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Connect Gen 1 : Source of distortion?

  • 19 October 2020
  • 5 replies
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M
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  • marke
  • Avid Contributor III
  • 43 replies

Morning all.

I have a very simple set up : NAS > Sonos Connect > Amp.

All has been working well for a few years, however, recently I have noticed some crackling/distortion during bass heavy instrumental passages.

I have checked via headphones, replaced the speakers, changed the amp and the distortion is still there,  hence why I suspect the source of the distortion is the Connect device.

Unfortunately my amp does not have a optical/digital input, so I am using RCA connectors.

The distortion is only obvious on very specific types of music, the rest of the time things sound fine - hence why I am confused as to what’s the cause.

I can drastically reduce the distortion by reducing the volume via the Sonos app.

It’s as if recently there is almost too much volume being pushed through the Connect.

Is there anything else I can check, or, does this mean that my Connect is now damaged (the DAC has ‘blown’?), and the only solution is to upgrade to a Port ? 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Mark

 

 

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Best answer by marke 12 November 2020, 17:19

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5 replies

ratty

There have been cases of the analog output stage going bad on some of the older models. You could always try a DAC between one of the digital outputs and the amp. A simple DAC is cheap, or you might be able to borrow one.

If the problem goes away you can then consider next steps.  

M
Userlevel 2
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turns out its the use of the 320 MP3 that causes the distortion.

i got an external DAC, used optical/coax outputs : same problem.

played the track on cd via ‘line in’ on Connect - no distortion.

i.e. Connect can handle the music, therefore source had to be the digital file.

re-ripped at 320 to check if MP3 had become corrupted : distortion.

re-ripped track as WAV - all ok.

so, the next question is, would upgrading to Port still result in such distortion, or would it be better at handling such an MP3 file i wonder ?

 

ratty

Port will be just the same. Why on earth are you ripping to a lossy encoder? And of all of them MP3 has to be the worst choice. Rip to FLAC.

 

M
Userlevel 2
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i realise the issues re 320 but this is the first time i have actually noticed anything.

i am not an audiophile, as my kit is anything but top end, i am just someone who enjoys music.

my whole collection is now in 320, and i am not doing the whole thing again given it took me several years to update the digital archive (was orig in 256 due to phone space restrictions, but i no longer use phone for daily commute).

also, if i were to, i would have to get a much larger NAS drive for storage, and my budget is somewhat restrained these days.

now that i know where the problem is, i am happy enough to live with the very rare times the problem arises.

ta for help etc.

m.

 

 

 

M
Userlevel 2
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resolved.

used the ‘Volume Limit’ setting on the phone app (never knew of it until Ratty pointed it out on the other thread).

reduced this to 80% and the difference in sound quality is very noticeable, with no distortion on tracks that i had noticed it on.

how do i flag this thread as resolved/answered ?

m.

 

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