We need Audiophile Edition version of Port

Sure but it does on the optical output which is not ideal. Appreciate every DAC does but not ideal for a hifi set up that you get the very  Sonos processed sound iwhich is designed for its own products but isn’t ideal when being used as a source for other speakers  

Yes the switching to fixed is a helpful suggestion which I appreciate and  is fine for my ok speakers but the sound quality is still so poor it hurts my ears on headphones  And what ever it is doing that doesn’t mean it should be necessary to move from the convenience of variable to fixed  

im haven’t said the dac is poor.  It just isn’t great. I have various dac options and when I blindly switch been sources I come to the same option and it isn’t Sonos. 

it is nothing to do with snobbery. It is about sound quality. With Sonos it is painful and not enjoyable to listen to. on my headphones. With a cheaper USB connection. it is enjoyable and not painful to listen to. That is what matters.  I know this is difficult for the deniers to accept but just maybe the Sonos port is not the best sounding option and just maybe it consistently gets poor reviews because it isn’t the best product in the line up. Just possibly some pother products sound better for some people in some situations and give them more enjoyment  

what is snobbery would be to suggest that it is worth spending money on Sonos ibecause it is better than some other eg Bluetooth products but that there is no other product that could just possibly be a better option for some people in some situations  

That is a constructive suggestion but it just highlights that there is a problem with the Port and it ideally needs an upgrade. I don’t think Sonos should be applying DSP to something that is meant to be a hifi source. Sonos should not be painful to listen to on headphones

. The Port is a tricky one as it sits between their main convenience mass market and the hifi component market where it compares poorly. . While there are some Sonos users in denial who claim nothing sounds better than Sonos i have never come across a hifi user with Sonos that claim there is a more convenient product than Sonos.
 

Ideally as someone with a foot in both camps I want the convenience of Sonos with the sound quality of hifi. I don’t doubt that Sonos is technically capable of producing such a product but it just isn’t there market so unfortunately I will just have to look elsewhere. 

I’d agree with all that. I certainly don’t feel missold by Sonos and still think that it does what it is intended for very well. There are some claims on here though which I was previously inclined to believe that in  practice I have found to be missleadingly over the top which isn’t helpful. It actually does Sonos a disservice by seeking to claim it is something that it is not. The reality as with most things is somewhat more balanced and nuanced so I am merely seek to provide an alternative view as a counterpoint. 

Absolutely. It is personal experience. It could be that the USB route simply works better  on my system than an optical connection but then as Sonos doesn’t offer a USB output that is not an option. 
 

i can completely believe that some people are entirely satisfied with the Sonos sound and the hifi systems they have heard do nothing for them or are not worth it. I’m merely suggesting that different systems sound different and some people may enjoy the sound of different systems more. 
 

My headphones are notoriously revealing and simply don’t work well with Sonos but completely believe that Sonos may be perfectly acceptable as a hifi source for other people with other systems. What I don’t believe based on my experience is that Sonos is the best hifi source for all people for all systems and the world ends with Sonos. I’m struggling to think that you could claim that for any product. There are other options which some other people may prefer.  

Sorry that was not clear or what I meant to say.  I strongly suspect that there are other headphone systems that sound better or different to mine and they may also well be cheaper. I got a special offer and could not test due to lockdown.  They are a lot better than my other headphones/earbuds though but was underwhelmed until I switched from Sonos to a USB cable. 
 

I’ve tested lots of different earbuds and dac options though and they all sound very different and either really enjoyed or didn’t. The earbud I most enjoyed was not a hifi brand and not the most expensive hence why I think different music systems sound different and the most expensive is not necessarily the best. I don’t enjoy Sonos as a hifi souce. I do enjoy the sound from the cheaper USB cable option. . That is a night and day difference for me personally. 
 

im just saying diffferent systems sound very different to me and that Sonos as good as it is is not the be all and end all system for everyone for every situation. Different people just have different preferences. 

I would say really enjoying my hifi headphones because they sounded so clear revealing and natural and wanting to listen to them every day after switching to an alternative source is a night and day difference.

Switching from variable to fixed volume as recommended on here certainly removed a lot of the Sonos distortion but still on Sonos I could only listen to my headphones for a short period as they hurt my ears.
 

My headphones really started to sing and become really enjoyable and made me realise why they had such a good reputation when I switched from Sonos. With Sonos they were disappointing and unpleasant to listen to. I would say that is a night and day difference. 
 

I have 8 Sonos units as I think they are an excellent life style product but they are not hifi and simply not suitable for a revealing pair of headphones. Just as previously my previous amp was simply not powerful or good enough to drive them.  
 

Some people seem to believe that Sonos is way better than other music systems  but that there is nothing better.  For a lot of people that may well be true and Sonos is a lot better than basic systems. but personally I get a lot more pleasure from a less processed sound which is more natural. I’ve no doubt that doesn’t do anything for a lot of people but for some it does. It is merely  personal preference and what people are willing and able to pay. Clearly Sonos get that right for a lot of people as it is a mass market product but it is not hifi which is fine as it doesn’t claim to be.

But there are a lot better and cheaper or similar priced options as I found out when I listened to my ears rather than people who refuse to accept that there could be hifi sources that sound better than Sonos. Personally I don’t believe that there are other systems that sound better than mine. Whether they are worth it is another personal question. 

I would love an audiophile port as Sonos ease of use is excellent and I believed all the claims on here that Sonos could deliver quality digital output. Unfortunately Sonos as hifi components consistently get a poor reviews for a reason as I recently found out. Replacing Sonos with another digital source has made a night and day difference to my hifi. A great lifestyle product but severely restricts the sound quality on good hifi to the extent the sound is so distorted it was physically painful to listen to. Replacing Sonos with a far cheaper option of a USB cable has solved the problem and greatly increased my listening pleasure.

I still wish that Sonos will bring out a quality hifi source as I’m a Sonos fan but I’m not holding my breath as while I’m sure they have the technical capability it is just not  their market which is fair enough. 

Dac/preamp that can do crossover and room EQ in the digital domain like a MiniDSP SHD.  Then feed a power amp, speakers, and subs.

Port can already do that, but having a digital input and rudimentary home theater decode (like the AMP) would let me feed my TV to it and not have to mess with a big AVR at all.  If I swapped for a Port + preamp setup, I lose the ability to add 2 Ones for surround sound.

Not a big deal and I’m sure I’m a corner case.

So does the Port, via UPnP or any of the dozens of Sonos-supported services, including your own music on a NAS...

Amp has an HDMI-ARC digital in, DD5.1 home theatre decode, dual radios, and support for dedicated HT satellites. A different product positioning from Port entirely. 

???

The Bluesound Node 2i actually has a lot of performance issues, far more than the Port.  However, Bluesound pays royalties to Sonos for infringing Sonos’ patents, so I’m sure Sonos doesn’t mind the competition.

One way to do this is via a old but working on S1 Connect - it ought to be cheap. Wire the PC audio to the Connect Line in jacks, and set these to autoplay to the play 1 pair. There will be a lag, but that should not matter for pure audio. It is also likely that lip-sync issues will not arise on YouTube videos and the like, but this is something that can't be assured.