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How does one add other devices to an ARC? And how does one add speakers that work with the ARC?

  • 11 February 2023
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Userlevel 1

.: Hello. I am a Sonos newbie, this is my first post, and I am not very tech-savvy when it comes to sound systems. Recently, a friend guided me through the purchase of an LG 65” 4K tv and a Sonos Arc sound bar. I would like to add a turntable with pre-amp and a DVD/CD player to my sound system, but as best I can tell, one cannot do this with the Arc. I’ve perused the Sonos site to try to get a better understanding of what component(s) I would need to add, and the more I search, the more confused I find myself.

Ultimately what I would like to do is have the outputs from my turntable (old, not wifi-enabled) and my DVD player (wifi-enabled) play through the Arc (if that’s even possible), and/or through wireless speakers, like the One SL. I gathered from my searching that I would also need the Amp. From what I can see looking at the back of the Amp, only one device requiring RCA cables can be attached to it. If this is the case, would I need two Amps, one for the turntable and one for the DVD player? It’s also not clear to me what one does after connecting the Amp to a turntable or other device. I have 5 passive speakers (3 in the front and 2 in the back), but am interested in ditching those and buying two One SL’s with stands for the back of my living room. At the moment those five speakers are laying dormant, not being used.

I would also like the sound from my tv to go through the Arc and the One speakers.

So I have a number of issues, and I apologize for my inability to see through the Sonos documentation to understand how to make all of this work. I would appreciate any advice or guidance that might push me in the right direction to begin this challenging setup, and thank you in advance for your assistance.

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Best answer by Airgetlam 14 February 2023, 17:25

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13 replies

buzz

You can attach the DVD player as an input to the TV. The TV will route the DVD’s audio to ARC.

The turntable must include an internal or external preamp. The conventional way to attach a turntable to a SONOS system would be as a Line-In to a SONOS PORT, FIVE, or AMP. Since you are ditching your passive speakers, AMP would not be the choice.

An unconventional arrangement would be to attach the turntable as an analog audio input to the TV. Note that this may not work out because modern TV’s don’t always offer analog audio support or may insist that the audio be accompanied by video. It’s a lot of fuss, but it is usually possible to work around these issues, but this could also strain your friendship. A FIVE or PORT would be straight forward.

Adding a SONOS SUB would add more fun to the TV experience.

P
Userlevel 1

,: First, thank you for responding, buzz, much appreciated. A few followup questions/comments if I might:

  1. I will check the back of my DVD player to determine if is has an HDMI output, which is what I am assuming it will need when I try to connect it to the tv.
  2. My turntable has an external preamp. I am assuming that it can be connected to a Five or a Port.
  3. I am not averse to keep using my existing passive speakers. I’m just not sure how I would hook all of them up to a Sonos Amp, Five, or Port. I am assuming, however, that if I connect to one of those devices, there won’t be any use for the passive speakers. Is that correct?
  4. If I were to buy two One speakers, would they connect via the Amp, Five, or Port?
  5. I’m still clueless as to how I would connect One speakers to my Sonos Arc. Is that done wirelessly?

My apologies for all these questions. Feel free to ignore any or all of them at your leisure! But thanks for your help at all times.

buzz

AMP could connect to the turntable and passive speakers. AMP cannot emit any sound without passive speakers. You can “Group” SONOS Rooms to play the same music source in any combination of Rooms. If you don’t want the passive speakers, connect the turntable to a PORT or FIVE Line-In and skip the AMP.

ONE’s can stand alone, be paired with another ONE (forming a stereo pair “Room”), or “Bonded” to ARC to build a surround Room.

Most people find that the setup process is straight forward. You’ll be guided through it after installing the controller App on a phone or pad. I recommend setting up ARC first.

P
Userlevel 1

.: Thank you again for responding, buzz. I’m going to do more reading to help better understand the process of adding surround sound to my living room, and to connecting the turntable to a PORT of FIVE Line-in device. One question: If I have the ONE SL speakers set up and working with the ARC sound bar, will the PORT or FIVE Line-In device pair with the speakers?

Thank you as always.

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

No it will not, but the Port or Five “room” will group with the Arc + surrounds “room”, see https://support.sonos.com/article/group-and-ungroup-rooms

About the Sonos lingo: a “room” is a fixed set of speakers, either “bonded” as a surround set or “paired” as a stereo set.

P
Userlevel 1

.: Hello, 106rallye, and thank you for your response. So to recap: the turntable will work by being connected to the PORT or FIVE, which will in turn group with the ARC. I will hear the turntable sound through the ARC and ONE SL speakers.

Q: Would you recommend the PORT or the FIVE for my turntable?

Thank you again.

Airgetlam

From the perspective of the line in, other than the form factor, the two line ins are exactly the same. The Five has a 3.5mm stereo input, the Port uses two RCA jacks. In both cases the turntable needs to have a pre-amp either built in, or an external one put in between the turntable output and the Sonos. 

The Five has the benefit of being an extra speaker, so many people appreciate having yet another Sonos device that can be playing music. The Port is smaller, and doesn’t include a speaker, but has more inputs.  

I used the US links, because i’m in the US, but you should have equivalent look up abilities on the Canadian web store. 

Bruce
106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

@Airgetlam Not sure what you mean by the Port having more inputs:

 

The Port has only one input: left and right RCA. The Five also has one input, but in the form of of a mini-jack. The Port does have an analog and a digital output that the Five does not have. this could com in handy if you's want to connect the port to a third party amp, but @Podbay does not seem to be looking for such a set up.

Airgetlam

Sorry, you’re indeed correct, for some reason my mind was thinking of a Sonos Amp, not the Port. The Amp has the addition of the digital HDMI ARC input, in addition to the analog RCA input. It’s also significantly more expensive, as it contains the addition of all the circuitry needed to power a set of speakers. 

Bruce
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Userlevel 1

.: First, thank you, Airgetlam and 106rallye, for your input and guidance. My current setup is a 65” LG 4K TV and a Sonos Arc sound bar. I will try to reiterate what I want to do:

  1. I’d like to add two ONE SL speakers for surround sound capaibility.
  2. I’d like to be able to hear my turntable output through the ARC and ONE SL speakers. The turntable has an external pre-amp. Am I correct in thinking that the PORT would be the device of choice for this to happen? In other words, will it group or bond with the surround sound system via Wi-Fi?
  3. If possible, I’d like to run my DVD player through the speakers and sound bar as well.

I am assuming that the ONE SL speakers would suffice. I do not need voice control so I don’t need ONE speakers. I would like to also purchase two stands for the speakers. Am I correct in choosing ONE SL rather than ONE?

Again, my apologies for not really understanding how to maximize the use of Sonos devices. Thank you again, many times, for you help and guidance,

Airgetlam
  1. Using the “add a device” feature in the controller will allow you to add two Sonos One SLs to your system, and then you would need to use the “add a surround” or words to that effect in the Arc’s “room” to switch them from the temporary rooms they were set up in to be surrounds for the Arc.
  2. Yes, a Port would be ideal, and allow you to play the line in on any “room” in your Sonos system. Since the Port isn’t technically a “room”, it wouldn’t “group” (not “bond”) with anything, but you’d choose the room where you want the line in to play in. 
  3. The DVD player would connect to the HDMI input on the TV. The Arc would connect to the port labeled ARC on the TV set, and play any input from the TV’s apps, or the HDMI input ports. The “computer” in the TV would take that audio, and reflect it out to the Sonos Arc. 

If this isn’t clear, by all means, ask for clarification. There’s always the danger of “knowing too much” and shortcutting an answer that makes it hard for folks to understand. We’re here to help :)

Bruce
106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

For all things video, like your DVD-player, the TV is the hub. Connect the DVD-player to your TV.

You can set up two One SL’s as a separate “room” in Sonos that you would group with the Arc and the Port or add the SL’s as surrounds to the Arc “room”. Group the Port with the room you want to and it will play music from your turntable over the Sonos system. You can even tell the Port to play automatically to a certain room.

P
Userlevel 1

.: 106rallye: Thank you for the further clarification. I can now begin to plan to buy these additional components in the next few weeks and put them together. I think I will also get stands for the ONE SLs.

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