Hi-resolution support of the PORT

  • 13 February 2021
  • 4 replies
  • 750 views

I have recently upgraded to SONOS S2 software and removed old devices from my home network. In particular I wanted better Hi Res support for my HiFI setup. Imagine my alarm when I find that my old Connect (v2) works better than the new PORT and more to the point that the PORT is unusable in my system.

Let me elaborate:

My music is stored as uncompressed FLAC images, Rips of my CD collection. I play these via the Connect(V2) to an M-Dac (via coax cable). I have run tests and the bit pattern from my Library hard disk to the M-Dac is preserved exactly. that is, the original CD is delivered intact to the M-Dac! Great!

Not so the PORT. Instead of delivering a 44.1/16 stream to the Dac it delivers 44.1/24. The original CD is changed and the DAC compromised. THIS is unacceptable.

But here’s the thing. The PORT does NOT deliver even the lowest so called Hi Res file to the DAC.  I play a 48/24 file to the PORT and it does what Connect does and samples down to 44,1/24.

The press releases for the SONOS S2 controller and the new devices at least hinted at Hi Res. And I suspect some attempt will be made by SONOS HD streaming service when I get it but right now I am sticking to my old Connect(v2) and CD Rips only.

 

 

 


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4 replies

One thing puzzling me for a start. How do you hope to get hires from CD rips?

What do you understand hires to mean?

Uncompressed CD Rips is the starting point I wanted to get to 48k/24 which is the lowest HiRes file that should be considered. My point is that neither is supported in the new SONOS PORT and S2 controller.

In my Library i have many 96/24 audio files that play stunningly via USB from my Mac to the M-DAC. SONOS wont support these files. When I downsample the files to 48/24 Flac files SONOS sends them to the PORT or the Connect but downsamples them again to 44.1/24. So at the most basic level SONOS does NOT support even the lowest spec HiRes

There is much discussion on other threads about the significance of sample rates so I won't go over that again.

But the best you can get from ripping CDs is 16 bit. Also, you refer in your original post to 'uncompressed FLAC'. FLAC is a compressed format.  Perhaps you mean lossless?

I have no reason to believe that anything in the document linked below is incorrect 

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/79?language=en_US