#Sonos amp price update
#Sonos amp price upgrade

For R5 quality I would grab an integrated amp and a port if you want Sonos connectivity. The sc-lx801 is hands down better using it for 2 channel. I have them locked on 70% max volume and that puts them at the same level as SONOS AMPs when using sonos controller to control all zone volumes. I have a Sonos amp powering a set of q150s and a pioneer sc-lx801 (wanted works with Sonos) powering a theater consisting of r700 LR, r600c, r300 surrounds and 4x ci160qr atmos.

They look nice and are tiny and now are the smallest thing in my Sonos closet rack. They push 85w per channel, which is quite a bit more and sound very slightly better than the CONNECT AMP imo. I ended up buying these to power my ceiling speakers connected to the CONNECTS i already own.

#Sonos amp price upgrade

So not counting ebay fees I was a good 250 in the red to upgrade to AMPs. I own used CONNECTS that sell for 100 less than new.

#Sonos amp price update

Update with conclusion: To recap the CONNECT AMP is 150 more than a CONNECT. The latter part of the volume control range is then rendered useless because clean power delivery maxes out at a little over 50% but this isn't realised to be an issue. Many modern amps are built this way to give the impression of being more powerful. The Connect Amp will deal out clean power as the slider is moved to the right long after the lower powered amp has stopped doing so, so the Connect Amp will deliver lower sound levels than the other, early in the range of motion of the volume control. The only real remaining issue with cheap is the risk of speaker damage if the amp fails catastrophically, but again how big that risk is depends on how expensive the speakers.īut the days of needing to spend as much on amplification as on speakers are long gone.Īs to sounding louder that is merely how the volume control is set up. The iffy part of cheap is reliability which itself isn't a big deal one can change amps over shorter intervals and still be financially ahead. The only point I was making is that today with IC/Solid State/Digital tech, amplification is a trivial issue, solved cheaply. For reference, the chip states 100wpc into 4ohms.) ' (The TAS5342A chip is rated for 65wpc, but passive output stage absorbs some of that. Reviewer: 'They won't say, but it's about 50wpc into 8ohms. They are louder than my sonos amps so I was surprised. The only amp I have had fail was my sonos probably because I owned more of them. I don't think anyone buying this little guy is looking to power their floor standing speakers, People using the Sonos quality DAC are probably in the $150-300 range for a ceiling speaker. Since I did the legwork and looked at options I'd challenge you to share one product like this even $50 more. SMSL are all 4.5 stars including the previous models. Welllll, I started this thread because no one knew of such an amp w/ digital in with a good rating. With cheaper speakers, this is much less of a risk in financial terms. I would however not trust expensive speakers with these because catastrophic failure of an amp can destroy speakers in some cases. There are many such amps these days, and some that are even cheaper. More important is the longevity issue that only time can tell you about.

The 85W rating, I believe, is into 4 ohms, where the Connect Amp does 110W.