ZP80 Zone Player: Sonosnet-connected D/A processor and line preamplifier. Connectors: Ethernet (two), analog line in (RCAs, autodetecting), analog line out (RCAs, variable or fixed level), digital S/PDIF out (RCA coaxial and TosLink). Front-panel buttons: Volume, Mute. THD: <0.009%, 20Hz–20kHz. No other specifications listed.
Dimensions: 5.3" (136mm) W by 5.4" (139mm) D by 2.9" (74mm) H. Weight: 1.5 lbs (0.7kg).
Finish: Light-gray "PC Grade" plastic.
Serial Number Of Units Reviewed: 00-0E058-20-02-D8:F and 00-0E-58-20-02-9A:4. Hardware version: 1.1.16…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Network-Attached Storage
When I visited Sonos in June 2006, the folks there kept talking about how cool it was to use a network-attached storage (NAS) hard drive with the system. In most respects, an NAS drive is just like any other external hard drive, except that it's been set up specifically to run as a standalone drive without the need to keep a computer hooked up to it. In other words, once you put some song files on an NAS hard drive and disconnect your computer, the Sonos system can use those song files as if the NAS were just another source component.
Think of…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Slim Devices Squeezebox, Classé cdp-202 CD/DVD player, Ayre C-5xe and Pioneer DV-578A universal players; Mark Levinson No.30.6, Benchmark DAC 1 D/A processors; Apple Mac mini running OSX for media storage.
Preamplifier: Mark Levinson No.326S.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H monoblocks, Halcro dm38, Linn Classik.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Studio, Snell LCR7 XL, Celestion SL6 (with ZP100 only).
Cables: Digital: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, AudioQuest OptiLink-5 S/PDIF. Interconnect: AudioQuest Cheetah,…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
All measurements of the Sonos Zone Players were made using uncompressed 16-bit AIF files stored on my Mac mini's internal drive and accessed via a hardwired Ethernet connection. (I found no differences doing spot-check comparisons over the wireless link.) I did check the integrity of the data transmitted over the wireless link, selecting a variety of Apple Lossless files in my iTunes library and played these on the ZP80 in my listening room. I recorded the ZP80's digital output on my laptop, using a Metric Halo FireWire interface to turn the S/PDIF data into SD2…
John Atkinson wrote about the Sonos ZP120 in April 2010 (Vol.33 No.4):
In the October 2006 issue of Stereophile I enthusiastically reviewed two network-connected music players from California company Sonos: the ZP80 D/A processor, which offers both S/PDIF digital outputs and line-level analog outputs, and the ZP100 D/A integrated amplifier. Used with a Sonos controller, these Zone Players allow you to create a multiroom system that will play music files stored on a host PC, Internet radio stations, or streaming music services such as Pandora and Rhapsody. (Trial-period subscriptions to…
FM Antenna
Editor's Note: No indoor antenna can compete with a good roof or mast-mounted outdoor antenna, but because apartment dwellers often don't have a choice, we list the following indoor models that we have found to work well: AudioPrism 8500 ($499.99, Vol.14 No.6), AudioPrism 7500 ($299.99, Vol.12 No.5), Magnum Dynalab 205 FM Booster ($399, Vol.10 No.6), RadioShack amplified indoor FM antenna ($31.99, Vol.19 No.11), RadioShack 15-2163 FM antenna (Vol.27 No.7), and Fanfare FM-2G ($99, Vol.20 No.12). Outdoor antennae we have reviewed and recommended are the Antenna Performance…
There are many colorful characters, many high-profile movers and shakers, in high-end audio, but there are only a few whose influence extends far beyond the promotion of their own brands. One of this exalted and mighty handful is Robert Stuart, chairman and technical director of the UK's Meridian Audio.
Softspoken, with a disarming smile and a puckish sense of humor, Bob Stuart has been at the helm of Meridian ever since he and the outstanding industrial designer Allen Boothroyd cofounded the company as Boothroyd-Stuart in 1977, and in the last 15 years has quietly taken on a…
The reason that all happened is that Faroudja had ended up being owned by the semiconductor house Genesis Microchip, and Genesis no longer wanted to manufacture boxes. There's a huge difference in scale. The chip company was much bigger than the box company, and it's very hard to run a business like that. It's hard to provide the focus. Whereas, for Meridian, what Faroudja were doing was a perfect fit. Same kind of dealers, same kind of distributors, same goals—to make the very best home theater, and from home theater up to screening rooms. So we were very excited. The terms of the deal are…
Now there are hundreds of DualDisc titles. But while this was all happening, the popular thing to do was to download the music, and something almost like the commoditization of music was going on.
Harris: And it took somebody outside the music industry, Apple, to pull that together.
Stuart: Yes. Masterstroke, fantastic. It's improved the sales of music, which is great, but it's done nothing to bring to people's attention the fact that it can sound a lot better than it does. And it sort of turns music into something that you consume on the fly instead of listen to.
Now, I…
RCA's time-honored 6SN7 may be the coolest tube of all. The octal-based dual-triode has its own Wikipedia entry—something not even the 2A3 or 300B can boast—along with its own website. The 6SN7 is chunky, rugged, and handsome. Best of all, it's available, probably because people keep coming up with very good uses for it. In that sense, the 6SN7 is the Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup of the tube world.
Developed in 1939, the 6SN7 appeared just in time for America's involvement in World War II, and its use in a variety of military settings spurred a remarkable level of demand,…