Keeping in mind that Sonos Connect is limited to non high res material of course…
What if we compared lossless (e.g. AIFF, FLAC, etc) across Sonos Connect, a roon bridge running on a mini pc or other dedicated hardware and finally a Roon Endpoint like a blue sound Node etc?
I have been able to compare the first two: Sonos Connect vs Roon Bridge (on a dedicated fanless mini PC). Mini PC via USB to Musical Fidelity V90 DAC. Sonos Connect via COAX to Musical Fidelity V90 DAC.
Playing lossless AIFF tracks exclusively I can detect a slightly livelier sound with the Roon Bridge mini PC. The Sonos Connect results in slightly smoother (i.e. less lively sound). Some perception of increased clarity in midrange with the Roon Bridge as well. My Sonos Connect hardware is relatively recent so subject to the (claimed) non bit-perfect performance.
This is of course a very crude, sighted and non level matched test so all sorts of biases apply.
Overall I prefer the Roon Bridge but of course the Sonos Connect offers ease when using Spotify and when syncing with a Play 5 I have.
Any other experiences on the above?
Cheers