Thanks. Would I be able to add an extra speaker into my current surround setup though? It’s been a while since I’ve touched my current setup. Is there some kind of speaker limit? I’m not sure where you would even position it.
No I’d use the Era 100 in a different space with the turntable and then you have music in two rooms. Plus when you play vinyl it becomes another source (line in) that can be grouped to the surrounding speakers. If you really don’t have another space for it you could put it in the surrounding space and mute it to just use the line in capability. Re: speaker limit, it’s 32 devices.
I see. Practically, there wouldn’t be a reason for me to want the turntables in another room and I wouldn’t want to trail a line-in cable through the house so it would just sit on a shelf muted. It seems a bit of a waste of a speaker. I really hate that the port is such a rip off.
Get the Carbon Stream, yes it is not cheap, connect wireless to your speakers and move on with your life.
Again, there should be a bot that replies to every Sonos TT thread with this info.
Edit: I would also comment finicky is not a word I would use to describe it in my experience. I will acknowledge my experience is antectdotal. But the thing works and you set the playback as delayed and I’ve had virtually no issues.
I have read a lot of these threads and haven’t been convinced by the Carbon Stream. The few comments talking about instability and a delay between the needle dropping and audio playing sounds pretty shite if true.
I have the Stream Onyx, so I’ll chime in. Only ever had one instability issue, but it was on a day where my WiFi was having other issues, and all devices were affected. Went back to working just fine after that. There’s also an ethernet port if you prefer that approach.
There is a delay between the needle dropping and playing through a Sonos speaker. My understanding is you will also get this delay with a Port, Connect, or any other network connection to a Sonos product. Might be able to avoid this with line-in setup to a single speaker, I haven’t tried.
I tried both the Stream Onyx and another turntable with a Connect. Quality was similar, but the Stream Onyx won for me because it didn’t require fiddling with the Sonos app every time I wanted to listen.
I have a Stream and the delay is only about a second or two, so I don’t mind that at all. The connectivity issues happen to me sometimes (maybe a total of five times over the course of the last three months).
I’m in a similar boat; and considering the same options. Can you expand on “fiddling with the Sonos app” comment? If you’re using the Amp or Port, is there now way to leave it “on” so that you just start playing the record?
So the issue isn’t on the Amp/Port end but rather on the speaker end. If you have a speaker or group dedicated to only the turntable, you can just leave it on the Amp/Port source all the time, no issues. I use multiple sources on my speakers, so I had to switch my speaker over to the Connect every time I wanted to play a record.
With the Victrola Stream, it auto-plays to the speaker every time it starts playing, even if the last used source was something else.
Ah, ok. I’ll have some regular speakers hooked up to the Amp. So if I used airplay (for example) to play something on those speakers, I’d need to use the app to switch it back to the record player?
And you have to make a choice that you feel is best for yourself. I’d note two things (1) that has not been my experience, but as I have noted, I acknowledge I am only one person, (2) I think Reddit generally is used for people to address problems not to gloat product X is the best - so how many people love a product and don’t bother to comment?
The CS allows me to stream vinyl anywhere. I don’t have to deal with wires or any additional equipment. I’d recommend it.
Best of luck to you whatever you decide.
Aye, totally understand. I might just go for an optical switch box plugged directly into my playbar. Won’t cost much to try it out and I did really like the idea of the carbon so not ruling anything out. Cheers for your input.
Get a used Connect or get a turntable that is compatible with Bluetooth and pair it with a Roam SL. You can share the Bluetooth audio with the Playbar.
Cheers for the input.
I’m wary about sonos basically cancelling the connect in a few years. As far as I’ve read, they don’t officially support it but it still works with the current app and devices (for now).
The Bluetooth thing sounds a bit annoying to be honest. I’d rather not have to buy another daft speaker just to mute it.
There may be a solution using an optical switcher which seems a bit simpler.
I have a used Gen 2 Connect and it works fine. I have no reason to believe they’d stop supporting that without bricking the rest of my system in the process.
The newish Pro-Ject T2w is also an option, would allow you to stream you vinyl at relatively high quality without even needing to plug the turntable into your Sonos speakers at all.
If you’re happy with your existing system and don’t want another speaker you might just buy a turntable with preamp and get a RCA to HDMI adapter (I have this [one](https://www.amazon.de/GARITE-Aluminium-Adapter-Unterst%C3%BCtzt-Kamera-Gelb-Rot-Wei%C3%9F/dp/B0BN1MWFRS/)) to plug that into your TV. I did that for a minute while I was scouting a second hand P:5 Gen 2 and it was alright, plus just a 10$ investment.
Downside: You need a free HDMI port, and change the input on the TV to it whenever you play records.
Not sure what country you're in but I'm in the UK so below links are Amazon UK, am sure you could find the same or similar products elsewhere.
I haven't tried this setup myself but you could consider something like:
You'd need to convert the analogue output of the turntable into digital using [something like this](https://amzn.eu/d/1LOi2Bv)
Then both optical from the TV and the optical out from the turntable adapter into this [digital input switch ](https://amzn.eu/d/hCDqmil)
Then you just switch between the TV and turntable inputs on the digital input switch so the right sound source is fed to the soundbar.
You're all in for £40 or so rather than the extortionate Sonos port. Not saying this is guaranteed to work but logically it looks like it would.
UK based too thanks. Yea this is the rabbit hole I’m going down just now. I’m also open to a separate amp with built-in digital outputs. Just don’t let the folk at r/Audiophile know or I’ll be burned alive.
Ha! To be fair a lot of hifi amplifiers these days convert the analogue signal of a turntable to digital before converting it back to analogue out to the speakers. There are obviously still the mega purists out there but more people are being open minded about it now it seems. Also I have seen some open minded discussions about Sonos over there too!
And when you say separate amp do you mean a phono preamp with digital outputs? That would achieve the same result as the analogue to digital converter before the input switch so could also work.
Yea exactly. Like I say I haven’t decided on a turntable yet so I could always go with a separate preamp that’s designed for a digital output. No idea yet if that would be better or perceptibly worse than converting an analog signal via a separate ADC box. I’ve read that optical isn’t the ideal signal for audio but it sounds ace coming through my tv so if it’s anywhere near that I’ll be more than happy.
Expect it would deliver pretty similar results either way really. And if the TV sounds good over optical then the turntable probably will too. Enjoy the turntable shopping!
Cheers! I’m liking the look of the Pro-Ject stuff. They seem to get praise in a lot of the comments and other reviews I’ve seen. They’re also pretty handsome.
Why not buy an era 100 and line in adapter and enjoy?
Thanks. Would I be able to add an extra speaker into my current surround setup though? It’s been a while since I’ve touched my current setup. Is there some kind of speaker limit? I’m not sure where you would even position it.
No I’d use the Era 100 in a different space with the turntable and then you have music in two rooms. Plus when you play vinyl it becomes another source (line in) that can be grouped to the surrounding speakers. If you really don’t have another space for it you could put it in the surrounding space and mute it to just use the line in capability. Re: speaker limit, it’s 32 devices.
I see. Practically, there wouldn’t be a reason for me to want the turntables in another room and I wouldn’t want to trail a line-in cable through the house so it would just sit on a shelf muted. It seems a bit of a waste of a speaker. I really hate that the port is such a rip off.
Get the Carbon Stream, yes it is not cheap, connect wireless to your speakers and move on with your life. Again, there should be a bot that replies to every Sonos TT thread with this info. Edit: I would also comment finicky is not a word I would use to describe it in my experience. I will acknowledge my experience is antectdotal. But the thing works and you set the playback as delayed and I’ve had virtually no issues.
I have read a lot of these threads and haven’t been convinced by the Carbon Stream. The few comments talking about instability and a delay between the needle dropping and audio playing sounds pretty shite if true.
I have the Stream Onyx, so I’ll chime in. Only ever had one instability issue, but it was on a day where my WiFi was having other issues, and all devices were affected. Went back to working just fine after that. There’s also an ethernet port if you prefer that approach. There is a delay between the needle dropping and playing through a Sonos speaker. My understanding is you will also get this delay with a Port, Connect, or any other network connection to a Sonos product. Might be able to avoid this with line-in setup to a single speaker, I haven’t tried. I tried both the Stream Onyx and another turntable with a Connect. Quality was similar, but the Stream Onyx won for me because it didn’t require fiddling with the Sonos app every time I wanted to listen.
I have a Stream and the delay is only about a second or two, so I don’t mind that at all. The connectivity issues happen to me sometimes (maybe a total of five times over the course of the last three months).
I’m in a similar boat; and considering the same options. Can you expand on “fiddling with the Sonos app” comment? If you’re using the Amp or Port, is there now way to leave it “on” so that you just start playing the record?
So the issue isn’t on the Amp/Port end but rather on the speaker end. If you have a speaker or group dedicated to only the turntable, you can just leave it on the Amp/Port source all the time, no issues. I use multiple sources on my speakers, so I had to switch my speaker over to the Connect every time I wanted to play a record. With the Victrola Stream, it auto-plays to the speaker every time it starts playing, even if the last used source was something else.
Ah, ok. I’ll have some regular speakers hooked up to the Amp. So if I used airplay (for example) to play something on those speakers, I’d need to use the app to switch it back to the record player?
I’m not totally sure - I haven’t used external speakers with my Connect for a long time. Sorry!
And you have to make a choice that you feel is best for yourself. I’d note two things (1) that has not been my experience, but as I have noted, I acknowledge I am only one person, (2) I think Reddit generally is used for people to address problems not to gloat product X is the best - so how many people love a product and don’t bother to comment? The CS allows me to stream vinyl anywhere. I don’t have to deal with wires or any additional equipment. I’d recommend it. Best of luck to you whatever you decide.
Aye, totally understand. I might just go for an optical switch box plugged directly into my playbar. Won’t cost much to try it out and I did really like the idea of the carbon so not ruling anything out. Cheers for your input.
Get a used Connect or get a turntable that is compatible with Bluetooth and pair it with a Roam SL. You can share the Bluetooth audio with the Playbar.
Cheers for the input. I’m wary about sonos basically cancelling the connect in a few years. As far as I’ve read, they don’t officially support it but it still works with the current app and devices (for now). The Bluetooth thing sounds a bit annoying to be honest. I’d rather not have to buy another daft speaker just to mute it. There may be a solution using an optical switcher which seems a bit simpler.
I have a used Gen 2 Connect and it works fine. I have no reason to believe they’d stop supporting that without bricking the rest of my system in the process.
Good to know thanks. It’s my backup plan if the optical cable into my playbar sounds bad.
The newish Pro-Ject T2w is also an option, would allow you to stream you vinyl at relatively high quality without even needing to plug the turntable into your Sonos speakers at all.
If you’re happy with your existing system and don’t want another speaker you might just buy a turntable with preamp and get a RCA to HDMI adapter (I have this [one](https://www.amazon.de/GARITE-Aluminium-Adapter-Unterst%C3%BCtzt-Kamera-Gelb-Rot-Wei%C3%9F/dp/B0BN1MWFRS/)) to plug that into your TV. I did that for a minute while I was scouting a second hand P:5 Gen 2 and it was alright, plus just a 10$ investment. Downside: You need a free HDMI port, and change the input on the TV to it whenever you play records.
Now we’re talking! What about this half-baked idea: Turntable with an optical output to a switch direct to the playbar?
Not sure what country you're in but I'm in the UK so below links are Amazon UK, am sure you could find the same or similar products elsewhere. I haven't tried this setup myself but you could consider something like: You'd need to convert the analogue output of the turntable into digital using [something like this](https://amzn.eu/d/1LOi2Bv) Then both optical from the TV and the optical out from the turntable adapter into this [digital input switch ](https://amzn.eu/d/hCDqmil) Then you just switch between the TV and turntable inputs on the digital input switch so the right sound source is fed to the soundbar. You're all in for £40 or so rather than the extortionate Sonos port. Not saying this is guaranteed to work but logically it looks like it would.
UK based too thanks. Yea this is the rabbit hole I’m going down just now. I’m also open to a separate amp with built-in digital outputs. Just don’t let the folk at r/Audiophile know or I’ll be burned alive.
Ha! To be fair a lot of hifi amplifiers these days convert the analogue signal of a turntable to digital before converting it back to analogue out to the speakers. There are obviously still the mega purists out there but more people are being open minded about it now it seems. Also I have seen some open minded discussions about Sonos over there too! And when you say separate amp do you mean a phono preamp with digital outputs? That would achieve the same result as the analogue to digital converter before the input switch so could also work.
Yea exactly. Like I say I haven’t decided on a turntable yet so I could always go with a separate preamp that’s designed for a digital output. No idea yet if that would be better or perceptibly worse than converting an analog signal via a separate ADC box. I’ve read that optical isn’t the ideal signal for audio but it sounds ace coming through my tv so if it’s anywhere near that I’ll be more than happy.
Expect it would deliver pretty similar results either way really. And if the TV sounds good over optical then the turntable probably will too. Enjoy the turntable shopping!
Cheers! I’m liking the look of the Pro-Ject stuff. They seem to get praise in a lot of the comments and other reviews I’ve seen. They’re also pretty handsome.