Deezer App using Airplay to connect Sonos sounds better than Sonos App

Jim Leask
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I have always been using the Sonos App, with the Deezer music service connected. This works, but the functionality available is never as good as the Deezer app itself. The Deezer app couldn’t play on the Sonos speakers though, so I never used it.

I just discovered that Deezer has (finally) allowed us to connect to Sonos from the Deezer App. Select the “Audio Output” with Airplay. I now see my more recent Beam and from there can group some of my older speakers. This is great, as I now can use all of the functionality in the Deezer App, not the limited set from the Sonos App/Deezer plugin.

The big surprise though is this sounds better. I’m not sure if I’m imagining it or not, but there seems to be a marked improvement in sound. The songs I’m playing now are all marked “HQ”, but AFAIK I was streaming high quality audio using the previous Sonos App with Deezer configuration.

Is it possible I really am getting better sound with this configuration?

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10 replies

James L.
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Hi @Jim Leask,

 

I don’t believe that there’s currently a difference between streaming quality between starting playback on the Sonos app vs the Deezer app. However, the only thing that matters is how it sounds to you - so continue using it the way it sounds best in your home :slight_smile:

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

I really don’t know the differences in streaming quality between Deezer played directly on Sonos speaker and using airplay.  Regardless, you should know that using airplay means that you’re streaming through your phone, rather than directly to the speaker.  That means that the stream will stop when you start playing other audio on your phone,  during a phone call, or the phone leaves the wifi network. You are also doubling the stream (internet → phone ->speaker rather than internet → speaker) and thus doubling the chance that the stream gets interrupted.  Perhaps not a concern if you have solid WiFi.

Danny
106rallye
Userlevel 7
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@Jim Leask Can you define “sounds better”?

ratty

Deezer HQ is ‘only’ 320kbps MP3, but what I suspect is happening is that the native app is applying some EQ that the listener finds favourable. Even a lift in volume could sound ‘better’.

Airplay itself shouldn’t affect the sound as it would take the app’s PCM and transmit it losslessly to Sonos as ALAC.

Jim Leask
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@Jim Leask Can you define “sounds better”?

The sound is crisper - cleaner. It is really hard to describe, but both my wife and I noticed it as different, and better. Maybe a bit like thinking you are in a quiet room, until you put on a set of noise cancelling headphones. I’m just very surprised at what I’m hearing.

Jim Leask
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I really don’t know the differences in streaming quality between Deezer played directly on Sonos speaker and using airplay.  Regardless, you should know that using airplay means that you’re streaming through your phone, rather than directly to the speaker.  That means that the stream will stop when you start playing other audio on your phone,  during a phone call, or the phone leaves the wifi network. You are also doubling the stream (internet → phone ->speaker rather than internet → speaker) and thus doubling the chance that the stream gets interrupted.  Perhaps not a concern if you have solid WiFi.

Agreed that the audio first goes to the phone, then back again to the Sonos system. The Deezer app on the phone is so much better than the plugin to the Sonos app though it is worth it. I have a limited internet connection (only 6MB down) which is marginal for streaming HQ, but I have a really good LAN and most of the Sonos Amp’s are ethernet connected.

My best guess here is that the Sonos App/Deezer plugin is detecting the limited internet connection and not giving me HQ audio, but the Deezer App on the phone is getting the HQ.

Any ideas on how to test this theory?

Jim Leask
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Deezer HQ is ‘only’ 320kbps MP3, but what I suspect is happening is that the native app is applying some EQ that the listener finds favourable. Even a lift in volume could sound ‘better’.

Airplay itself shouldn’t affect the sound as it would take the app’s PCM and transmit it losslessly to Sonos as ALAC.

I checked the EQ, and there isn’t anything set in either the Sonos or Deezer app that I see.

I thought Deezer HQ is FLAC @ 44.1 (CD quality). I thought I would get the same from either configuration. Can I do some tests for this? I haven’t been able to find the info for songs that has been referenced elsewhere that should show the streaming format.

Jim Leask
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Hi @Jim Leask,

 

I don’t believe that there’s currently a difference between streaming quality between starting playback on the Sonos app vs the Deezer app. However, the only thing that matters is how it sounds to you - so continue using it the way it sounds best in your home :slight_smile:

Do you happen to know how to tell the streaming format I am actually getting from each configuration? As I mentioned above, my internet connection is marginal for streaming HQ, although I thought it was. However, I’m now wondering if the Sonos App is doing some checks for bandwidth and not giving HQ streaming, but the Deezer App gets the HQ stream (and my internet barely makes it work).

ratty

Deezer HQ is ‘only’ 320kbps MP3, but what I suspect is happening is that the native app is applying some EQ that the listener finds favourable. Even a lift in volume could sound ‘better’.

Airplay itself shouldn’t affect the sound as it would take the app’s PCM and transmit it losslessly to Sonos as ALAC.

I checked the EQ, and there isn’t anything set in either the Sonos or Deezer app that I see.

I thought Deezer HQ is FLAC @ 44.1 (CD quality). I thought I would get the same from either configuration. Can I do some tests for this? I haven’t been able to find the info for songs that has been referenced elsewhere that should show the streaming format.

Deezer HiFi is FLAC. HQ is 320k MP3.

In the Deezer native app the track artwork carries a label bottom left. You can select the maximum stream quality in the app settings.

In the Sonos controller app tap the track info on the Now Playing screen and pick Track Format from the pop-up menu. There is no way to select the maximum stream quality; the player (not the app) simply fetches the best available for the subscription level (HiFi, Premium, etc).

On some services the Sonos player should, I believe, try and maintain the stream by stepping down the quality if incoming bandwidth is constrained and an alternative is available. Whether it does this on Deezer I don’t know. You may have to submit a system diagnostic and have Sonos look at it to verify whether this is happening. That said, 6Mbps ought to be sufficient for a single FLAC stream.

Jim Leask
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Deezer HiFi is FLAC. HQ is 320k MP3.

In the Deezer native app the track artwork carries a label bottom left. You can select the maximum stream quality in the app settings.

In the Sonos controller app tap the track info on the Now Playing screen and pick Track Format from the pop-up menu. There is no way to select the maximum stream quality; the player (not the app) simply fetches the best available for the subscription level (HiFi, Premium, etc).

On some services the Sonos player should, I believe, try and maintain the stream by stepping down the quality if incoming bandwidth is constrained and an alternative is available. Whether it does this on Deezer I don’t know. You may have to submit a system diagnostic and have Sonos look at it to verify whether this is happening. That said, 6Mbps ought to be sufficient for a single FLAC stream.

This was really helpful to actually find the format info in each app. It is really hidden in the Sonos controller app though, so to be a bit more explicit:

  • in the Sonos controller app, the “Now Playing” screen is the main play screen when in expanded form (not the mini player at the bottom)
  • The “Track Info” button is the three dots beside the name of the track that is playing (below the artwork. 
  • From there, the top items under the Deezer label is a scrollable list starting with “Add Song to Deezer Playlist”. You need to scroll down to find the well hidden “Track Format” button. There is nothing in the interface to indicate this is a scrollable list with more available, and I had missed this many times when looking for the Track Format.

At the moment, the Sonos controller is playing FLAC, for my Supertramp song.

 

For the Deezer App, the HQ tag on the lower left corner of the album artwork is obvious. It is nice that they are explicit about the quality being streamed. Controlling the settings is helpful though, and possibly setup wrong in my case.

  • the settings “gear” at the top right is easy to find
  • Then the “Audio” tab to get to audio settings, including streaming quality for Mobile data, WiFi or Google Cast (amongst other things)
  • The above gives the definition of each quality, and as @ratty said High Fidelity is FLAC, but HQ is 320kbps (it doesn’t say MP3, but I bet ratty is correct)

In my case the WiFi is only HQ, which is lower quality than the FLAC I was getting from the Sonos controller.

The mystery is still there, as based on streaming quality the Sonos controller plays FLAC which is higher quality than the HQ I’m getting from the Deezer app. At least I now know how to find this info and can investigate further. I will try changing the WiFi setting in the Deezer App to use High Fidelity instead of HQ and see what happens.

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