Avid Contributor I

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What Methods are there to use Port and Sub Mini?

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
January 15, 2023
17 replies
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Is there any workaround to make this work? I bought a port for ceiling speakers but would like more bass.

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Best answer by melvimbe

I don’t understand why, if the Port can control the normal speakers hooked to the receiver why wouldn’t it also control the sub hooked to the receiver?

Because you set the receiver to a specific volume (50%) and then use the Sonos App to control the volume so that the sub would be set to the volume of the receiver, but I might have the App to a low volume, and the bass would be very disproportional. This is why the Port does not natively support it. It has no idea what volume level you have the Sonos is set to.

Did you actually test to verify this behavior? I’ve never seen a receiver manage volume in this way, and I honestly don’t know how it’s even possible. The Sonos app controls the output volume of the Port, which in turn is the input volume to the receiver. Your speakers play at a lower volume even though you didn’t change the volume of the receiver at all, because the input is at a lower volume. How could a sub attached to the receiver behave any differently than your speakers? What you’re suggesting is that the sub somehow recognizes that the input volume was lowered, so it decides it needs to automatically play at a higher volume to compensate.

No, I think Stanley is correct. Your sub volume will raise and lower when you change volume in the Sonos app, the same way your speakers do. This was the case when I had a port connected to a receiver, and I would be very surprised if the receiver you’re using behaves differently.

I’ll either have to bite the bullet and buy an AMP or a Sonos speaker, which I can pair with it to tell it what volume the music is set to.

I was looking for any other ideas besides buying an AMP or adding a speaker.

You got one. You might always be able to return your Port and exchange it for an Amp if the Port is a recent purchase. You could create a second Sonos room with a Sonos One and Sub Mini, and keep the two rooms grouped, but that has some disadvantages too and is only slightly less costly than replacing the Port with an Amp, and defiinitely more expensive than using a 3rd party sub with your receiver.

buzz

Grand Maestro

How are you powering the ceiling speakers? MINI would work with AMP.

D

DaveOzricAuthor

Avid Contributor I

How are you powering the ceiling speakers? MINI would work with AMP.

I did not research the Sub or Amp and bought the Port to use with my receiver and speakers. If I had known the AMP could power the four ceiling speakers without any issue, I may have bought that instead. I assumed you needed one Amp per pair of speakers.

buzz

Grand Maestro

AMP will support two pairs of 8-Ohm speakers. If you use in-wall Volume controls to allow adjusting each pair, some of the controls will enable adding more speakers.

Adding a MINI complicates the use of in-wall Volume controls because they will not adjust the MINI.

D

DaveOzricAuthor

Avid Contributor I

AMP will support two pairs of 8-Ohm speakers. If you use in-wall Volume controls to allow adjusting each pair, some of the controls will enable adding more speakers.

Adding a MINI complicates the use of in-wall Volume controls because they will not adjust the MINI.

I don’t have AMP, so I am asking for a solution using Port. Thanks for your ideas on AMP.

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

I’d hook a conventional sub-woofer to your receiver.

If it does not have a sub-woofer port you can find speaker-level sub-woofers that jusdt go in line with the speakers.

D

DaveOzricAuthor

Avid Contributor I

I’d hook a conventional sub-woofer to your receiver.

If it does not have a sub-woofer port you can find speaker-level sub-woofers that jusdt go in line with the speakers.

I use the Sonos App for volume control, not the receiver. That would be problematic to control the sub’s volume independently.

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

I don’t understand why, if the Port can control the normal speakers hooked to the receiver why wouldn’t it also control the sub hooked to the receiver?

D

DaveOzricAuthor

Avid Contributor I

I don’t understand why, if the Port can control the normal speakers hooked to the receiver why wouldn’t it also control the sub hooked to the receiver?

Because you set the receiver to a specific volume (50%) and then use the Sonos App to control the volume so that the sub would be set to the volume of the receiver, but I might have the App to a low volume, and the bass would be very disproportional. This is why the Port does not natively support it. It has no idea what volume level you have the Sonos is set to.

I’ll either have to bite the bullet and buy an AMP or a Sonos speaker, which I can pair with it to tell it what volume the music is set to.

I was looking for any other ideas besides buying an AMP or adding a speaker.

J

John B

Hi. The reason that everyone is talking about the Amp is that the Sub or Sub Mini cannot be used with a Port.

melvimbeAnswer

I don’t understand why, if the Port can control the normal speakers hooked to the receiver why wouldn’t it also control the sub hooked to the receiver?

Because you set the receiver to a specific volume (50%) and then use the Sonos App to control the volume so that the sub would be set to the volume of the receiver, but I might have the App to a low volume, and the bass would be very disproportional. This is why the Port does not natively support it. It has no idea what volume level you have the Sonos is set to.

Did you actually test to verify this behavior? I’ve never seen a receiver manage volume in this way, and I honestly don’t know how it’s even possible. The Sonos app controls the output volume of the Port, which in turn is the input volume to the receiver. Your speakers play at a lower volume even though you didn’t change the volume of the receiver at all, because the input is at a lower volume. How could a sub attached to the receiver behave any differently than your speakers? What you’re suggesting is that the sub somehow recognizes that the input volume was lowered, so it decides it needs to automatically play at a higher volume to compensate.

No, I think Stanley is correct. Your sub volume will raise and lower when you change volume in the Sonos app, the same way your speakers do. This was the case when I had a port connected to a receiver, and I would be very surprised if the receiver you’re using behaves differently.

I’ll either have to bite the bullet and buy an AMP or a Sonos speaker, which I can pair with it to tell it what volume the music is set to.

I was looking for any other ideas besides buying an AMP or adding a speaker.

You got one. You might always be able to return your Port and exchange it for an Amp if the Port is a recent purchase. You could create a second Sonos room with a Sonos One and Sub Mini, and keep the two rooms grouped, but that has some disadvantages too and is only slightly less costly than replacing the Port with an Amp, and defiinitely more expensive than using a 3rd party sub with your receiver.

Danny

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