Qobuz deconstructs Sonos Connect

Interesting read... So it's no to hidef on Sonos then... Due to possibly the limitation of it's 17 year old DSP chip.

Simon

Indeed an interesting investigation and, from my perspective, no great loss. Too much made of 'hires' to my mind. 

More marketing hype in the same way that more pixels must equal better image quality. 

My Sonos Connect W4S Hugo shows more differences between different red book masters than I heard between a good red book standard and a 'hires' file with the NDX/Hugo.

G

Hi G,

I submit that it's not either / or.  I've heard substantial differences between good and bad redbook cd masterings.  I've also heard substantial differences from redbook to hi res.  I do not believe that hi res is tainted, or any less valuable, because mastering can cause redbook cd's can sound poor.  "I want it all."

And, why yes, more pixels ARE better (imho).  And I can say that having seen many iPhone photos that I'd consider "art."  Once again, it's not either/or.  More pixels do not guarantee that the result will be "art."

A pretty silly write-up in my view.  I doubt anything they said is untrue, but it does read as though they're having a pop at Sonos to me.  Given that Sonos is a strong route to market for the brand, primarily for their streaming offerings, it make little sense to me for them to rip it apart.  Ok, Qobuz offer hi-res downloads, but their future most likely relies on the success of their lossless streaming services, which, based on many posts here (I've never heard one), the Sonos Connect does rather well.

With many of the high res releases it is a case of the result cannot be better than the input.

And 90% of the source material used for the current high res releases cannot be considered high res to begin with, so the end result will not be high res either, even though it is put into a high res container format.

I submit too that it is not more pixels alone. I have a Leica D1 (4mpx) which has the capability to outshine many a higher pixel camera as it got the sensor size, lens and light meter calibrated perfectly to the number of pixels. 

G

Is that really true?  Do these download sites really release hi-res versions in 192/24, where the source was 48/24 for example?  I know not, and have no real love for hi-res anyway....actually, perhaps that's why.

Also, are you actually a cat?

Early on in the days of HDTracks, etc., there were some 'hi res' releases that were merely upsampled.  That has stuck around as lore, and frequently cited -- cited more frequently than it occurs.  But the buyer not really KNOWING the provenance of the source has contributed to the ongoing lore that some percentage of hi res really is not.  It's been difficult for us buyers to know exactly what we're buying.

I'm inclined to take the article at face value even though Qobuz have announced their intention to to stream in hi res in the near future as well as selling downloads and so have a clear commercial interest in promoting the format. Personally I haven't been over impressed but I'm hoping that new releases will be more convincing than repackaged older material. I bought the complete Doors studio albums in hi res - the sound was scarcely perceptibly better than the originals but at £20 for 8 albums it was still a good deal.

I like the tone of the article - they come across as genuine enthusiasts which matches my experiences when talking to them in person

No, I don't mean they upsample the lower res digital version.

But the analogue tapes they are using from the old performances aren't high res either. Their frequency range and dynamic range is smaller than what the redbook specification is capable of.

Proper high res releases need to be made from true high res recordings. So mic's and recorders and A/D converters capable of high res recording and workstations maintaining the high res specs during production phase and only then you get a high res end product

I suppose there is nothing stopping Sonos eventually releasing a redesigned hi-res capable connect. No point for the Play speaker series but a hi-res capable connect or even a connect module for OEM use would be rather nice. 

I totally agree, with Qobuz you kind of feel you are with like minded individuals as opposed to just being a consumer number on a large corporate business plan. If I am honest I have got that same feeling from Naim as well.. That is I am also among enthusiasts..

Simon

On the one hand, I agree very much with both comments above, but from a commercial point of view, and given their position financially (sorry to bring that up again), I'm not sure that taking a shot at a potentially lucrative partner makes good commercial sense.  However, I do admire the fact that they don't care.   Maybe I'm just being overly paranoid, just really want them to succeed and to retain what they deliver for me.