Sonos Five Smart Speaker Review

[Siggy]

How could it?

All that using an external DAC does is insert an additional D->A and A->D conversion into the chain.

Repeatedly converting your audio to analog and back to digital does not increase signal quality.

I am not saying that AUX automatically has superior audio quality over Wifi, I am just saying that it can .

I agree that repeatedly converting music via DA and AD will not increase signal quality.

However, I do not think it degrades it. During the recording and mastering of a record, the music gets converted a fair amount of times without degrading it.

As for AUX vs Wifi, I asked Google AI if AUX has higher audio quality than WiFi and it came up with this very reasonable explanation.

Really though, anyone who is an audiophile or even just a music lover owes it to themself to experiment and see for themselves in cases like this. Certainly dont take my word for it or even Google Ai's word.

One thing AI didnt mention : It also comes down to the individual quality of a speakers AUX preamp hardware and WIFI audio hardware.


Per Google Ai

Yes, generally speaking, AUX IN will provide significantly higher audio quality than WiFi because a wired connection like AUX experiences minimal data loss compared to the wireless transmission involved in WiFi, which can lead to some degradation in sound quality, especially when streaming high-resolution audio files.

Key points to remember:

• Wired vs Wireless:
  Wired connections like AUX typically offer superior sound quality due to the direct transfer of audio data without compression or signal interference that can occur with wireless connections.
  
  
• Data Compression:
  WiFi may need to compress audio data to transmit it efficiently, which can result in some loss of audio detail.
  
  
• Audiophile Preference:
  Audiophiles often prefer AUX connections for their ability to deliver the most accurate representation of the original audio signal.
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• 
  
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  Per Chat GPT
• Does AUX have better sound quality than wifi?
  

  ChatGPT said:​

  When comparing AUX (analog) and Wi-Fi (digital) in terms of sound quality, there are a few key factors to consider:
  

  1. Signal Quality and Interference:​

  • AUX: An analog signal is transmitted through a physical cable, meaning there's less risk of interference (outside of potential cable damage or poor connections). However, the quality can degrade with long or low-quality cables.
  • Wi-Fi: Wireless audio streaming can be prone to interference or signal drops, especially in congested networks or with poor router placement. However, modern Wi-Fi standards (like Wi-Fi 6) have greatly improved performance.
  • 2. Audio Fidelity:
  • AUX: It provides a direct, uncompressed signal (assuming high-quality cables and source), which can give a more consistent sound quality.
  • Wi-Fi: Streaming audio over Wi-Fi can involve compression, which may slightly affect the audio quality. However, if you're using a high-quality streaming service with minimal compression (e.g., FLAC, or lossless formats), Wi-Fi can still deliver excellent audio quality.
  • 3. Convenience:
  • AUX: Requires a physical connection, which can be less convenient and limit movement.
  • Wi-Fi: Provides more flexibility and can support multiple devices without physical connections, but may not always offer the same raw quality as a direct analog connection.
  • Conclusion:
  In terms of raw sound quality, AUX may have the edge, especially in terms of consistent, uncompressed signal delivery. However, with modern Wi-Fi technology and high-quality digital streaming, Wi-Fi can still offer great sound quality, especially if you're using lossless audio formats.
  Ultimately, it depends on your specific setup, the quality of your audio equipme
  
  

 

[Siggy]

They have a few of these at the gym I go to, but it looks like some are failing. One of them sounded like it had a blown woofer.

Out of curiosity, I had a look to see if you could find replacement drivers. Doesn't look like it.

Also, I thought it odd that an active/DSP speaker should allow the driver to be damaged. You would think that they would limit or cut power to prevent damage.

Yea, I just looked and dont see replacement woofers anywhere.

If you ever blow one of the speakers you could always buy a broken late model Play 5 on ebay (appears to have identical sized drivers) which is bound to have at least one functioning woofer, or ask the seller if he is willing to part it out.

 

[AaronJ]

As for AUX vs Wifi, I asked Google AI if AUX has higher audio quality than WiFi and it came up with this very reasonable explanation.

The AI explanation is terrible. It straddles the fence with words like "can" and "may" in every single sentence. Spoken like a true audiophile.

 

[Siggy]

The AI explanation is terrible. It straddles the fence with words like "can" and "may" in every single sentence. Spoken like a true audiophile.

Theres nothing terrible about the explanation, it was thoughtfully laid out, it was objective and examples were given. You simply may not agree with it and thats ok. Your aversion to audiophiles may also have colored your perception of the explanation, although Im not sure an Ai is capable of being an audiophile.

 

[kemmler3D]

Theres nothing terrible about the explanation, it was thoughtfully laid out, it was objective and examples were given. You simply may not agree with it and thats ok. Your aversion to audiophiles may also have colored your perception of the explanation, although Im not sure an Ai is capable of being an audiophile.

I come down on the side of it being a terrible explanation. It doesn't understand what it's talking about, and it's repeating things cribbed from other people who don't understand what they're talking about, and it shows. I'll break it down a bit since I don't want you to come away thinking these AI explanations are in any way an improvement over taking some random layman's opinion on the internet:

AUX: An analog signal is transmitted through a physical cable, meaning there's less risk of interference (outside of potential cable damage or poor connections). However, the quality can degrade with long or low-quality cables.

There isn't any real risk of interference with audio transmitted over wi-fi in the sense of audible changes to the sound. You can get dropouts, but it's a specious comparison.

Wi-Fi: Wireless audio streaming can be prone to interference or signal drops, especially in congested networks or with poor router placement. However, modern Wi-Fi standards (like Wi-Fi 6) have greatly improved performance.

Misleading because no Wifi standard, 6 or otherwise, will deliver any difference in audio quality. Dropouts maybe, but this isn't made clear.

• AUX: It provides a direct, uncompressed signal (assuming high-quality cables and source), which can give a more consistent sound quality.
• Wi-Fi: Streaming audio over Wi-Fi can involve compression, which may slightly affect the audio quality. However, if you're using a high-quality streaming service with minimal compression (e.g., FLAC, or lossless formats), Wi-Fi can still deliver excellent audio quality.

This is where it gets genuinely terrible. The impact of compression has nothing to do with whether you use a physical cable or wifi. BLUETOOTH connections are compressed a second time after the source, but lossy compression (AFAIK) is never used over wifi. So this section is extremely misleading. If you're streaming from e.g. Tidal, the choice of wifi or aux has nothing to do with compression.

This is like saying you might pay higher tolls if you cross a bridge in a blue car vs. a red car. That's... not how it works, not even close.

I could go on, but if you read this AI explanation, you leave knowing less than when you started, because it gets so much wrong, and in subtle and superficially convincing ways.

And this is not even a particularly deep or complex question about audio.

 

[cEbNVDyfMy]

Is there a better alternative to the Sonos Five? What it is missing for my use case; any form of digital in.

 

[Siggy]

I come down on the side of it being a terrible explanation. It doesn't understand what it's talking about, and it's repeating things cribbed from other people who don't understand what they're talking about, and it shows. I'll break it down a bit since I don't want you to come away thinking these AI explanations are in any way an improvement over taking some random layman's opinion on the internet:


There isn't any real risk of interference with audio transmitted over wi-fi in the sense of audible changes to the sound. You can get dropouts, but it's a specious comparison.


Misleading because no Wifi standard, 6 or otherwise, will deliver any difference in audio quality. Dropouts maybe, but this isn't made clear.


This is where it gets genuinely terrible. The impact of compression has nothing to do with whether you use a physical cable or wifi. BLUETOOTH connections are compressed a second time after the source, but lossy compression (AFAIK) is never used over wifi. So this section is extremely misleading. If you're streaming from e.g. Tidal, the choice of wifi or aux has nothing to do with compression.

This is like saying you might pay higher tolls if you cross a bridge in a blue car vs. a red car. That's... not how it works, not even close.

I could go on, but if you read this AI explanation, you leave knowing less than when you started, because it gets so much wrong, and in subtle and superficially convincing ways.

And this is not even a particularly deep or complex question about audio.

Thank you for the thoughtful explanation (and for being totally cool about it) after closely looking into what the ai said, I agree with most of what you said, yes much of the information is wrong. The ai absolutely got ahead of itself and got things mixed up, compression is due to internet connection quality. It sounds as if the ai got bluetooth confused with WiFi

I do still think there could be a difference in sound quality between Wifi and AUX playing the same sized file, for example if the AUX medium is using a preamplifier to send an amplified signal over and beyond what the wifi is sending, into the speakers amplifier, it will change the sound (this is probably up for debate, but it isnt to me)generally speaking a hotter line level signal via Preamp will generally yield a "better" signal. This probably changed recently, but for many years an aftermarket car stereo would send a hotter signal to the cars amplifiers above and beyond what stock equipment was capable of, most stereo equipment would send 2 volt signals and most good aftermarket stereos send 4 volt signals.

Currently, I prefer the sound of my DAC Preamp/AUX connection over the WiFi connection. The WiFi sounds good and has mor bass, but the bass sounds tubby and lacks definition compared to my AUX connection. In addition , the mids and highs on my Aux seem to have more detail, I admit this may be because the reduced bass is allowing the mids and highs to cut through the mix more but I really dont think so. Who knows, maybe the Sonos is treating the two mediums differently and altering them with its DSP and EQ.

 

[Siggy]

Is there a better alternative to the Sonos Five? What it is missing for my use case; any form of digital in.

Yea the Sonos 5 only has an ethernet input.

The Naim Muso has optical , HDMI and ethernet input.

 

[cEbNVDyfMy]

Yea the Sonos 5 only has an ethernet input.

The Naim Muso has optical , HDMI and ethernet input.

You are right the Sonos 5 has ethernet input which is a digital input but not really used for digital streaming input such as toslink or USB or coax. I wish I could digitally stream a wiim into the SOnos 5 and not resort to using a 1/8" analog input or maybe airplay (not sure if WiiM sends airplay out)

 

[Siggy]

You are right the Sonos 5 has ethernet input which is a digital input but not really used for digital streaming input such as toslink or USB or coax. I wish I could digitally stream a wiim into the SOnos 5 and not resort to using a 1/8" analog input or maybe airplay (not sure if WiiM sends airplay out)

Why cant you use the AUX in? It sounds really good.

 

[cEbNVDyfMy]

Why cant you use the AUX in? It sounds really good.

I'm opposed to the inefficiency of it! I know that is a silly reason but for the price there should be a digital audio in.

 

[Siggy]

I'm opposed to the inefficiency of it! I know that is a silly reason but for the price there should be a digital audio in.

It is not a silly reason.

Are you concerned that the audio quality will be less than digital quality?

Yes, I agree there should be at least a USB input.

 

[Arindal]

Is there a better alternative to the Sonos Five? What it is missing for my use case; any form of digital in.

Very much depends on how the room looks like and how you plan to position the speaker, but the Bluesound Pulse 2i is a similar concept and offers Toslink input.

 

[cEbNVDyfMy]

It is not a silly reason.

Are you concerned that the audio quality will be less than digital quality?

Yes, I agree there should be at least a USB input.

I just saw that I can use Roon to control the sonos five, which should solve my problem. I'm happy with either WiiM or Roon control of the sonos. So I ordered a Sonos 5 to trial it. I don't like the native Sonos software. I have Roon and WiiM on other systems in my house and would like to limit the house to one of these two systems.

 

[cEbNVDyfMy]

Update: Roon is working great. Solves my digital in issue.

Question; if I am running a single Sonos Five, is it better to send it a mono signal, or stereo signal?

 

[Siggy]

Update: Roon is working great. Solves my digital in issue.

Question; if I am running a single Sonos Five, is it better to send it a mono signal, or stereo signal?

Send it a stereo signal. Mono is only if you have two speakers.