Hello everyone.
I wonder if Sonos Connect does the DAC conversion of analog signal, that comes in to the device, and then do the conversion again while sending it to 'analog out'?
I think it does and I look for a possibility to use Connect as a preaplifier but without double conversion?
I need to plug in hi-end CD (with better DAC then Sonos) to power aplifier and would like to use Sonos as a preaplifier but without loosing quality.
It is possible?
Pawel
This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.
Page 1 / 2
From my experience in early days with Sonos, not trusting at that time the DAC quality in Connect and use of high end SACD player, I suggest this alternative that now works very well for me:
1. Rip all CDs to a NAS.
2. Wire the Connect in variable volume mode to the power amplifier - analog out to analog in.
3. Enjoy all your music much more conveniently with no loss of quality.
To your other question - the Connect will always do the double conversion of any signal at its analog inputs before the signal is sent on to the analog outputs and there is no way to avoid that.
1. Rip all CDs to a NAS.
2. Wire the Connect in variable volume mode to the power amplifier - analog out to analog in.
3. Enjoy all your music much more conveniently with no loss of quality.
To your other question - the Connect will always do the double conversion of any signal at its analog inputs before the signal is sent on to the analog outputs and there is no way to avoid that.
I have Sonos cause it is the best streaming and multiroom device on earth.
This is why I would prefer to have it integrated with my stereo and CD.
This is iteresting if tripple conversion will be audibly heard. Maybe I will put it together and try :)
thanks for advices!
This is why I would prefer to have it integrated with my stereo and CD.
This is iteresting if tripple conversion will be audibly heard. Maybe I will put it together and try :)
thanks for advices!
Even if you want to maintain the CD Player ritual I don't understand why you'd wire the CDP to the amp through the CONNECT, especially if you fear a loss of quality.
Plug the CDP into one amp input, and the CONNECT into another. If you want the amp's audio to feed back into the Sonos, for play in other rooms, wire its REC/TAPE outputs to the CONNECT's inputs.
The only reason for wiring the CDP through the CONNECT is if you want to play the CDP in sync through the amp's speakers and the Sonos speakers as a group and the amp has no 'tape monitor' facility.
Plug the CDP into one amp input, and the CONNECT into another. If you want the amp's audio to feed back into the Sonos, for play in other rooms, wire its REC/TAPE outputs to the CONNECT's inputs.
The only reason for wiring the CDP through the CONNECT is if you want to play the CDP in sync through the amp's speakers and the Sonos speakers as a group and the amp has no 'tape monitor' facility.
I do not have pre-amp. only power amplifier. volume control is in Sonos only. The solution is to buy pre-amp and connect without sonos, but I wanted to avoid it.
Ah, okay. But you presumably have a CD player now, so does it have its own volume control?
I have not buy it yet. Do you know such CD with volume control?
I don't. I haven't had a CD player for years, though a DVD player could in extremis be co-opted into playing a CD in 'legacy mode' if a guest happened to bring one.
So you've been rhapsodising about pressing 'open' and 'play' buttons on a 'non-linux CD player' without actually owning one?
So you've been rhapsodising about pressing 'open' and 'play' buttons on a 'non-linux CD player' without actually owning one?
To the OP, you do realize that if you are worried about things like "hi-end CD (with better DAC then Sonos)", that CD players are more prone to errors because they are reading in real time, and are more prone to error correction anomalies (again, if you are worried about those things, which it appears you are) due to the fact that CD players have to error correct by "guestimation" of what the byte was, whereas streaming from a file has sufficient buffering that it can simply re-request the errant packet, assuring bit-perfect transmission with no possible "guestimation" errors? Now all of this probably means nothing in real world conditions and wouldn't pass an ABX test done on a hearing trained, Juliard schooled German Shepard, but it seems if you are worried about DACs and such, you would not want to start the reproduction chain with an inherently flawed delivery system like CD?
A
Well, I do understand certain concerns re using computer equipment and all those gadgets to play music.
I already have to spend my working hours using this newfangled stuff, right? (forgive me, 50+..)
Sometimes I miss my Vinyl and CD player, too - But only when I'm in my sentimental mood.
When I think of all the time I wasted searching for CDs (..did I file that one under Jazz or Rock or Fusion or shouldn't I begin to just file them alphabetically..?)..
(Or earlier fiddling with records and record players and being so, oh so careful and look, there's a new scratch!)
Sometimes you just have to embrace change, I think.
(Although I still buy them so I can read the booklets if I really want to...)
I already have to spend my working hours using this newfangled stuff, right? (forgive me, 50+..)
Sometimes I miss my Vinyl and CD player, too - But only when I'm in my sentimental mood.
When I think of all the time I wasted searching for CDs (..did I file that one under Jazz or Rock or Fusion or shouldn't I begin to just file them alphabetically..?)..
(Or earlier fiddling with records and record players and being so, oh so careful and look, there's a new scratch!)
Sometimes you just have to embrace change, I think.
(Although I still buy them so I can read the booklets if I really want to...)
For what its worth: I had a Marantz CDP bought new in 2002 or so, that had a volume control. Model number was 6001; I can't be sure, and I doubt it is available now, but other players now in their range may still have that feature. I never used it, because it was redundant.
When I think of all the time I wasted searching for CDs
Another big advantage of Sonos is how it allows you to defeat the 80/20 rule, if you want to, where most people listen to less than 20% of their CDs, more than 80% of the time. Add all the CDs you have in the NAS - except the obvious dogs that aren't worth a listen even if these have been ripped to the NAS - to a playlist and select random play. Music you have but haven't listened to for years, will be again heard, without the kind of dedicated effort it would take to do this with CDs+CDP.
It is not about better or worse DAC. This is about a signal which will be converted three times (CD + 2xsonos) - this may affect quality in my opinion but: 1. I do not have enough technology knowledge to assess it properly, 2. I have not tested it and maybe this is the best way to find out.
Well of course it is. If the signal has to go through a Sonos ADC and be reconverted to analog by the Sonos DAC you'll be suffering from whatever non-linearities are introduced by both DACs -- the CDP's and Sonos'. Frankly if you're concerned enough about things to be spending nearly £1000 on a CDP the last thing you should be doing is putting the signal through two more converters. Get a pre-amp, or even a decent quality passive input selector switch.
I need to plug in hi-end CD (with better DAC then Sonos) to power aplifier and would like to use Sonos as a preaplifier but without loosing quality.
It is possible?
I thought I'd revisit the original question. Perhaps it's worth stating explicitly that the Connect has absolutely no capability to act as a pre-amplifier. It's a wireless streamer and DAC. Whatever you decide to do, forget the idea of using the Connect as a pre-amplifier.
Well, yes, but in this context I suspect the OP thinks of a 'pre-amplifier' as being a device with line-level inputs and outputs, capable of switching between sources and with variable negative gain (aka a 'volume control').
With all due respect to the OP I think he perhaps ought to fully grasp how home audio works, including AD and DA conversion, before dropping close to £1000 on a new CD player.
With all due respect to the OP I think he perhaps ought to fully grasp how home audio works, including AD and DA conversion, before dropping close to £1000 on a new CD player.
Maybe I've misread other threads around here, but I was under the impression that later Connects (after about 2011) may no longer be bit-perfect if you use the volume control. In which case, if the Connect is screwing with the bits anyway, I wouldn't worry about anything else... If you're worried about ultimate sound quality, then maybe spending the money on a pre-amp might be a better bet.
I accept your point about the complications inherent in making modern technology work, but would agree with others that buying an expensive CD player may not be the best way forward. Yes, it is a pain making sure that there's a charged device available to control Sonos, but is it really that difficult to keep a single device charged, purely for your own/Sonos use? Sonos makes it so easy to find and play music that I'd hate to be without it. Having said that, ripping a large CD collection is an absolute pain, taking many hundreds of hours, but IMHO it's been well worth the effort. The other benefit is that you can put your CDs away, freeing up space in the living room.
If you can plug something into it, plug it into a power amp and use the Connect to control the volume and drive the amp, then it probably could be considered a pre-amp in some sense - I can understand the confusion.
The issue was that even without the volume control -- in Fixed Volume -- later CONNECTs were found to be not bit-perfect if normalisation tags were present. (Clearly with volume adjustment the device isn't bit-transparent anyway.)
The issue was that even without the volume control -- in Fixed Volume -- later CONNECTs were found to be not bit-perfect if normalisation tags were present. (Clearly with volume adjustment the device isn't bit-transparent anyway.)
Thanks for clarifying.
So, however old the OP's connect is, he's not going to get bit-perfect output if he uses the Sonos volume control. Doesn't really change the comment about using a pre-amp, then.
The issue of bit-perfectness is irrelevant anyway, since the OP wants to go analog-in and analog-out. Bit-transparency only relates to digital output, derived from digital content delivered via the network (and conceivably via PLAYBAR's optical input).
The issue of bit-perfectness is irrelevant anyway, since the OP wants to go analog-in and analog-out. Bit-transparency only relates to digital output, derived from digital content delivered via the network (and conceivably via PLAYBAR's optical input).
My mistake - I assumed that the only reason that the OP was going to buy such an expensive CD player was that they cared about quality - otherwise, they could buy any player if it was just for convenience. The proposal is that the OP uses a pre-amp, in which case why wouldn't they use a digital connection?
Because HiFi pre-amps conventionally don't have digital inputs. That's what an outboard DAC does. And in any case the CONNECT doesn't have a digital input, only PLAYBAR does. I'm not sure where all this is leading....
What's a CD player? 😉
I understand it's a legacy mode of operation for a Bluray/DVD player.
Thanks! 😃
Page 1 / 2
Enter your username or e-mail address. We'll send you an e-mail with instructions to reset your password.