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Connecting old hifi components to Sonos (via Port?)

  • 11 November 2023
  • 9 replies
  • 997 views
S

I am about to ressurect my old hifi system (turntable, CD player, amplifier, passive speakers) in one of my rooms. I have Sonos components in the other rooms of the house. I’d like to be able to:

  • continue to play music from my turntable and CD player through my old amplifier and speakers
  • stream music from Sonos to my old amplifier and speakers
  • send music from my turntable and CD player to the Sonos components in other rooms

The amplifier (Mission Cyrus 1) has inputs: phono, CD player, aux, video, tape; and a tape output.

Reading around, I think what I need to buy is a Sonos Port, and connect it as follows:

  • Leave turntable and CD player, and passive speakers, connected to amplifier as before
  • Connect Port IN to amplifier tape out
  • Connect Port OUT to amplifier tape input

I then select tape input on the amplifier if I want to stream through my old amplifier and speakers. To send music from turntable or CD player to my other Sonos components, I select the appropriate input on my amplifier, select tape out as the output on my amplifier, and play the Port ‘room’ on the Sonos app.

Did I get that right? If so, any caveats or wrinkles I should be aware of? If not, please (gently!) tell me what I’m missing.

Many thanks

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Best answer by ratty 11 November 2023, 19:23

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9 replies

ratty

Exactly correct. Treat Port like a tape deck.

The one wrinkle is that the Mission sources (TT, CD, etc) will be slightly delayed through the Sonos system. Line-In has a minimum delay of 75ms. This might cause an audible echo if you’re playing the amp/speakers at the same time. 

If the Mission happens to possess a ‘tape monitor’ button you could have the Port play the source back into the amp, equally delayed. Your amp may however be too modern to still have a tape monitor loop.  

S

Thank you so much, ratty - probably saved me a lot more reading around and fretting about whether I’d understood.

I don’t think I’ll ever want to play to my old speakers at the same time as to Sonos speakers in other rooms, so I guess I’ll just turn the amplifier volume right down when I’m playing to my Sonos speakers from it via the Port, and avoid the echo you mention.

The Mission Cyrus One is from 1992 but as you suggest doesn’t have a tape monitor function, so that possibility is out. 

Unfortunately I’ve just discovered that one of my old Celestion speakers isn’t making any sound now, so this little Port project is on hold while I see how to get the speaker fixed!

Many thanks again for the really helpful reply.

 

 

K

Hi stadb. Your question & situation is very similar to mine, and I share my recent (in the last 48 hrs!) experience in case it assists at all.

I have a traditional hifi set up: turntable, cassette deck and CD player connected to a Denon amp and a pair of speakers.

I also have, separately, Sonos with a sub, playbase and paired PLAY:3 speakers in the same room as above for both music and TV, and Sonos speakers in some other rooms.

I wanted to play my vinyl records on the Sonos both in the main room, and/or in other rooms so I purchased a PORT. I was reliably informed that it would enable me to do what I wanted & wouldn’t play havoc with my TV setup.

I have connected it as you describe to the tape loop on my amp. I changed none of the existing connections. First (small) downside: the PORT only comes with 1 RCA cable, so to loop back to the amp another needs to be purchased.

The good points: it does exactly as described. I can still play my records on my old hifi, and now switch to listening through the Sonos in any (or all) of my Sonos rooms. Setup was a little confusing both working out which buttons to press on my amp, and the changed format on the Sonos S2 app. But that is perhaps more my slowness than any fault of theirs!

But, there are downsides. First a tiny one, but worth mentioning for your info: I cannot listen through both Sonos and traditional at the same time. There’s a delay which gives an impossible echo The port allows you to switch the delay down from 2000ms but only to a min of 75ms which still gives the echo. I’m under the impression that the lower the delay the more the risk of complete sound drop out, too. But, in my case keeping the traditional speaker output off cures this, and isn’t an issue to me. I’m told that switching to tape monitor may fix the delay, but I’ll need a 2nd cable to loop back for that which I haven’t yet got out to purchase.

But now for the big problem. The sound. So far, and I concede that it is early days, I am very disappointed with the sound. Firstly is is sooo quiet, lacking drive and presence. A simple example. Normally on the Sonos I hover between vol 16 and perhaps 22 on the app. I’ve been increasing this to 38 to give the same room fill when listening to vinyl through the port. And don’t think I’m waking up the neighbours at this volume - I’m not waking up the next room. But those are only numbers I know. The sound is flat and just disappointing. I realise I’m starting to sound a bit ‘What HiFi’ and - as ever with these things - differences are slight rather than catastrophic.

I am going to try 3 things: 1. buy a new cartridge/stylus for my turntable. It’s about time anyway & I hope that will help. 2. I think I will buy 2 new RCA cables (rather than just 1 additional) of better quality to remove that potential cause, and 3. I have read that if I swap the port line out level setting from the default ‘variable’ to fixed or pass-through, and see if it improves things.

Best of luck with your decisions.

K

The tape loop use will completely eliminate the echo; the problem is for people that have amps that do not have this feature. All it takes is one more cheap RCA cable. The sound levels from vinyl - assuming there is a phone pre amp in use that suits the cartridge - can be addressed by setting the Line in level settings for the Port at their highest, level 10.

S

Thank you so much Krissbi_33 (and Kumar) for taking the time to post - you're right we’re trying to do the same thing with the Port so getting a first-hand account is really helpful.

I had expected the delay problem based on my reading other articles and ratty’s really helpful reply. My amp doesn’t have the tape loop and monitor function so I’m stuck with that, but I don’t want to play through my old speakers and to my other Sonos rooms at the same time so that’s ok. 

The volume and sound quality problem I hadn’t previously read about. Sorry it’s disappointing for you - it’s quite a big investment so being a bit ‘What Hi-Fi’ seems pretty reasonable to me! It’ll be interesting to know what your 3 experiments show - I hope the sound is more satisfactory (Kumar has helpfully added a further suggestion).

I don’t yet have the Port so it’s really helpful to get these replies and info (I’m waiting for a speaker repair). I will post my own findings when I manage to put my system together.

Many thanks again!

 

K

I hope the sound is more satisfactory

 

Getting the sound levels up will fix any perceived sound quality problems; the Port by itself neither adds not deletes anything audible to the sound that the entire system delivers, when the comparison with any alternative is made with the same sound levels coming out of the speakers.

K

Hi stadb and Kumar.

 

I haven’t yet been able to get out & buy the new RCA cables, so will report back on that next week when I do.

But, I have followed Kumar’s helpful advice to increase the Line in level for the port from the default 2 (which it describes as for AV equipment) to the highest 10, And bingo! What a difference! Volume is now excellent. Thank you so much Kumar. And this has made the whole thing come alive. I have tried switching the port line out from variable to fixed, but cannot detect any difference whatsoever, but I have tweaked the EQ up slightly on both bass (I have a sub) and treble, and the disappointment is completely gone.

K

And bingo! What a difference! Volume is now excellent.

This is a good example of how sound levels matter to perceived sound quality - even a small change in the level from 2 to 3 would gave given you audible improvement, though not enough to give you the sound levels you needed, that level 10 now gives you.

If you have a Sonos Sub, make sure your run Trueplay tuning on the zone that has it; if you don’t like the  outcome, you can either modify that vis the EQ controls, or even toggle it off completely at any time via the app.

On RCA cables : ones made by Amazon Basics or similar are good enough. Spending much more than those prices will yield only psychological benefits.

R
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The port line out variable/ fixed only affects the signal level on the port's output connectors not the signal sent to other sonos devices.

So when you connect the port to the tape in on a traditional amplifier that is when it has an impact.

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