connecting my pro ject vinyl player to a sonos play 3

Unfortunately, the PLAY:3 has no line in that you can connect to. You’d need to add a Sonos device that does. 

Thanks for the advice. Looks like I’m getting another Christmas present! 

Hi all, just been chatting online to Sonos about this specific item as I am one set behind, having not been gifted a turntable yet but just a record and no record player to play it with!! ;0)

Like ​@Bordino I have no Sonos speakers with a line in (Playbar, 4x Play 1s, 2x Play 3s, Arc) and before investing in a turntable, I wanted to be sure I could play it through my Sonos speakers in whichever room/speaker I desired without having to buy more speakers! ;)

Here’s my findings from my chats with Sonos so far:

→ ​Building on @AjTrek1 suggestions, I would include the slightly older Connect products which pre-cede the Amp and Port (Connect:Amp and Connect as they are known). Main rationale for me in including these is price - the Port and Amp are relatively expensive ($449 and $699); an Era 100 (without line in adaptor) is $249. Whereas on eBay in the UK today, you can buy a good second hand Connect:Amp (Amp) for 180 GBP and the Connect (Port) for 130GBP. 

→ Based on price, I have been looking into the Sonos Connect:Amp and Connect products. The latest/last versions of these (2015-2019) are still S2 compatible, so will work in your current setup. You’ll need to check the serial number with Sonos support before you buy to be sure, or ask the seller to show the device in the About Your System on the Sonos app where it details by device whether it’s S1 or S2.  Both the Connect devices work almost exactly like the Amp and Port in that they take a phono input from the source (e.g. turntable) and can stream/play wirelessly to any/all Sonos speakers in your setup. Sure there are a few differences (e.g. Amp has an HDMI port) but for a simple setup where you want to add a turnable to your existing setup, these are still very suitable.  

→ With either Connect product, playing from the line in input is fairly simple. Like with most “sources” be it radio, Apple Music, Spotify…. you need to select the room/group, then the content (source) you wish to play. Once the turnable/Connect is active, then the “line in” option will appear as a source to select from. I don’t think this is any different with the Amp or Port. With the Era 100, it can be set to automatically default to playing as soon as it recognises the line in input, otherwise it’s the same process, select line in as the source.

→ With either product, the turntable needs a pre-amp. Wasn’t immediately clear to me that the Connect:Amp only “amplifies” when it's connected to external passive speakers, not when it’s just streaming to the Sonos speakers. (was kinda hoping to use the Sonos amp as likely that would be better than en entry level pre-amp on a turntable but it doesn’t appear that way!)

→ If you decide that you want to someday connect external speakers and opt for the Connect:Amp (or Amp), one of the quirks with using the Connect:Amp with only the Sonos speakers is that it needs to be assigned to a “room”, I guess based on it being designed for use with external speakers. But once this is setup, you can go into that room settings and set the “autoplay” to whichever Sonos ‘room’ or ‘group’ you want to play them on. (I don;t think this happens with the Connect/Port).

Summary - if you plan to use external speakers someday and budget no option, go for the Amp. Otherwise if you can afford it, go for the Port. If you don’t want to add more speakers to your setup and or $249 (plus $19 for the adaptor) is too much for you, then I would suggest looking for a good secondhand S2 compatible Connect:Amp. 

If you’re not looking to use external speakers any time soon, your options are really the Port or the cheaper Connect, again make sure it’s S2 compatible. 

I’m going to be buying the Connect and looking at a Project T1 with the pre-amp. I’ll let you know how it goes! 

(P.S. If this helped anyone else then that’s a plus - just getting through the last few hours with Sonos and writing down my thoughts has been super helpful in understanding the options)

If considering an older Connect you might want to look at the topics on their possible issues with internal memory.

Misleading title, lots of good information.

Just to put a spanner in the works:

have you considered the Victrola turntable range? They have wifi models that can be wifi-connected to Sonos systems without the need for line-in devices, and they’ve had some positive reviews on these forums. 

Thanks ​@nik9669a it almost looks too good to be true but sure seems simpler than having both a turntable AND another SONOS device. Honestly I would love the Port as I think that would be great, looks slim and black and smart. But that’s $400+ before I purchase a turntable! I am based in the UK so am going to see if I can find a Victrola over here!! They look the part as well and love the idea that once it’s set up, it just plays. That seems far simpler than the set up with the Connect Amp etc. 

I have probably spoken to 3 or 4 agents today online and not one mentioned this “works with Sonos” turntable as an option. I appreciate that it means they might lose out on me purchasing an Amp or a Port but surely this should feature somewhere if it’s been recognised as working with Sonos? Kinda like the HomeKit approach with Apple? 

Likewise thanks ​@Stanley_4 thank you for your post. I was actually trying to focus on 2018 models, typically the serial number first 4 digits is supposed to indicate that (e.g. 1608 B8-jj-jj-jj-jj-j) meaning August 2016. Sonos support have ben great actually as I gave them about 6 serial numbers to check against the shortlist on eBay I had made. 

Looks promising:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=victrola+stream&crid=3SPR6ZCA07N6J&sprefix=victrola+stream%2Caps%2C214&ref=nb_sb_noss_1