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My great Vinyl dilemma: the line in source level Bug and sonos lack of response

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So I am ecstatic over using a new play 5 gen 2 as my sweet little hi fi compact setup in my bedroom for playing vinyl and digital there. sonos does a better job translating vinyl to the digital realm and back than any other sub $1000 system. I bought and returned a few, including the Bluesound. play 5 gen 2 a BIG step up in SQ.

But I now have a 2 month problem that Sonos is aware of and won’t fix. my turntable has always had better than cd fidelity at source level set to level 9. well now level 9 is with a bug and won’t work. levels 1-8 work fine, but at a cost of lower fidelity from the digital volume reduction, making it pointless to spin records. yes, level 10 is still operative, but only if you select 9. selecting 10 leaves you at the last level you were on. thus 9 is now skipped altogether. the end result is if you toggle from 8 to 9, what is really happening is (listening) you are going from 8 to 10. closing app and reopening verifies all this.

why the big deal? because level 10 distorts with my albums and 8 or less sacrifices fidelity. this all started about 2 months ago.

so...I have emailed and called Sonos REPEATEDLY about this problem. they keep giving a standard line that it’s identified as a bug to fix and prioritized to fix it. but after one month of calls and emails (they know me well now) nothing fixed. finally in exasperation I asked for an engineer to call me. after no less than 3 separate requests for this, finally a Kevin C. from software engineering calls me. he’s very nice, but explains that he cannot divulge where the team is in the process. he states essentially he’s not allowed. when I stated that I just wanted to know if the bug will be fixed in a month or two more, he states he can’t tell me. when I asked if he can reassure me that it will EVER get fixed, he states he cannot.

so I am going to the Community on this. Is ANYONE else observing this bug and bothered by it enough to speak up here? PLEASE POST HERE IF YOU FEEL THE WAY I DO ABOUT THIS BUG. I clearly need a louder megaphone to move the needle on this issue.

Thanks to all!

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Ryan SAnswer

Retired Sonos Staff

Hey Tlcocks, I just checked in for you with the team on that ticket and the status. It is still being investigated and worked on. I know it’s frustrating not having an ETA or not knowing what the exact status is, but those things can change and we don’t want to give an ETA that isn’t definite. The right team is on it, but they have other things on their plate as well. The support team will make sure to let you know when it’s resolved, but they can’t keep you updated with every change that the ticket goes through.

Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.

jgatie

Are you talking about the Line-In level? If so, there is nothing about that level which “loses fidelity”. The higher level may distort because it is overloading the amps in the Play:5, but lowering the level to where it doesn’t distort does nothing to the fidelity except lowering the gain. You may be perceiving a loss of fidelity because the mind will always think lower volume is lower fidelity (even if the changes are so small they are not detected), but the mind is easily fooled.

ratty

my turntable has always had better than cd fidelity

Er … no.

https://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Myths_(Vinyl)

Ryan SAnswer

Retired Sonos Staff

Hey Tlcocks, I just checked in for you with the team on that ticket and the status. It is still being investigated and worked on. I know it’s frustrating not having an ETA or not knowing what the exact status is, but those things can change and we don’t want to give an ETA that isn’t definite. The right team is on it, but they have other things on their plate as well. The support team will make sure to let you know when it’s resolved, but they can’t keep you updated with every change that the ticket goes through.

Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.

T

TlcocksAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

Jgatie, if you don’t think a digital volume algorithm reduces fidelity, then you don’t know much about digital. I’ve got an Auralic streamer downstairs, and the company says generally leave the digital volume control on 100%. Use the amps volume. For this very reason. If you don’t believe me, run a source in the line in. Play it at level 10. The go to level 1 and quick turn up the master volume. Then tell me they sound the same. I don’t think so.

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TlcocksAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

Ok Ryan S, appreciate that response. Had a similar discussion with Robert C. today as well, after posting this. Still, he said this may take MONTHS to fix.

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TlcocksAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

Ratty, that’s a good read. Yes there are many reasons why a record could sound better or worse than a cd. I did over generalize. Nonetheless that’s not the point of this discussion. But thanks for the link. Very inf

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TlcocksAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

So...we are far off the subject already. This is why I don’t like utilizing these forums.
Simply put, has anyone else using the line in observed this bug, and are you bothered by it?

jgatie

Jgatie, if you don’t think a digital volume algorithm reduces fidelity, then you don’t know much about digital. I’ve got an Auralic streamer downstairs, and the company says generally leave the digital volume control on 100%. Use the amps volume. For this very reason. If you don’t believe me, run a source in the line in. Play it at level 10. The go to level 1 and quick turn up the master volume. Then tell me they sound the same. I don’t think so.

It’s not digital at that point, that is the analog input level.

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TlcocksAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

No. I must correct you. I also confirmed the following with a supervisor. Once the signal is received it’s then encoded or digitized to cd red book 16/44.1. Any functions associated with EQ or source volume level are performed in the DIGITAL domain. The bug deals in with digital not analog volume settings. I do believe the actual volume slider for master volume is analog. I think.

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TlcocksAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

Wow. My other more succinct thread was WIPED. Wonder if my bringing it up here will get this thread WIPED too. COMMUNISM! 😂 LOL

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