Sonos to Amp - is simplicity better?

I hope my question is clear. I am basically asking if adding components into the chain could improve the sound. The amp in question could be any amp - tube, SS etc.

If the answer is yes, what would the DAC/Pre be doing that the Sonos isn't?

Unless your amp has an integrated DAC (like the Peachtree units, for example), the amp itself is irrelevant to your question. The Sonos Connect/Zone Player 90 has two methods of output: analog and digital. The digital outputs do no conversion. So if you output digital data from the Sonos it must be converted to analog before your amp can accept it.

If you use the analog outputs of the Sonos unit, the data has already been converted to analog by an integrated DAC chip in the Sonos. So your question is whether an external DAC will improve on the audio quality, compared to the embedded DAC module in the Sonos.

My opinion is yes, an external DAC will almost certainly improve the sound. I would advise you to test an external DAC and ascertain if you can hear a difference. But since the Sonos will only output at 44.1 kHz, there is no need to spend too much on a DAC. Also, you won't need a USB DAC - SPDIF or optical will do unless you want to complicate life and use an optical or SPDIF bridge.

I can speak to this with some experience. I have 6 Sonos zones in my home. My main system consists of a Sonos zone player driving a pair of Audio Note kits 300b Monoblocks directly (downstream from them is a horn system). I have tried, quite literally over a dozen DAC's in the 1k - 3k range. Every time I put the Sonos in directly, I feel that the sound is more direct, more honest, and more live sounding. It is a bit hard to believe I realize, but I have proven it to my own ears at least. If you by chance live near the Maryland / D.C. area, I would love the opportunity to show you just how good a Sonos zone player can sound driving high quality gear directly, with no preamp.

Martingren - I had a similar experience, just on a much smaller scale. I have a Sonos CONNECT and I was using the Emotiva XDA1 DAC to convert the signal. I did A/B testing between the Sonos internal DAC and the signal converted by the XPA1. At level matched volume, I A/Bd them for 30 minutes and could not hear any difference. The Sonos is a great piece of hardware in that it does all I ask of it AND it has no issues. The iPad interface is great. I would not ask for more.

OKAY, so, let's say the Sonos DAC is of acceptable quality and remove it from my question. Would adding a preamp in the path have any benefits? Drawbacks?

I'm building a new system for 2-channel, but already have 4 Sonos zones. I'll be trying this test myself, into a new preamp and direct into an amp. I'll try to remember to post my opinions here.