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Another weird Sonos question.

I have a nice pair of speakers for a secondary system I am putting together. I have a Sonos Connect Gen 2 which is compatible with the Sonos S2 and and hi-res files. I have, for the time being, a Bryston 9B SST2 5 channel AV amp. The only source for this system will be Amazon Music via Sonos.


Right now, the Sonos Connect is plugged directly in to the Bryston via RCA cables. It works and to my ears it sounds pretty good but I'm wondering if anything is being 'lost' without going through a pre-amp of some sort? Or is the Connect simply serving as a "pre-amp".

Sorry for the stupid question.
n80
6 responses Add your response
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sfseay's avatar
sfseay
496 posts
 
If it sounds good to you it works.  The Sonos pre amp isn’t going to win any awards but if it sounds good then keep using it.
n80 OP
2,107 posts
 
I don't always trust my ears. So I guess another way to ask this question is would a pre-amp between the Sonos and the Bryston bring anything to the table in regard to SQ assuming the pre-amp did not have its own DAC?
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
sonos thru rca analog outputs pretty mediocre soundwise - little tizzy not much body or drive to the music... the fix, if you want to keep using the sonos unit to stream, would be

1) wyred for sound reclocker for improved Sonos digital output without jitter
2) outboard dac with volume control - e,g. RME ADI2 or Chord Hugo TT or Jolida Glass FX DAC

The sound will be much better... but not cheapr getting there... so question is it is worth it to you


n80 OP
2,107 posts
 
This is what I tried: Sonos Connect via optical into Classe' Sigma SSP into the Bryston.
The upper midrange sounds better. Overall less thick, less muddy. More precise. Bass a little tighter.

So you guys are right, bypassing the Connect's DAC does make a difference. It isn't huge but it is definitely an improvement. I have no idea if that eliminates the jitter issue or not.
djones51
4,947 posts
 
I doubt you have a jitter issue. 
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