Skip to main content

For some reason this amp has garnered a reputation for being “bright.” I’ve seen it mentioned in reviews, and I’ve seen it come up on these forums. What follows are a few thoughts I have on the matter and my own experience with the Amp.

  1. There’s a good thread on here comparing Amp’s freq. response to a Peachtree Nova 150 (known for being warm/musical, tube preamp, etc.) and the responses are nearly identical, with the Sonos Amp showing slightly less high-end output over 10k. So from a technical comparison (and granted these are only one user’s in-room measurements) the amp is not showing any sort of high-frequency emphasis.
  2. I’ve been using the amp for a bit over a year now, and in my personal experience it’s never sounded overly bright or fatiguing. Neutral, clean and clear, but not bright. Paired with some Elac Debut Reference bookshelves, it delivers a nice even-handed, rich and dynamic sound. Compared to my Yamaha HS8 powered monitors, the AMP/Elac setup is actually much smoother sounding, more “pleasing” and less harsh/direct/bright - whatever you want to call it. Granted, the Elacs are somewhat laid-back in presentation, but their top-end extension is quite present. After seeing more mentions of the issue popping up in reviews and forums, I couldn’t help but wonder if this tiny, digital amp actually is brightly voiced, being Class D / DDFA, and I’ve just adjusted to its sound over time. Which leads me to:
  3. A Subjective comparison with an amp that is known for exuding warmth only reassured me that the Sonos is not overly bright. I recently picked up a 1975 Pioneer SA5200 - one of the better budget integrated amps from the 70’s. In researching this unit online, I’ve found that most describe its sound as “warm, rich, inviting, fuzzy/wooly” etc. - classic 70’s tone. I got it home and hooked it up to the same speakers, and listened all afternoon, going back and forth between the Pioneer and the Sonos, and was truly surprised at how similar they sound. If I had to pick apart differences, I’d say its possible that the Sonos seems to be slightly more spatial in terms of soundstage, whereas the Pioneer seems to be a bit of a thicker more wall-of-sound kind of presentation, but at the end of the day, my wife and I were surprised that this vintage kit didn’t sound all that different from the Sonos. The Sonos Amp was not in any way that I could tell, noticeably more “bright, fatiguing, extended, clinical or digital.” 
  4. That being said - the experience of using the two different units is quite different. The Pioneer has a big, meaty power button that clicks on with heft, the power light glows a nice warm orange, and the weight of the dials, the silver face, the “vibe” is just so fun, and primes you to hear some vintage warmth. The Sonos on the other hand, while quite nicely designed, is small, light, it’s light is cold white, it generates basically no heat, has no physical buttons, and looks more like a router than an amp. I often wonder if people are expecting this amp to sound a certain way bc of how it looks. Visuals play a huge part in informing our perception of sound.

A few other final thoughts:

  1. The DDFA technology in this amp seems to remain extremely clear at higher volumes. Instead of saturating with distortion, everything just stays crisp, and this thing goes super loud. I noticed when first using the amp, that when I turned it up really loud, it retained so much clarity and lack of distortion that it could be heard as a little bit intense or “shouty”. Maybe this is what people are noticing?
  2. A lot of the people claiming brightness seem to be using Bowers & Wilkins speakers. From my limited experience with some B&W floor standers, they are very energetic, bright, intensely-voiced speakers, so maybe there is some kind of mismatch in this combo. Hifi nerds take a lot of care in matching components, and sometimes certain combos just don’t have synergy.
  3. Would love to hear more impressions of this amp, do you find it bright? What speakers are you pairing it with?

Hi @Kevspice, thanks for sharing your findings with the Sonos Community!

I don’t have any personal experience to share regarding the Brightness of the Sonos Amp, however I’ll give this thread a bump as I’m sure some other members of our community will have their own experiences to share regarding this type of setup.

Unfortunately no one does the kind of strict double blind level matched test needed to eliminate sound level mismatch effects and personal bias, so this become yet another subjective opinion, some of which are all over the place - both in favour of and against the amp.

As OP has pointed out visuals play a big role in informing our perception of sound and this can also apply to how the speakers look. But that just says that comparative tests that are not blind are not of sound quality from the components being compared as perceived by the brain via just the ears.

Come to think of it, the OP post lays out most of the reasons why any other than DBT based listening comparisons are not of much use to accurately carry over their outcomes  from one person to the next.

Here, in the last few posts on the thread, is an example from today about woolly claims about the inadequacy of the Sonos amp to power a given set of speakers. The same kind of claims that are so prevalent in the world of home audio and audiophiles:

 

Here, in the last few posts on the thread, is an example from today about woolly claims about the inadequacy of the Sonos amp to power a given set of speakers. The same kind of claims that are so prevalent in the world of home audio and audiophiles:

 

Psss he’s talking about me ;) 

Flat earthers unite!!!

 

  1. A Subjective comparison with an amp that is known for exuding warmth only reassured me that the Sonos is not overly bright. I recently picked up a 1975 Pioneer SA5200 - one of the better budget integrated amps from the 70’s. In researching this unit online, I’ve found that most describe its sound as “warm, rich, inviting, fuzzy/wooly” etc. - classic 70’s tone. I got it home and hooked it up to the same speakers, and listened all afternoon, going back and forth between the Pioneer and the Sonos, and was truly surprised at how similar they sound.
  2. That being said - the experience of using the two different units is quite different..
  3.  
  4. Visuals play a huge part in informing our perception of sound.

 

These are very interesting observations made by the OP - @Kevspice - who seems to be more self aware than audiophiles I have come across:-). I have bolded the critical insight - which also applies to why vinyl also is often claimed to sound better.

Would the Sonos Amp sound better if it was equipped with dancing VU meters, backlit in amber? Or, even better, if it had a bank of valves on top, glowing warmly when the lights were turned down low, but the valves were not connected to the signal path?

In a DBT it would not matter, that is for sure.

I’m not an audiophile 😉 just a musician who enjoys good sound. I’m familiar with the whole “all amps sound the same when operating properly” argument. I think it makes sense, but of course certain manufacturers voice amps to have a specific “house sound” (this is even more apparent with guitar/bass amps). I began to wonder with all of the brightness reports if Sonos had voiced this amp to sound “exciting” since it is essentially marketed as a home theater amp. But like I said, my subjective experience fwiw, which I agree is not much, is that the Sonos amp and a 50 year old pioneer known for being (and I quote reviews online) “warm, liquid, tube-like etc.” sound remarkably similar to each other. 

@Kevspice : I should have guessed you are not an audiophile:-). 

Guitar amps are a category of their own, with controls that can dial up distortion levels. 

But any typical home stereo amp maker would be unnecessarily reducing what is already a small market by having a house sound, when the same can be better achieved via tone controls. So I really doubt any of them do this.

I’m not an audiophile 😉 just a musician who enjoys good sound. I’m familiar with the whole “all amps sound the same when operating properly” argument. I think it makes sense, but of course certain manufacturers voice amps to have a specific “house sound” (this is even more apparent with guitar/bass amps). I began to wonder with all of the brightness reports if Sonos had voiced this amp to sound “exciting” since it is essentially marketed as a home theater amp. But like I said, my subjective experience fwiw, which I agree is not much, is that the Sonos amp and a 50 year old pioneer known for being (and I quote reviews online) “warm, liquid, tube-like etc.” sound remarkably similar to each other. 

The problem with the reports of brightness are nobody who claims this ever seems to have measured it to prove it.  I don’t hear a lot of treble which I am sensitive too but that’s just my subjective opinion too.

The problem with the reports of brightness are nobody who claims this ever seems to have measured it to prove it.  I don’t hear a lot of treble which I am sensitive too but that’s just my subjective opinion too.

If you do not hear something, it is very unlikely that you will hear it in a blind test. But if you do hear something, a blind test will tell if what you are hearing is/is not subjective.

I’m using a couple Sonos Amps through Tannoy DMT 15’s and ATC SCM-7 loudspeakers and they sound no brighter than the amps I was using for decades prior.

 

 

Terms & ConditionsCookie settings