Sonos Profile for PMS forcing transcoding to CD quality

[Noobgamer0111]

Server Version#: 1.25.4.5487
Server Specs: Dell Inspiron 15R 7520 SE (laptop from 2012)
CPU: Intel Core i7-3612QM @2.10GHz
RAM: 2x 4GB DDR3 1600MHz
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000

Players: 1x Sonos Playbar, and 2x Sonos Amps
Player Version#: S2 14.0 (build 67125031, latest)

Network Hardware:
Telstra Smart Modem Gen 2 (Arcadyan LH1000)
Firmware: 0.15.16r

Note: I did some research into NAT Loopback/hairpinning for this router, this router has no support for NAT loopback. This could be a contributing factor. Also, all Telstra Crowd Support forums all refer to older firmware versions.

Issue: The Sonos profile (found in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Resources\Profiles) is telling PMS to transcode all FLAC files to 44.1kHz-16bit, even if the S2 clients are capable of 48kHz-24bit and S1 clients at 48kHz-16bit.

My troubleshooting attempts:

1. Changed audio.bitDepth value from 16 to 24 using Windows Notepad.
   
   

Result:

FLAC was being transcoded to AAC, despite this file being in the bounds of any Sonos S2 device (it was a 48kHz-24bit stereo FLAC file).

Also note that audio is being sent to a remote server, most likely one of the many Amazon Web Servers rented by Sonos in Ashburn Virginia.

Update: That is incorrect, according to the “Requirements for Sonos” Plex Support Article, this should be the Relay that is mentioned, as my router doesn’t support NAT Loopback.

2. Reset bit depth value back to 16, but changed the bitrate maximum to 2304kbps.
   
   

Result:

Again, FLAC was being transcoded to AAC.

3. Final test, changed both the bitRate and bit Depth to 2304kbps and 24bit respectively.
   
   

Result:

Again, FLAC was being transcoded to AAC.

My Suggestions: Please add 24-bit transcoding support for S2 products, give server owners the ability to choose the audio quality they’d like to play to for their Sonos products.

[Volts]

I think I saw somewhere that Sonos doesn’t (or didn’t) make it possible to differentiate between S1 and S2 systems and their capabilities. Perhaps this has changed now that Qobuz 24-bit streaming is a thing.

I’m firmly in camp “24 bit is woo”, but I hate unnecessary transcoding.

[Noobgamer0111]

Not to mention that 24bit streaming is available on S2 products for TIDAL and Plex has TIDAL integration available.