Official SONOS owners thread - Page 3

Thanks for the response and the help. I just hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew with this.

If you have no need for music in your router room, plug the Bridge into an open port on your router. If your router room is going to be a listening area (zone), plug 1 ZP into the router. The Bridge or ZP is the only thing you need hard-wired to the network, the rest can be wireless. After you get the rest up and running (it's as easy as pushing two buttons), then run the Desktop Software and add the external hard drive as a share (it will prompt you through this). That's all there is to it.

By the way, I second using an NAS. then your computer doesn't have to be on to listen to music.

its simple, just don't over think it before your toys actually arrive...

what kind of 'external HD'??? unless it is a NAS I would say no... but it is a personal preference kind of thing...
consider this, a NAS is roughly 14W-30W, a PC is around 60W-130W... now if you want your music to be available 24/7, how long will it take for the lower power of the NAS to pay for itself in electric bills? ie would you rather leave a 30 watt light on 24/7 or a 130W light on 24/7?


most routers, wireless or not, have an ethernet switch built in... so for you its a non issue... just run a wire from either a ZP or AP to the switch and you are done...


wadda ya mean you don't know about this stuff? your first guess is correct, just plug it in and you are done... are you sure it was really just a guess???

I am using a zone bridge to set this up, so I plug the ZB into the router. Do I also need my computer or NAS plugged in to the router? I am just confused on how I access the files on my harddrive or NAS.

yep, your PC and/or your NAS would also be plugged in to the router... of course, if you are actually using your broadband, then your PC IS already connected to the router... so just plug in the bridge...

if you are going to use the PC with sonos, I think you will need to 'share' the folder with your music in it... (ie set up 'windows file sharing' or whatever its called...)

Hands down the best system out there. Now you can use your IPod touch as a controller!!!! That totally rocks.....

Now if someone can just do this for video....

Ahhhh, I am beginning to understand now.

Thanks so much for the help. I will report back when I get the system up and running.

there is a system that does video... bit harder to set up, but just as simple to use... Kaleidescape oh and just a bit pricier...

Could NOT have been easier getting up and running. Absolutely awesome.

Congrats man. There really is no real effort, setup is actually a pleasure. I didn't have the luxury of forums when I first got mine, so I stupidly put aside an entire afternoon. Around 30 minutes later, I was listening to music thinking "I must have done something wrong, it couldn't be that easy."

I am up and going with the online music, but now I need to add my own music. I have a laptop online via wireless and an external harddive hooked up to it.

Thanks.

nothing personal, but that sounds like a horrible idea... so in order to listen to your music, 1st you will need to boot up the laptop?

unless you are going with the leave the laptop on 24/7 (ie a laptop should be better on power usage then a desktop, but not as good as a NAS), I guess you can even have the laptop sleep when not needed, as long as it reconnects the external drive when it wakes up?

oh well regardless of what you do, have fun doing it... that is the whole point of this after all...

The easiest way, for a beginner to all this, would be to install the Sonos desktop software on the PC to which the external drive is connected. Then, within that software, click the Music menu and choose "Set up music library".

From the dialog that appears, click "add a share" and then choose to "add music stored on this computer". Then simply point it to your external drive and Sonos will do the rest.

I do this and I get an error saying it is unable to link the drive. I am trying to link the drive with all my Itunes in it.

I paln on getting a different set-up, but for the time being this is what I have.

I was going to add my local sports radio address today when I finally did the update, a few minutes later of voila! I had pretty much every local station plus thousands of others. This is a HUGE improvement.

I won't get into all the BS debate about snake-oil, cords, dust, etc, but i'll say I'm using a ZP80 now as my main transport. The one thing I want to try is a dedicated tube preamp. If I remember correctly the stereophile review did mention the ZP80 DAC could be a weak think. So I would try an external DAC before I spent a dime on cullen modified player.

Does anybody know the difference between the ZP80 and ZP90 (or the 100 and 120 for that matter)?

I notice there are some good deals on the older equipment, which could be very good to get a system up and running. Are the newer pieces compatiable with older ones? I know the higher end two have amps and the lower two do not.

the new units are mostly the same, just redesigned with newer parts that are not End of Life (ie much easier to get in production quantities)... I believe they may have updated the wireless hardware from an 802.11b base to n or g... but not sure, also not sure it actually matters... (ie they run 'sonosnet' not 802 whatever, so what they use as a hardware layer may effect distance/reception, but I would bet not much else)

Chicago
I currently have an Odyssey Candela tube pre and a PS Audio Digital Link III w/Cullen Level 4 mods. That's the main reason I'm asking about the Cullen moded Sonos.
Thanks for the input
Mark

Does this mean that the 80s, 90s, 100s and 120s can all operate in conjunction with each other?

The ONLY difference between the ZP80 and the ZP90 is that the ZP90 supports SonosNet 2.0 - this has double the wireless range but to use it, you must have 2 or more players that support SonosNet 2.0. The older players don't, and never will, support SonosNet 2.0. The ZP90 has replaced the older ZP80 which is now discontinued.

The ZP120 has now replaced the discontinued ZP100. The ZP120 is a little smaller, has a higher quality amplifier with output increased from 50W RMS to 55W and also has a lower power consumption at low volumes due to an increased efficiency switching power supply. It also supports SonosNet 2.0.

There was nothing wrong with the old kit, at all, the new stuff is just a bit better. The new kit is fully compatible with SonosNet 1.0 if you have a mix of old and new kit.

Well then give it a shot! Regardless of all the negativity around AVS around DACs, cables, Transports, etc the bottom line is it's your money and even if it's a placebo affect all that matters is if your happy.

I just bought new speakers, processor, and amp. To continue this hobby I need to dabble in some "grey" areas.

All are compatible with each other via Sonosnet 1.0. The benefits of the 90/120 and Sonosnet 2.0 (greater range and better signal strength) are not realized without 2 or more of the new units in your setup.

Get a NAS they're cheap. I'm selling a Buffalo 250GB+250GB USB nas cheap.

I am considering a purchase of a Sonos bundle and have a few questions:

1) How are the internal amps in the BU120? Would you compare the sound to pc speakers or more like a bookshelf stereo?

2) Should I consider using an external amp with the BU120?

3) What type of amplification are you guys using with your passive devices (BU90 I believe)?

4) I was advised by a local hifi dealer to connect the BU90 and BU120 to individual power amps (rather than using a receiver at each location to avoid having to deal with the receiver's vol control) Is this what you guys have been doing?


5) How do you guys feel about using a pro audio amp (like the amps offered at parts express for 150 or so).

Thanks in advance for any advice you may offer.

I find the BU120 to be excellent quality with plenty of power for the purpose. The quality is obviously fully dependent on the loudspeakers used but, with some decent units, the quality is way above PC speakers. Full bass and treble control is included to adjust to personal taste.

I doubt anybody but a real audiophile would have any issues with the BU120 amplifier, it's quite excellent. One thing I particularly like is the way the tone appears not to change at all, regardless of volume output. Cheaper amps tend to change the shape of the sound as the music gets louder. It's not one of those.


You can't use an external amp with a BU120. If you want to use an external amp, you would use a smaller, cheaper, BU90 device which has no internal amplifier and carries both line-out and digital out.


Any external amp can be used, with or without an external DAC. Through the digital outputs, Sonos will create a bit perfect reproduction of the original source. You can spend as much as you like on the external kit and get the full value out of it.


The BU120 only has speaker outputs, you can ONLY use the internal amplifier.

The dealer is correct in making you aware that connection a Sonos to a receiver will potentially result in 2 volume controls. In this scenario you can either use Sonos as a pre-amp into a power amp - using the Sonos controller for volume, or you can fix the Sonos volume and control on your receiver. You will then lose the ability to adjust volume using the Sonos controller though.

Personally I would not buy any more amplifiers at all and use the ZP120 in all areas that don't currently have one. If you have an amp already, you can use the ZP90 as an external source just as you use a CD player right now.


I think you'd be wasting your money. To achieve a better result than the built-in Sonos amp, you'd have to spend a lot more than the difference in price between the ZP90 and the ZP120. Additionally, the built-in amp allows local power switching - when there is no music playing, the Sonos will turn it off and save power.
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I think I may pick up a ZP80 on clearance this weekend to start out and see how I like the Sonos experience. I must say, with the capability of the product as well as the extras (Sirius, Pandora, etc.) I'm really excited.

I checked all the best buys in my area, and they didnt have any of the clearance ZP80's. Is there anywhere else to get them?

Yeah, this post in the Squeezebox Duet vs Sonos thread cost me $450 today.
Went to three different Best Buy's today, probably totaled 100 miles driving. Finally found a BU130 bundle. It was open box, everything still sealed perfectly. 10% off just for the tape having been removed from the main box. Win.

Anyway, back in August I was fortunate enough to play with one of these at a friend's apartment. That is what originally sold me, even at 1000 dollars. Getting the bundle for 450 is simply put, a steal.

Setup was a breeze. With the firmware updates and adding my music library, it took around 20 minutes. If I had less music, it would have taken much less time.

I am so excited to finally have a use for Flac files and can't wait to convert everything that I have to the format. I downloaded one of the albums that I own to do a side by side comparison and I can honestly say that by my ears, there is no degradation in SQ from the direct source to the wireless signal of sonos. What a great product.

Being able to connect it to my lastfm and sirius accounts (though it's BS that I have to upgrade to have Sirius internet radio and not a trial... but I can listen online to the two stations that I listen to without upgrading) is another plus... On top of that, AM and FM? Wow. Right now I am listening to a radio station in the UK.

If you're thinking about Sonos and have a few best buys to run around/call around to, you owe it to yourself to pick up one of these bundles (if available), especially for 499.



*edit, will update once I connect my wife's iphone to comment about the iphone/touch interface.

The website is now saying the stock at the local stores is gone. I didn't go last week for a few reasons and now I should have. I'll try and go today and see if there are actually any since I'm not sure how accurate those online things are anyway.