Audio Resolution

It would reject it. Sonos contacts a server at Amazon (or somewhere else) that has been told what type of signal to send to your Sonos. 

Music services can only send in supported formats: https://docs.sonos.com/docs/supported-audio-formats

Thanks for the replies..

So Amazon Music Unlimited is listing a track as Ultra HD at 24/192.  What will Sonos actually play the track at, 24/48 or 16/44?

Perhaps we are talking peanuts here, but I do not want to pay for something and not get it.

Thanks.

It will play it at the maximum quality Sonos can currently muster. Amazon Music, Apple Music and Qobuz (possibly one or two others) all currently play in the highest possible quality. It’s better than Spotify through Sonos. And it is such good quality that even if you heard a song with higher res, you would definitely not hear the difference.

Amazon HD tracks are 16 bit with a minimum sample rate of 44.1 kHz.

Amazon Ultra HD are 24 bit with a sample rate between 44.1 - 192 kHz.

When playing back Ultra HD on Sonos they should be 24 bit and either 44.1 or 48 kHz sample rates, depending what is available at Amazons end.

In general to cover the range of different devices that can playback Ultra HD, Amazon will stream at 24 bit and the maximum supported by the device from 44.1, 48, 96 or 192 kHz up to the maximum the studio uploaded.

Apple iOS devices, like Sonos, only support a max of 24/48 natively, so tracks with higher maximum sample rates usually use the highest sample rate supported by the device.

While I use Qobuz, for the discounts on digital purchasing rather than hires, my different devices use the maximum stream they can support. So for a listing with a maximum of 24/192

Sonos and my iPad will use the 24/48,

my AVRs and MusicCast speakers use 24/192

My PC uses 24/48 if I have it set for Atmos output or 24/192 if set for 7.1

Qobuz is slightly different as they let you choose the maximum bit size and sample rate you want, from mp3 320 upto a devices hardware limitation (or 24/192 max). This can be useful for data saving especially when on a mobile network or a location with reduced bandwidth. 

Thanks again for the replies.

I think the consensus answer is what I was hoping for, to bad Sonos is less than transparent in stating what actual resolution they are transmitting.  I guess my confusion relates to a posting on this forum some time ago stating that any hi res tracks from a source, at the time Qobuz, in excess of 24/48 will be reduced to 16/44, presumably by Sonos.   I would have expected any reduction to not go below the Sonos maximum of 24/48.  While 16/44 CD quality is fine, I do hear an improvement with 24 bit and would expect to get that if paying for it.

I should have taken Sonos at their word when they stated their general antithesis with hi-res; I now regret not going with KEF even at their higher prices.

So the next experiment will be with Quboz and see how it compares with Apple and Amazon.

Thanks again for info.   

Hi @AJFpk3, long-time Qobuz with Sonos user here. Qobuz* does not perform ‘dynamic’ downsampling upon request … and the same goes for Sonos devices (for one thing, they lack the CPU horsepower to downsample in real time).

The Qobuz catalog is stacked with lossless HD music and everything has a fallback of 16/44 CD quality. If the Qobuz track is 24/48 that is exactly what you’ll get on Sonos. If the Qobuz track is better than 24/48, Sonos cannot play that so the fallback 16/44 is used.

As an aside, Qobuz is fairly unique in having a store attached to the streaming service. On the occasion that I purchase and download a very-high-res album, I downsample to 24/48 using the excellent dBpoweramp.

* Same for other streaming services, to the best of my knowledge

Thanks, press250

One question, do the Apple and Amazon services also fall back to 16/44?  As far as I can tell neither of them stream in 24/48.

It is becoming increasingly clear that 24 bit music streams are not too available at all on Sonos, except for Qobuz!

I would think so, tho’ that is no more than an educated guess.

FWIW, I’ve been across-the-board delighted with Qobuz. Mobile and desktop apps are aces, as is their streaming web portal.

Thanks again to everyone on this issue, to be continued.

Where is Sonos during all of this?

Prioritising fixing the app and helping people with actual issues.