hi there it's jonathan from smart home sounds a home audio retailer based in the uk today i'm here to talk to you all about the sonos port wireless streamer it's not a product that we've covered in great detail before so we thought we'd tell you everything you can use the sonos port for and why it's a credible part of the sonoff system [Music] so before we get started we are a sonos authorized reseller so if the port would be a worthwhile addition to your system then i'll pop a link in the description below so that you can visit our product page on it where you can have the option to purchase it with our extended six years sonos warranty and 30 days hassle-free returns i thought the easiest way to structure this video would be to break it down into different use cases and describe individually the ways that you can use the port so first of all what is the sonos port and what would you use it for well it's the replacement to the sonos connect which you may or may not heard of and it does exactly the same thing with a few updates so in a nutshell the sonos port is a wireless streamer which can connect your existing third-party hifi components and give them access to the sonos app where you can stream music to them using the app itself or spotify or apple or airplay 2 just to name a few examples it's sold for an rrp of 399 pounds and it's supplied in this matte black color only so the first use case for the sonos port then is if you own a hi-fi system that could include something like an amplifier and bookshelf or floor standing speakers and you already have some sonos speakers at home and you like how the sonos ecosystem works already so you might want to integrate that third party hi-fi system and have that show as a room in your sonos app so that you can group music from the hi-fi to any other sonos speakers in your home so as you can see we've got the riga kites here the bookshelf speakers and the riga i o amplifier and then i've got the port on top the port would connect to the i o so that i can just use the sonos app to stream music to it or you might not have a sonos system at home but you're looking to give your hi-fi system some streaming capabilities over wi-fi so you can use the line out on the sonos port to connect to your line in on your hi-fi and it'll be usable on the sonos app as your chosen room name and you can start streaming to it right away so it's perfect if you enjoy the quality of your own speakers but want to also benefit from the sonos ecosystem and the simplicity of streaming your own content over wifi if you want to see how the sonos app looks then do check out our sonos app overview on our youtube channel in our opinion we couldn't name an audio brand that has a better app than sonos due to the fact that sonos have the most experience when designing this sort of wi-fi based app which is constantly improving over time via software updates so what about if you also have a cd player or a turntable that comes with that hi-fi system now as the port has a line in in addition to a line out you could have the turntable or cd player connected to the line in and the line out connected to the amplifier the turntable or cd player audio can be shared to your other sonos speakers over wi-fi so that you can listen to your turntable audio wherever you have sonos speakers now on the note of turntables our next scenario is if you don't have a hifi system at all already and you simply want to integrate a turntable into the sonos system so you may have sonoff speakers that don't have a line in to connect a turntable to such as a sonos beam or a sonos one for example the port will give you that line in to connect the turntable to and act as a gateway so that turntable audio can be shared on any sonar speaker that you like over wifi now it must be said that as the port is 399 pounds i must bring your attention to the sonos 5 if you're simply looking to add a turntable to your sonos system now the sonos 5 is sonos's most premium wireless home speaker of the range and as such it comes with a line in to connect a turntable as standard for a price of 499 pounds so 100 pounds more than the port now the port is not necessary if you buy a 5 because the turntable will connect directly to the 5 and you can still share the turntable audio to your other sonos speakers in the same way that you can with the port so if you're happy for the five to be positioned next the turntable as they'll need to be connected to each other your money will go further by getting the sonos 5 which can obviously be used as a speaker with it within its own rights the port on the other hand gives you the flexibility to position your turntable and speakers anywhere in the room so maybe you've got a five in one corner of the room and you want to position the turntable at the opposite corner the port can sit next to the turntable and then be shared across to that five or other sonar speakers that you have in your home so hopefully that makes sense as we do get a lot of queries about going for the port all the five when talking about a turntable the final scenario that i can think of is if you have an old device that has lots of music stored on it like an ipod a phone or even a pc as long as that device has a headphone jack on it you can use an rca to 3.5 millimeter cable to connect it to the port and start playing any music on the equipment that the port is connected to as well as streams any other sonos speakers in your home of course buying the port for the sole purpose of connecting an old ipod is quite a lot of money and we'd love sonos to redesign their ipod dock from back in the day where you could dock the ipod and share this to your sonos system for 99 pounds maybe you could have just the line in the line out and call it the sonos port mini for example so now that we've covered the scenarios let's take a closer look at the design and connections on the sonos port itself then and see what else it can do i must admit this is a big upgrade on its predecessor the sonos connect in terms of design not only for being more compact but for being more modern too with this sort of matte black finish and looks in keeping with the rest of the sonos range there aren't any touch controls on the front like we see on other sonos products because i guess sonos assume that you probably won't be keeping this in view now if we take a look at the back um you've got the button for joining your wi-fi here the power cove you've got two ethernets so that you can use you can use those for hardwiring to your wi-fi if it can't be relied upon wirelessly and you've got the rca line in for connecting to a turntable or cd player as we mentioned earlier the line out for connecting to your amplifier if you have one and here you've got something called a 12 volt trigger so this is useful if you're connecting to an amplifier and providing your amplifier has the trigger input when you start streaming from the sonos port it will automatically turn on your amplifier or receiver to keep button pressing and switching to a minimum finally we have a digital coaxial output in case you want to use this connection instead of the line out as they support a higher amount of bandwidth to be passed through it's also worth doing a quick comparison between this and the sonos amp as they are fundamentally different though it is a question that we get asked quite frequently so the sonos amp is sold for a higher price of 599 pounds because this does everything that the port can do but also can power your passive speakers so if you've got a set of bookshelf or floor standing speakers for example with an existing amplifier you could replace the amplifier entirely with the sonos amp however if you're happy with that amplifier you can just connect a sonos port to that amplifier to benefit from the sonos ecosystem now you'll need to weigh up the pros and cons of replacing your amplifier because if you have a particularly powerful one one that outputs more than 125 watts at the amp outputs then you might just want to use the sonos port but if you're looking for a new amp or are in the market for a completely new amp and speaker combo then the sonos amp is a good option to consider now if you're not already invested in the sonos system and you're simply looking to give a streaming or multi-room interface to your hi-fi then you don't necessarily need to consider the sonos system there are a couple of alternatives so firstly you have the bluesound node 2i for 499 pounds which adds bluetooth and high-res support for mqa files from services like tidal or if you would like to go for an even more premium option bows and wilkins offer a streamer in their formation range named the formation audio for 599 pounds now i love the design of this one and the bmw app is constantly improving too again that supports everything that sonos does plus bluetooth rune support and high res support it's also worth mentioning that bmw have designed their own wi-fi mesh which offers the most rock-solid connection so if you've got a slightly higher budget listen to a lot of high-res audio and like having the option of bluetooth then those are also ones to consider so that is pretty much everything there is to know about the sonos port i know this one was pretty involved so do let me know in the comments if you would like me to clarify anything for you and if this video answered some of your questions please just take a moment to leave leave a thumbs up so i know it helped and consider subscribing if you'd like to see more from us in the world of sonos and home audio if you want any further help then feel free to get in touch via phone email or live chat our team is always more than happy to answer your questions and offer some more personal advice for your setup and home thanks for watching and i'll see you in the next video you