Sonos Audio Quality

[W9TR]

Just commissioned a Sonos bundle. What a great product. The impetus was a new cabinet/bookcase in our living room and my wife's desire to have music there without any gear visible, just the speakers. ZP-120 in the cabinet, controller on the table. Mission accomplished. Sweet.

I've got my Redbook library ripped using Apple Lossless. So I hooked up the ZP-90 to my MCD 500 in my main system. Hoping to get beautiful sound w/o handling CD's.

Here's the rub - the ZP-90 just doesn't sound as good as the same CD played in the MCD-500. There's more detail with the MCD-500 option, more ambience recovery. Things seem to be more real sounding when I play the CD in the MCD-500. I'm using the coax output from the ZP-90 and I've disabled the volume control on the ZP-90.


Anyone have similar experiences? Is there something I'm doing wrong? I will try just ripping to .wav - hard drives are cheap.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by W9TR

Just commissioned a Sonos bundle. What a great product. The impetus was a new cabinet/bookcase in our living room and my wife's desire to have music there without any gear visible, just the speakers. ZP-120 in the cabinet, controller on the table. Mission accomplished. Sweet.

I've got my Redbook library ripped using Apple Lossless. So I hooked up the ZP-90 to my MCD 500 in my main system. Hoping to get beautiful sound w/o handling CD's.

Here's the rub - the ZP-90 just doesn't sound as good as the same CD played in the MCD-500. There's more detail with the MCD-500 option, more ambience recovery. Things seem to be more real sounding when I play the CD in the MCD-500. I'm using the coax output from the ZP-90 and I've disabled the volume control on the ZP-90.


Anyone have similar experiences? Is there something I'm doing wrong? I will try just ripping to .wav - hard drives are cheap.

I think most of us have always said that the MCD-500 playing redbook CD's sounds better than any music playback from a server whether it is a MS-300/750, files played via the SonoS, or a connected laptop.

Also, if you go back thru the threads not many of us use the SonoS for critical listening. The higher the quality of the rip, the better it will sound, but it will not match the MCD-500.

Do not forget you are sending that music wirelessly to the ZP-90 before you send the digital output to the 500's DAC.
Jim

[Poobah]

Wish I had a MCD500, then I'd see for myself. I'm fairly impressed with the sonos thus far. I'd be curious to see how my Cullin Modded Sonos would fair through the MCD500.

[-E-]

I could A/B you would my server through the MDA1K vs. a spinning media and you'd probably pick the server.

It all depends on how you set it up and what your DAC is.

[blacsno]

Originally Posted by Vesuvius

I could A/B you would my server through the MDA1K vs. a spinning media and you'd probably pick the server.

It all depends on how you set it up and what your DAC is.

+1 I was beginning to think, I was alone in my assessment of ANY CD transport!

Ken

[Still-One]

I would list my preferences for the best sound as:

1) 24/96 or 24/192 files off my Olive 4HD
2) SACD via the MCD-500
3) CD's via the MCD-500
4a) FLAC via the MS-300 thru the MCD-500's DAC
4b) Bit for Bit from the Olive 4HD's DAC's
5) Sonos grabbing music from my MS-300 and played via the MCD-500 Optical DAC
6) MS-300 from its own DAC's
7) Rhapsody via the SonoS and the MCD-500's DAC's
8) Pandora via the SonoS and MCD-500's DAC's

Jim

[1KW]

Since I went into the midi set up of my apple computer and set the output to 24 bit 96 k format and the input the same way I can not tell the difference between the original cd and the one recorded lossless in my itunes library and exported out to the sonos digital out to my MCD500.

[blacsno]

Originally Posted by 1KW

Since I went into the midi set up of my apple computer and set the output to 24 bit 96 k format and the input the same way I can not tell the difference between the original cd and the one recorded lossless in my itunes library and exported out to the sonos digital out to my MCD500.

Quote from my hero:

"I've been waiting for you, Obi-wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the master."

"Today will be a day long remembered. It has seen the death of Kenobi errrr CD transports, and soon the fall of the rebellion errrr over price music servers."

Ken

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by blacsno

Quote from my hero:

"I've been waiting for you, Obi-wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the master."

"Today will be a day long remembered. It has seen the death of Kenobi errrr CD transports, and soon the fall of the rebellion errrr over price music servers."

Ken

[W9TR]

Poobah,
I'd be very interested in your assessment of the Cullen modified ZP-90. Seems to me they may be onto something.

I have no doubt a properly setup media server should be as good as or better than a transport/DAC. But that's not where my reality is right now with the Sonos system.

I was hoping to aviod building a dedicted server, so I thoght the Sonos would be a good alternative.