Contributor I

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Quickly reached limits on Sonos + Pro-Ject T1 Phono SB Turntable?

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
December 26, 2024
18 replies
1328 views

Posting this to make sure I am not missing something. I am a long time Sonos customer. Recently decided to add a Turntable to my system. Looked at Victrola Stream Carbon sold by Crutchfield and Pro-Ject T1 Phono SB Turntable sold by Sonos coupled with the Era100 and line-in adaptor. I went for the Pro-ject T1 and Era100 combo. Got the Turntable and Era connected after receiving the separately ordered RCA -Y male to 3.5mm mini jack. Everything working fine. Era100 (my first) is very nice sound! But there seems to be some shortcomings on both the Turntable and Sonos app which is why I am posting this to get some perspective from others. First, it’s been many years since I owned a Turntable so I had assumed a modern Turntable would have a few standard features like auto return once it reached the end of the vinyl side or the platter motor would idle once the arm is returned to a resting position. What I discovered is that I have bought a very, very basic turntable. Must physically move the arm to a resting position at end of the side then if I want to flip the vinyl to Side 2 for example, I have to turn off the entire turntable to stop the platter motor. Here is another discovery - Once you turn off the turntable, the Sonos app then terminates the session to all but the Era100 speaker. Now that is fine when running just the physically connected Era100 in one room. But it terminates the connection with any additional Sonos speakers throughout the home. Flip the vinyl, turn back on the turntable then you have to return to the Sonos app and re-add Sonos speakers of your choosing. Repeat every 12-15 minutes depending on the length of your vinyl album playtime. Who wants to re-add speakers every flip of the vinyl album? So, in the end, I got tired of adding back the terminated speakers and just stick with the default to the Era100. Compare this experience to any other use of the Sonos app when for example streaming music - when paused or stopped it doesn’t terminate connections with Sonos speakers. You simply resume when ready without loss of speaker choice. In the end the Pro-Ject T1 SB and Era100 is a very basic experience and I had higher expectations. Am I missing something?

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Best answer by jgatie

For the grouping becoming ungrouped, go to the Line-In settings for the Era 100 in the Sonos app. Under Autoplay, set the Autoplay Room to the room associated with the Era 100 and make sure “Include Grouped Rooms” is selected.

The rest of the stuff is a question for Pro-Ject. I’m not a turntable guy, but what little I do know is that in general, high end turntables don’t lift or autoreturn the stylus, they are strictly manual. Defies logic, but so does using 100+ year old technology to listen to music. When all boiled down, turntables are more about esthetics and user participation that anything logical.

Show previous replies

AjTrek1

I’ll jump in with my two cents….

I purchased the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Turntable in Black (Sonos Edition). The comparable ProJect model can be found here. If you scroll down to add-on’s you’ll see that the Sonos Edition includes extra cost items such as the dust cover and upgraded Non-resonant acrylic platter. Another up-upgrade for the Sonos Edition is the Ortofon 2M Red cartridge. Those upgrades account for the $749 price for the Sonos Edition versus $599 for the ProJect model.

I upgraded my Sonos Edition to the Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge ($200) and the ProJect Debut Alu Sub-Platter ($179). All up I have $1,128 invested in the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Turntable in Black (Sonos Edition) itself.

Additionally, I use an external pre-amp by Cambridge ($350), Ground it E Turntable Isolation Platform ($199), Power Box S3 Phono Power Supply Upgrade ($249), Definitive Technology D7 book shelf speakers ($600) and Sonos Sub Mini ($429). All powered by a Sonos Amp ($699).

Total investment to listen to my vinyl with Sonos: $3,654

My point being (outside of those mentioned by @tnprime @barcode @jgatie ) is that a manual turntable; which is typically belt driven, allows for more customization to expand/fine-tune the listening experience as it’s not so much about convenience. There are some who may spend the total amount I have invested on just a manual turntable alone; such as the model shown here. My pockets are no where near that deep. 😂

Bottom-line you didn’t reach the limits of Pro-Ject T1 Phono SB Turntable as a negative...to the contrary its doing what it was designed to do.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

B

barcode

Lyricist III

Returning to my Fluance -RT85 -- It includes an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge, heavy acrylic belt driven platter, and all other essentials for $499. That is why I bought it. I use the iFi Zen preamp ($200), Wharfedale Denton 85th Ann. Edition speakers ($1,000), and the RSL 10S Mk!! subwoofer ($450), all connected to the Sonos Amp ($699). I also have Roickville stands for the Dentons ($100). So my total investment is $2,840 for everything. It sounds fantastic. The irony is that room acoustics and speaker stands can completely change your sound quality, regardless of how much you spend on electronics. The Sonos amp lets me send music to other rooms where I have Sonos speakers and sub, but I never use it for that purpose because the sound quality just can’t match my “Stereo” system.

jgatie

I have a similar setup, but an older Music Hall turntable and Era 300’s..it sounds ok, even running through a dedicated phono stage. Sadly, I think there’s quite a loss of sound quality though with Sonos’ hardware and and analog to digital conversion.. :/

Except there is no loss of sound quality in the analog to digital conversion. Just ask the guy who didn’t know about the conversion and raved about his Fives “all analog signal” that “blows away” digital.

tnprime

Trending Lyricist I

Returning to my Fluance -RT85 -- It includes an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge, heavy acrylic belt driven platter, and all other essentials for $499. That is why I bought it. I use the iFi Zen preamp ($200), Wharfedale Denton 85th Ann. Edition speakers ($1,000), and the RSL 10S Mk!! subwoofer ($450), all connected to the Sonos Amp ($699). I also have Roickville stands for the Dentons ($100). So my total investment is $2,840 for everything. It sounds fantastic.

I really wanted to build out something like this, in fact I wanted to go all retro-reconditioned gear but in my 530sq’ L-shaped apartment it just was too much physical gear. So I have to deal with “subpar” A/D conversion to my Sonos gear which actually suits the space perfectly and sonically is very good sounding to my taste. The better the source gear or more tailored to your liking the better the end result will always be. Alas, years of playing music and being an audio engineer has cooked my “hi-fi” ears anyhow so that has saved me so dough too.

B

barcode

Lyricist III

The ultimate solution to space considerations is a good set of headphones. I wish the Sonos Amp allowed for them, but no bluetooth…..

tnprime

Trending Lyricist I

The ultimate solution to space considerations is a good set of headphones. I wish the Sonos Amp allowed for them, but no bluetooth…..

This is true, a good pre-amp and some headphones would be a good alternative for immersive and critical listening in a space as small as mine. Something to consider.

AjTrek1

The ultimate solution to space considerations is a good set of headphones. I wish the Sonos Amp allowed for them, but no bluetooth…..

This is true, a good pre-amp and some headphones would be a good alternative for immersive and critical listening in a space as small as mine. Something to consider.

@tnprime

If you were considering an external pre-amp here’s the one I use. The added bonus...it has a headphone jack integrated into the phono stage! It’s also on sale for less than I paid two years ago.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

A

AllenS4FAuthor

Contributor I

I’ve set up the “Include Grouped Rooms” and it was successful. Thanks again.

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