Question

Connect or Connect:Amp for connecting turntable, speakers and stereo integrated amplifier

  • 13 December 2015
  • 12 replies
  • 2180 views

Hi All,

New to the boards and have had a search through and seen a couple threads that are similar to this yet non seem to answer the exact questions I've got, so thought I'd make a new thread and see if anyone could help me out.

I've inherited a Gerrard turntable. 2 Monitor Audio system R352 standing speakers, along with a technics stereo integrated amplifier A6000MK2 and an ARCAM Alapha 8 AM/FM Tuner, and I just wondered what I need to connect this to my sonos network, would it be a Connect or Connect:Amp?

The technology is a little old school for me that I don't really know what any of it means, very much a sonos generation of plug in connect and play, taken me a year to actually get the whole turntable system working as I was missing a phono lead for the turntable with earth spade terminals, but got that and can now finally use the system which works great, but would be even better if I could connect it to my sonos system and play the LPs through all the sonos speakers we have as well use the speakers to play the digital music we have.

Know what I think I've understood from other threads is that if I just had the turntable and speakers then I would need the connect:Amp, but since I've got the the technics stereo integrated amplifier A6000MK2, I can run the turntable and speakers through that and then run that into just the connect? Would I be right with that?

Thanks in advance for all your help

Cheers

Matt

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12 replies

Badge +20
You need a Sonos Connect, hook it up to a tape loop and you are sorted.
Hi Shevans, Thanks for your quick reply, one question though and this will be my stupidity here, what do you mean by a tape loop, as to me that means the magnetic loops of tapes in a cassette or something. Or are you just meaning if I also hook it up to an cassette player, I'm sorted from an anolge perspective? Just wanted to clear that up before I go ahead a purchase a connect.

Cheers
Userlevel 7
Badge +21
I couldn't find anything about the Technics amplifier... so I don't know what kinds of connections it has. What you're looking for is an RCA input that you can hook the Sonos Connect up to. This will let you hear music from Sonos through the amplifier/speakers. You'll also need a line-level output (a Tape Out connection would be great, if it has one)... this will let you play your turntable (or other input on the amplifier) through your other Sonos speakers. Just a note though that there might be a slight (~70ms) delay on the Sonos speakers due to converting the analog signal into digital.

Hopefully that helps!
The Technics is sure to have pairs ( left and right ) of input jacks, one of which might be marked phono, meant for low signal voltages from turntables which is NOT to be used for the Connect. Wire the Connect output jack pair to any other input jack on the Technics. This will allow you to play music that you are playing through other Sonos speakers through the Technics based set up.

Assuming you have a way of obtaining line level outputs from the Gerrard, wire these to the line in jack pair on the Connect, and you can listen to LPs via the Technics set up and/or via any other Sonos speaker in your home.

A turntable needs a phone amp to boost the signal from its cartridge to line level. If the Gerrard doesn't have this built in, you will have to buy one to place between it and Connect. Even good ones aren't very expensive.
gocre91,

Is your integrated amplifier a model SU-A600MK2?

If so, CONNECT's Line-In should go to TAPE 1 REC(OUT) and CONNECT's Line-Out should go to TAPE 1 PLAY(IN). In this configuration you can pretend that the CONNECT is a cassette recorder. REC(OUT) will play in any combination of SONOS players and PLAY(IN) will accept output from CONNECT as if CONNECT is playing a tape.
For my education - what is the advantage of the above, where the TT is wired to the amp, compared to wiring the TT/phono amp to the Connect line in? I can see that where the TT has a phono socket, but in other cases is there any difference?
If you wire the TT to the amp you can play the TT on the amp and speakers without having to worry about using the Sonos controller to select the line-in before you can listen. Also of course you're bypassing a pointless A-to-D/D-to-A conversion in order to listen to an analogue source.

And of course if the amplifier contains the only phono stage you have in the system then you CAN'T wire the TT directly to the Connect.
Understood, thank you.

Come to think of it, that would also be the only way to play something like a AM/FM tuner in addition, across all rooms, by wiring that to the amp as well.

Presumably this arrangement needs a Tape REC/PLAY set of sockets - the referred tape loop - on the amp, and I am guessing these aren't common. Are these usually there in AVRs of the day?
Understood, thank you.

Come to think of it, that would also be the only way to play something like a AM/FM tuner in addition, across all rooms, by wiring that to the amp as well.

Presumably this arrangement needs a Tape REC/PLAY set of sockets - the referred tape loop - on the amp, and I am guessing these aren't common. Are these usually there in AVRs of the day?


It doesn't have to be a tape loop as such but obviously the amp needs to have an output, ideally fixed, so it doesn't track the volume control on the amp. Without that you would need to do it the way you suggested, assuming you had the necessary phono stage available.

I haven't looked at many modern AV amps, some may have replaced the tape loop with a CD or MD loop or more modern equivalent, but probably not at the bottom end of the market.

Just checked my 15 year old AV receiver, it has FOUR such loops, Tape In/Out, MD/Dat In/Out and two Video In/Outs which include stereo RCAs. I don't know if the Video outputs are affected by the volume control mind you...
Badge +3


Assuming you have a way of obtaining line level outputs from the Gerrard, wire these to the line in jack pair on the Connect, and you can listen to LPs via the Technics set up and/or via any other Sonos speaker in your home.

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Hi Kumar, if Matt were to plug an Airport Express into one analogue input in the amp and the TT (assuming the amp has a built on phonostage) into the amp Tape Input could you then use the tape loop to play either vinyl or airplay to both the R352's and the sonos speakers simultaneously. And vice versa play the sonos app to the R352's and the sonos speakers simultaneously?
Badge +3
[quote=The LHC]

It doesn't have to be a tape loop as such but obviously the amp needs to have an output, ideally fixed, so it doesn't track the volume control on the amp. Without that you would need to do it the way you suggested, assuming you had the necessary phono stage available.

Just checked my 15 year old AV receiver, it has FOUR such loops, Tape In/Out, MD/Dat In/Out and two Video In/Outs which include stereo RCAs.


If the amp has a Tape In/Out and MD/Dat In/Out whihc would be the better to use Tape or MD/Dat?

I am trying to create a loop between the amp and a Sonos Connect so I can send Sonos streaming music through the App to the amp and a pair of passive speakers and the Sonos wireless speakers simultaneously. And vice versa plug a turn table and an Apple Airport Express into the amp and push either of those sources to the passive speakers and the Sonos network simultaneously.

Or maybe what I am describing is not possible?
Answered in detail to your question posed in the other thread. Short answer, Yes, possible.