We need Audiophile Edition version of Port

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. 

Sonos doesn’t apply DSP on the digital output when volume is set to Fixed. The unit behaves just like any other digital source, such as a CD player.

When volume is set to Variable then, for obvious reasons, Sonos must take steps to avoid clipping on the S/PDIF (which really would warrant the otherwise hyperbolic term “painful”).

Is the soft-knee limiting a bit aggressive? Possibly. Keeping volume below ~85% avoids it. Alternatively use Fixed digital out, or the analog outs. Despite the snobbishness about Sonos audio quality the DAC is the very respectable AK4490EQ which shows up in many reputable brands. 

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.