Sonos Questions

I use the Sonos ZP80 with an Audio Horizons tube DAC. My music is stored in FLAC format on a Western Digital Net Center 500 GB drive.
According to the Sonos web site, they support Apple lossless.
Before switching to Sonos, I used a Levinson 37 transport which had been modified by Joseph Chow (Audio Horizons product designer) to improve the output signal.
Initially the Sonos system delivered OK music. By that I mean the music was not as good as the ML 37 by a good measure but, because the Sonos interface was so good, I was willing to compromise.
Since then, Joseph Chow has built an external power supply for the Sonos ZP 80 which greatly improved the sound quality. I think the Sonos is now the equivalent of the modified Levinson 37.

Red2,
I used the Audio Horizons tube DAC with the Levinson 37 transport and with the Sonos, so that part of the digital source was constant. The external power supply was a project that Joseph undertook at my request. I have been a beta tester for his other products - we live in the same town. He was interested in the Sonos technology.
Joseph told me that if other Sonos users expressed an interest then he would build more of the supplies. Presently mine is one of a kind. I've asked him to build a second unit (as you know, the Sonos system requires 2 ZP80s - one transmitter, one receiver. The outboard power supply is connected to the receiver which, in turn, drives the DAC.
Joseph hasn't told me how much he would charge for the power supply. He did tell me that he thought he could build as few as 3 at a time. I'll ask him what the price would be and let you know. My guess would be in the $150 to $200 range per power supply.
Given the quality of what I am hearing through my system, I'd go for that without hesitation. However, I have voided my Sonos warranty by modifying the ZP80.
Here is how I valued the choice:
1. I replaced a transport which I could sell used for $2K+
2. The Sonos ZP80 system (with remote control) cost ~$1K
So, I wasn't reluctant to spend some money in order to raise the performance of the Sonos.
I've been testing the current configuration of this power supply for 4 months now. No problems so far; it sounds great.

As I reported earlier, I have been testing a Sonos ZP80 with an improved power supply. Contrary to what another participant in this thread asserts (based on no direct evidence, it appears), the power supply upgrade made a substantial improvement to the performance of the Sonos system.

Last week I received a second ZP80 with improved power supply. I own three ZP80s, two of which have been fitted with a new power supply. One upgraded ZP80 is connected to my network and hard drive storage. The second upgraded ZP80 is connected to my audio system.

The components of my audio system are:
ZP80 source
Audio Horizons tube DAC
Audio Horizons tube preamplifier
Simaudio W-5 power amplifier
Coincident Super Eclipse Mk III loudspeakers.

Also, I have a rotary A-B switch (with unbalanced and balanced connectors) in front of the power amp which allows me to compare two sources. I maintain a direct connection from the ZP80 unbalanced preamp out to the unbalanced power amplifier inputs. Also, I have a connection from the ZP80 digital out through the DAC/preamp to the balanced power amplifier inputs.

In an earlier post on this thread, I described what I heard using one upgraded ZP80 (connected to the audio system). Now with two upgraded ZP80s in the signal path, I can hear further improvement, of same kind I described in the earlier post.

How much improvement? How do you measure such things? By my scale (of which I cannot specify the metric), I think of the improvement added by the second upgraded power supply to be about 20% of the improvement delivered by the first upgraded power supply. In my opinion, after adding the second upgraded ZP80, the improvement from the ZP80 preamp out was greater than the improvement from the ZP80 digital out.

I can say that the quality of the ZP80 digital signal through the DAC/preamp now is the equal or better of the signal I got from my upgraded Levinson 37. It is very good.

I have no information from Joseph about the cost of these units. The modified ZP80s to which I am listening are protoypes. If I learn more, I will share the news with you.

Spridle,

Your optical cable is another way, using light rather than electricity, to transmit a digital signal. The Anthem converts the optical digital signal to an electrical digital signal. Through the digital to analog converter (the DAC), the Anthem converts digital signal to analog signal which is fed to your power amplifier. So, you are using an external DAC already.

The Sonos system also has an internal DAC which converts signal and delivers it through the Sonos analog outputs. The Sonos digital outputs bypass the Sonos internal DAC.

The question is, then, how can this signal processing be done most effectively? Some here assert that the digital output signal of the Sonos is the most inportant factor - hence the talk about reclockers, et al. I reported that improving the power supply of the Sonos will greatly improve the quality of the ouput signal.