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What I am writing here is not a question but simply an observation, and written with the hope that Sonos will take note.

I use my Port with the variable analogue output, these are connected to a power amplifier, therefore I use the Ports equalizer and loudness function.

(There are probably not many people who use their Port this way.)

But after the update to version 15.4, my Port's sound signature has been changed again - again.

The sound lacks warmth and musicality and it is very voice oriented and clinical sounding.

That is, a sound image that you want to aim for with a soundbar that plays together with a subwoofer and not from a product like Port.

 

And e.g. the bass control now only adjusts the very lowest bass, before it worked higher up in the bass frequency range.

The loudness function has also changed.

At the same time, it seems that the DSP is programmed to give more attack in the midrange sound.

 

My experience is that Port's sound changes almost every time a new software update is released.

I gradually have a theory that when Sonos adjusts the sound signature on e.g. the Ace to get a better sound consistency with a subwoofer or accentuate voices, this change is automatically also transferred to the Port, even though the Port cannot use this “soundbar sound” for anything.

And I actually don't think that anyone at Sonos thinks about or checks Port's analog sound signature, therefore it's a bit random how Port’s analog output sounds after various updates.

And I'm not even sure if a solution to this problem is to buy an analog preamplifier with an eq, because some off these sound changes takes place in the DSP domain.

Now I'm just waiting, for the next update, that might make my Port play to my liking again, that is, with a warm and pleasant sound and not with this cold and analytical voice-oriented sound

 

Hi @Gert_4 

Thanks for your post, and for your feedback!

I am not aware of any changed made to the audio profile of Port, but I will be sure to feed this back to the right people. There were some issues with the digital output of Port recently, so it’s not outside of the realms of possibility that some changes were made.

Thanks again for taking the time to report this!

I thought I'd just come back to this thread.
With software version 15.5, the sound on my Port is now significantly better compared to version 15.4.
But one thing that I wonder about is, that there is apparently only one user on this forum who mentions that his Arc with a  Sub with version 15.5, now plays with an improved sound, I wonder why others don't notice this sound change, that is actually quite noticeable especially in the bass area.
But I would say that there is still room for sound improvements, but the sound from my Port is, as I said, much better than it was with version 15.4.
But I still can't understand why sound changes intended for soundbars should also take effect on a product like the Port, but it probably has something to do with Sonos trying to have the same Sonos sound signature on all products.  


But I still can't understand why sound changes intended for soundbars should also take effect on a product like the Port, but it probably has something to do with Sonos trying to have the same Sonos sound signature on all products.  

There should be no such effect on the analog outputs of the Port. They should be, and I believe are designed, to have no sound signature at all. Whatever Sonos tried to do to change sound signatures has to be for Sonos products that have built in speakers where Sonos is in control of and responsible for how the sound comes across from the unit.

In twelve year of using my Connect units that are predecessors of the Port, I have never once come across any sound signature change, even where the unit was getting frequent updates. That of course is not the case now since it is on S1, but the principle cannot have changed for the Port/S2.


But I still can't understand why sound changes intended for soundbars should also take effect on a product like the Port, but it probably has something to do with Sonos trying to have the same Sonos sound signature on all products.  

There should be no such effect on the analog outputs of the Port. They should be, and I believe are designed, to have no sound signature at all. Whatever Sonos tried to do to change sound signatures has to be for Sonos products that have built in speakers where Sonos is in control of and responsible for how the sound comes across from the unit.

 

I completely agree with everything you write and that's how it should be, but this is not the experience I have with my Port.

Every time Sonos makes a DSP sound change that is intended for a soundbar or speakers, this sound change also affects my Port.

But I'll stop for now, because we can't move forward with this discussion without input from Sonos and without this I just sound like a lunatic.

Hi @Gert_4 

With software version 15.5, the sound on my Port is now significantly better compared to version 15.4.
But one thing that I wonder about is, that there is apparently only one user on this forum who mentions that his Arc with a  Sub with version 15.5, now plays with an improved sound, I wonder why others don't notice this sound change, that is actually quite noticeable especially in the bass area.

We made no changes to Arc’s audio profile with the 15.5 update - the person reporting a change probably had an issue with the connection between their Arc and Sub and noticed an improvement to the sound when it got resolved.

I hope this clears things up.

Hi @Gert_4 

With software version 15.5, the sound on my Port is now significantly better compared to version 15.4.
But one thing that I wonder about is, that there is apparently only one user on this forum who mentions that his Arc with a  Sub with version 15.5, now plays with an improved sound, I wonder why others don't notice this sound change, that is actually quite noticeable especially in the bass area.

We made no changes to Arc’s audio profile with the 15.5 update - the person reporting a change probably had an issue with the connection between their Arc and Sub and noticed an improvement to the sound when it got resolved.

I hope this clears things up.

Maybe the word audio profile is the wrong word to use in this case, but what if I use the word equalizer.
Has the way the equalizer and loudness works, changed in version 15.5 on my Port?

Hi @Gert_4 

As far as I am aware, it has never changed. Also, for Port, I’m not sure there is a DSP profile - we use DSP to balance any bias the speaker drivers have to particular frequencies, so not knowing what the Port is going to be connected to prevents any sensible attempt at DSP on our end.

There were some issues with digital output on Port a few months ago, as you know, but that did not involve DSP as far as I am aware, though some connected devices seemed to respond in different ways. These issues have been resolved.

In short, I have no explanation for the changes you have noticed, but I am glad to hear that it has improved for you.


Has the way the equalizer and loudness works, changed in version 15.5 on my Port?

Although it should not matter: on the port are you using the EQ or is it set to neutral positions, at the centre of the sliders, at zero?

PS: I notice you are, because the power amp has no such on it. For one upgrade cycle you may want to set these to their centre positions and see if sound changes after the upgrade.


Has the way the equalizer and loudness works, changed in version 15.5 on my Port?

Although it should not matter: on the port are you using the EQ or is it set to neutral positions, at the centre of the sliders, at zero?

PS: I notice you are, because the power amp has no such on it. For one upgrade cycle you may want to set these to their centre positions and see if sound changes after the upgrade.

I have tried this and I have also reset the equalizer etc.
But I propose to stop this discussion, because this discussion leads nowhere, we simply lack information about how the Sonos DSP updates are distributed and how they affect the different products.
And Sonos will never tell about this, as this is probably considered confidential information.

However, I would just like to mention that my Port is one of the very first to be produced, so there may be other hardware versions on the market that behave differently.

To be fair to Sonos, just today in this thread they have said that: “As far as I am aware, it has never changed. Also, for Port, I’m not sure there is a DSP profile - we use DSP to balance any bias the speaker drivers have to particular frequencies” - which the Port does not have and therefore does not need.

I doubt they need to say more than that. Or will.

 

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