We need Audiophile Edition version of Port

Im interested in what you have said here. I'm trying to rationalise giving up my other streamers/transports for the ease of using sonos but I cant help feel that I will be short changed on SQ but your probably right after several seconds I wont remember and then its just a case of putting it out of my head. I wish sonos would offer a desktop solution as I'm trying to come up with a good home office solution. 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. Its this solution I want to get the sq right with whatever i do as its where i will do a lot of listening in a nearfield environment and its where I think I'm most likely to feel short changed on sq if it was an issue.

This is a great subject and is very open ended, especially if you are trying to take queues from an “audiophile” perspective. First let me say that while I do consider myself a gear head, I am totally a music lover from birth. My wife really dislikes the term Audiophile as it is pretentious and over used, so I do not use it describing myself as I love music first and listening platforms second.
 

Back in 2014 I started into the world of streaming and pretty much only used AirPlay to a home theater receiver or tv. When I discovered Sonos, I went all in and bought several Sonos speakers & components . I found it was pretty much stupid proof from set up to everyday use. I also decided to run a connect through a lower mid entry Dac into my McIntosh system. Personally I found the sound to be quite good, even streaming subscription Pandora as a main source for radio like experience, and Spotify for playing and discovering music. 
 

As time has moved forward and the technology for higher quality streaming became a reality I wanted to move up to higher quality due to thinking it’s what my big system needed, plus being around other gear heads telling me you will never get true hi res or “audiophile “ quality music. Well I pretty much decided that for my mid fifties ears, I am good with what I was getting from my connect. With the introduction of S2 my Connect that I’ve been using over the last years was no longer being supported with updates, I looked to maybe go a different route than Sonos. Blue sound node is what I was thinking of. I spent countless hours reading the reviews and how for the money it was an incredible unit to go with, especially as I had purchased a better Dac for my system. I ordered the node, and the day it came, I decided I didn’t have the WiFi bandwidth to support the node via WiFi and I do not have access to go wired, plus with all the negative reviews on the app and such, I just thought it wasn’t worth the hassle. I went to my local audio store and picked up a new port and connected it to my Dac along with my old connect to compare the two as I had read that the sound was better on the connect than the newer port. I switched back and forth and had my wife do a blind listening test, and we both found the port to sound better. 

I stream a lot, even probably more than I use my turntable or CD player as I love the ease of playing what I want at the touch of a screen. 
 

To the original post, do I wish that Sonos made a higher end streamer? Maybe, but to many audiophiles it would still not be enough as there is the golden ear issue that so many swear they can hear the difference, and if they can, more power to them. Personally, I really love Sonos and I totally respect the company for not bricking older products and continuing to come up with new and better products and upgrades. 
 

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.

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.

I have a port connected to a Denafrips Ares 2 external DAC connected to a rogue sphinx integrated amp.

I recently, noting its strong return policy, tried ain ifi ipure2 between the coax and the ares 2. This device claims to both galvanically issolate the signal (removing power supply noise and such) and reclocking it. 

I was commited to trying it and sending it back if I did not hear a dramatic improvmenet. Suprisingly, I did. The dynamic range (especially the base) and the imaging improved quite a bit. I was so startled I contacted IFI to see if they were applying a DSP or something else. They said nope. I then contacted Denafrips, and they said if the jitter of the signal was reduced it would help the sound quality, even though the DAC also does some reclocking. Since they also sell expensive devices to reclock as well, they obviuosly think such is possible. 

At any rate, if you are looking to improve the signal from a port into an external DAC, the IFI is  worth a try. Just make sure to buy from a place with a solid return policy. YMMV.

I still dont know if the improvement comes from reducing jitter/reclocking, or the galvanic issolation, but I’m not removing it! The improvement was way better than any other tweak (interconnects, etc), I’ve ever tried, at least in my setup. 

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.

Personally I think Sonos missed the boat with the Port when they didn’t make it like the Amp, but with a digital/analog outs instead of speaker outs.  Same features as the Amp, just replace the amp with digital outs. 

???

Amp has a digital in.  And can be used with a TV setup to provide 4.1 sound (phantom center).

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.