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My great Vinyl dilemma: the line in source level Bug and sonos lack of response

  • 6 December 2019
  • 83 replies
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So I am ecstatic over using a new play 5 gen 2 as my sweet little hi fi compact setup in my bedroom for playing vinyl and digital there.  sonos does a better job translating vinyl to the digital realm and back than any other sub $1000 system.  I bought and returned a few, including the Bluesound.  play 5 gen 2 a BIG step up in SQ.  

But I now have a 2 month problem that Sonos is aware of and won’t fix.  my turntable has always had better than cd fidelity at source level set to level 9.  well now level 9 is with a bug and won’t work.  levels 1-8 work fine, but at a cost of lower fidelity from the digital volume reduction, making it pointless to spin records.  yes, level 10 is still operative, but only if you select 9.  selecting 10 leaves you at the last level you were on.  thus 9 is now skipped altogether.  the end result is if you toggle from 8 to 9, what is really happening is (listening) you are going from 8 to 10.  closing app and reopening verifies all this.

why the big deal?  because level 10 distorts with my albums and 8 or less sacrifices fidelity.  this all started about 2 months ago.

so...I have emailed and called Sonos REPEATEDLY about this problem.  they keep giving a standard line that it’s identified as a bug to fix and prioritized to fix it.  but after one month of calls and emails (they know me well now) nothing fixed.  finally in exasperation I asked for an engineer to call me.  after no less than 3 separate requests for this, finally a Kevin C. from software engineering calls me.  he’s very nice, but explains that he cannot divulge where the team is in the process.  he states essentially he’s not allowed.  when I stated that I just wanted to know if the bug will be fixed in a month or two more, he states he can’t tell me. when I asked if he can reassure me that it will EVER  get fixed, he states he cannot.

so I am going to the Community on this.  Is ANYONE else observing this bug and bothered by it enough to speak up here?  PLEASE POST HERE IF YOU FEEL THE WAY I DO ABOUT THIS BUG.  I clearly need a louder megaphone to move the needle on this issue.

Thanks to all!

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Best answer by Ryan S 6 December 2019, 20:57

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83 replies

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Full 10 it is. 
 

thank you v much. 

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Full 10

you will be very pleased, I think

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Great stuff, thanks guys. 
 

so what’s the recommendation for my new turntable then? I’ve been using 8, as 2 (which I selected is it said hifi) was so quiet I had to be on 50% volume on the Five to hear anything. 
9? The full 10? 

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Sorry, meant 9 is quieter than before the problem. Not 10. Now big jump from 9 to 10.  No noticeable change from 7 to 8. 

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Ha, yes, it’s “fixed”. All levels work, but 10 is quieter than before the problem. And 7 and 8 are about the same. I think they used some short cuts to make an apparent fix. It’s all fine though. Sounds just fine. No worries 

So this thread has all gone quiet for 6 months. Can I assume this is fixed and TIcocks is now happy?

Just wondering as I’m just about to add a turntable to my Five.

 

interesting that Dr. Colossuss mentions he can use ‘9’ but not ‘10’, but it was the other way around in the original post.

Yes, it was the line-in source level 10 that was not working correctly - I’ve just checked with my Sonos Port in the S2 App and it’s all working fine here now. I think it was fixed quite a while back.

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So this thread has all gone quiet for 6 months. Can I assume this is fixed and TIcocks is now happy?

Just wondering as I’m just about to add a turntable to my Five.

 

interesting that Dr. Colossuss mentions he can use ‘9’ but not ‘10’, but it was the other way around in the original post.

Updated to S2 and I am still not able use level 10. However, the bug where it would revert to level 9 after  the app had been closed has been resolved, so that is something. At least it remembers the correct setting. Although, it would be nice if level 10 actually worked.

Perhaps waiting until next week’s S1 and S2 software updates is indicated?

This problem persists for me as well. The best I can set it at is 9. There is no change from 9 to 10 and it often resets to 1 periodically. 

System with Playbar, Beam, Play:3 & Connect. Confirm that Level 9 can be selected but will revert to Level 10 once you close the App and reopen.  Personally I always feed my phono whether the old B&O Linesr or the new Rega Planar 2 through my classic Denon (150 rms/ channel) as I also drive a set of Totem Acoustic SKYs. The Connect gets line in from audio output from the Denon and is quite happy with a 3 or 4 level.  As the Playbar is in the same room we just have fun adding in the Denon when cranking out vintage audio tracks.  The level granularity Or better lack of it used to bug me a lot, especially when the source is something like an iPad or iPod with quite low voltage, but my use of those as direct audio sources has dropped considerably.
 

curious what are you sending the Connect outputs to or are you or grouping to a soundbar?

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Took some time off. Distracted by COVID-19. No fix yet I see. 

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here’s my weekly check in.  which will continue until the bug is resolved.:sunglasses:

Userlevel 7
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Edward or Ryan,

any updates on when?

I don’t have a specific eta on the update right now, but we’ll let you know as soon as it’s been resolved in the software.

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Edward or Ryan,

any updates on when?

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NO trim adjustments. Sorry

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No with Rega Fono MM Mk3 there is now trim adjustment

My Connect has done this for quite some time. Luckily, I don’t need level 9.
Incidentally (months later, obviously) though I read through this thread and there were multiple posts listing a component here and a component there, I don't have a clear picture of your signal chain or even what turntable and pre you’re running to the Play5. Does your pre not have a trim adjustment? Or alternatively adding gain and then adjusting the Sonos line sensitivity  lower? My Connect receives line-levels best all the way down at between 2 and 4. This is naturally all relative to particular setups, but given the bits of kit you’ve listed off, surely there is a way around this further back in the chain than the Sonos’ input sensitivity, no?

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I’ll give that a try later.  Thanks

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shouldn’t be stuck on 1,  select 9.  then close and reopen the app.  should be on 10

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Mine is stuck on 1.  I have to select 10 for my turntable every time I want to play something.  It reverts to 10 when I change the source again!

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and I continue to find that even for many 80’s albums I own, level 9 would be optimal, as 10 is slightly distorted on some passages, while 8 leaves me wanting a little more pre amp juice, loosely speaking.  for most albums I own, I've verified that compared to their digital versions on Qobuz or Tidal, 8 is quieter and 10 is louder.  yes, I can happily listen at 8 when 10 distorts, but the perfectionist in me does very much want this feature fully functioning again.

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G9010086,

if you have the same program bug we’ve been talking about here, you’ll access level 10 by selecting level 9.  you’ll hear the double step-up in volume, but you’ll have to back up in the app 2 screens to see the source level set to where it really is at 10.  in all of this, level 9 is not available.  selecting level 10 simply keeps you on the previous level you were on.  but there is no level 9 until Sonos fixes this bug.

I also just noticed this. The source in level will not stay at 10 for me. It resets back to 8 each time. Sonos, any update on when a fix may be expected ? 

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You’re correct @Tlcocks, the main issue on this thread is as you said, my apologies. I was updating all the line-in settings issues that I had flagged. My apologies, it’s been a long week.

This issue is still being worked on, but the fix hasn’t been finalized yet. I’ll let you know when it’s up.