Sonos Amp (New December 2018) Initial Review

  • 6 December 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 1884 views

I thought I'd post a brief writeup of my recent purchase of the new Sonos Amp with the aim to help those on the fence make a call based on others' (admittedly subjective) experience.

The sound from the amp is fantastic. I have paired it with a pair of Bowers and Wilkins DM601 S3 speakers; previously paired to an NAD 3020 unit. The different is imperceptible to my ears. That is the highest of praise as the NAD is a fantastic amp too. There appears to be ample headroom with 125 watts per channel, though I haven't gone beyond 40% out of respect for my neighbors.

Good job Sonos.

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3 replies

Userlevel 2
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Thanks for the quick write-up. I'm currently pushing B&W 683s with a Pioneer Elite SC-05 (130W/channel), which is a little long in the tooth but still a sweet-sounding unit that I'd really like to hook into my Sonos setup.

I'd been eyeing the new Amp, but I think the lack of a true center channel and a number of surround specs are probably show-stoppers for me. I'll probably give the Connect a try, but are you running a surround system through the Amp?
Hey, no I’m not running it in a surround setup; just running the amp in the office as a stereo pair, with one eye on adding a turntable at some point to allow us to stream vinyl audio to the rest of the house.

Those 683s are great speakers too!
Userlevel 2
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Yeah, this setup has served me well for a long time (and it's about as physically large as the wife will allow). Apart from some weaknesses in the HDMI department it's hard to complain.

Thanks again for the info!