Sonos Internet Radio

[Lefisc]

I have had a Sonos system for more than a year and it is the best thing since sliced bread. I mean it! I live in the NY area and I have lost every Jazz and Classical station. I also do not get AM reception out here. Honest to Gosh, I resisted. But my dealer kept mentioning it. Well, I got the main receiver and attached it to my system. It has a coax and Toslink out as well as RCA outs. Now my Krell 707 handles the signal. The unit cost about $300. The remote costs about the same, but you may not need it. There is a free app for your cell phone or tablet. There is also a computer download which I also use.

Let me digress for a moment. All my life I had used radio as background music, a new source for breaking news and my introduction to “new” music. That is, the station would play something I hadn’t heard before and introduce me to new things. Of course we now have cable news, but at one time AM gave the quickest “newsbreaks.” And, if I was just hanging out with friends, a station gave a variety of artists, not just one on a CD. Gosh, I really missed all that.

I got radio back! I was blown away by the selections, You can choose "Jazz" and a zillion stations show up. Or classical, or rock and somewhere in the country, actually somewhere in the world, there are radio stations. I like the BBC 3 for classical and I will be hearing again their "Prom" concerts live again this year. This was unthinkable years ago. Or you can choose "Location" and get the listings of radio stations from all over the world. The aps, remote and computer ap often show you the name of the selection and the album it is from.

I had a separate XM radio tuner at home. I paid about $130 a year for XM service. I now get XM on the Sonos and pay $30 a year. So in about two years I have paid for the new unit. There are other options, such as Pandora, where you can get it free or pay a little and get more selections. But I can put in "Louis Armstrong" in Pandora and get a station that only gives me Armstrong and related tunes. You can also press next and it goes on to the next tune. With their software update of this month, you can more easily place favorite stations into the menu and chose them quicker.

I have mine directly connected to my internet router by wire, but you can use it wirelessly. We even bought a second unit, sort of a portable that we can use outside and around the house.

Sound quality: Pretty good and as good as many FM tuners. Not as good as my Day Sequerra, which I may now sell. I simply do not use it, although I would like to. If you don’t live in NY you might not have thought of this but when they destroyed the World Trade Center in 2001, it took down virtually all the antennas that broadcasted TV and Radio. So we really now have mostly “temporary” antennas, in several places, waiting for the new Trade Center. So I hope when that’s up we’ll get reception. It’s been 12 years, but it may take a lot more time.

So while the Sonos is very good it is NOT the very highest quality, but it has given me back the variety that was missing for so long.



Here is a picture of what the sonos control looks like on my Computer:

 

[Steve williams]

you're on a roll today Barry

Nicely done

 

[Lefisc]

Hi Steve,

I added a picture.

I have "stereo" on my brain because I am waiting for my Krell Cipher to be delivered. UPS says it will be here between 11 AM and 3 PM, which means I may have to stay here until 5 PM. So I am listening to the Sonos and may turn on a few records.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Yep. Internet radio rocks. The best way to find new music ever. Some of it streams at pretty low bit rates and is not the best quality, but it's about the music, right?

Tim

 

[joeinid]

Barry,

If you like it now, you should get the Wyred4sound upgrade for it. It really makes a huge difference. It's amazing.


http://www.wyred4sound.com/webapps/p/74030/117839/539961


[h=1]SONOS CONNECT MOD ONLY (Formerly ZP 90) (SONOS CONNECT MOD)[/h]

Sonos ZP-80 Modification
The Sonos ZP-80 is a fabulous product. Massive amounts of time have spent on design.

The ZP-80 has one of the best interfaces around. It's obvious of the efforts put into the functionality of the unit, and not so much into the audio quality.
This is where we come in!

This is indeed a product worthy of a Wyred 4 Sound modification. We can transform this great product into a killer sonic bargain. Why? Because it's built well, has many bells, but no whistles. We will make up for the last 20% that makes the product a joy to listen to. They have made the sonos right on everything but the performance.


The Sonos Reclocker modification is now available. This upgrade entirely replaces the mediocre Cirrius Logic CODAC and the associated high jitter clocks. The mod was designed to integrate the SONOS system into a high end audio system through an outboard Digital to Analog Coverter.
The upgrade consists of installing a new custom Wyred 4 Sound designed PCB that contains:

• 
  [*=center]
  High-end sample rate converter made by TI​
  
  [*=center]
  Low jitter clock with less than .5ps jitter​
  
  [*=center]
  Low noise power supply for the clock and SR​
  
  [*=center]
  Micro processor controller​
• Input & output digital buffers​

This new custom board is installed in the SONOS and directly converts the I²S into up-sampled SPDIF. This new ultra clean low jitter signal is now available through both the Coax and Optical digital outputs. The SPDIF output's sample rate can be factory configured to 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96kHz.

The sonic benefits are quite dramatic. An entire level of low level grunge (harsh) is removed from the sound. This improves the low level detail and imaging. The bass is now much tighter and controlled inner detail and transient attack are both greatly improved. It is important to note that the modification does not allow the Sonos to play high resolution files. It does greatly improve the sonic quality of the digital outputs.

The upgraded CONNECT in our system, with streaming lossless ripped CD's over our 100Mbps network, is now a true high-end source.

Now with the CONNECT, you can enjoy the added benefits of SonosNet 2.0 which the ZP-80 did not offer. The latest wireless mesh network technology provides double the wireless range for whole-house coverage, ensuring synchronous music playback, and avoids sources of wireless interference. Which means the music gets to all the right rooms- near or far- at exactly the right time.

The modification is covered under warranty for a period of 90 days from the date of purchase. This is separate from and excludes any warranty provided for the Sonos component itself.


Price of modification plus shipping.

Please Note: We recommend the 96kHz mod. for best performance. Upon placing your order please note in the comment section which sample rate you would like. The Sonos diagnostics network matrix will likely show up in red due to a small decrease in signal strength after the modification. If the modified unit is to be used in an area of a known weak signal the unit may be more susceptible to drop-out

 

[Jay_S]

I use Sonos and think it's great. One issue (for me, not necessarily for others) is that there is too much to listen to and I'm always tempted to change the music (whether radio or from the NAS on my network).

 

[Englishaudiophile]

It's addictive, one you start using it. Now I cannot believe how I ever lived without it! My only gripe is that I wish it still kept the live tiles concept like when you use the Tunein radio app directly