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Thewizard2000
Chromatic Producer I
July 28, 2023

Sonos and Hifi compatibilty

  • July 28, 2023
  • 25 replies
  • 993 views

Hi,

Since Tidal offer up to 9216 kbps audio quality streaming with the premium Hifi Plus membership, are you aware that sonos 3rd generation speakers can supports that high quality with multi-rooms without any unsync issues? I still have unsync issues always with hifi stream (without ethernet wired speakers and multi-room only) and i would like to know if the firmware have solved this issue, or maybe this is just that sonos speakers are not capable to handle this high song quality with multi-rooms… I have read couple years ago on sonos specs that the device can handle up to 1400 kbps if i remember but i don’t find the info anymore.

 

Btw i have fast internet 1000 mbts speed and premium wifi Orbi Wifi with satellite device connected to my modem in bridge mode. I do not have interference because i do not have any issues with my cameras, chromecast, xbox console, or any others devices at home… Last year i tried everytings from reset all my devices and tried every others channels available without any succes. I can make and send you a video link if you want to see the issue itself but i think that i well explained the problem.

 

Do you believe that is a hardware issue?

 

If you asking me i see that sonos can handle 24 bits with 48kHz maximum so if i convert this 24bits 48kHz = 2,304 Kbps max! I cannot understand that sonos offer hifi streamers like Deezer and Tidal services since sonos devices cannot handle 9216 kpbs at all without any warning messages or notifications to aware users… 

 

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25 replies

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Thewizard2000Author
Chromatic Producer I
July 29, 2023

I have seen some improvement on 5ghz mesh but still have 2 to 5 secs of dropouts at the begining of songs. If the bitrate remains the same when wired then the buffer is maybe more well handle.

nik9669a
Senior Virtuoso
July 29, 2023

@ratty This is why i asked to the sonos team to optimize the fact that hifi plus streaming services should be locked to the maximum capability of sonos devices. This look like not the case and this is why issues comes in.

 

And unlock it for those who want to ethernet cables their devices. This is just an idea.

The most recent products that Sonos has released- the Era 100 and 300 - are wifi only by default. You can buy an adapter to add Ethernet should you require it. 
 

I may be wrong, but my conclusion from this is that Sonos are unlikely to be delivering what you’re asking for - they see the improvements in wifi technology as an adequate delivery mechanism for streamed source to their products. 
 

If so, @Thewizard2000, you should maybe consider a move to a different manufacturer. 

ratty
ratty
July 29, 2023

Depending on the service there can be a heavy burst of traffic at the start of a track as the Sonos player buffers a substantial amount of data. I know from experience that Deezer does this. I’ve no idea about Tidal as I would never go near MQA.

It sounds like your wireless network is not keeping up. For the Sonos units on WiFi you can at least check the signal strength from the local AP via the room settings in the controller.  

Thewizard2000Author
Chromatic Producer I
July 29, 2023

Everythings is check on my wifi side also itsna brand new. So if it works perfecly fine on your side with hifi res and more than 5 devices on wireless then this is definitly an hardware issue. Thank you 

ratty
ratty
July 29, 2023

One further point: if “compatibility with Sonos” means adjusting the bitrate down from 16/44 or 24/48 when the connection simply can’t keep up, then the player already does this on certain services. Amazon Music, for example, will fall back to MP3/320.

 

And apologies for initially assuming you were demanding an increase in the bitrate support, which is what the vast majority request, rather than a decrease. 

ratty
ratty
July 29, 2023

Everythings is check on my wifi side also itsna brand new. So if it works perfecly fine on your side with hifi res and more than 5 devices on wireless then this is definitly an hardware issue. Thank you 

It’ll be a network problem. After you encounter dropouts at the start of a track then submit a Sonos system diagnostic, note the number and contact Support. Maybe they can help. 

    Thewizard2000Author
    Chromatic Producer I
    July 29, 2023

    I confirm that it do not fall back with Tidal because i already force it manualy on tidal app without changes. It look like sonos keep it on default. Never tested with amazon though.

    ratty
    ratty
    July 29, 2023

    The bitrate settings on the native apps don’t affect Sonos.  

    On the face of it you should have more than sufficient bandwidth on your Orbi system for 24/48, though some have reported issues between Sonos and Orbi. See what Sonos Support say anyway.

    And sorry again for my misunderstanding about which direction you wanted to take your bitrates.

      Thewizard2000Author
      Chromatic Producer I
      July 29, 2023

      No problem thank you for the help!

        Thewizard2000Author
        Chromatic Producer I
        July 29, 2023

        @ratty If sonos modulate and fall back by itself to the correct bitrate that it can handle according to the source then the only problem should be the wireless hardware capacities limitations inside the device because everythings works well on wired ethernet cables. As you said, if it would be a bitrate problem it would happen wired or wireless. I’ll make the follow up with the sonos dev team.

        Btw what is the services/plans that you personally use for hifi music and how many devices you have?

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