Review and Measurements of SONOS Amp

[Darwin]

These are $649 now which is a dumb move on Sonos' part..it will invite even more comparison to A/V or integrated receivers.
They claim it was because they because production to Malaysia. The usual Sonos disdain for their customers.

 

[FrantzM]

I don't agree that SONOS should have developed their own voice recognition system. Baring a serious breakthrough like those companies working on a way to process voice recognition on a chip, this seems to be the province of those companies that can afford to process vast amount of data; that leaves about 4 in this game ( Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft).
They seem to be bent on increasing revenue. customers be damned, like a company playing the Want-so-bad-to-be-acquired-by-a-giant game. The way Beats was by Apple. They keep on raising price. Walled gardens is their moniker: they push to obsolescence a vast number of products, they refuse to play "nice" with any other, etc... I look for exemple at their HT. If you have passive speakers and try to go SONOS for an HT , you're in tough luck.. The PORT which is line level output doesn't have an HDMI ARC input, not can it be part of the surround in an SONOS front ... I find this quite strange ... You will not have a 5.1 system , unless you get one of their soundbars ... No support for IR really not bluetooth... The list of limitation is long and frustrating. They are however the best IMO at Multiroom and ease of integration and frank;y sound good in those applications.

Unless another manufacturer steps up, they will remain king of that hill and likely will be acquired by one of the giants ..,

 

[Darwin]

Yeah it really doesn't make sense for Sonos to developer their own voice recognition. They don't have the R&D dollars for one thing or the technical prowess.
I will say Sonos has supported their products for a really long time until recently. This does feel like a money grab and its been a debacle for them.
Apple supports their products with upgrades etc longer than just about anyone by the way.
Apple made Beats headphones better and did not raise prices. I still don't care for Beats by the way but love my AirPods Pro's for lots of reasons!
Totally agree no HDMI on Port is odd.
I don't personally want any Soundbar but the Playbar badly needs to be upgraded and I think its alot more important a product for Sonos than a $400 bluetooth speaker that only a small niche of people will buy.

 

[Gnev0s]

Yeah it really doesn't make sense for Sonos to developer their own voice recognition. They don't have the R&D dollars for one thing or the technical prowess.
I will say Sonos has supported their products for a really long time until recently. This does feel like a money grab and its been a debacle for them.
Apple supports their products with upgrades etc longer than just about anyone by the way.
Apple made Beats headphones better and did not raise prices. I still don't care for Beats by the way but love my AirPods Pro's for lots of reasons!
Totally agree no HDMI on Port is odd.
I don't personally want any Soundbar but the Playbar badly needs to be upgraded and I think its alot more important a product for Sonos than a $400 bluetooth speaker that only a small niche of people will buy.

I think Apple supports their products to a point. The iPad being one of their outliers most of their products stop seeing upgrades after 2-4 years max. You're not going to suddenly get new features added 4 years later like how the original zp added streaming music.

Sonos works at a different scale too because just the iPad has sold more units in 2 quarters of 2019 than Sonos has as company in it's whole existence. So like most of the products discussed on this site they are niche. Just look at the UI for most of the things that are considered audiophile or home theater friendly. It's like they're stuck in the early 90s. No wonder these products always have a WAF discussion where products from Apple don't.

I am excited for what gets announced in May from Sonos. Major updated to their system have been a long time coming.

 

[yllanos]

I think the reviewer had the idea of this device completely backwards. This is a streaming amplifier with multiroom capabilities. This is not oriented to audiophile community, including most people who won't care about analog inputs. Why put so much of effort into this? I used to have the Connect AMP for 5 years and I rarely used analog inputs (mostly when using an offline source). Besides, no sub test, no HDMI test.

To me the app works great, I and I prefer it over many other apps. I hate using Airplay from my iPhone, as it will make the default audio device for any content, plus there is lag and the connection is direct whereas nowadays everything is from the cloud/network to AMP, not from phone (way better via remote source). I have my music indexed on a local Plex server and it is really nice to do a search in parallel with all your connected streaming services + local library, really powerful when arranging play queues and it is all from a single app.

I do agree on orienting most resources on quality amplification and app development but, you have to also remember this device will likely be used for 10 years or more (as older gen was). So I don't mind having good design and materials. The on/off button is also a welcome addition for us people that live in places where power is both unreliable and expensive.

And lastly, there is very little competition on the market at this price point for this kind of power output. I have a sub (Rythmik LV12F) and speakers (Magnepan MMG). Finding an amp that could drive those under $600 USD was a challenge. I mean, what else is out there? Maybe Bluesound Node 2i + Niles SI-2100/Parasound 275 and not much else. And even that configuration will set you back at least $900. I got my Sonos AMP on $581.

If you have hard to drive speakers, this is not a bad deal IMO.

 

[visanj]

Hi, I'm new to this forum

I want to contribute my opinion on sonos amp

Last week I bought Sonos Amp and also bought Polk Signature s15e speakers as I don't have any other passive speakers to connect to sonos amp

After a week of using sonos amp, my experience is largely positive. I was expecting some cons such as (delay in line-in audio, bright treble as experienced by other people) but I don't see any of these issues, may be they would have updated the software. Also someone in this thread as posted issue regarding change of input to line-in in app. Actually I was annoyed by the same but then I found that there is auto-play option for line-in in sonos app and after selecting that I don't need to change manually every time

Now coming to sound quality, overall sound quality is very good. Earlier I had Marantz PM7001 with KEF iQ5 floor standers and Monitor Audio BR2 bookshelf speakers. Compared to my old setup, this falls short for sure but when I look at the compact form factor of the amp, this is really good. Also I blame the speakers in this setup than amp. I have experienced sonos amp with Dali Opticon and KEF LS50 speakers at the shop and sound quality was impeccable for the size and features it offers. With these polk speakers midrange is not sounding natural and bass is bit loose. Good for 200 eur but nothing more

I also like the versatility of sonos amp in dolby digital mode which I'm yet to experience.My usage is 80% music and 20% movies and I hate soundbar as I don't get stereo separation of bookshelf speakeres. Sonos amp satisfies my requirement as it decodes dolby digital and has phantom center. I will buy 2 sonos one , subwoofer for 4.1 setup. I will post my experience on the same though

I have nothing special to say about sonos app as this is already reviewed many times. Its a very good app with snappy UI and universal search. Also i got a work around to play my files from onedrive and I'm really happy with that

Overall I will say that Sonos amp is not for everyone. For me its perfect (compact, very nice app, versatile and gets 70% of my old Marantz amplifier sound quality and it satisfies my home theater requirement). But if you ask me about value for money, then this fails as you will get very good amplifier/av receiver for this price depending on your requirement.

 

[visanj]

Also can anyone recommend me some good bookshelf speakers for sonos amp

My requirement is good bass (Frequency response to go down to 45 hz) without compromising on midrange. I want midrange to be natural. I really liked Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 than Kef iQ5

 

[Willem]

I would indeed expect this amp to sound neutral (at least using the digital input). Bookshelf speakers and deep bass are an impossible combination. If the Elac DBR62 is small enough, it might fit the bill - it was tested very well here. Like any other bookshelf speaker, it will not fit/sound good on a bookshelf, however. If you want deeper bass, you will have to use two small subwoofers.

 

[DoctorRobert]

Just my experience with the Sonos Amp.

In general, I am pretty happy with it. I use it together with a set of DALI Fazon F5 floor-standing speakers and a Yamaha CD-NT670 DAB+ (CD-player, tuner, bluetooth thingy). It does mostly streaming duties, and for that it seems to work well and sound good. Casual listening is to internet radio, serious listening mostly involves Deezer FLAC files. The Yamaha is used for the off chance that I want to spin a CD or connect via bluetooth.
Personally, I think that the Sonos Amp is very neutral. It is just a black box, that doesn't look like a piece of hifi-equipment and I am guessing that for some people it could therefore not sound right. Personally, I am quite sure that the sound is more determined by my room, my speakers, and -even more- the program material, than this Sonos box.

So, all in all a good choice if you're primarily looking for a connected amp with an add-on line-in.

 

[yllanos]

Also can anyone recommend me some good bookshelf speakers for sonos amp

My requirement is good bass (Frequency response to go down to 45 hz) without compromising on midrange. I want midrange to be natural. I really liked Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 than Kef iQ5

Klipsch RP-600M, ELAC UniFi UB5, JBL Studio 530 and KEF Q350 should be a solid starting point

 

[Braveanthony]

Can anyone provide me a solution to my situation?
Had Sonos playbar for a long time and just like the poster above, I wanted a stereo separation for music listening so I bought the Sonos Amp. SQ is not quite there. Is there any way I can share the same tower speakers between my integrated and sonos amp so I can switch to integrated for music and sonos amp for movies? I want to utilize sonos amp and surrounds for movie listening but only want stereo with amplification by integrated.

 

[xarkkon]

oh dear, why isn't the SQ quite there? i was real happy with my sonos amp switch, sorry it isn't working out for you at the moment

couple of places sell switches. here's one i saw from another online forum https://hollowstate.netfirms.com/#routers

 

[panther]

I know this amp didn’t get the hottest of reviews but I can get one 40% off in Canada. I have a Yamaha wxa-50 and felt it powered some Martin Logan motion 4i and Elac dbr62 just fine. My shop I buy from is telling me the sonos amp is way too underpowered for either a set of triangle borea br03 or Martin Logan motion 35 xti and that I need to go much more powerful. I need something that is compact and has a sub out. I don’t mind spending a bit of money but are they just trying to upsell me ?

 

[Darwin]

I know this amp didn’t get the hottest of reviews but I can get one 40% off in Canada. I have a Yamaha wxa-50 and felt it powered some Martin Logan motion 4i and Elac dbr62 just fine. My shop I buy from is telling me the sonos amp is way too underpowered for either a set of triangle borea br03 or Martin Logan motion 35 xti and that I need to go much more powerful. I need something that is compact and has a sub out. I don’t mind spending a bit of money but are they just trying to upsell me ?

I have my issues with the review here which I talked about after it was posted and your shop is full of it. The Amp has more than enough power for those speakers. It’s not even a question. On what planet is 125 watts per channel not sufficient for small bookshelf speakers? It’s also a much more capable device than the Yamaha. Either your shop is ignorant or they are trying to sell you something else. I’ve had the Amp since it came out and have another one on order. Check the Sonos Reddit for questions like this or the Sonos community forums. Plenty of people are using tower speakers with the Amp let alone bookshelves.

 

[Darwin]

I think Apple supports their products to a point. The iPad being one of their outliers most of their products stop seeing upgrades after 2-4 years max. You're not going to suddenly get new features added 4 years later like how the original zp added streaming music.

Sonos works at a different scale too because just the iPad has sold more units in 2 quarters of 2019 than Sonos has as company in it's whole existence. So like most of the products discussed on this site they are niche. Just look at the UI for most of the things that are considered audiophile or home theater friendly. It's like they're stuck in the early 90s. No wonder these products always have a WAF discussion where products from Apple don't.

I am excited for what gets announced in May from Sonos. Major updated to their system have been a long time coming.

Name a company with similar products that supports their hardware with software updates as long as Apple. Hardware is 5 years for repairs etc and plenty of software upgrades even after 6 years that have added new features. This is easy to prove with a little googling around.

 

[Darwin]

Also can anyone recommend me some good bookshelf speakers for sonos amp

My requirement is good bass (Frequency response to go down to 45 hz) without compromising on midrange. I want midrange to be natural. I really liked Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 than Kef iQ5

I think you might be expecting too much bass from a bookshelf. What is your price range?

 

[Darwin]

Just my experience with the Sonos Amp.

In general, I am pretty happy with it. I use it together with a set of DALI Fazon F5 floor-standing speakers and a Yamaha CD-NT670 DAB+ (CD-player, tuner, bluetooth thingy). It does mostly streaming duties, and for that it seems to work well and sound good. Casual listening is to internet radio, serious listening mostly involves Deezer FLAC files. The Yamaha is used for the off chance that I want to spin a CD or connect via bluetooth.
Personally, I think that the Sonos Amp is very neutral. It is just a black box, that doesn't look like a piece of hifi-equipment and I am guessing that for some people it could therefore not sound right. Personally, I am quite sure that the sound is more determined by my room, my speakers, and -even more- the program material, than this Sonos box.

So, all in all a good choice if you're primarily looking for a connected amp with an add-on line-in.

Agree. I think it sounds very good and I made a concious decision to get away from cost and complexity when I bought it on launch day. My Revel M16's sound great with it. I also use a Sonos Sub and One Rears. My only source of content is Apple TV. The Amp is a streaming machine and all my video and music content is streaming. I turn that to stereo and turn off the rears when I want to listen to one of my Apple streaming apps for music or a concert on Your Tube which is something I do alot.. I subscribe to Pandora, Apple Music, and Tidal. I use Airplay, Apple TV via HDMI, the Sonos AMP, and especially Roon which integrates well with Sonos gear. Also of course it is great for multi-room and I have stereo paired Sonos Ones, 5's and HomePods scattered through the house I can play at the same time. I think their most pf $649 (it used to be $599) is a bit high but if you look you can find deals or discounts. I just bought another one and paid a little under $600 for it. I've considered adding a turntable but haven't done it yet.

 

[Darwin]

Can anyone provide me a solution to my situation?
Had Sonos playbar for a long time and just like the poster above, I wanted a stereo separation for music listening so I bought the Sonos Amp. SQ is not quite there. Is there any way I can share the same tower speakers between my integrated and sonos amp so I can switch to integrated for music and sonos amp for movies? I want to utilize sonos amp and surrounds for movie listening but only want stereo with amplification by integrated.

I assume you mean integrated Amp What are you using?

 

[panther]

I have my issues with the review here which I talked about after it was posted and your shop is full of it. The Amp has more than enough power for those speakers. It’s not even a question. On what planet is 125 watts per channel not sufficient for small bookshelf speakers? It’s also a much more capable device than the Yamaha. Either your shop is ignorant or they are trying to sell you something else. I’ve had the Amp since it came out and have another one on order. Check the Sonos Reddit for questions like this or the Sonos community forums. Plenty of people are using tower speakers with the Amp let alone bookshelves.

They actually carry it (although out of stock). THe biggest thing I want is some bass management as the Yamaha just has some preset options (from what I see the Sonos does a crossover, at least that is how I interpreted it.) Thanks for your feedback.

 

[the-ninth]

I recently purchased a Sonos Amp and so far am quite happy with its sound quality, playing solely from streaming sources in the local network and from Internet streaming services. However I am just a guy who enjoys listening to music and by no means an audiophile.

In terms of features, I would have liked to see a headphone output, bi-directional Bluetooth and a built-in microphone for voice assistants. The last one is quite easily remedied with a Echo Dot or a similar device from Google, though for me it would have been nicer and cleaner to have the microphone built into the Sonos Amp.

Basically what I would look for is a love child of the Sonos Amp and the Bluesound Powernode 2i: Some of the hardware features of the Bluesound combined with the ease of use, better support for streaming services (no Soundcloud on Bluesound!) and amplification power of the Sonos. If one believes the Internet reviews one could also add the sound quality of the Bluesound, but I doubt I'd hear the difference.

Regards, Robert