Step one, I convert the 192-48 or 96-48 file (usually FLAC or AIFF or WAV format) to WAV or AIFF format, specifying 48 kHz sampling rate, 16 bit resolution. How do you do this downconversion? The software I was using, XLD on Mac OSX, lets me do this in two steps. On the other hand, if you are a digital audio file junkie, and anticipate (likely correctly) that the future Sonos PLUS Gen II Turbo platform will handle all sorts of higher bit rates, or you use another system that DOES play these Hi-Res files (there are a lot of such systems), then go for it, and do your conversions in the least mathematically convoluted way. Just pay less for the CD-quality versions in the first place (and by this, I mean lossless versions). Don’t buy high res files if you are only going to downsample these to play on a Sonos. I wouldn’t necessarily put money on it, and I can assure you sound quality is much more significantly affected by mixing/mastering/equalization and the number of copy and conversion generations than the ultimate data rate. Also, some hi-res audio files are multiples of 44.1 kHz to start with, like 88.2 or 176.4 kHz for these, downsample to 44.1 kHz.) Can you really hear the difference? (It’s cleaner to divide 192 or 96 by 48, than to divide any of these numbers by 44.1. Go for 48 kHz / 16 bit, or 1536 kbps, and your audio will be happier. It results in division by the extremely uncool number of 1.088435374 (or a multiple) which can’t result in the cleanest mathematical conversion. Software like XLD lets you downsample to anything you want, and if you follow Sonos’ instructions, you’ll be going for 44.1 kHz / 16 bit to get to 1411 kbps. My concern is that high resolution files are generally available at 192 kHz or 96 kHz sampling rate, 24 bit resolution, higher than is supported by Sonos (as of now). “Lossy” data compression mostly affects the sense of clarity and delicacy in the sound, and is very different from the changes you get from an upgraded audio system, or changes to room acoustics, for that matter. There is no data compression, and no loss of quality relative to the original proven CD format, compared with many streaming or audio file formats that run at lower rates, usually making the sound fuzzier or crunchier. 1411 is CD quality, based on the CD sampling rate of 44.1 kHz and 16 bits of resolution for 2 channels (44100 x 16 x 2 = 1411200 bits per second). Sonos continues to add to its impressive arsenal of supported streaming services, including Deezer Elite and Tidal which depend on a 1411 kbps (kilobits per second), and I commend them for it. So why does this matter? It matters because 1.088435374 is an ugly number. This depends on downsampling the files, but more importantly hinges on the unpublished capability of Sonos to support 48 kHz / 16 bit / 1536 kbps, higher than the officially stated 1411 kbps. It is possible to play high resolution 192 kbps 24 bit (or 96 kbps 24 bit) files on your Sonos system, sort of.
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