System to match my Sonos

Brian Ferris New member Username: Ilovemalta Post Number: 4 Registered: Aug-06	Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 13:38 GMT HI there guys, I am looking into buying a complete system from scratch for my living room... I am looking into the very attractive sonos. Would you suggest any particular equipment to match this source. I was looking at the following amps : NAD, HK, Marantz and also at the following speakers : KEF, Dynaudio, B&W ... (Feel free to suggest others .. i am not sure My budget for equipment excluding sonos should be in the region of US$ 1500 - 1750. My room measurements are as follows: 5m X 9m and the front speakers will be facing the 9m length ... i will be usually facing the speakers at a distance of 3m - 6m circa Would appreciate any suggestions and tips Thanks for now...
Frank Abela Gold Member Username: Frank_abela Berkshire UK Post Number: 1632 Registered: Sep-04	Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 13:49 GMT Brian, The only Sonos I know of is a networked music system which is usually used with hard disc sources such as computers or NAS drives. You can use it with other sources of course, but this kind of defeats the point of the Sonos. What Sonos are you talking about? Regards, Frank.
rick ross Silver Member Username: Rick_ross Post Number: 451 Registered: May-06	Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 04:11 GMT yo
Brian Ferris New member Username: Ilovemalta Post Number: 5 Registered: Aug-06	Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 13:42 GMT Hi Frank, The SONOS is the model you are referring to .... i am referring to the ZP80 model which is not an amplifier in itself but has to be connected to an audio system just like any other CD player .... Hope this helps ... Thanks, Brian
Frank Abela Gold Member Username: Frank_abela Berkshire UK Post Number: 1650 Registered: Sep-04	Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2006 - 16:51 GMT Brian, The point of the Sonos is that it is a wireless music distribution system. Well, it's wireless except for the first unit. If you wished it to be completely wireless then you would have to open up your wireless network which is a BAD idea. To me this means that you intend to use a computer as your music library, hook up your first ZP80 to it via network cable, then have a separate ZP80 hooked up to your main system (and potentially other Sonos's around the house). If you intend to use high quality recordings on the computer, i.e. lossless or something like 192bit AAC, then it's worth spending the cash on a half decent system. If you intend to use something like 128bit MP3, there's little point in spending much cash and the ordinary amplified Sonos would do. (The amplified unit can also take an extra input.) the reason for this is that a good system will expose the limitations of the ripped source. A lossless source is pretty much full resolution and so you can make this work. It's the lossy schemes which really show up as limited on bigger systems. I've just noticed your username. If you're on the island of Malta in the Med, you're quite restricted in terms of options. You also have a large room. Firing across the room often gives better results than firing down the length. It seems easier for speakers to couple to a room that way. Worth trying eithr way. For around $1500 I would look at something like one of the larger NAD amplifiers (C372) with Dynaudio Audience 52s. The Dynaudio importer often has older models in his shop. They're good too, but make sure you get a very hefty reduction in price since they're not as good as the newer models. I'm not a big fan of either KEF or B&W. they're certainly not in the same class as the Dyns. There was a chap in San Gwann who is bringing in Cambridge Audio (also imports inFocus and possibly Monitor Audio). Worth a look but I forget his name. He's on the main road on the way out of San Gwann heading towards L-Ibragg in a row of shops with their own service road parallel to the main road. Best i can do to describe it. Monitor Audio get a lot of good press. Again, I'm not that taken with them, but at least there you should get a demo of the combination. Cambridge Audio get a lot of good press and a lot of people like what they do. If you're looking at the Dynaudios look at the upper end of the cambridge Audio range. Regards, Frank.
Hawk Silver Member Username: Hawk Highlands Ranch, CO USA Post Number: 978 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2006 - 19:05 GMT As an owner of Dynaudio speakers, I must say I really love them and strongly recommend them. However, they are very inefficient (84-85db sensitivity), and you have a very large room to fill, so I have concerns there. I am not saying do not get the Dyns, but I do have a concern that they may not be large enough. I would suggest that you cannot do better in an integrated amp than Frank's suggestion of the NAD C372. Very powerful, smooth and articulate, you simply can't do better for under $2K (US), and the NAD is less than half that amount (MSRP). It is highly prominent on the Stereophile list of Recommended Components for good reason. Besides the Dyns, I would recommend another speaker, which is available directly from the manufacturer. Magnepan offers some simply awesome speakers called the MMGs. These are planar speakers, about 46" tall and 14.5" wide (1.5" thick). Simply put, these speakers are the best sounding speakers I have ever heard. They are faster than anything else made, and because they do not have a box, their are no colorations caused by box resonance (which causes distortion). Furthermore, as a two sided planar speaker, the sound is coming off both sides of the panel and this makes the sound so lifelike, you will swear the performers are there in your room. They cost $550. Combined with your Sonos and the NAD amp, I can guarantee you will have the best stereo system you have ever heard. Check out the Maggies here: http://www.magnepan.com/_mmg.php Good luck!
Brian Ferris Bronze Member Username: Ilovemalta Post Number: 12 Registered: Aug-06	Posted on Friday, September 15, 2006 - 15:01 GMT Thanks Frank & Hawk for your suggestions ... these recommendations are of great value to amateurs like myself. I just realised that i forgot to mention that I intend using the same amp for my surround in my living room. From my knowledge, the NAD C372 is not a surround amp I was suggested the NAT T743 from my NAD dealer. My NAD dealer also imports KEF and has suggested a pair of floor standing Q4s or Q3s (21st century range), a Q6 as a center and a pair of KEF uniQ soffit speakers as rears, probably complimented by a PSW 2000 or PSW 2500 sub .... I will be using my system 60% music 40% HT Does the picture change now ????? Thanks once again Brian
Frank Abela Gold Member Username: Frank_abela Berkshire UK Post Number: 1654 Registered: Sep-04	Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 17:09 GMT Yes, Brian, very much so! The T743 will drive KEFs all day and every day 'til the cows come home. Those KEFs are a piece of cake to drive. As to subs, stay clear of the KEF PSW models - not particularly reliable. Kef are not in the same class as Dynaudio in my opinion. You'd really need a 753 as a minimum to drive a full set of Dyns. As to subs, not sure what's in your part of the world. Brands I recommend would be M&K, Velodyne and REL. The entry level Velodyne is a snip in my opinion, but of course, the more you spend the better it gets. Regards, Frank.
Hawk Silver Member Username: Hawk Highlands Ranch, CO USA Post Number: 981 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - 05:20 GMT I would agree with Frank in light of the new info. A T743 is a wonderful HT receiver, but you will need efficient speakers. The KEFs would seem to fill the bill, as well.

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