Port review at WhatHiFi

Digressing a little, there is a very good exposition of the rigour of science based DBT in the second season of the TV series Fargo, where the wife of the main character has cancer and in desperation, signs up to be part of a clinical trial for a new experimental drug as a last chance. Her husband and she then ask the doctor after all aspects of the trial are explained - But how do we know if she isn't the one getting the placebo pills - and the doctor tell them that they can’t know, and neither will he. How can we ensure she gets the real drug, they ask again - You can’t, is the short answer. Never mind that this may be a life and death issue for her.

Compare this rigour to how subjective opinions are casually tossed off and then relied on to be universally applicable in the world of audio, especially in the HiFi niche of it.

Listening to Music is subjective. People read subjective Hi-Fi reviews. So in the real world subjective views matter.

No one objects to a subjective view that Sonos has a great range of products. Looks good. Sounds good and has grat. ease of set up and use but that is just a subjective opinion. 
 

However this isn’t subjective. Sonos freely admit that they process the variable output sound which is contrary to what you are looking for from a Hi-Fi component. It is also a fact that the Port can’t play music formats the majority of Hi-Fi streamers competitors can play. It is is hardly surprises that it isn’t getting great industry and consumer reviews   Ignoring criticism and technology changes isn’t  a great business Model.   For sure many technology changes disappear but some replace existing technology.

Sonos was born in the a time of lower bandwidths. That has and  is changing. I suspect that Sonos has introduced S2 for a reason.

Like it or not the  Port just isn’t Sonos most compelling product if you are only looking to add a streamer to a Hi-Fi. 

I agree; it is wildly overpriced if that is all one is looking for. By the way, for the use case quoted, it is the only Sonos product, there isn't any other that is more compelling.

I also agree that listening to music is a subjective experience because it is part of reality, which itself is a subjective experience.

But the problem is that the word HiFi itself is subjective and there is no objective definition of that word - and therefore, anything goes and HiFi usually = High end = expensive.

Which is why everyone that has invested - and in many cases been conned to invest - in a five digit plus HiFi system finds it very difficult to accept something like a Chromecast Audio or an Echo Dot as a credible part of their system as source for music via their Hi End system - back in my now outgrown audiophile days before Sonos, I had similar problems accepting iPods as source to my expensive HiFi set ups.  It just does not compute in the HiFi worldview and adherents will not risk a DBT even if they knew how to set up a scientific one, for fear of being proved wrong. Because that may mean that the investment in the main system will start looking like a bad financial decision.

The Connect which made sense back in 2005, has for some time now been a challenge for Sonos - from a pricing point of view. It is wildly overpriced for what it does, but it needs to priced at at least twice of what it is to be taken seriously by “HiFi” subscribers, who need Hi End to be Hi Priced for admission to the club.

Classic marketing MBA material, this.

There is also a problem that regardless of price, Port will not be taken seriously, because Sonos as a brand isn't, by the HiFi crowd. For purely psychological reasons.

So perhaps Sonos has struck the right balance for the Port pricing which for psychological reasons will never sell in large numbers.

I actually just want a Sonos Steamer without DAC that doesn’t distort the sound, plays all main formats and has input and output options I don’t see how a digital source with the same data can make a difference and I don’t see why this should or needs to be expensive Unfortunately the Port isn’t it and there are plenty of other products which offer uncoloured sound and more functionality  if you are just looking for a Hi-Fi streamer the Port just doesn’t make sense at any price point  

 The problem with technology companies is that technology changes  So what was an opportunity for Sonos is now a problem  How do they keep existing and new customers happy in times of increasing bandwidths and different formats some of which will disappear and some of which will take hold  ive no doubt starting now Sonos would offer hi res if only from a marketing viewpoint  There is no way I’m getting into the well worn hi res argument because I don’t believe I could hear the difference  I suspect some musicians and engineers can but not me but I can hear master differences if Sonos allows me to play the format which it doesn’t  

There are plenty of people into HI-FI who disappear down the rabbit hole but there is also those looking for value and real differences. I just asked my dealer if it was worth changing my DAC and the answer was no. The headphones and amp are on a different level though so you just have to be careful where you spend your money. 

I have no idea what planet you are on or why you think I would read your Playbar review...consider decaf.  Such a sensitive little thing.

You get your knickers in a bunch about a two month old post, and I’m the sensitive one?  

Meanwhile in the real world What HiFi has given many Sonos items top reviews but not the Port.  

So what?  I wouldn’t trust What HiFi to give an accurate, objective review of a light switch.  Also, what does What HiFi have to do with a scientifically valid analysis?  They are a subjective review publication, and an audiophile one at that.  By their very nature, they eschew objective, scientifically valid testing in favor of flowery prose and unestablished claims.