Zp 24/96

Up to 24/192, please.
+1 for that...

+2 actually

A friend of mine is on a Linn system these days, but is considering switching. HiRes is a dealbreaker for him though...

In the big scheme of things 24/192 could be considered a significant extravagance relative to 24/96. 24/96 should provide all but the smallest advantages of 24/192. I think the most important thing would be to support 24 bit depth, with a minimum of 48k sample rate. 24/96 seems to be the “audiophile” sweet spot with fidelity vs. bandwidth. Still a significant increase over the max 16/48 that Sonos supports now.

While I think that a “high-res” zone player is somewhat of at niche feature, but it’s also a hot button that could bring performance-oriented consumers (that are known to spend considerable sums on hardware) into the mainstream fray and also give them a pathway to whole-house audio. My thinking is still that high-res is probably a one-zone feature within the Sonos system, while the balance of a multi zone system will be “regular” 16-bit resolution. In the remainder of the regular 16-bit zones, the higher resolution source material would be down-sampled to 16/48. I would hope that one hi res zone would also ease the wireless network requirements and keep the inclusion of hi-res possible.

Whatever form the final implementation of 24/96 is, the lack of its inclusion is my only disappointment with the Sonos system.

DanG

I would hope that one hi res zone would also ease the wireless network requirements and keep the inclusion of hi-res possible.


This would be very tricky from a wireless networking standpoint because the actual files would be larger. Imagine the case where the "premium" zone was at the end of a long string of wireless links. One could not down sample until the stream reached the premium zone. This becomes more interesting if something happens in the wireless mesh that requires restructuring.

One approach might be to include with or attach the storage to the premium zone and limit the system to one premium zone per system or require a wired connection for any other premium zones. From a marketing perspective this would tarnish the "wireless everywhere" aspect of the system.

Hi Buzz. I see your point about the possibilities of wireless networking issues. I just think that there must be a way to make it work. If Slim Devices can do it....

I think one pemium zone per system would do it. I would sure do it for me. It just irks me a bit when I have to get up and open Media Monkey, switch inputs, etc, to play my higher rez files. I would even take a wired-only premium zone if necessary, but I certainly understand the need to provide enough convenience features to make this feature practical.

I bet that Sonos has the collective brain power to figure out a solution to make this work.🆒

DanG

Given that one zone MUST be wired anyway I wouldn't have a problem with having a 24-bit compatible ZP in place of the ZP90 I've got plugged into the router already.

Seems like a 24/96 implementation would require a new piece of wired equipment (unless the 802.11n mesh is fast enough) similar to the zp90 with a faster processor.

Based on the lack of response from SONOS on this subject... seems that sharing 5.1 SACD/DVD-A material to wireless satellites of current generation hardware would be problematic.

Building a dedicated piece of equipment for high res material (isolated high-res multi-channel zone) would make sense. This equipment could still act as a bridge for the low definition components in the SONOS mesh.

Hail the new ZP90/HD 🙂

(cyborgen said):

["Building a dedicated piece of equipment for high res material (isolated high-res multi-channel zone) would make sense. This equipment could still act as a bridge for the low definition components in the SONOS mesh.

Hail the new ZP90/HD :-)"]

BINGO!

DanG

Hi Buzz. I see your point about the possibilities of wireless networking issues. I just think that there must be a way to make it work. If Slim Devices can do it....

Ah, but I don't believe they do. At least not in a true multi-zone way. Bear in mind first and foremost Sonos is a multi-room system designed and delivered from the outset with multi-room syncing capability. The Suqeezebox never was designed for this. It was added on. Despite wild claims to the contrary amongst its fans, it's only been relatively recently that proper multi-zone sync has been available with any degree of stability and even then it's a bit of an afterthought (from both a control and reliability point of view) compared with Sonos.

So in effect the Logitech Transporter is a standalone streamer. The same issues don't apply.

I think one pemium zone per system would do it. I would sure do it for me. It just irks me a bit when I have to get up and open Media Monkey, switch inputs, etc, to play my higher rez files. I would even take a wired-only premium zone if necessary, but I certainly understand the need to provide enough convenience features to make this feature practical.

I think, in general, people don't appreciate that the real value proposition offered by Sonos is that it offers nearly seamless flexibility of "any music in any room, in any combination of synced or not", and this contributes to the ease of use and accessibility of the system. Anything which moves away from this is a retrograde step for the system as a whole.

If they can make a hires player which integrates seamlessly (or, even better, somehow enable hires on the existing platform) then I'm all in favour, but I really don't see any point in a totally standalone player. The trouble is I also think any kind of "halfway house" would be difficult to achieve without some compromises.

Only supporting hires in wired players is probably a reasonable one (I bet in reality very few Transporter users use them wirelessly) although that's not without challenges too.

Cheers,

Keith

Hi Majik.

I do appreciate the many excellent features of the Sonos system. I'm a faithful and enthusiastic user for many years.

I really appricate your input and insights. I just want to find a way for Sonos to incorporate hi res, up to 24/96, operation. Plain and simple. ;)

Please Sonos. :)

DanG