Best Audio Codec on Sonos Playbar & 2x Play 1's?

  • 16 September 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 479 views

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I'm looking at different audio codecs for a media file download and would like to know which one is best for the Sonos system t get the best sound quality out of it.
Options I've seen are DD+, AC3, AAC, MP3 etc.
Would I be correct in think DD+ Dolby Digital Plus would be the best one?

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2 replies

Userlevel 7
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Best doesn't really matter, supported is the first criteria to look at.

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/79?language=en_US

These are the only two I'd consider, all others have issues I don't need to deal with:

FLAC Lossless Up to 1411kbps Yes
ALAC Lossless Up to 1411kbps Yes

If not one of the two above pick something else off the chart that works for you.
For 2 channel audio, this matters a lot less than what it is made out to. As long as the mastering/recording for all options is the same, I doubt you will hear any difference except where the lowest bit rate versions of MP3 are being used. Once 256 kbps is crossed, it does not matter.

It is easy to test this assertion for yourself in an easily conducted blind test at home.