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?
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?