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Ways to connect Sonos amp to HDMI matrix Optical port

  • 15 June 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 365 views
H

Hello, I have located a TV and Sonos beam in a separate room to the sonos amp and a HDMI matrix that connects to multiple HDMI input sources. These sources are connected to the HDMI matrix and the TV is one of the outputs that connect to the matrix over ethernet connection via the TV's HDMI ARC port.

I'm wondering if I can connect the Beam to the Amp via ethernet in one of the Amp ports, connecting the other Amp port to the network. And then use the Amps HDMI port to connect with the Sonos converter to optical audio to connect to the matrix?

My objective is to group the Beam and speakers connected to the amp together and have them play sound based on switched devices on the HDMI matrix, without any audio delay between the Beam and speakers.

Many thanks for any help you can provide.

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Best answer by Corry P 15 June 2023, 17:55

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3 replies

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @HappyDaddy007 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

I'm wondering if I can connect the Beam to the Amp via ethernet in one of the Amp ports, connecting the other Amp port to the network.

Yes, but with caveats.

And then use the Amps HDMI port to connect with the Sonos converter to optical audio to connect to the matrix?

Yes, if the matrix has an optical output. Also with caveats, however.

My objective is to group the Beam and speakers connected to the amp together and have them play sound based on switched devices on the HDMI matrix, without any audio delay between the Beam and speakers.

This is where the caveats come in. First though, you wouldn’t need to take both these steps, just one - ethernet or HDMI. In either case, however, audio synchronisation cannot be guaranteed.

In the case of HDMI/Optical, the TV may induce latency on the signals as it processes them and before it passes the audio on to the Beam. You should be able to counter this effect by adding a small delay to the audio on the Amp.

In the case of ethernet, the two rooms can be grouped together in the Sonos app, but as the audio stream must go via the router and the Beam will not wait for this to happen so that it can stay in sync with the picture, we again cannot guarantee that the synchronisation will be perfect. The two devices sharing an ethernet connection will give the best chance of getting there using this method, though. In this setup, Amp would be behind, so a delay would not help, and any delay on the Beam would put it out of sync with the picture.

Another option would be to have a second TV for the Amp and matrix to connect to, but again, synchronisation may be difficult. In this case, I don’t think they would be far out, and a small adjustment should help.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
H

Thanks for this Corry, I'll implement the ethernet connection method first and check for lag on the TV, using the HDMI optical as the second choice, and confirm on this forum.

I actually have a second Amp, set of speakers and 2nd beam, so I'll be replicating the approach for that too.

The HDMI matrix also outputs to 3 screens so the delay will need to be tested across each of the 3

J
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

If you connect a Source to an HDMI Matrix then Output from the Matrix ARC socket to a TV ARC socket plus output a second HDMI Out on the Matrix via the SONOS HDMI>Optical Converter to the SONOS AMP (plus a bunch of TV’s) you will potentially have to limit your Source devices to 2.0 audio.

Ideally list the make and model numbers of all of the kit you wish to connect.

In terms of keeping everything ‘in-sync’ you have lots of variables at play no matter if you have a wired or wireless connection between your SONOS devices and your network.

The norm would be to unbundle the multi-channel capable sound system (the Beam) plus key Source device(s) from your ‘distributed’ system if you want to optimise some or all of your Source devices to take advantage of the multi-channel audio system. or have duplicate ‘key’ Source devices with one set to 5.1/Atmos and the other to 2.0!

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