Sonos Connect. Still worth buying???

The Sonos one’s I have in my dining room are totally fit for purpose but they are in no way comparable to my Hi-Fi nor did I expect them be.

The Connect does not sound as good as the Airport Express to my ears. I don’t even think this is ‘subjective’ it was clear as day ( to me) that the AEX has a clearer sound with better separation than the connect..
I am posting here because I really want to keep the connect & enjoy the functionality.
I find my play 1 pair + Sub to be as good a USD 7000 HiFi system they have replaced. Just saying.

But that isn't the purpose of this post. Since you seem to be sincere, let me ask some questions on the AEX.

Describe the system in which the AEX is/was set up. What was the source? What was it connected to?

I think the value question with the Connect is the functionality it brings to an existing system. It gives you access to all of the streaming services Sonos can provide, which is probably the best integration out there, and also allows you to involve that system in a multiroom system with either other Connect's or Play speakers to suit room and budget.

It has increased quite substantially in price in the last couple of years, you could get them for £100 less than they are now (at list) and at that money may feel like better value. There's also stuff on there that probably isn't used now such as the Ethernet ports which could extend you network. With better WiFi now than when the Connect first emerged both that and Sonosnet are probably not always needed.

Unlike a Play:1 at £149, the connect does have an analogue line in, and both optical and coax digital outputs along with obviously analogue outs. So you have a lot more flexibility and can hardwire the Connect to your network if your Wifi is problematic, although I think the latter only works in Sonosnet mode.

So a Connect is much more flexible than any of the play speakers, and gives you options for integration.

The question of value vs sound quality is always much harder as I think different people have different thresholds for value.

Maybe a stripped down connect with less ports and options at a lower price might go down well with some. However, I think for the moment Sonos aren't so interested in that part of the market and are more concerned with all-in-one speakers so I suspect the Connect will live on as is for a while yet.

Maybe a stripped down connect with less ports and options at a lower price might go down well with some.
No argument against the usefulness of more features and/or ports and even a smaller footprint. I also agree that it is now vastly overpriced, but I suspect that is to prevent cannibalisation of play unit sales.

But what I can't see is what can be done by Sonos to enhance the sound quality it delivers; note here that those that have any issue including a psychological one with the Connect DAC, can bypass it and use the digital outputs.

I also suspect that it serves a market that Sonos has moved on and away from.

The AEX is connected to the aux port of a classic NAD 3020 which is feeding a pair of Monitor Audio RS1 bookshelf speakers. I stream music from my IPhone 7 Plus to this via my WiFi network. The connect is connected to the Tape in of the same set up. I have made sure when a/bing both of these sources that the input volumes were as similar as I could with my ear. Both sources are streaming tracks from Apple Music.

For the Connect, you are using Apple Music selected via the Sonos controller app? And selecting the exact same album on the Apple app on the phone to send the stream to AEX?
And you are using the toggle of the NAD to switch sources? Is the Connect set to variable level or fixed level? Have you tried the Connect into the aux port of the 3020 in use for the AEX?

Yes to all of the above. The connect is set to variable output. I have not tried the Connect in the Aux port. I shall try this tonight.

At that time, also move the Connect to fixed level. All volume changes will then be only done from the 3020, so be sure to start low with that on the 3020. Once this issue gets resolved, you will be able to go back to variable level and regain the use of the remote control of volume via the Sonos app on the phone.

I think the value question with the Connect is the functionality it brings to an existing system.

The question of value vs sound quality is always much harder as I think different people have different thresholds for value.


It may be useful for others that reference this post in future to see a general answer to the titled question of this thread, that also pulls in the two quotes above.

In short and in general, ever since a play 1 pair has been available for the price of a Connect, the latter is no longer worth it.

The Connect is essentially a Sonos launch product, designed to be used with HiFi systems of that day - circa 2004. The thing is that active speaker technology has since obsoleted passive systems that were around then, along with the CD players used as a source. Even in what is often derisively labelled as an all in one budget Sonos speaker, advanced active tech is employed. Each speaker has two drivers, each with its own amp. The midrange/bass unit does high excursions, allowing for the same bass to be delivered as from a larger speaker with low excursion units. And all of this is supervised by DSP of a sophistication that passive tech simply cannot accommodate, including room response based Trueplay tuning.

Why then is what is labelled as HiFi kit, even when it uses obsolete passive tech, so highly priced? The simple answer is diseconomies of very low scale manufacture and marketing, that drives per unit costs of such kit having to be much higher for ROI to be obtained to the extent that business survival is possible. On the other hand, the defining trait of electronic tech is how severely its price drops within a couple of years of launch of new tech. Add in to that the many economies of scale - manufacturing, marketing and distribution - from a billion dollar in annual sales that Sonos now enjoys, this delivers a double whammy on the price front that traditional HiFi kit can only cope with by trying to challenge the HiFi credentials of Sonos. The resultant message is also one that works on the mindset of the audiophile set that wants to believe that HiFi = High End = High Price. And that Mass Market and HiFi: a contradiction in terms. It is just marketing baloney, this message.

Which is why there is nothing to be surprised at if a USD 1000 Sonos set up can successfully challenge a USD 7000 traditional HiFi set up with the latter price also including USD 2000 for a CD player that is obsolete, and that the Sonos set up does not need anymore.

Moving on then, to someone that has a system like what the OP does: install a play 1 pair in the exact same space in the exact same room, run Trueplay on the 1 pair, and the sound quality obtained from it from the exact same source will be the same - all that will be different are two speaker sonic signatures and as many people that prefer one are likely to prefer the other. Given that, for the lot that prefer the Sonos signature, adding a Connect to the existing system makes no sense at all. Might was well give the existing system to a friend for free or to charity. The resultant decluttering and elimination of messy cables is just a free bonus.

Throw in a Sonos Sub and even the 1 pair + Sub will take on traditional HiFi kit at many price points above, for all the reasons aforesaid. The 5 pair + Sub will go even further in larger rooms. And offer a line in jack for integrating something like a turntable if desired.

To my mind, the only remaining case for Connect is if one wants a Sonos interface to a pair of active speakers that are much more capable that a 5 pair + Sub. If one can find these. Or if one is sentimentally attached to existing passive HiFi kit. Or if one has a Bill Gates kind of home that can accommodate and needs speakers that are taller than a human that cost 5 digits or even 6, to fill the space adequately. Although one could argue that many play 1 units employed all over the space would do the job better: said monster speaker set up will still suffer from the large space problems of music having to be too loud close to the speakers for it to be heard in distant parts of the room.

And while I agree on the subjective differences in value thresholds that are rooted in reason, those related to sound quality are rarely so. These are largely eliminated in controlled blind testing, having been created just by clever "HiFi" marketers and their tools - the media that is sustained by their advertising, including the online versions of it.

If say I have a high powered amp and some very well made standard wired speakers that I want to be utilized by sonos....then a connect still fits the bill and nothing else does.

While a pair of play:1s sound good they do NOT sound as good as my living room system with B&W speakers and subwoofer connected to a decent 120watt per channel amp (and Sonos Connect)

Have you tried the 1 pair with the Sonos Sub? And more power does nothing for sound quality unless the sound levels supplied by the 1 pair + Sub are inadequate. Even in legacy hifi, there is no difference between a 40 watt amp and a 120 watts one unless the former is being pushed beyond its design limits.

Some may well prefer the 1 pair sound signature and depending on the size of the B&W units, a 5 pair + Sub may be in the right weight class against it.

I found the 1 pair + Sub to sound JUST AS good as a Harbeth C7 pair driven by 140 wpc amplification. Of course, with same attention lavished on placement of the former as if it was the latter for price.