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Turntable Sound Quality

J

I just added a turntable to my Sonos setup via Sonos Port. Great news- everything added very easily and I was hopeful there wouldn’t be any sync/delay issues, which there aren’t. 
 

However the sound is drastically lower quality than listening to the same songs via Spotify, and especially Tidal and Amazon Music. 
 

Obviously the sound quality will be less using vinyl. But the difference is so drastic that it looks like my new record player will be for aesthetics only =P

To the vinyl pros out there- what’s your experience? I’m getting very little bass from my record player. Sound is not nearly as full. And the Sonos app doesn’t allow me to change the EQ by input, only per speaker. And I have my speakers tuned just as I like them for streaming, and I don’t want to have to adjust every time I switch to vinyl & back. 
 

thoughts???

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Best answer by Kumar 2 May 2024, 06:54

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Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

That really sounds like you connected the turntable cartridge directly to your Port without the required RIAA Phono pre-amp that changes the cartridge signal to a line level signal and applies the RIAA equalization needed.

If the turntable offers a pre-amp option make sure it is enabled, otherwise a stand-alone RIAA Phono preamp will be needed. Do make sure it matches your cartridge type, MM or MC or you’ll still have sound problems.

G
Userlevel 7

What model turntable do you have? Have you tried setting the Source Level higher under the Line-In settings in the Sonos app? Also be sure to set the Audio Compression setting to Uncompressed.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
K

Toggling compressed will not restore things back to how they should be, seeing how stark are the differences referred to. All other suggestions in both posts are valid, but if they do not change things, there may be something wrong with the way the TT arm is set up, such that it may not be giving the chance to the cartridge needle to perform properly in the groove. 

That’s the thing with vinyl, all this tinkering. For those that do not like to tinker with their kit, vinyl/TTs are best foregone, and music obtained from better sounding digital audio tech. 

J

Yeah maybe I need a pre-amp. I did change Source Level to High, and I can hear everything, there’s just absolutely zero bass. Maybe I need the pre-amp, just didn’t realize it. I’m a vinyl noobie lol, only have 1 record so far (Led Zeppelin!!). 

jgatie

Yeah maybe I need a pre-amp. I did change Source Level to High, and I can hear everything, there’s just absolutely zero bass. Maybe I need the pre-amp, just didn’t realize it. I’m a vinyl noobie lol, only have 1 record so far (Led Zeppelin!!). 

 

It’s not “maybe” at all, you DO need a pre-amp.  When an LP is recorded, it is RIAA equalized, increasing the highs and attenuating the lows in order to improve sound quality, and increase LP life by minimizing needle damage.  A phono stage preamp, either internal to the turntable, between the turntable and the line-in, or built into the device that takes the phono input, reverses the RIAA equalization and converts it to line level.  Since the Sonos Line-in is for line level signals only, somewhere between the Sonos Line-in and the turntable’s LP, you are going to need a phono preamp.

J

Got it. Good to know. Thank you!

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