Hi everyone,
I am looking to connect an old G&C sound deck music centre to my Sonos system. Currently I don’t have any speakers for it. I am wondering what the best/easiest way is to do it? Can I just connect a Sonos Five to the headphone jack at the front or will I need a 2 pin din to RCA adaptor to connect to a Sonos port and then speakers that way?
Best answer by Corry P
Hi
That’s some piece of kit you’ve found there! I think it’s actually older than me (just)!
If you’re only looking to get audio from it into Sonos, then a cable connecting the headphone output to a Sonos line-in may be the easiest (as in, you might already own the cable), but you would need to adjust the output volume to get the best signal to noise ratio - it may take some experimentation.
Using a 5 pin DIN cable would perhaps be a better option (no need to adjust the output volume) but there may be complications. I recommend a read of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_connector and careful selection of a 5 pin DIN-RCA or 5 pin DIN-3.5mm jack cable. If you’re only looking to output from the Soundeck, it should be simple enough.
Be warned, however - that system has 3 sources, and the only one not subject to wow & flutter is the analogue radio. Most people seem to have forgotten all about wow & flutter, presumably putting the trauma behind them. It’s when the speed of a tape (or record) varies slightly, which produces small variations in pitch. The tape deck is likely to be the worst performer in this regard. Analogue radio may not make it past 2030 in the UK - it’s shutdown has already been delayed, and the powers that be may not be willing to extend it’s lifetime beyond that.
It won’t make any difference which of the mentioned Sonos devices you use - you’ll just need to change which cable you get. Either option would allow you to play on all your existing speakers, though of course a Play:5/Five is a speaker in it’s own right. If you buy second-hand, be sure to get something that is S2-compatible.
I hope this helps.
+19Hi
That’s some piece of kit you’ve found there! I think it’s actually older than me (just)!
If you’re only looking to get audio from it into Sonos, then a cable connecting the headphone output to a Sonos line-in may be the easiest (as in, you might already own the cable), but you would need to adjust the output volume to get the best signal to noise ratio - it may take some experimentation.
Using a 5 pin DIN cable would perhaps be a better option (no need to adjust the output volume) but there may be complications. I recommend a read of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_connector and careful selection of a 5 pin DIN-RCA or 5 pin DIN-3.5mm jack cable. If you’re only looking to output from the Soundeck, it should be simple enough.
Be warned, however - that system has 3 sources, and the only one not subject to wow & flutter is the analogue radio. Most people seem to have forgotten all about wow & flutter, presumably putting the trauma behind them. It’s when the speed of a tape (or record) varies slightly, which produces small variations in pitch. The tape deck is likely to be the worst performer in this regard. Analogue radio may not make it past 2030 in the UK - it’s shutdown has already been delayed, and the powers that be may not be willing to extend it’s lifetime beyond that.
It won’t make any difference which of the mentioned Sonos devices you use - you’ll just need to change which cable you get. Either option would allow you to play on all your existing speakers, though of course a Play:5/Five is a speaker in it’s own right. If you buy second-hand, be sure to get something that is S2-compatible.
I hope this helps.
I’m not a huge fan of using a variable output such as a headphone jack to feed another amplifier, for those signal to noise ratio issues.
I do note that there appear to be DIN to RCA adapters available, having just searched Amazon to confirm their existence, so I’d recommend going that route. Cleaner, visually, to have that connection behind the device, too.
Thank you both for the advice, I think I will try the DIN connector on the back. The only thing that put me off that idea was that in the original manual it says that this connector is for an external tape recorder, would that matter? I think you can get DIN to 3.5mm jack so I might try that into a Sonos 5.
+19Hi
I think, when buying a DIN cable, you’ll just need to make sure that you either get one that’s wired specifically for output (I presume most will be), or one with both input and output connections.
The only thing that put me off that idea was that in the original manual it says that this connector is for an external tape recorder, would that matter?
In the 70’s that was the only option, though I suppose you could choose reel-to-reel or cassette. I reckon a device for cutting vinyl records would have worked too, but these were hardly for home use. Today, a DAT, a miniDisc recorder or a Sonos Port would serve instead, among others. The important point is that all these devices use the Line level specification.
I hope this helps.
I would first just use the simpler cable that a headphone jack can work with; if the volume is left higher on the source as compared to the downstream Sonos 5, S/N issues may be minimised and in any case this source isn't ever going to give you the best quality.
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