Contributor I

Answered

Connecting to a new Denon amplifier

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Hello- I’ve got a new AVR/amplifier. I have hooked up everything but my old Sonos 1 ZP and I’m not sure where to put that. The old red and white pigtail cords could only go in a couple of places (notably “audio in”), or maybe I should use the optical port, which I see the back of the player is configured for. Any ideas on which would be the best and easiest way to go? Thanks in advance.

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rattyAnswer

Start off with coaxial digital, unless all you have to hand is an optical cable. You’ll probably need to fiddle with the Denon configuration to map the correct socket on the back of the AVR to whatever label you choose for the input.

ratty

There’s no such thing as a “Sonos 1 ZP”. It sounds like it’s a ZP80, ZP90 or Connect.

As for whether to connect it via digital (optical or coax) or analog (RCA) it’s up to you. Whichever sounds better to your ears. The Denon AVR would have a much more modern DAC chip so I’d start with a digital connection, ideally coax.

O

Oregon BobAuthor

Contributor I

Yes. ZP80 is what I have.

rattyAnswer

Start off with coaxial digital, unless all you have to hand is an optical cable. You’ll probably need to fiddle with the Denon configuration to map the correct socket on the back of the AVR to whatever label you choose for the input.

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

Coax if possible

Optical second

RCA to an input like CD will also serve well.

An alternative if you have tape and tape monitor jacks is to hook the ZP to them. This can be in addition to one of the first two options above and will let you send Sonos audio from your AVR with a bit of tweaking.

A

amun

Start off with coaxial digital, unless all you have to hand is an optical cable.

Is coax digital better than optical? I’ve always used optical as I assumed that it would be better.

Ken_Griffiths

Start off with coaxial digital, unless all you have to hand is an optical cable.

Is coax digital better than optical? I’ve always used optical as I assumed that it would be better.

Coax has greater bandwidth, so it should sound slightly better, but it is susceptible to radio/electromagnet interference, whereas optical isn’t (obviously), but I can’t personally hear a difference between the two anyway. However I’ve not gone into any depth to truly compare them side-by-side.

The reason I would prefer Coax, is I find optical cables/connections can be rather flimsy. I don’t like to plug/unplug them, whereas Coax does not give me a problem in that area.

ratty

Start off with coaxial digital, unless all you have to hand is an optical cable.

Is coax digital better than optical? I’ve always used optical as I assumed that it would be better.

For longer runs (>5m) and/or for higher sampling rates (176.4/192kHz), coax is regarded as more reliable. Lower jitter, less risk of signal loss.

On the plus side optical guarantees electrical isolation, which depending on the circumstances might matter.

Pick and choose.

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

Never broke a Coax connector. Have broken TOS ones and they aren’t repairable unless you are into soldering multi-layer circuit boards in your gear’s innards.

Oh, and the Coax doesn’t easily break invisibly inside the jacket giving you an iffy connection.

Only plus for optical is if you have a hum problem that can’t otherwise be solved.

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