Distortion when streaming Apple Music Library to either ERA 100 and Roam

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Just purchased an ERA 100 and Roam. As I already have a gen 1 setup with multiple Sonos devices, I created a 2nd Sonos account/system for the ERA 100 and Roam. I can successfully stream Pandora, SiriusXM and Sonos Radio to both devices with no problems. However, when I try to stream my Apple Music Library to either device, most songs are highly distorted - sound is muted, vocals are very faint.

I don’t actually own an Apple Music account - I simply use it to locally store my music which consistes of ripped vinyl and CDs ( > 800 songs ). I’ve noticed that songs in the library encoded as MP3s stream OK, but those encoded as m4a - AAC codec, 44,100 sampling rate, 32 bit sample depth, Apple MPEG-4 Audio (m4a) container - are distorted. Sonos says this format is supported, but my experience says otherwise. I have the latest IOS versions on an iPhone 13 and the latest Ventura on an M1 MacBook Pro. Further, my entire music library streams flawlessly from either IOS or Ventura to my Bose noise cancelling headphones and to my Marantz NR1200 receiver over AirPlay 2, which then puts out sound to a Sonos gen 1 ceiling speaker.

The web appears to be full of unhelpful information. I’m hoping someone here can help

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G

GuitarSuperstarAnswer

Lead Maestro

Download Audacity for free. Open the music file in Audacity and save it at 24- or 16-bit. Test one music file first to see if it works before doing all of your music files.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi

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Corry P

Sonos Staff

Thanks @buzz - I should have mentioned that there was no point in using 32bit at the end-user stage.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

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