· None of the above quite fits
· None of these quite match
· Roon specialists who can walk me through the process of getting the perfect sound with my dedicated windows PC and sonos speakers. I am not familiar with the technical terms and features.
· Windows 11 Pro dedicated PC; 4 zones with sonos speakers plus one with Sonos Amp, speakers with sub
Hey @Charlie_Kerr,
You are looking for a walkthrough on getting the best possible sound from your dedicated Windows PC and Sonos speakers, and it helps that you called out that the technical terms are not familiar yet. We have a general audio quality guide here: how to achieve the best quality output.
You can also use Signal Path to check the exact output in Roon. Sonos as a protocol is limited in sample rate, but you should still be able to achieve CD quality, 44.1 kHz, through Roon to Sonos streaming.
Please let us know if you want us to walk through any part of that with you.
Hi, and thanks for the quick reply!
My ears are a curse sometimes because I can tell even the slightest differences in sound quality. I would love to do that. How would it work?
Also, while I’d prefer to avoid any additional expenses, if I can get better sound quality with a different server or other device(s), I’m open to it.
Thanks again!
More often than not, it turns out it’s the brain (e.g. confirmation bias), not the ears or the sound.
The server has no influence on sound quality; that’s one expense you can surely avoid.
How would what work?
The server would make zero difference. There’s lots of improvement possible with better audio gear than Sonos devices, though.
thanks for the feedback @Suedkiez. I’m not ready to spend a fortune, but I do have a good Onkyo receiver, some quality tower speakers, and bowers and wilkins surrounds (all of which are likely worthless). Problem is that I want zones throughout the house. Currently have a Five in the office, Arc Plus Era 300’s and the large sub in the living room, Amp plus great speakers and sub in the dining area, 2 Era 100’s in my guitar room, and a Beam plus smaller sub and Era 100’s for surround in the bedroom. A lot of speakers to replace!
What would you recommend if budget wasn’t an issue?
thanks!
that (brain vs. ears) makes perfect sense! And thanks for the feedback about the server!
Well, with zones around the house and not willing to spend a fortune, there’s always going to be compromises 
For background music zones the Sonos are probably just fine and for the price you won’t get significant differences.
You may be able to increase quality significantly by measuring the rooms and configuring DSP for room correction in Roon. If you run the zones in parallel, a fast Roon Server will definitely help. (Even though the server has no effect on the SQ as such, parallel output to several zones with DSP needs some performance, and it is the DSP that can make a big SQ difference).
However, what I originally meant was mainly for your main listening zone: If you feel that you can tell even the slightest difference in SQ, then of course the possibilities are endless - but the quality won’t come from which Roon Server you use, but from speakers (and room correction), amp, and DAC, in this order
Thanks! I appreciate music the most when volume isn’t too high, but higher than most non-audio files prefer. I do pay attention to both the lyrics and the music and even enjoy somehow in my brain breaking down music to focus on the different instruments.
I tried researching running zones in parallel last night but couldn’t really get a handle on how it works. Is this simply the same as grouping two or more zones together? I found early on that it functions much more efficiently when I limit to two zones.
Also not sure how to adjust a modify DSP.
With my old system working from the receiver I would regularly do the equivalent of the Sonos “Trueplay” feature with a 25’ 360 degree mic. Is this similar to what you were referencing r.e. “measuring” rooms and configuring DSP for room correction"?
Many thanks again for your input. Have to sign off for the evening, but will check again in the morning. hope everyone has a great weekend!
You can either group zones to play the same music or you can start different music in different zones.
In principle, this is done in Roon‘s MUSE feature:
You can adjust manually with the parametric equalizer:
But for best results you measure the room with a microphone and create a convolution file, to correct the measured inadequacies. You need separate software for the measuring and filter creation. Then you load the filter into Roon:
If you have an iPhone or iPad, the easiest way for the measuring and filter creation is the HouseCurve app. It can even use the built-in microphone (though you can also attach a proper measuring microphone which you can get for about $100):
There is a discussion thread here on the forum:
Another option is the Focus Fidelity app which is also user friendly but more expensive:
(There is also the free REW app but it is quite complex)
Indeed, similar principle