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CD Players, Digital Music & Servers Aurender, dCs, Esoteric, Lumin. |
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#11
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bassmantweed.......So buy a mini Mac, a monitor, airport express, a DAC, and have a blast.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#12
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from what I hear a good DAc is in order either way you go. Last edited by bassmantweed; 06-20-2009 at 09:51 PM. |
#13
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#14
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My comments were pretty slanted towards the hardware aspect. I honestly have never had n opportunity to play with the interface as i have not had a need. I would be interested in checking it out. maybe they have a demo on the website.
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#15
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DISCLAIMER: i love my Sonos system and have four Zones now, probably going to get uo to around 8+ when wife and i have our next home done. Wife has the Apple and Air thingy. My review of the Sonos is at Sonos Multi-Room Music System Great sound and ease of use within a homewide audio system. Review By Steven R. Rochlin
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Ok, i DO admit i wish the Sonos did proper high-rez audio support (24/192) and HDTV-quality video. For me it came down to price, flexibility and with an external DAC (i have a sea of them here) the sound quality is very impressive, even on Pandora, Last.fm, or various 'high resolution' streaming radio stations. Of course lossless music from the NAS is better. The remote of the Sonos is a joy to use, even blindfolded i can go fwd/back songs, volume adjust, etc. The Sonos can use the Apple iTouch/iPhone of course. Is the Sonos the end-all be-all, of course not. Pony up the HUGE dollars and get Sooloos or the like. Yet for me, the ANALOG input was crucial as i stream the livingroom turntable, or perhaps a cable TV program through the home from the livingroom source, or perhaps Internet items from the office computer to the bathroom or... Add to that, the Sonos system simply works without much effort from Yours Truly. When my TV needs firmware updates, my cell phone had an update then i had to reload all my apps... am getting tired of having to redo things during all these darn updates! Agree the Sonos is not the panicle (and you do not pay those prices, get the Sooloos if you have big bucks), yet the Sonos works, sounds really good and makes me happy for hours on end with a price worth the features i desire. Am having a lot of fun now while playing the waiting game a few more years when i can have a full media server built into Win 7 or the like and for lowish dollars have a centralized server with all files or a 8TB+ raid setup. |
#16
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emjoythemusic.......Thank you. You hit on most of the points I like about my Sonos system. I have three zones, a ZP90 in the main system that feeds a digital output to the ESS Saber DACs in my MCD500. I have another ZP90 in my recording studio that feeds a digital output to the ESS Saber DACs in my MCD500 in the McIntosh system down there. In addition, I have a ZP120, with its 55 watts per channel internal amplifier, driving a pair of JBL's on my deck outside. The studio ZP90, and the ZP120 for the deck are wirelessly connected to the ZP90 in the main system. The Sonos proprietary WiFi connection between it's zone players provides a stronger, more reliable WiFi signal than a wireless G signal. I can control all of the zone players from any computer in the house or studio, from the Sonos CR100 controller, and from my iPod Touch using the free application downloaded from the Apple Store. Through the ethernet connection of the ZP90 in the main system, I have access to my entire FLAC library of CDs on my McIntosh MS750 music server, which can also be controlled from any computer, the CR100 controller and the iPod Touch, and accessed on each or all of the zones.
The simplicity of the Sonos setup is a blessing, not to be discounted because there's no "real work" involved. Who cares about that. I want good music, internet streaming capabilities, access to my server hard drive FLAC files, and easy set up. The Sonos has it all, including the ability to have seperate programming on each zone, with completely independent control of each zone including volume. Apple's mini Mac is nowhere near that. Don't overlook the quality of the internal DACs in the ZP90's either. In direct comparison with the ultra high quality ESS Saber dual quad DACs in the McIntosh MCD500, I found the ZP90 DACs to be admirable performers. So there is no need to purchase outboard DACs to be up an running with this system. All and all, Sonos is a slick, well designed system.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#17
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I'm very happy with my Mac Mini, using it for some things the Sonos doesn't do, but do look forward to complementing the Mac Mini with Sonos down the road (i.e., playing multi-zone, etc.).
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Sources: Vinyl: Clearaudio Innovation Wood turntable with 9" Universal tonearm, Da Vinci V2 cartridge, Stillpoints SS & Stillpoints clamp, McIntosh MVP 901, Apple Mac mini via Benchmark DAC 1, Aurender N100C via Schiit Yggdrasil Control: McIntosh C1100, Mcintosh MX151 Power: Mcintosh MC2301s (front), McIntosh MC501 (center), Mcintosh MC402 (rear) Speakers: Sonus Faber Amati Futura (front and back), SF Vox center Power/connections: PS Audio Power Port receptacles, RGPC 400 pro (2) WireWorld interconnects and speaker cable |
#18
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#19
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bassmantweed.......Yes, playing seperates playlist, seperate streams (Rhapsody on one zone, Last.FM on another zone), or access the MS750 hard drive for one zone, an internet radio station for a second zone, and Rhapsody for the third zone. Each zone can have the volume independently controlled, or linked together so a single control raises and lowers all three zones together.
I originally purchased the Bundle 150, which is the ZP90, the ZP120, and the CR100 Controller. I added the charging cradle for the CR100 Controller. Then I added another ZP90 to the studio system. Sonos is a sophisticated network system, that is easy to set up. If you'd like to check it out, the Sonos website has a lot of information. Go here: Sonos - Home and look around.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#20
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I guess I missed that one - THAT is a pretty cool feature. I will look a little closer. |
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