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Ivan Jeremic
Contributor I
February 18, 2021

We need Audiophile Edition version of Port

  • February 18, 2021
  • 108 replies
  • 10976 views

First of I want to say that I have been using Sonos products since 2009. Besides Sonos, I had a lot of gear but none of it could match Sonos's ease of use and sound quality (for the price). I have to come clean and say that I am used to using Sonos everywhere and I love it. 

As an audiophile, I was looking to replace my aging Sonos Connect with Port and realized from all the reviews that it does not have a better digital output. This was a show stopper for me and it is a show stopper for all audiophiles out there. 

You are missing a very important niche of the market. It is taken by Raspberry Pie implementations and Bluesound and Aurelia, not because they have better software or support for services, but because they have a better digital output. That is it. Nothing else. Everyone I have talked to said they like Sonos but the digital output is jittery. I have tried a lot of solutions and even they sound better than Connect over coax they are all not easy to use, do not have support for the majority of services, etc… I meet old people putting Raspberry Pie solutions together and struggling with boards and power supplies and software issues just to get good digital output. Audiophiles are people willing to spend a lot of money on a good streamer. 

Wired 4 Sound managed to mod Connect into a damn good streamer. There is no reason you can do it too! 

Sonos has the best software and the rest of the products are great but you are missing the main link with audiophiles.

Sonos Port Digital or whatever you want to call it

No audio inputs or outputs. Audiophiles will not use them. They suck compared to $$$$$ priced amps. Just Digital Coax and maybe, just maybe, optical output.

Get power supply clean and stable, maybe even consider having standard power cable, get rid of jitter, use high-quality SPIDF connector…

Make Sonos digital output sound great and you will sell a bunch. 

I will buy it first if you manage to do it for $899 or less.

I sure hope that someone from Sonos will take this seriously.

If anyone agrees with me please leave comments so we can get Sonos attention.

Cheers!

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    108 replies

    Show previous replies
    chicks
    chicks
    August 4, 2021

    Delusional audiophiles are SO much fun, lol. :D

    TTT15
    Enthusiast I
    August 4, 2021

    thank you for proving my point.

      sonosg
      Enthusiast I
      August 4, 2021

      Delusional audiophiles are SO much fun, lol. :D

      And there it is...

      amun
      August 5, 2021

      I don’t know why. I would put the headphones on and it would sound ok but i was disappointed if i was honest and then after a couple of songs I would have to take the headphones off because my ears hurt.

      The point that people are making is that unless there was some mismatch or fault then it’s very unlikely that the sound would be ‘painful’. Whilst I have expressed concerns over the years about relative sound quality, I have never had cause to call sound from a Sonos unit ‘painful’.

      The fact that this is only being seen in one specific  case - i.e. your particular headphones with your particular kit/usage/musical taste implies that there was a problem of some sort - we have no way of knowing what that may have been.

      I share your dislike of the general mocking of ‘audiophiles’, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.

      TTT15
      Enthusiast I
      August 5, 2021

      Im not saying that Sonos is painful to listen to on speakers just on my notoriously revealing headphone as I had to take my headphones off after a short period because my ears were hurting as some others have suggested. USB cable sounds a lot better and can listen as long as I want. I don’t know why just that Sonos doesn’t work as a source for my headphones. That is just my experience on my equipment.

      I can completely accept that other people don’t feel the need for anything other than Sonos but clearly some people can’t  accept that someone else may prefer something other than Sonos as a hifi source. Unless they have heard my system then I don’t see how they can judge and even then it would only be a personal experience as mine is. . I am only saying I find Sonos painful to listen to on my headphones hence Sonos may not be the best option for everyone in every circumstance. It is hardly blasphemy but clearly.it is for some.

      So based on my personal experience with my equipment I can see where the OP is coming from. I would buy a Sonos digital only out hifi component which can play all files and has a full range of inputs and outputs with a comparable spec to various other hif streamers on the market as I appreciate the class leading convenience of Sonos. I suspect it won’t happen as it is not the Sonos market focus and will have to look elsewhere.  

      buzz
      buzz
      August 5, 2021

      Were your headphones using a wireless link when connecting through PORT?

      TTT15
      Enthusiast I
      August 6, 2021

      Good thought but I don’t have a problem with my wireless headphones with Sonos  other than were not sound quality looking for so switched to wired headphones which much better. The wired headphones are so transparent and revealing that I can hear detail in songs I’ve know since a child that never heard before. They need a matching amp and source and that for me and these headphones  isn’t  Sonos so I agree with Sonos. 

      buzz
      buzz
      August 6, 2021

      There is nothing intrinsically wrong with wireless links, however, many of them are not appropriate for the audio quality you are seeking.

      TTT15
      Enthusiast I
      August 6, 2021

      Personally never found a wireless headphone/earbuds that sound as good or as comfortably as the reasonably priced wired earbuds I used until they were discontinued after the removal of phone headphone inputs.   Sure losing the wires is good but for menot worth loss is sound quality and inconvenience of having to charge another device. Ok when on the move with background noise. It was how the quest started. 

      chrisgtl
      Lyricist II
      December 16, 2021

      Glad I found this thread.

      Currently I have a modest system compromosing of NAD C 316BEE amp and Q Acoustic 3030i speakers with a Topping D30 DAC. Love the relationship between all three components.

      Today I bought a Audiolab 6000A Play due to glowing reviews, in an attempt to get a ‘one box solution’. Dear lord! It is so bad! Not sure if the Audiolab didn’t like the Q Acoustic speakers but they sounded terrible - not to mention the god awful Play-Fi app. It is boxed back up and is going back to the supplier tomorrow.

       

      So here I am again. I just want a good streamer that can connect to all my subscription services like Amazon Music, Local Plex, Soundcloud etc. I know the Sonos is perfect for that as I have a Sonos One in the kitchen and the app is just amaingly good!! If only I could implement this with the NAD in my front room.

       

      Am I correct by saying even if I was to buy the Sonos Port and connect it to my Topping D30 DAC its not going to sound too good?

       

      I’m just wondering if I already have the best solution out there. USB connection from my server to my DAC. Foobar on the server with the Android remote control app. Its just a PIA to VNC into my server to change from Foobar to Amazon Music and Soundcloud. Who would of thought in 2021 this would even be a problem.

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