New Sonos Amp compare to “Hifi” amp

Welcome to the community. My only experience is listening on my old Pioneer HiFi from the 80's as far as HiFi equipment goes. I couldn't compare it to the amp as I didn't do an A-B on the same speakers, so for me, it's difficult to say. I'd like to hear what others think as well.

Since the Connect Amp is as good as any 55 wpc HiFi amp, I don't see why the Sonos Amp should not be so as well, including compared to HiFi amps that are in its power league.

I don't think there is any such thing as running in a digital amplifier, but leaving that aside....

I recently bought a Sonos Amp, and it didn't quite meet my (probably unrealistic) expectations. I had hoped it would simplify my life, and cable spaghetti, by replacing my Beam (+Sub) for TV sound and my HiFi amplification (DAC/pre-amp and two power amps) for music.

It didn't do it for TV, but I think that was just because I didn't really like my HiFi speakers for the TV sound, partly because of positioning issues. I wouldn't make too much of that - it was my circumstances.

For music, I thought the sound quality was great for the money, but didn't thrill me in the way that my existing setup had.

It is perfectly possible that I heard what I subconsciously wanted to hear - that my much more expensive amplification was 'better', whatever that means. Or maybe it's just that I am used to a particular type of sound. There wasn't a huge difference and I would not discourage anyone from buying the Amp. It just didn't work out for me, judged against what I consider a high standard.

FWIW that's a Cyrus DAC-XP+ DAC/pre-amp with two Cyrus 8 power amps. All was played through PMC floorstanders.

Glad it’s working for you. Nice simple setup with your Tannoys! My Mcintosh integrated is still dropping a channel randomly. It’s a labor of love owning vintage gear.

The Sonos Amp offers everything I’m looking for, and for the price point I’m going to give it a try sometime soon.

There aren’t many reviews on the new AMP so I appreciate your feedback. I have read some dial back the treble. I have horn loaded speakers so my fear was the Amp being overly bright.

I would be using this setup for strictly streaming music. No vinyl or TV. It’s not my “reference” stereo so I am expecting to trade a little fidelity for convenience and reliability. Thanks for sharing your experience. Nice gear btw.

Regarding running in or breaking in an Amp.

I have an early NuForce IA-7 integrated amp that I still use in another room. I recall the manual stating it required breakin. Here’s a bit from a review in Absolute Sound of a NuPrime amp similar to the NuForce amp. The amps are both Class D.

“NuPrime recommended 100–150 hour break-in time, so I gave the IDA-16 at least 200 hours of break-in before listening critically. Right out of the box, the IDA-16 sounded OK, but somewhat lifeless; however, after break-in it sounded a bit more dynamic, and the treble, which had been disappointing in some switching amplifiers I’d tried, became delicate and detailed.”

Regarding running in or breaking in an Amp.

I have an early NuForce IA-7 integrated amp that I still use in another room. I recall the manual stating it required breakin. Here’s a bit from a review in Absolute Sound of a NuPrime amp similar to the NuForce amp. The amps are both Class D.

“NuPrime recommended 100–150 hour break-in time, so I gave the IDA-16 at least 200 hours of break-in before listening critically. Right out of the box, the IDA-16 sounded OK, but somewhat lifeless; however, after break-in it sounded a bit more dynamic, and the treble, which had been disappointing in some switching amplifiers I’d tried, became delicate and detailed.”

That's typical nonsense from one of the way too many "high end" audio magazines. They HAVE to say something, so they just make stuff up.

The ONLY important thing about an amplifier is that it measures well into a realistic load. Sonos specs for it are excellent, so it should measure very well into a realistic load. Sadly, Stereophile is about the only magazine that still measures anything at all, and I doubt they'll measure the Amp. It's not expensive or pretentious enough.

However, amplifier design is extremely mature, there really isn't much a real engineering team can do wrong, unless they're incompetent (sadly, many "high end" "designers" are).

Class-D amp chips are sold by just a few vendors; their current designs will provide excellent performance. You might be surprised to look inside some very over-priced "high end" amps to find the exact same chips as the Amp inside.