Sound quality is really excellent, despite the absence of support for hi-res audio. With careful positioning, the Port can even pull off both its party tricks at once. This means you can plug in a source – a turntable being the most obvious one, although you will need a pre-amp if yours isn't able to output at line level – and then stream it around the house to your network of Sonos speakers and soundbars.Īlternatively, you can plug the Port into your amplifier/soundbar/powered speaker and stream to it via Sonos or Apple AirPlay 2. It's actually a multi-purpose device, since it has an analogue input and output, as well as being able to stream to any Sonos speaker wirelessly. Sonos Port is a great little streamer, especially if you're among the millions of people who already own a Sonos speaker. You will, of course, need more compatible speakers (or streaming DACs plugged into hi-fi systems) to achieve this life goal. Many streaming DAC receivers can also be used to integrate your old kit into a wider multi-room set-up – some also with voice control support - whether that's Chromecast, Sonos or MusicCast, breathing yet more life into your antiquated audio kit. While none will match a wire for hi-res file compatibility and playback, you'll often notice the difference with a lowly MP3. Sound quality can be anything from MP3-level to better-than-CD hi-res audio, and all the convenience of Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music etc.Īll the kit we've reviewed features a DAC (or digital-to-analogue converter) that improves, to varying degrees, the sound quality of streamed music. SONOS TARGETS AUDIOPHILES BY 24BIT QOBUZ UPGRADEThese simple plug-and-play receivers connect to a spare phono or 3.5mm input and instantly upgrade your kit. If you've got an existing hi-fi with decent speakers, CD player and Amplifier, but crave the digital delights of wireless audio, you need a streaming DAC. The Yamaha WXAD-10 is another superb value upgrade to your music system. It supports hi-res audio, allows the possibility of Sonos-like multi-room and is compatible with every streaming service most people could possibly want, from Spotify to Qobuz, to Apple AirPlay and even Bluetooth. If you've got a Google Home or Alexa speaker you can even have voice control of it. Just plug in your turntable and stream it to a Sonos speaker, or plug it into your amp and speakers and stream via Airplay 2 or the Sonos app. It doesn’t look much, but Sonos Port offers an extremely smooth transition from the wired to wireless world. But if you have a collection of super hi-res music stored and you've splashed out on an elite amp, then look for the DACs with higher-end components and file support. If you have a pretty average system, then pretty much anything we recommend will satisfy. The features of the DAC part are important depending on how high quality you want the music to be. The features of the streaming part are important only in terms of making sure that the services you want are supports: some only support basic Bluetooth, some support high-quality aptX Bluetooth, some support Apple AirPlay 2, some support Sonos, some support all of these, some support just one… so you should know what technical support you want when buying. A streaming DAC adds two key components for an old-school system: the part that receives wireless signals and includes the right tech for decoding them and the part that converts those digital music signals into analogue signals than your amp can understand, so you can then play to some of the best bookshelf speakers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |