We need Audiophile Edition version of Port



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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. 

 

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.

 

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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. 

 

 Well I pretty much decided that for my mid fifties ears, I am good with what I was getting from my connect.

Congratulations on getting to where most of us get to by that age! And I don't think that we get there only because of impaired hearing.

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).

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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.  

 I currently use a pair of play 1s which sound fine/ok near field but i have no way of getting pc audio etc into them.

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.

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.  

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.

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