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There are tons of 3rd party AMP/amp/sub topics out there, but I haven’t found one exactly like this.

I’m looking for validation on updating my current patio setup and am curious if any of you see potential implications or drawbacks. I’ve recently ordered a Buckeye Class-D 4-channel Hypex NC502MP amplifier to power my primary home theater LCR. This particular Hypex design is only offered in even-number designs, evidently due to supply/economics. I ordered a 4-channel, so 4 separate line level inputs, 4 speaker outputs (4 pair of speaker terminals). There is no HPF/LPF, DSP or gain control. Stick with me...

Existing patio setup:

  • Simple 2.1 setup on the patio. 90% music / 10% TV/Movies. 
  • Sonos AMP powering pair of Polk Atrium 6
  • AMP sub out to Polk SWA500 subwoofer amp
  • SWA500 speaker outs to passive Polk Atrium Sub100. 

Considering:

Remove SWA500 and run AMP sub out to unused Channel 4 of new Buckeye amp. I would use the Sonos App to control crossover and sub level--hopefully, set it and forget it. This approach frees up roughly 2U of rack space in my cabinet, provides a slightly more simplified design and should give me a bit more headroom and power for the Sub100 (with the latter being the least significant driver for me). 

Am I missing anything, or will this work as intended? 

Thanks in advance!

Hi @brucemac 

Thanks for your post!

If I understand you correctly, I don’t see how this would work. Both your Buckeye amplifier and your Sonos Amp would need to be connected to HDMI-ARC, and there is typically only one such socket on a TV.

Sonos Amp is only designed to work with other Sonos devices in a Home Theatre configuration (excepting the passive speakers and any third-party power subwoofer connected to it, that is). I don’t see how you would get it to work in concert with your Buckeye amplifier.

I may have misunderstood, of course. My replying here will get your post back onto the list of recently active posts - perhaps the community at large will be able to assist further.

I hope this helps.

Hi @brucemac 

Thanks for your post!

If I understand you correctly, I don’t see how this would work. Both your Buckeye amplifier and your Sonos Amp would need to be connected to HDMI-ARC, and there is typically only one such socket on a TV.

Sonos Amp is only designed to work with other Sonos devices in a Home Theatre configuration (excepting the passive speakers and any third-party power subwoofer connected to it, that is). I don’t see how you would get it to work in concert with your Buckeye amplifier.

I may have misunderstood, of course. My replying here will get your post back onto the list of recently active posts - perhaps the community at large will be able to assist further.

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the reply Cory. I probably didn’t do a good job explaining this. I’m not using ARC/eARC from the patio TV. My home theater inside and my patio setup are separate, but I’m running 2-channel audio out (headphone jack) from my patio TV inside into my AVR/Port setup. This allows me to group my patio zone and use my patio speakers and sub to play the patio TV audio when we’re outside hanging out or in the hot tub. The AMP is driving a pair of outdoor Polks and I’m using to the sub out on it to connect to an external Polk subwoofer amp and sub. I’m simply looking to decommission the Polk amp and replace it with that unused channel from the new Buckeye. Pretty sure it’s possible since there’s a separate input on the Buckeye amp and I can leverage the sub level and crossover of the Sonos app since there’s no LPF/HPF or gain control on the Buckeye. Does that make sense? Just looking to see if anybody sees any unforeseen implications or issues. 

Hi @brucemac 

There was no mention of a Port in your initial post, so now I am even more confused! I think I do get what it is you’re trying to do, however.

All I can really say is - try it and see! If I understand correctly (but I’m still not entirely sure I do) it will probably work (though I say this while knowing nothing about your Buckeye). If the Buckeye can handle separate inputs at the same time without combining them, then yes - it does sound possible. It doesn’t sound like there’s any danger of breaking anything - the subwoofer output will be at the voltage level that the Buckeye will be expecting from an input (as long as you don’t use a Phono input, that is).

Note that any line-in on a Sonos component (if you are, as I now think, using line-in on a Sonos Port) includes an unavoidable 75ms delay, minimum - whether this is acceptable to you or not, only you can say.

I hope this helps.

Sorry, I wasn’t clear! And I understand about the delay, but I’m okay with it because in this case, I’m typically 80-90% music anyway. Won’t be an issue because it will usually be grouped with other zones. I was more concerned about running into something I wasn’t anticipating. Thanks again for the responses. Will find out soon enough I suppose. 

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