external source from my reading on the specs; I guess the encoding delay is not relevant if the source is 'silent' but a pain if you are also trying to listen to the main system.

If you can cope with the sq loss of adc and dac through the Sonos though, how about using the tape loop on the 82? Feed the Sonos from the tape out, then listen to the Sonos output into the tape in? If you want whole-house I guess you're talking party and not critical listening so might be fine.

Unless the Sonos uses an analogue loop through...

Andy

I have the Sonus zp 90 connected to my NDS directly via a Wireworld supernova cable...it plays Spotify 320kbps very well.

Not as good as CD ofcourse, but then everything is relative...

I had assumed that that's how I'd have it all connected, i.e. via the tape loop, but then I thought....what would I do with the Headline?!   

Another way to improve on the sound quality of the Connect into your Naim system is the Arcam Sonlink DAC add-on for Sonos.  I have been very impressed and suspect it is very hard to beat for the £180 asking price.

Olly