New Sonos Amp compare to “Hifi” amp

The recommendation is from the manufacturer’s owners manual, the reviewer was just stating what the manual said and his ears heard. There are parts in a Class D amp like capacitors that need to form/breakin before performing their best.

There are parts in a Class D amp like capacitors that need to form/breakin before performing their best.
Um, no.

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
Back in the day, Stereophile did measure the Connect Amp when it was called a ZP and found nothing about it that was non HiFi. I can't see why Sonos would not have used the mature skill it has demonstrated to have in the Sonos Amp product, and reports from users here that are aware of the usual audiophile traps have reported nothing about it that is non HiFi either.

There are parts in a Class D amp like capacitors that need to form/breakin before performing their best.
I am always amazed at the legs these myths have. I have heard stuff like this said even about speaker cables. And in the digital age, about iPods and their earphones.
It is true that kit sounds better over time, but what is called burn in/breaking in is simply the brain getting used to the change in the sound it hears from new kit, and then developing a preference for it.
The reality of this can be shown up in a few minutes by that most hated by audiophiles test - a blind AB/ABX test; since they will never take the trouble of doing such tests, the myth continues.

It’s not my “reference” stereo so I am expecting to trade a little fidelity for convenience and reliability.
You should be happy to know that there will be no audible trade off. I found none when my Connect Amp took over amplification duties on a drop in basis - done in the past by solid state amps made by "HiFi" makes like Conrad Johnson, Quad and other similar.
However: if your reference stereo uses amplification that is introducing mild distortion by having tube/valves, of the kind that you are now used to hearing and have started liking, this will not be provided by Connect Amp or the new Sonos Amp.

The other reason for the music sounding different would be a different speaker in a different room compared to your "reference" set up; nothing to do with the amp change, but these differences can have a huge impact on how the music sounds.

The recommendation is from the manufacturer’s owners manual, the reviewer was just stating what the manual said and his ears heard. There are parts in a Class D amp like capacitors that need to form/breakin before performing their best.

This is the type of nonsense I heard when I worked in a mid-to-high end electronics store back in the 90's. Purely by coincidence, the "break in" period was exactly the same number of days as the "no questions asked" return period. Also purely coincidental is the fact that sales bonuses were partially based on the lack of returns.

There are parts in a Class D amp like capacitors that need to form/breakin before performing their best.
I am always amazed at the legs these myths have. I have heard stuff like this said even about speaker cables. And in the digital age, about iPods and their earphones.

It is at least consistent to say they require burn-in... I mean - IF a cable required burn-in (and I'm not saying it does), then what would be happening there would also be happening absolutely everywhere that you are passing a signal through.

As for whether burn-in is required... I take a pragmatic approach. I don't do anything special, but I do leave equipment running as much as possible in the first few days - e.g. leave it running quietly overnight- something that is easier when you are talking about a streaming source that can run for hours without interruption.

Whether it makes any difference to the sound - or how you perceive it - is somewhat irrelevant. You buy equipment to use it, and leaving it to run is only going to cost a few pence. And it isn't going to do any damage to it. Although if something does happen to go wrong - well, you've found that out early and can deal with it.

You know how long you've got to return a purchase, and if it doesn't meet your requirements in that time, send it back.

Leaving aside the burn in arguments, I don't see the point in leaving any kit running unattended; the warranty period gives you enough of music listening time to throw up a defective piece before that period expires, so why waste even a small part of a finite service life in having the kit play unheard?

The Sonos is designed to be "on" all the time anyway, and this kit should have a lifespan of many years in normal circumstances. Playing a few hours unattended in the first week or two isn't going to make much difference, unless there is a fault. I would rather discover that fault in the first couple of weeks, especially if I had bought from a retailer, rather than direct from Sonos.

Actually disappointed at the direct comparison to my hifi amp. The sound is clean enough, but lifeless and the bass doesn't shake the house like we're used to. Progress huh?