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I've been happily running a Mk I RAKK for the past 10 years, until recently with just an Oppo player as transport. The result has been very satisfying for digital. Last summer I decided to get a Sonos connect that would allow me to stream ripped CDs from my Macbook through the stock Sonos into the RAKK.
Surprisingly, Sonos-streamed CDs didn't sound any better to my ears than CDs through the Oppo. Worse, after about 6 months there developed some issues - periodic distortion as well as static noise at the end and beginning of songs. The noise was strongest in one channel, and not present with the output of the Oppo, and not present from the analog outputs from the Sonos (just its digital coax output into the DAC). A 90-minute call with Sonos technical support covered a lot of ground (have you checked the connection of your speaker cables?) and ultimately they determined it was likely an issue with the RAKK DAC, despite the observations I just explained.
So with that - I thought I should check whether anyody else experienced compatibility issues with a Sonos connect? They offered to send out a new unit in spite of their expert assessment, since it is still under warranty. But now I'm wondering if I'll have the same issue in 6 months again? Should I just be happy with a CDP and be done with music servers altogether?
Thanks for listening. Grateful for any others' experiences out there.
Cheers
Michael
Follow Ups:
Sonos sent out a replacement unit, and the same problem exists. Now I'm confident the issue lies with the RAKK dac after all (even though the problem doesn't exist with other digital sources into the RAKK...)
Any ideas? I'm guessing nobody else has had this problem, given the lack of response to the original post.
Thanks for any thoughts,
Michael
Well,,,, maybe....
Perhaps that just proves that your original Sonos is working as designed.
Have you tried another DAC on the output of the Sonos?
You used the Oppo as a source to the RAKK dac and that worked okay. Have you tried another streamer device to the RAKK dac?
Dave
Dave,
Thanks for your reply. I did not have another external DAC, so I purchased a used Audio Note Kit DAC 3.1. With the same Sonos source, the ANK has zero noise. I do not have another streaming source to try against the Sonos, but as I mentioned in the original post, there is no such noise with my Oppo as transport.
I don't think I mentioned that I have the original RAKK board.
Any suggestions?
thanks,
Michael
Michael,
With strange happenings, I usually look for grounding issues. So, try lifting the "chassis" connection off of the RAKK dac board and see what happens.
Dave
Dave/Kevin:
I tried the grounding change but it had no impact. To clarify and restate the problem, the issue is static noise that only appears in silent passages like the beginning and end of songs. It only exists with my Sonos source (consistent for various streaming services like Spotify and Tidal), as playing CDs has never had any issue in 10 years of use.
I amazingly aquired a new old stock RAKK board (version 1.1, same as mine) which had never been installed. So far, there is zero noise. I'm hopeful there was just a component failure on my RAKK board, but since the issue only presented itself after 6 months' use with the Sonos, I'm only cautiously optimistic.
So, two questions. First, does it make sense to send the "noisy" board for a diagnostic? Second, does the latest RAKK board have the same physical footprint as mine? I have zero clearance on the width in my current chassis. I'm just wary of the noise coming back if there is somehow an incompatibility between the Mk I board and Sonos, or even simply a long-term reliability issue with the Mk I board.
Appreciate any thoughts.
Thanks, Michael
Michael,
"...does it make sense to send the "noisy" board for a diagnostic?"
Unfortunately not. I have no way to test interaction problems with Sonos.
"... does the latest RAKK board have the same physical footprint as mine?"
The latest RAKK dac is much larger in all dimensions than the first version.
Dave
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