Sonos to Amp - is simplicity better?

Martingren - I had a similar experience, just on a much smaller scale. I have a Sonos CONNECT and I was using the Emotiva XDA1 DAC to convert the signal. I did A/B testing between the Sonos internal DAC and the signal converted by the XPA1. At level matched volume, I A/Bd them for 30 minutes and could not hear any difference. The Sonos is a great piece of hardware in that it does all I ask of it AND it has no issues. The iPad interface is great. I would not ask for more.

OKAY, so, let's say the Sonos DAC is of acceptable quality and remove it from my question. Would adding a preamp in the path have any benefits? Drawbacks?

I'm building a new system for 2-channel, but already have 4 Sonos zones. I'll be trying this test myself, into a new preamp and direct into an amp. I'll try to remember to post my opinions here.

Without more information about the rest of your system, it's going to be impossible to tell if the rest of your system will be resolving enough to be able to tell the difference between using an internal or external DAC, or using a preamp.

My system consisted of an NAD C162 pre, Aragon 2004 amp, Emotiva XDA-1 DAC and several different speakers (Silverline Minuets, Dynaudio DM 2/6, Paradigm Studio 10s, System Audio 505s).

Using my very modest system as an example, I could definitely tell the difference between the Sonos internal DAC and the XDA-1. Using the XDA-1, the highs and lows were more extended. The bass was tighter, etc. Just about everything improved.

Still, if you like the internal DAC of the Sonos, the internal volume control of the Sonos could be a problem for you. It's volume control is within the digital domain, meaning that it cuts bits to control the volume level. At lower volume levels, the quality of the music may suffer.

Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'd suggest that you try the Sonos straight to the amp. If you like the way it sounds, then you've answered your own question. I'll also tell you that when I've had to rig up something portable, I've often run a Sonos straight into an amp. I didn't think it sounded great, but it was certainly more than good enough.

I have tried this experiment both ways and to my ears having the Sonos drive my amps was merely adequate. The best I can say is that the Sonos produced background music, nothing I could sit with and get fully engaged. To me the sound was thin, gritty, and 1 dimensional if that makes sense. There was no texture and depth. Running it through a DAC helped a lot. I intend to also add the Empirical Audio Synchro Mesh to help reduce jitter. I love the Sonos interface and ease of use though.

I've decided - without even doing the test - to do two things:

1. I'm going to buy the Emotiva XDA-2 DAC, and
2. I'm also going to send one ZP90 to Wyred-4-Sound for modification. I want the digital out on the ZP90 to upsample to 24/96.

The DAC will feed a Conrad Johnson PV-15 -> CJ MF-2500A -> Paradigm Studio 100s.

The system is coming along nicely in the design phase, and I thank the OP and everyone else in this thread for their input & findings.

Cheers,
Z