Sonos system and Mac

Question

Hello, I currently have a Mac Mini M2 Pro with a couple of Sonos One connected wireless via AirPlay.

The system sounds perfect when I listen to music, but when I play videos on the Mac the sound is not in sync, that’s a known issue.

I was wondering if adding a Sonos Ray to the system would fix the problem. Since the Mac Mini has no optical output, I would use the HDMI output connected to an audio extractor, and then an optical cable from the extractor to the Ray.

Would it work?

And then, would it make sense to group the two Ones with the Ray to create a “surround” system? Though I would not place the Ones in the back, but it would keep them on the desk, where they are now, so I guess such a system would sound more like enhanced stereo than real surround, but that would be ok with me.

I will mostly listen to music through that system, but I just can’t stand the delay I have now when playing movies.

And one more question: if I connect the system through optical cable as described above, could I play it using AirPlay as well, for example from the iPhone?

Thanks in advance for the support.

melvimbe · Answer

Hello, I currently have a Mac Mini M2 Pro with a couple of Sonos One connected wireless via AirPlay.

The system sounds perfect when I listen to music, but when I play videos on the Mac the sound is not in sync, that’s a known issue.

I’m not an Apple/Airplay user, but I’m surprised by this. I thought one of the benefits of using airplay was that Apple can control the playback of audio and video to ensure they are in sync.

I was wondering if adding a Sonos Ray to the system would fix the problem. Since the Mac Mini has no optical output, I would use the HDMI output connected to an audio extractor, and then an optical cable from the extractor to the Ray.

Would it work?

Yes, that should work. There is going to be some delay, but it’s very unlikely that the delay will be noticeable to you.

And then, would it make sense to group the two Ones with the Ray to create a “surround” system? Though I would not place the Ones in the back, but it would keep them on the desk, where they are now, so I guess such a system would sound more like enhanced stereo than real surround, but that would be ok with me.

No. You can bond the Ones to play surround sound speakers without any delay, which essentially sets the ray and Ones as single room, but the Ones are only going to be playing surround audio. If you group the Ones and Ray together, 2 separate rooms, then Ones will be slightly delayed from the Ray, creating an echo effect. It would make more sense to repurpose the Ones to a different part of the house.

I will mostly listen to music through that system, but I just can’t stand the delay I have now when playing movies.

And one more question: if I connect the system through optical cable as described above, could I play it using AirPlay as well, for example from the iPhone?

Thanks in advance for the support.

Yes, you can still use the airplay connection.

If I were you, I would probably opt to try an Era 100 rather than getting a Ray. While it does not have the optical/HDMI support, it does have bluetooth. From my experience, bluetooth connections for video is fine for casual video watching. You still have airplay. You do have the aux port as well, but that definitely will have a delay with video.

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