Connecting Sonos 5 to Denon AVR

Question

I realize I am odd in that I do NOT enjoy using my I phone to control all functions of my two Sonos 5 speakers.  If I receive a phone call, just turning down volume is a pain. If the phone is locked, going through facial recognition or entering a password, then scrolling to find the app just to turn down the volume is ridiculous. I just purchased a Denon AVR.  I did not want the video part, but could not find just audio. My goal is to connect a CD player and use the receiver with my Sonos 5 speakers.  Do I need even more equipment or can I use an RCA and connect a Sonos 5 to one of the INPUT ports (like the one for a turntable) on the receiver?  Obviously none of the speaker ports work with Sonos.I am an old audiophile.  I love the sound of Sonos 5, but want a work around to using my I phone as the remote.

Corry P · Accepted Answer

Hi @ShayEdWelcome to the Sonos Community!If you’ve bought the Denon just to be a volume control for your Fives, I recommend you return it for a refund while you still can. Although you can connect source devices to the DVRand then feed a connection from an line-level (unamplified)outputof the DVR into theinputof a Five, the DVR’s volume controlwould have noeffect on the signal going to the Five - it only effects the amplified output of the DVR that would go to wired, passive speakers. You cannot wire Fives to the DVR as if they were passive speakers, but I think you mentioned that.Connecting the input of a Five to the input of a DVR would result in nothing happening. You should connect the output of theCD player to the input of either Five with a stereoRCA-3.5mmlead.A non-video version of a DVR is just a stereo amplifier. It may be my age talking, but I refuse to believe these are no longer available! It doesn’t matter though - astereo amplifier wouldn’t help you either.An easier option might just be to buy a voice-assistant capable smart speaker like a Sonos One, Sonos Roam or an Echo Dot from Amazon and use voice commands to lower the volume instead. All three are considerably cheaper than a DVR - not just each, but possibly in total!Other option might be to keep a cheap/old tablet/phone just for the Sonos app - don’t allow it to lock itself and things should be easier for you. Please keep in mind the minimum requirements for Android and iOS, but older versions can be still be used to control a Sonos system even when they cannot configure it.I hope this helps.

ShayEd · Answer

Thank you so much for your detailed response. I came to the same conclusion yesterday, boxed up the AVR receiver and took to Fed Ex for return. And I connected one Sonos 5 to the CD player with 3.5mm to RCA.

I will see if one of the voice commands assistants works with the Sonos 5. I hadn’t thought about using an old I Pad for control to avoid the I Phone roadblocks to simply volume control. That would allow for volume control and switching input from streaming to the CD. Great idea!

Thank you again.

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