I assume you are asking if you can mute the TV/Beam audio audio, but still have its audio play on your headphones - the answer to that is ‘Yes’.. you simply group the Beam with the Port and mute the Beam and the Port will output the TV audio via the line-out to your BT Transmitter, but note there is a slight delay with grouped audio of 75ms+ so you may experience some lip-sync issues with the video on the TV screen. I have tried this setup myself and I’m okay with the slight delay and hardly notice it, but I guess network conditions and distances can vary. I mostly use my headphone setup for music purposes anyway.

HTH

Thank you!!  I suspected as much, given that you could elect “Fixed” for audio out in Port setup.  Nice to know for sure.  I have a Port on backorder with Sonos direct.  They are sold out everywhere at the list price.

Jack

If you don’t want the Port for anything else, other than headphones, I would think again.

The BT transmitter may not be working successfully on the TV for sources other than the cable box because the optical output isn’t downmixing from surround to stereo. Bluetooth can’t handle surround audio. Ensure the TV optical out is set for PCM Stereo. 

Audio out/optical is set for PCM.  “PCM Stereo” was not an option, so presumably “PCM” is the correct setting.

Thanks.  I have played around with this for a while and now want a simple and elegant solution that works.  Willing to pay for it.  Plus, who knows, I may want to transmit to other Bluetooth devices or add some other inputs.

Jack

Yes, PCM is stereo in this case. 

What I don’t quite understand is: you say all the sources connect the same way, via the HDMI switch? So shifting from the cable box to, say, the Roku is by selecting it on the switch? Or does the cable box have its own HDMI into the TV? 

Inexplicably, yes.  Cable box, Roku Ultra, and Blu-ray player all go through a Rockfish four-port HDMI switch.  Frankly, I don’t understand it either.  How would the TV “know” that the signal is from cable as opposed to the other two?  The optical out works (and therefore the headphones when connected via optical cable) if cable is the source but not the Roku or the player.  Is the cable signal transmitting something that Roku or the player are not?  I’ve looked everywhere (online, all manuals, you name it) and cannot find the answer.  The tech from Aluratek said that it is likely that the optical output is “wired differently.”  He suggested routing all audio to an audio mixer.  But they look like extremely complicated devices more suited to musical production.  I want a simply answer that works across everything.

I replaced a very old but great Marantz receiver with the switch.  The receiver, when set to AVR, channeled output to my speakers or -- if I plugged one in -- to the headphones through an aux jack.  But the receiver is way to complicated just to use for headphones.  The Sonos speaker system is way more versatile and much simpler.  Also sounds at least as good.

Continued:  Also, the TV is five years old.  Only two inbound HDMI ports, no aux out.

Swap the cords for cable box and Roku at the HDMI switch input ports. Is the cable box still the only source which plays via BT?

I returned the more expensive BT transmitter, which had optical in, to continue to use the aux only transmitter I already had.  So this would be hard to check out.  Thanks for the tip.  But the switch documents no special specs for any of the ports -- as if they are interchangeable.

I thought you said the TV had no aux (analog)  output.

Ah, okay, you perhaps plan to use that transmitter with the Port. 

I had the BT aux only hooked up to a very old Marantz receiver.  It worked when the receiver was set to AVR.  With Sonos, no need for wired speakers, hence no need for receiver, hence the switch.  All works.  Port will enable use of the original transmitter, analog output.