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Sonos Port connection

L
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I am in the process of acquiring a Port.  I have a Rotel RA-930AX amp.  I am wondering if, with turtable and cd player connected to the amp through appropriate inputs, you can connect port output to tape in and port inputs to tape out and thereby be able to plau the turntable and the cd player to other sonos speakers.  I understand that they would be out of sync with the speakers connected to the rotel but I don’t need to play through all peaskers simultaneously. In other words, if what I am asking works the syning is not an issue. 

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Best answer by Airgetlam 2 May 2022, 03:35

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Long time music lover
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8 replies

Airgetlam

Yes. This is how the Port is designed to work. 

Bruce
K

 I understand that they would be out of sync with the speakers connected to the rotel

If you set the monitor knob to the Tape position, they should not be out of sync. Easy to test this out, at any rate.

PS: if one does not need more power than what the Rotel offers, this thirty year old amplifier in proper working condition is as good as any new one bought today, which speaks to both its build quality and to the lack of any real progress in sound quality in home audio via new kit. Indeed, few modern amps offer the tape monitoring feature and most will leave speakers out of sync if used with the Port in the manner discussed here.

L
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Thanks very much for your assistance.

Long time music lover
L
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A friend of mine is considering purchasing the Port sa as to be able to connect his hifi system to streaming music.  He was wondering if he could set it up in such a way so he could play his turntable through his amp and the port other sonos speakers that he has.  I suggested that he use the tape monitor as set out above but his amp is newer than mine and doesn’t have tape connections.  It does have a pre amp out.  My question, on his behalf is can you connect a pre amp out to the Port without causing damage?

Long time music lover
buzz

There will not be any damage, however, this may not work well because “pre amp out” usually is associated with the amplifier’s Volume control and the system operator will need to deal with an interacting Volume controls ‘war’. Further, he’ll discover that there will be a slight time skew between the turntable playing directly through speakers connected to the amplifier and the SONOS speakers. If it is possible to hear both sets of speakers at some locations, this will not be great listening experience.

If the turntable includes its own preamp or an external phono preamp is used, connect the turntable to PORT and connect PORT to the receiver as if PORT is a CD player. There will not be any time skew issue for this configuration.

What model amplifier is your friend using?

L
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Thanks for your assistance.  I understand about the potential for speaker sync issue as I have experienced it.  In my case it was so miniscule it was hard to detect. The amp he has is a Rotel A14 MKII.  Playing both sets of speakers together, he tells me, would be a rare event.  Also the Rotel, apparently, has the capability to turn all speakers attached to it off so in theory it would be possible to play the turntable through the Rotel and, having turned off the passive speakers set the amp volume to suit the sonos then adjust the volume as needed on the Sonos speakers. 

 

Does this make sense.

Long time music lover
buzz

Preamp Output on this unit follows the amplifier’s Volume and Tone controls. (see page 11) If the amplifier’s Volume control is turned down, PORT connected to these terminals would follow. If the goal is to mute the amplifier’s speakers, but continue with PORT, the amplifier’s Speaker Selection switches could be used.

Operationally, this scheme could work, but I’d hate to explain the details to a tech averse significant other , weekend guest, or baby sitter. Using an external phono preamp would improve the situation significantly. Of course, if the friend was the only turntable user, these details might not matter much.

L
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Thanks for the assist. I’ll pass it on. Particularly the need for knowledgeable operator. 

Long time music lover
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