IVB said:
That is exactly what I do right now (to NuVo). Sonos connect (non amp) is really the only source actively used. CQC turns zones on/off/volume, and although I could build CQC mobile screens for control the native Sonos app is really nice.
The more I read hear and from product websites, the hybrid approach is looking better and better. The one holdout I have the specs & capability of the soon-to-be-release Russound devices. I'm thinking about the MCA-88X with integral streamer. But if this is only one channel it wouldn't suffice. I need two independent source streams.
Question on Sonos: If I would have two Connect devices in my equipment rack with wired network connectivity, would the devices still need to join my WiFi? I sounds like Sonos has their mesh network for synchronism, but will they use a wired internet (upstream) connection? I hate the Sonos website... It's styled primarily for marketing purposes and doesn't readily provide sufficient technical details. I also hate the Sonos 'ego' problem that's obvious on the website and Forums. They say: "Yes we can be controlled via UPnP commands", but we're not going to help you with doing so... Not DIY or integrator friendly.
Another shortcoming of Sonos is that for a modern product, they only support WiFi in the 2.4 GHz band (802.11b/g). In my house, I push every device that can use the 5GHz band into this less crowded space.. Too many services (WLAN, BT, Zigbee, etc.) in the 2.4GHz space. AND I'm guessing that Sonos uses the 2.4Ghz band for their mesh network?? I'm also guessing that it's 802.15.4. But perhaps they have a second radio in the 900MHz space.. Does anyone know?
It would SO nice it Sonos would listen to the user community and offer a multichannel rack-mount device. Could have an optional radio to talk with remote Sonos speakers/streamers. No need for the mesh network to sync the local channels. Could even drop the wireless all together and only have wired network. They could have problems getting WiFi (and their mesh network) to work reliably on the device buried inside of an equipment rack. And it could also support high fidelity streams. So they would also capture the audiophile community that want more than a 16 bit 44.1KHz stream (CD quality)... I could even see a licensing type business arrangement with Company X licensing the Sonos control infrastructure and networking. FWIW, it looks like the new Russound streamer has 24bit, 96Khz DAC's. CD audio quality would be OK with me.
Anyway, two Sonos Control boxes on a rack shelf might work for me....
Any additional thoughts? Any insight on what the Russound MCA-88X might support? I did notice that Russound dropped the RF Radios from the latest round of products. Too bad... I wanted to keep this option open..
Thanks.