Has anyone upgraded from Connect to Port and noticed any appreciable improvement in sound quality (with same source material and speakers, of course)?
How about any audible difference between these Sonos products and the Bluesound node 2.0i, preferably using same source? (I would expect Bluesound with Hi-Res streaming to sound better than Sonos)
Certainly there is nothing wrong with experimentation, it is the foundation of scientific progress. But for progress to be real and not subjectively imagined, experimental conclusions need to be tested with the rigour that science applies. When that rigour is missing as it is almost always is with audiophiles, the subjective conclusions claimed are mere opinions that are of little common value.
This I have to agree with. Because this is exactly what I am seeing when I talk to “audiophiles” online. There is too much fake news online, especially in this field. Some of them simply will not agree even if you prove something scientifically beyond doubt. In such cases, I have just stopped commenting online - no point, trying to make such people understand,
Audiophilia depends on faith.
Really want to hear about real life experience (subjective opinions!) more than technical articles…
You can buy a Port and return it if you don't think it produces better sound than a Connect, and don't have any other reason to prefer it.
I am not sure how many Port owners have compared it with Bluesound, but my guess would be none.
I hope I am proved wrong and you get some useful feedback.
+22
There are several topics here on the high resolution sound issue, well worth looking at before you spend money on it.
The views on Sonos also depend on an element of faith as music is subjective.
i asked Hi-Fi dealer how to spend a tax rebate for my headphones and Sonos connect system He recommended upgrading the headphone amp but not the connect or DAC and was ambivalent about cables. There is a dramatic difference between headphones and the new amp made a dramatic difference as my other headphone amp simply wasn’t powerful to drive high impedance headphones.
There is no doubt that different DACS also make a notable difference as can clearly hear difference between different filters and blindly changing between filters always end up with same filter which is the same as most people. But between different DACS it does become subtle and personal preference.
i still can’t tell the difference between Sonos connect and CD through same DAC and high end headphones. You do have to switch to fixed output from the Connect digital output as the variable output sounds clearly distorted on headphones.
No doubt there is marketing and real difference. No doubt amps DACS and speakers/headphones make real noticeable sifferences some subtle and some dramatic but only you and your wallet can decide whether those differences matter. Sonos certainly sounds a lot better than my TV sound system and by the same token my Hi-Fi system sounds a lot better for music but for sure the differences wouldn’t be worth it for other people. Your financial circumstances also impact your perceptions.
Just tried playing same song from Apple, Apple Lossless CD ripped file, Amazon lossy from Sonos Connect digital output versus CD through same high end headphone DAC/amp and headphones. Subjective but I couldn’t hear any noticeable difference between Apple lossy and lossless and Amazon lossy files. I thought the CD might have sounded marginally better but nothing I could pick in blind test. The DAC filters made a subtle but notable difference. The quality of amp and headphones made a dramatic difference.
So personally I conclude that the impact of your digital source is negligible. The impact of your DAC is subtle but noticeable if your system is transparent enough. Amps and headphones/speakers do make a dramatic difference though with the amp it was more about matching power rather than sound quality. It took a lot of reading and listening to get there so hopefully helpful for someone.
One reason the Port may sound different to the Connect, and I have both, could be down to the power supply. The Port uses a low voltage supply fed by an average quality wall wart, while the Connect uses direct mains power. My original Sonos Connect with an MCRU No.13 power lead, Russ Andrews filtered mains supply and coaxial digital output to an outboard DAC connected to my stereo sounds better than the Port similarly connected, having noticeably greater dynamics and richness of tone. I would have to invest over £300 on a linear power supply to upgrade the Port bringing the combined outlay into the next highest product range. I have often regarded the Sonos Connect as the weak link in my system probably due to a significant mismatch in price and sound quality with the other components in my system. However, I have kept faith with Sonos because the operating system is the probably the best available. I have researched many competitors for a possible hardware upgrade but their software is mostly questionable. Where does leave me now, should I return the Port, at least I will not be wasting an expensive figure of eight mains lead or do I keep the Port in the hope that a power supply upgrade will be successful?
I would just use it with an external DAC which gives you the best of both worlds. Or just keep the connect upgraded to S2 if it is a newer connect. This was a hard problem for me as well, but I stayed with Sonos because of the quality of the software, app and ecosystem.
For critical listening, I have my iPhone connected via USB to a DAC. For everything else I have found Sonos connect + DAC to be better than any other alternative including direct from Mac. The only con is the resolution limit, otherwise you are good.
Music is very subjective. If you find the connect to be better, you should trust your ears. Let us know if you find that the power supply makes the port sound better than the connect. Also let us know which power supply you end up using if that works. You should attempt it.
For those who want to dig very deep into this and related subjects:
https://link.medium.com/vu0bgGat47
https://link.medium.com/e8KSRk0s47
https://link.medium.com/t7EVAfct47
It is all related because people tend to listen to Tidal, MQA and other stuff over Sonos and this is not an easy problem to untangle.
I use the Port to input digital streaming to my preamp. I’ve been told by Benchmark support that the Node 2i would be better because it supports higher resolution (24/192) downloads compared to the Port being limited to 16 bits/44. Recently of course Sonos has introduced the S2 operating system that supports higher resolution but I find the description of S2 to be a bit opaque with regards to the ios operating system (I use an iPhone). All this is a big can of worms, i.e. can we hear a difference between 16 and 22, esp with older ears (I am 68). I do plan to get the Node 2i because it has a trigger out to a separate DAC and if I hear a difference with the Port I’ll rePort back, lol.
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