No worries - I have trouble finding threads after a while too! If you do come across some, please post them. I really am serious about wanting to see serious "john atkinson"-type reviews of the audio quality of these as transports.
As a side note, it's actually funny, I had an almost visceral reaction to your saying that the SB had better sound through digital out than the Sonos (e.g., how dare you accuse my component of being inferior!). But that's exactly the opposite of my point - I own *both* - a single SB3 (in my main system) and several Sonos ZonePlayers. And to be frank, even if the sound quality of the SB is marginally better, I won't listen to it that much. The convenience of the Sonos has become a standard for me - the imperative now (IMHO) is for other companies to play catch up on the convenience front. I *want* the absolute best sound quality, but I *need* the convenience of the Sonos interface. And if someone comes along with a better interface (and similar sound quality) I'll switch.
Not trying to put down the SB - I think it's great, but it's interesting - it's a first generation UI, and Sonos is a second generation UI. It's going to take decades before we have real home automation UI design settled, but to me these feel like the first steps toward moving beyond "remote control lamp modules"... and I want to make sure that 'real' audio companies have a hand in standards setting so that we're not stuck with "Sound by Sony" in 20 years when we finally all have a central home server controlling everything (heat, blinds, audio, alarm, lights, etc).
Others out there agree?
