


The Amp is essentially a Port with a built-in amplifier.

It can also connect to a turntable with a built-in phono preamp (or a turntable with an external phono preamp) so you can listen to vinyl on your Sonos speakers. The big difference between the two is that the Port doesn’t have a built-in amp, so it’s only going to work directly with audio components and active speakers that have built-in amplification (such as powered or active speakers). There's the Port and the significantly more expensive Amp ($649). Sonos currently sells two different wireless streamers that effectively allows you to turn an old audio component into one that works exactly like a Sonos speaker. However, the Port does have a fancy new digital-to-analog converter (DAC), compared to the Connect, and supports Wi-Fi streaming like Spotify Connect and AirPlay 2 so it’s going to stream higher-resolution and all-around better sounding audio than Bluetooth. It’s true that most newer audio components have built-in Bluetooth, so simply adding “streaming” to your stereo receiver on its own isn’t actually a big feature of the Port. (My three-year-old Yamaha receiver didn’t support it, so I still have to use the receiver’s remote to switch inputs, unfortunately.) There’s a catch, however, and it’s only newer stereos and receivers that have a 12-volt trigger input.

It essentially eliminates the need for you to manually turn on the receiver or stereo, or switch to the proper inputs, because everything just turns on when you start streaming via the Sonos app to stream music. Maybe the most interesting upgrade is the Port’s 12-volt trigger, which gives it (and you) a little more control of the connected receiver or amp. Sonos's Three Portable Speakers, Compared
