Live Stream Replay – Streamers: Sonos – Bluesound – Yamaha – Metrum

Comparing

Yamaha

The Yamaha WXC50 has been on the market for a while now. Yamaha now has a considerable MusicCast line-up. Almost every type of device can be found with MusicCast integrated. The WXC50 costs 399 euros and offers a wide range of connection options. From single ended (cinch) inputs to usb, bluetooth, digital in and out and of course Ethernet. Both wired and wireless, the streamer can be connected to the network. Striking about the Yamaha is that it supports DSD. This is the only player in this roundup that can do that.

Specifications Yamaha WXC50

In terms of playback, we hear an open and fast playback. It’s on the bright side if we compare it with the Sonos and Bluesound. We leave out the Baby Ambre for a moment, because it plays via the Pavane. The detailing is above average. Just like the sound stage. It’s a player that’s well priced. Especially considering the connection possibilities. However, the Bluesound does go further in terms of musical involvement. But it lacks the range of connection possibilities of the Yamaha.

Sonos

The Sonos Port is the successor to the Connect. The new Port looks sleek. Very sleek. And when the new Sonos update is rolled out, it should also be able to handle high-res audio. That did not yet succeed playing high-res files in this test.

Things have changed compared to the Sonos Connect. We’re missing an optical output. Coaxial has remained. The buttons on the front are gone, so pairing / connecting with the system is done with the button on the back: that’s fine of course!

If we take a close look at the specifications, it is a bit of a step back compared to the contenders: no bluetooth, no DSD or MQA and connectivity for other sources remains analogue. However, all services are supported. It is also the only player with two network ports, which makes switching / looping possible. (100mbit, so no gigabit). Also, Sonos is and remains the ‘king’ of wifi…

Specifications Sonos Port

If we are going to compare in terms of sound, we really have to conclude that they are not coming along. It’s just a little boring. We honestly didn’t expect this, because this is a brand-new device. Compared to the others we don’t hear the energy and the rhythm. The Sonos is a bit dry and seems a bit compressed. Later on we hear through coaxial – especially when we use ROON – a huge difference. So it is in the dac. A piece of advice for those who have a Port or Connect and want to make a step in terms of playback quality.

Bluesound

The Node2i is already the 3rd version of the Bluesound Node-series. The new Node2i includes Airplay2 and an improved wifi and bluetooth radio. If we look further we don’t see many differences in specifications with the Node2. The sound of the Node2i is a little better: a little richer and a little better staging. For the connoisseur it is worthwhile to make the step.

Strikingly, Bluesound has a very rich feature set: AptX HD for bluetooth, Airplay2, gigabit ethernet and MQA support. Yamaha comes along nicely, but shows a little more wrinkles after – we guess – four years. Sonos apparently consciously chooses to omit some features (for simplicity?).

Specifications Bluesound Node2i

When we start listening, it quickly becomes clear that the Bluesound is taking the lead in playback quality. What a difference. We hear a richness, rhythm and interpretation of the music we don’t hear from Yamaha or Sonos. We immediately get a smile on our face. This is just very musical. Could it be better? Yeah, of course. But then it just gets much more expensive very quickly. For 549 euros, this is a very good deal. Especially because of the fact you also get hold of a very nice app. The Bluesound Node2i was already Alpha Approved… this test confirms that it is well deserved.

Metrum

The odd one: De Metrum Acoustics Baby Ambre. A small, metal box. Including a custom board based on a Pi (Nano). Simple. But on the other side it is not that simple. Simplicity is often very hard to create.

The Metrum is a puristic ROON endpoint. Which means you have to have ROON to use it (although in theory you can flash it with other firmware as well). We need to connect an external dac, because the Baby Ambre doesn’t have dac on board. We take the Metrum Acoustics Pavane, which comes down to a combination that is approximately 6000 euro. Add our ROON server (a custom server of around 1200 euro) and you’re at just over 7000 euro. Well… of course it can be cheaper. Think of an existing pc and a dac of 500 euro. But ROON also costs money. So it will always be more expensive.

The feature set is simple: it’s ROON, so DSD is not native, high-res is supported, Tidal and Qobuz are integratable and the app is top-notch. We really like ROON. But as was made clear in the livestream: it’s quite pricey and there are limitations as well. We are aware of that.

Specifications Metrum Acoustics Baby Ambre

Sounds like the Baby Ambre is killing it. Detailing, imaging, rhythmics… it’s a very pleasant sound. But is it the streamer or the dac? We’re going to test that further down the stream if we let all the streamers play through the Metrum Acoustics Pavane. The sound is rich and complete. Some people report that the bass is a bit messier than the Yamaha. This can be possible on the other end of the stream, because the Yamaha is a bit leaner in the bass. We don’t hear it that way in our room.

ROON and coax

In two consecutive rounds we let the streamers play via ROON and coax with the Pavane. The steps are immediately audible. Almost all streamers sound more pleasant when we use ROON: smoother, richer and bigger. Also in case of the Yamaha, even when using Airplay, although you don’t want to play high-res, because then a samplerate conversion takes place. Usually Airplay doesn’t sound as good, so we’re surprised it does now. Conclusion: with a high resolving system, the step to ROON is noticeable.

However, the increase in quality when using an external dac is much bigger. The Sonos Port, in particular, profits hugely when we attach the Pavane. We hear al lot more energy and rhythm. However, the Yamaha and Bluesound also make an audible step. And that is of course very logical: the Pavane operates in a completely different class.

Overview specifications

Live Stream – Sonos, Bluesound, Yamaha, Metrum Acoustics

NB: due to copyright issues, we had to take everything Paul Simon had from the stream. If you want to hear those tracks, we have hosted the file on our own server below. The quality of the stream may vary. For the best quality we recommend the Youtube stream.

Alternative stream

[videopress xXSy9Kba]