Connect:AMP digital input

  • 18 December 2013
  • 52 replies
  • 10766 views

To use the Connect:amp as a complete living room audio solution, it needs a digital input with its next hardware update. For example I would like to hookup my passive speakers to my TV, without having to manually turn on my receiver. In that case I would need digital input in the connect:AMP for easy setup, and then I wouldnt need a receiver at all and be able to stream music through the connect:amp without having to turn on the TV. It could be done just with a fiber optic input port, or even better with hdmi pass through. Of course with support for digital audio content like DTS. (I know that the playbar will do the job, but want to use my existing speakers)

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52 replies

Userlevel 2
Although not perfect solution to get more that stereo audio out of the system, until a hardware change is made you could utilize a Digital Optical Coax to Analog RCA Audio Converter Adapter to reach the same end: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DIRI6I/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_sX0bub0FQP09Y
Userlevel 2
I know, but this would still create some lag on TV. I am aware of soundbar, but I have no space for that.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Yea Soundbar is it.

I have tried the Analog audio inputs that are on the Connect:Amp and the lag really was not noticeable, at least to me.  Lip sync still appeared in check.
Userlevel 1
I'm a huge fan of Sonos. spent $1,000s to build around the Sonos ecosystem.  Sad to see that the Heos amp has an optical input.....Come ON SONOS!!! please!!!! Make an Amp 2.0 and add Optical in!  or a playbar with HDMI support.
I want also to see a new upgraded of the Connert:amp with digital input. Please SONOS take action! Don't lose users.
Sonos already lost me as a customer for this reason. I sold my previous Sonos system as part of a home sale. I occasionally revisit this forum hoping to hear some new hardware (with optical or HDMI) announcements before I purchase a new Sonos system for my new house.
Userlevel 4
Badge +6
I agree Sonos is fantastic.
But needs digital input or HDMI
Userlevel 1
since the line is pretty much fleshed out, you would think that it would be time to look at updating the core components, Connect and Amp.
They aren't the "core" components, they aren't the biggest sellers, quite the opposite, in terms of sales, the play:1 is the core component.
Userlevel 1
I wonder how many Play1's are sold to to folks that don't own at least a connect or amp? Without the connect and amp you do not have a viable multi room audio system. It's not about the piece that sells the most units. I don't see anyone choosing to invest a ton of money on Sonos based on the cheapest , most basic speaker. If anything, the Playbar is becoming the centerpiece of the line now as its the device that still has a lead over the competition. Of course it's all semantics, The connect is the piece in most dire need of updating and all you have to do is spend a minute on this board to see that. Other that "how to" and troubleshooting posts, a big part of the questions relate to the lack of optical inputs and 24 bit support.
I wonder how many Play1's are sold to to folks that don't own at least a connect or amp? Without the connect and amp you do not have a viable multi room audio system.
As to the latter, why? A slew of play 1 units are perfect for this, with a Sub thrown in for larger areas/where more bass is desired.
As to the former, while Sonos isn't saying, my guess is that play 1 is now the number one seller in units as well as value. And many of these buyers probably have nothing else, or other play units.
Note too that you won't hear from people that don't see any need to change the Connect - since you have raised the subject, I am one of them, saying so here. Ordinarily, I wouldn't.
Userlevel 1
Wow! I posted in two threads on this board and in both cases the responses are that Sonos is perfect as is and no changes are necessary. In both cases the responses are completely defensive. I've been heavily invested for years, owning two Connects, two Amps, a Playbar, a Sub, and A Play5, but have now started moving to another system for my Audio needs as Sonos seems uninterested in updating their hardware. They used to be the best, but as the competition has caught up, they are still the most complete, but losing the interest of many who are interested in the Sound Quality rather than just convenience.
but losing the interest of many who are interested in the Sound Quality rather than just convenience.
From someone who moved over to Sonos with very little qualms from hifi set ups consisting of SACD players, DACs with valve driven output stages, pre/power amplification in separate boxes weighing over 100 pounds, and Harbeth speakers, good luck!
BT99, it's not about being defensive, you're simply wrong, the play:1 is far and away the biggest selling unit, the connect is far and away the lowest selling unit. Your question of how many people buy a play:1 without a Connect or amp is probably best answered with "most of them". There is absolutely no requirement or need to have a Connect or amp in order to fill every room with play:1s, play:3s or any other unit.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
I would assume the Connect and Connect:amp are next up on the upgrade cycle. I would expect a Connect with digital input.
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I gather that an optical input on something other than the playbar has been asked for by customers for years - as a recent purchaser with a hifi with CD and DAB radio with digital outputs I'm staggered to find that I can only connect them by using the analogue output, which then gets converted to digital for room distribution... I won't comment on the cost of the connect which is only an ADC and wireless connector - I don't see why it has an optical output and no input! I'd vote for HDMI as well.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
I would assume connect v2 when that eventually comes will have it.
Userlevel 4
Badge +9
It seems that some people think that the Connect was developed for streaming your existing HiFi devices (CD player etc.) to Sonos speakers where it is actually developed to use the other way around; to stream music from multiple (online) sources to your existing HiFi system.
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It depends on whether you see Sonos as a method of playing what you want where you want or as a a multi-room music streamer (otherwise known as a portable radio).. It is a tad expensive for the latter... Successful companies develop their products for the market, unless they have a niche market.
It depends on whether you see Sonos as a method of playing what you want where you want or as a a multi-room music streamer (otherwise known as a portable radio).. It is a tad expensive for the latter... Successful companies develop their products for the market, unless they have a niche market.

Portable radio? Don't be stupid, the two things are completely different, Sonos does far more than any portable radio could do. If that's the best argument you've got you might as well not bother. Users of the line-in ARE a niche market, most people don't even play locally stored files, never mind local devices. The "market" is online streaming services, if you don't understand that you're incredibly short-sighted. In ten years time people will be looking at line-ins thinking "what the hell would anyone need that for?".
Interesting posts. It certainly shows that different people have different expectations of this pretty good system. It's a pity that Sonos seems so aloof, somewhat snobby and silently disrespectful of its customers. I'm a very new user with just one Play1 and a boost with which I'm trying to tackle drop-outs. I was totally under-whelmed by the European help-desk: next to useless for outcome, but tried hard and was polite!

I feel there may be a generation thing here. My HiFi amp is so old that it doesn't have a line-out, so I'm expecting audio line-in to Connect to work if I use tape-out from my amp. I have a huge collection of vinyls, tapes and CDs that I'll never convert or replace, so Connect probably does well for me. I rarely listen to internet radio, as I usually prefer to put together my own play-lists, so the market is probably broader than some assert. As a Sonos novice, I would find It useful if they gave a comprehensive set of possible connection modes, rather than relying on trial-and-error and a community bale-out.

On the portable comment, I move my Play1 around the house, but have to reboot every time I do so. It would be useful for it to have a small rechargeable battery on board that would maintain registration and storage for, say, 30 mins down-time. Being able to label it 'portable' is rather a misnomer without something like this.
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LHC - don't be rude to someone you don't know. Perhaps you are too young to recognise humour. In ten years time most equipment now will be obsolete anyway - the market place is now, not in ten years time. If you can't be polite or helpful, you might as well not bother (That's me paraphrasing you, in case you don't recognise it). I can't speak for 'most people' - I only speak for myself. Not a helpful post.

PGMA - tape out and line out are in effect the same thing. I struggle with the Sonos site, as do others - it doesn't do well in telling you in simple terms what you need for what. I'm an electronic/computing engineer and if its not clear to me I expect that Joe Public hasn't a chance. I guess the sales staff at outlets cover for that.
My point is that it seems a missed opportunity to have other digital sources in the house that have to be converted to analogue in order to connect to to the Connect. A possibly ironic name...

The kit so far seems very good - the only problem I have had is with my Server 2012 streaming, which cuts out but is possibly a Bill Gates issue - or maybe my 'best of breed' BT wifi...
LHC - don't be rude to someone you don't know. Perhaps you are too young to recognise humour. In ten years time most equipment now will be obsolete anyway - the market place is now, not in ten years time. If you can't be polite or helpful, you might as well not bother (That's me paraphrasing you, in case you don't recognise it). I can't speak for 'most people' - I only speak for myself. Not a helpful post.

Humour? In what way was that supposed to be funny? The comment makes no sense whatsoever and isn't remotely funny, it doesn't even give any indication that it's supposed to be funny. An octogenarian wouldn't recognize that as humour.

And I agree the marketplace is now and right now the overwhelming majority of Sonos users are NOT using the line-in. Incidentally the original Sonos products, the zp80 and zp100 are ten years old now and still integrate with the rest of the system perfectly.

PGMA - tape out and line out are in effect the same thing. I struggle with the Sonos site, as do others - it doesn't do well in telling you in simple terms what you need for what. I'm an electronic/computing engineer and if its not clear to me I expect that Joe Public hasn't a chance. I guess the sales staff at outlets cover for that. [/quote]

I do find it amazing the number of engineering/IT people that claim they can't make head nor tail of the system, as someone with an electronic engineering background now working in IT it all seems trivially simple to me, what exactly is the problem?

My point is that it seems a missed opportunity to have other digital sources in the house that have to be converted to analogue in order to connect to to the Connect. A possibly ironic name...


I expect the thinking was that the Sonos system would replace any previous source devices. It does seem counter-intuitive to buy a digital audio system and then attempt to use a CD player with it but then I haven't owned a CD player in the house for about twenty years. I still listen to all my CDs through my Sonos system though.

The kit so far seems very good - the only problem I have had is with my Server 2012 streaming, which cuts out but is possibly a Bill Gates issue - or maybe my 'best of breed' BT wifi...


Is the server wired or wireless? A wireless file server isn't officially supported by Sonos, it's an outside variable that they can't control. If it is wireless, try wiring it temporarily to see if that improves matters.
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I do find it amazing the number of engineering/IT people that claim they can't make head nor tail of the system, as someone with an electronic engineering background now working in IT it all seems trivially simple to me, what exactly is the problem?.

I don't want to go too far off subject on this thread - I guess this is a subject in itself. It is trivially simple to set up and use, but conceptually to someone who hasn't dealt with any streaming before, the 'what do I need to do what I want' is not obvious from the website - and there is a fair amount of similar comment on this subject when I started searching to find out for myself. I'm pleasantly surprised to find that the controller is fully usable on PCs - my initial impression was that it was aimed at IOS/Android, and I set it up on my iPad before adding various PCs into the mix.


Is the server wired or wireless? A wireless file server isn't officially supported by Sonos, it's an outside variable that they can't control. If it is wireless, try wiring it temporarily to see if that improves matters.

The server is wired to my wireless hub - I'd expect Sonos to cope with the wireless connection from there. I suspect the issue is with the server as a reboot has resolved the problem of tracks cutting halfway through (occurred twice so far). Server2012 streaming capability is limited to around 50000 tracks - I'm using MediaMonkey which seems to get round that limit. My Homeserver2011's streaming function does not have that limit. If it continues to occur I'll wire the PlayBar to the hub to see if it is wireless link - thanks for the suggestion. I'd also tried connecting to a music share but seemed to hit an index limit on the PlayBar library so reverted to streaming.

Back to the first comment above, the Sonos website does not oversell the capabilities/technical aspects of the system - I guess that there is a fair amount of controller technology in the individual items. I only have the PlayBar and sub so far, and was waiting for the new Play:5 and possibly some Play:1s or 3s to scatter round the house - and the Connect for the HiFi. From the website I wasn't sure how the system worked - I knew it connected source to player/speaker but didn't expect to see a media library function on the PlayBar when I used the share as a source. It's intrigued me as to how its done. Do the speakers have the same functionality - is it shared/distributed between components, and how much of the controller function is duplicated (might explain the high costs)? It certainly works and produces excellent sound - which is why I've bought into it.

You seem to be a vehement supporter and multi-poster - are you in any way affiliated to Sonos, or just an enthusiastic enthusiast?
keiths,

SONOS support staff and employees are identified as such as part of their user names.

Think of each SONOS player as being an independent agent that fetches its own music. Once the players have been given a list of things to do, the controllers can be shut down. A full system could include 32 hardware units and 32 simultaneous controllers.

As far a cost is concerned, it depends on your roots. If you are approaching SONOS as a whole house audio system it is inexpensive and, in my opinion, offers better features and benefits than anything else. (However, no product does everything for everyone) If you approach SONOS as a computer accessory, SONOS is too expensive because computer accessories must be priced at about $100 or less.