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

To feed what downstream equipment? Over what type of connection? 

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.

I haven't read the link, so bear with me - are these issues OTHER than ones relating to unstable wireless music play of dense HD streams?

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. 

Uh-huh. 

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. 

You have set yourself up for a similar challenge after someone else discovers that their system sounds better than yours.

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. 

Due to the intimate physical contact with the ears and ears are different from head to head, headphone and earbud systems can sound quite different from each other, regardless of the electronic connection method to the system,

Also, they are very different electronic paths when comparing a USB connection and an analog connection and plenty of room for mischief along either path.

Bottom line: Only you know what sounds “best” (to you).

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.  

Whilst some people here have in the past made what have, IMHO, been highly exaggerated claims for Sonos sound quality (including their own CEO at one stage), Sonos have now said that they don’t consider their kit to be of audiophile quality.

It’s very good indeed for the price, and if you’re an Apple user then Trueplay can (for some people) make a huge difference to the sound quality.

Headphones can, by their nature, be very revealing and it’s not that realistic to compare in ear sound to free air sound.

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. 

a while back i posted on this forum re distorted output from  my Connect.
i was even tempted to get a Port to see if that resolved the problem, but was assured it would not.
i even ordered a simple DAC and used the digital output from the Connect, still lot of distortion on certain tracks.
i got help from Sonos Support.

after a LOT of investigation turned out a setting in the phone app (that i had no idea about as i mainly use the desktop app) solved a lot of my problems.

under the Settings > Products > Select relevant Product > Volume Limit,

set this to 80% as opposed to 100%, it means i can still use the Variable Line Out, and i no longer experience the distorted output that was causing so much annoyance.

has massively opened my listening experience, headphone listening is no longer exhausting.

maybe this would help some of the folks who have mentioned distortion when using Variable Out from their Port/Connect ?

 
certainly a lot cheaper and easier than building an alternative system.

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. 

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  

Port doesn’t have an optical output. 

The data from the coax output in Fixed volume mode is not processed. It’s taken from the output of decoder.

I don’t have the means to diff the Port digital output against a WAV input, but long ago someone did this for a ZP80 and found them to be identical. I can’t imagine why Port wouldn’t be similar.

If you like what your USB connection is doing for you that’s fine. Perhaps you simply prefer the processing that’s going on in the phone.

I didn’t enjoy the Port’s variable digital output via Schiit into my HD650s as much as taking the analog out from the Port straight into the head amp. Each to their own.

Sorry I meant analog output. I understand that digital sound not processed but what ever it is doing to it in variable mode isn’t good 

USB is a digital connection so it is my headphone DAC which is doing the processing. For whatever reason it has solved the problem I had listening with Sonos as the digital source. 
 

Exactly each to their.own.  I use Sonos as my surround sound and I’m perfectly happy with it and have no interest in a specialist system as I’m not a film buff so I completely understand if someone says they are completely satisfied with Sonos and don’t see value in other systems. Generally I like Sonos. but I personally prefer the sound of my hifi system and it Just doesn’t work for me as my headphone source. 

Sure my DAC is taking whatever the digital signal is from the source just as my DAC is taking whatever digital signal is coming from Sonos. Whatever it is doing the cheaper USB cable option sounds way better and is no longer painful to listen to on my headphones compared to previously using Sonos as a source. I never touch EQ on a hifi as I don’t like a processed sound which is why the Sonos sound isn’t my personal preference for focused listening. 

You appear to be in denial that your USB option could already be processed, on the source device. It’s just that you seem to prefer that form of processing, which is okay.

Could well be. Not saying it isn’t. I’m only saying that it is a digital signal from the source to the DAC just as Sonos passes a digital signal from the source to the DAC.  Every digital music source is ultimately processed at some point starting with the orginal recording. What I am saying is whatever it is doing it sounds way better than Sonos and is no longer painful to listen to. 

Given the state of the world your repeated use of the work “painful” in connection with a mere audio product is verging on trollishness. 

I’m not trilling at all. I’m am merely pointing out that listening to Sonos on my headphones was hurting my ears so I could not listen for very long as someone else also suggested was a problem with Sonos sound to illustrate that Sonos just might not be the best option for everyone in every situation. 
 

what is trolling is the constant denial and repetitive attacks from a few individuals on anyone who might suggest that other options just might have a better sound quality for some people is some some circumstances and god forbid if they mention the word audiophile. 
 

i like Sonos. The convenience is excellent just not the sound quality for me.  I have eight units.The only one I don’t use regularly anymore and would replace is the hifi component.  Sonos and streaming got me back into music.  I just don’t think it is the be all and end all and just because I find it painful to listen on my headphones is just that. 

I fundamentally agree with Sonos own view of its sound quality so that is hardly trolling. It anyone is trolling it is those repeatedly disagreeing with Sonos. 

It is ok as a digital source for my ok hifi speakers so not an issue. For whatever reason it really doesn’t work with my headphones. Using a USB cable sounds good so problem solved with limited additional expense as far as I’m concerned.
 

It does mean I’m tethered and reliant on source battery so I will buy another hifi. streamer transport at some point. Ideally that would be Sonos if they produced a product as the OP suggested otherwise I will just buy something else. Not an issue now that I have finally solved the problem. But the suggestions on here that there couldn’t ever possibly be anything better than Sonos didn’t help me solve the problem which is why I want to highlight that Sonos might not be the best option for everyone in every situation. That is all. 

There was never a suggestion that Sonos was the be-all and end-all, but the notion that it could be “painful” was repetitive and tiresome hyperbole unless, as buzz suggests, there was some kind of gross fault or mismatch in the signal path.