Hi, I am new to the group so please forgive what may be a question asked before.
I have a NAC 92R , flatcap, 3.5 CD, 2x NAP 140, IXO active crossover , Rega P2 through a pair of Credo speakers . Last year I decided to buy a sonos system to provide surround sound and to access streaming audio. I have been impressed with the ease of access to all sorts of audio, yes I know I am so far behind the times !!
My question is, how can I play my streaming audio through my conventional Naim system.
Is there a Naim product that links the two together.
Peter
When I had an Olive system I used a Sonos Connect into my 82 worked well and you can pick them up on e bay.
What Sonos device do you have? Some, such as the Connect or Beam have an analogue out that you could connect to the preamp.
You could use something like a Sonos Port (used to be called the Connect) which will allow you to add Sonos playback to your Naim system.This has conventional analogue outputs via RCA connectors so you just need an RCA to DIN cable to connect it to your 92. For even better results you can use the digital output on the Port and connect it to a better quality DAC.
My son uses Sonos Port to connect to his non Naim preamp over RCA-RCA cables. Works well.
Hi ChrisSu,
Apologies for being off topic but I noticed in another closed thread you were running an n-Sub using the high level input. I’ve just bought an n-Sub second hand and just wanted to ask whether the cables should be run from the amp speaker outputs or from the bass unit terminals of my speakers? The n-Sub manual is a little lacking.
Any and all info gratefully received.
Yours,
Ewen.
Sonos Connect is easy but waaayyyy out of its depth in a Naim system especially if using the onboard DAC. I used one for a while before I swapped it out for a ND5XS2 and I couldn’t even tell the difference between MP3 and CD quality streams. With the Naim streamer the difference is clear.
Thank you all for your prompt replies, it seems to me I try a sonos connect first, one that is set for S2, and if that does what I hope it does then I can invest in something like the ND5X.
Thank you all.
Peter
Hi Ewen,
Naim generally recommend that you connect at the speaker end rather than the amp end. This, I believe, is because the amp, assuming it’s a Naim amp, requires the speaker cable to be within certain limits of inductance and capacitance, and adding a sub cable might upset the balance unless you connect at the speaker end.
(Having said that, my dealer, who is a well established Naim dealer, sells Rel subs, and when I quizzed him about this he insisted that it wouldn’t matter, and said that when installing Rel subs for customers he always connects at the amp end.)
I’ve connected mine via both high and low level, and both worked well. The high level connection, I think, perhaps sounded a little better, but it was close.
The high level connection allows you to use any old cheap, thin speaker cable, whereas a long, slugged DIN to RCA could be quite expensive. I would recommend getting some Naim right angled plugs soldered for the sub end if you use the high level connection.
Sonos Connect is S1, Port is S2
I used a Sonos connect into a NAC92/NAP90/CD 3.5/Flatcap system for a while when I first started streaming. It was massively improved by adding a Rega DAC and hooking it up via optical out to the dac and rca to din from the dac to the amp. I reckon if you got the new Sonos equivalent there are all manner of nice dacs out there to choose from to hook it up via.
I eventually succumbed to the lure of the black boxes and got first a NAC202 then a NAP 200 and then a NDX now replaced by the NDX-2. Each step brought a belting upgrade in sound. Beware.
Thank you, I guess I have to decide do I try a connect to see how I get on or go all in and buy a nd5xs, it’s a big old jump up in spend, not far off what my system us worth!!
I would suggest you try the Sonos Port which is the equivalent of the old connect. Uses the new S2 platform. It’s a pain trying to run older Sonos gear and new as you have to run 2 separate Sonos networks.
I haven’t heard a Sonos Port but the reviews are almost unanimous in saying that the Port is a step backwards from the Connect. Looking at spending Sonos Port type money on a streamer rather than Naim money the Bluesound Node 2i is probably worth considering but of course it won’t integrate seamlessly with the other Sonos kit in the OP’s system, but then again neither will a Naim streamer.
What streaming services do you hope to use? Discontinued products like the Sonos Connect and ND5XS (1st generation) may seem like a bargain, but they have limited support for online streaming services and file formats so may or may not meet your needs. So you need to think carefully about whether or not they will be a useful investment.
(Perhaps you have already thought this through, but there’s been no discussion of it here.)
The Sonos Connect natively supports a wider range of music streaming services than Naim streamers including but not limited to Qobuz, Tidal, Deezer, Amazon HD and Spotify. It also supports flac up to CD quality. However as I’ve said earlier, on my system (Nait XS2, PMC 25.22) using a Sonos Connect with the built-in DAC, I couldn’t hear any difference between 320kbps mp3 and CD quality flac.
It may support a wider range of services than a Naim streamer now, but it may not support any new or changed services in future, and it doesn’t support any high res format, so I would still be cautious of recommending it.
It may not support new or changed services in future but you could say that about most streamers. It won’t support high res files, that’s for sure but a moot point if you can’t tell the difference between mp3 and CD quality FLAC anyway. As I said earlier with the onboard DAC I wouldn’t recommend a Sonos Connect in a Naim system as it is so far out of its depth. Can’t comment on a Connect with an external DAC as I’ve never heard it with one
If you can find a recent used Sonos Connect I believe that it’s S2 compatible, so no need for the Port which has as an earlier post pointed out had poor reviews. I ran a Connect digital out into a Rega DAC only reclocking the signal to a digital input on a Qute and couldn’t tell much difference to native CD rips direct from Qute. I never tried using the Rega as a DAC as I didn’t want to upset the synch between 5 other Sonos zones in the house.
Yes - my old Connect works fine in a mix of S1 / S2 bits. Should be fine for a few years yet.