Sonos turns your house into an ipod

Hmm... Cytocycle - I did a solid search on AudioCircle, and I can't seem to find a consensus on Sonos vs. Squeezebox audio quality in digital outs that you describe. Can you post a link? Thanks, J

John_ops: I stand corrected on audiocircle, and now you have me obsessing over where those threads were... I bought the SB2 over 1.5 years ago because of what people said. I found one of my original links to a review stating the Sonos didn't have a digital output... so looks like a lot has changed with the sonos...

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/SonosDigitalMusicSystemReview1.php

The nice thing about the squeezebox was they were only $200 back then compared to the $1100-$1800 back then for the sonos. Granted now after modification the prices are closer.

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?

John_ops: I completely agree about the convience thing.. even if my universal Player is better I prefer the convience of my Squeezebox immediate access to music. I should also describe how I use my modified squeezebox which I find advantagous. Since I have computers in every room, they can use softsqueeze to play music and interface with my whole collection.. so I'm never away from my music. I use Internet Steaming Audio a lot to find new music... The Atlanta Jazz station is awesome, along with some Euro Techo stations.. I can leave my main rig on and move from room to room and control it from any computer that is up (keep in my bedroom has a 37" monitor, my office has a 37" monitor (plus two 20.1" screens))

I have a tablepc (1.5gig of ram, 12" touchscreen) that I use the web interface to view my albums, build playlist, and control the content.

Plus the Squeezebox have all these cool plugin's that you can use.
1) When not in use they stream RSS news feeds like a Stock ticker! Totally cool when having breakfast or cooking dinner to glance at. Or I can set this up as a screensaver while listening to music.
2) There is another streamer that downloads song lyrics and plays them..
3) I'm about to try out a room accoustic correction program
http://www.inguzaudio.com/RoomCorrection/
3) integration into whole house automation, security via Plutohome... I'm sure there are others as this solution looks a little pricy (hardware) but it is well thought out and open source
4) The advantage of using a tabletpc while listening to my system is I can surf while sitting back on the couch.

The funny thing was my tabletpc and the Squeezebox were a little more than the Sonos... another thing to think about if your need to purchase a laptop for home! Plus I use the laptop to rip on battery to FLAC for an even purer rip.

Granted you do have to wakeup the laptop out of standby, and it can get warm on the lap, and playtimes can't exceed 4.5hrs without charging the laptop, So the Sonos is definitely advantagous with the remote... too bad it won't control the rest of my system... now I'm looking for a universal remote that has at least an 8" screen, wifi, Web browser, and supports RF control so I can slimserver and control my whole system while glued to the couch!

UI design is pretty critical.. if I didn't have the tabletpc I would have a much harder time with my 900cd collection that I'm still ripping..uggh

Even more upside...

I have been buying more and more music. Have been discovering new stuff - roots blues, delta blues, 1940's jazz, old-time appalachian music. Not having to deal with physical piles of CDs has just made listening to music that much more enjoyable. And, my spend on music has skyrocketed. Amazing.

J