Connecting Sonos to a projector based home Theatre

The Beam, playbar, playbase, and soon to be release sonos amp can all take input from a tv and play it in sync with the video. So yes, the beam will work. You can bond the beam with a sub or surround speakers to get a home theatre experience. As you probably know, you can also group the beam with other speakers to play in sync, but with tv audio, the other speakers will be slightly delayed and best not be in the same room for that reason.

The typical issue when using a projector is how to connect the projector or video source (your blue ray) with beam in a way that looks aesthetically pleasing. If you don't care, or can hide wires behind walls and ceiling, great. Other options get more complicated.

Thank you!
So, can I connect the Blu-ray source to the beam ? Is this the only way?

Sorry, didn't exactly answer your question. If your projector has an HDMI-ARC or optical audio out connection, this is most likely what you want to use. If not, if the projector has RCA audio out, then you can get a converter (RCA to optical) and connect it to the beam...but you'd be limited stereo only. You can connect the Beam to your player directly, but that mean you won't get audio from other sources. If your player doesn't have an optical out, then you would need a splitter that can take an hdmi input (from your player) and output HDMI (for projector) and optical (for the beam)

Were you thinking stereo audio only, or were you trying to get dolby digital (surround sound)?

Thank you both replies AJTrek and Melvibe

I have a BenQ TK 800 projector and a Sony Blu-ray player
My present plan is to .connect the Sony to the beam.via HDMI arc or Optical cable. Won't this give me 5.1 sound with a pair of Sonos ones and a subwoofer?
Can I use my play 5 as a sub? Would that be possible?
Is a Beam really that inferior to a playbar for he Theatre? Should I be getting a play bar? The thing is , it's older tech and has no HDMI Arc, but most reviews say that the sound is way better for a slightly larger room?
What do you think?

BxVelocity wrote:

Hi BxVelocity

My replies are written below your questions in BOLD.

I have a BenQ TK 800 projector and a Sony Blu-ray player

Nice!

My present plan is to .connect the Sony to the beam.via HDMI arc or Optical cable.

Depends....
1. HDMI: Unless your Sony Blu-Ray has two HDMI outs you will be forced to connect the Sony HDMI to the Projector HDMI
2. Optical: Does your Sony have optical out or coaxial out? The HDMI cable that comes with the Beam uses an Optical Adapter (not coaxial) in situations wherein HDMI ARC to HDMI ARC is not availble.

Won't this give me 5.1 sound with a pair of Sonos ones and a subwoofer?

If option 2 above is capable, yes. Note: the Sony must be able to pass DD5.1 over Optical.

Can I use my play 5 as a sub? Would that be possible?

No. You would need a Sonos sub to capture the LFE's processed by the Beam. Furthermore during the bonding process it would not be recognized as a sub, but as a speaker. Sonos is smarter than you may think :8

Is a Beam really that inferior to a playbar for he Theatre? Should I be getting a play bar? The thing is , it's older tech and has no HDMI Arc, but most reviews say that the sound is way better for a slightly larger room?

The Beam is not inferior to the Playbar/Playbase. It was just designed for a smaller space. Granted it does have more advanced technology. Dynamically the Playbar/Playbase according to Sonos should give you more room filling sound in a larger space. The conundrum is that a small space vs a large space is relative to the listener. Also, other factors come into play such as furniture, floors, drapes or blinds, enclosed or open and the list goes on.

As a gauge think of the Beam as a bedroom speaker typically with 4 walls (not open to other areas)

What do you think?

It's not what I think..it's what do you hear.

If you follow the diagram I submitted you should be OK. Just be sure the Sony can pass DD5.1 over optical. You can also go with the two Play 1's or Sonos One's as surrounds. I suggest you pick a retailer with a liberal return policy and try both the Beam and Playbar/Playbase. The latter two will force optical only from the Sony.

Cheers!

Wow! AjTrek, am just blown away by the detail in your answer, thanks!

Now, I am planning to get the Sony X700 UHD Blu-ray player, as my current Blu-ray player does not support 4 K
This player has two HDMI outputs, one for audio and video and one for audio alone. I’m thinking of using the one for the projector and the audio HDMI out for the Beam? Do you think that would work?

The Sony X700 also has an optical out, ( just checked it, it is labeled as coaxial digital out and is orange)so if the HDMI cable doesn’t work I plan to connect that to the beam

I am looking for 5.1 sound, so I need the player to send all the data to the beam, I think the HDMI out from the X700 should achieve this, what do you think?

The play bar cost almost twice the beam, but as I mentioned I know it has older tech, with no HDMI out. My room is 20x15 feet,four walls enclosed,I guess it is okay that I’m leaning toward the beam instead of the playbar

BxVelocity wrote:

Hi BxVelocity

Now, I am planning to get the Sony X700 UHD Blu-ray player, as my current Blu-ray player does not support 4 K
This player has two HDMI outputs, one for audio and video and one for audio alone. I’m thinking of using the one for the projector and the audio HDMI out for the Beam? Do you think that would work?

It should work. I'm running HDMI from a Google Fiber box (non-ARC) to a HDMI_ARC port on my 5 year old Sony TV and everything is fine. Although for some reason Sonos does not mention connecting the HDMI_ARC to a regular HDMI port on a source they always mention using the optical out adapter:? That said since I don't have a Beam to verify yea or nay you'll have to roll the dice and find out. :8 Although I can't see why it shouldn't work. Remember in doing so you'll not have Alexa voice control as the Sony X700 UHD by my research does not support ARC.

The Sony X700 also has an optical out, ( just checked it, it is labeled as coaxial digital out and is orange)so if the HDMI cable doesn’t work I plan to connect that to the beam

That is not an optical port. See the diagram to know what an optical port looks like. My recommendationfor a Sony Blu Ray although more expensive does have Optical out.

I am looking for 5.1 sound, so I need the player to send all the data to the beam, I think the HDMI out from the X700 should achieve this, what do you think?

Refer back to my first answer...above.

The play bar cost almost twice the beam, but as I mentioned I know it has older tech, with no HDMI out. My room is 20x15 feet,four walls enclosed,I guess it is okay that I’m leaning toward the beam instead of the playbar

Good luck! let us know how things sort out. Cheers!

Shoot ! I just ordered the X700
Which one do you recommend? The X 800?

The x800 doesn't offer any more connectivity options than the X700 which is our concern. The least expensive Sony Blu-Ray player with multiple outputs is the UHP-H1:

Dual HDMI
Coaxial
Optical:D

Again the one you ordered may work with the Beam using the HDMI to HDMI sans the Optical adapter :?

Cheers!

Hi BxVelocity..again :D

You might try the Coaxial to Optical converter in the link with your Sony Blu-Ray that doesn't have an optical out. You'll also have to purchase a coaxial cable (the shorter the better) to run between the Blu Ray player and the Coaxial to Optical converter then attach the Optical Converter that cane with the Beam to one end of the HDMI cable and plug it into the Optical Out of the coaxial to optical converter and of course the other end into the Beam

https://www.amazon.com/Whizzotech-Coaxial-Toslink-Converter-sampling/dp/B01DP5N076/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1539263185&sr=8-3&keywords=coaxial+to+optical+digital+audio+converter&dpID=41aEIojQoCL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Cheers!

So, I got my Sony X700, it has two HDMI outputs, one for video and one for audio, I’m thinking of connecting the audio to the beam, once I get it, it might work, methinks...
The other option is to get a Samsung 8500 that has optical out, but does not have two HDMI outs, if the Sony X700 doesn’t work
I want to use the beam to to get 5.1 sound, eventually

Hi BxVelocity

See the attachment on how to connect your gear :)

Cheers!

AJTrek 1, I love your diagrams!
Thanks a lot
My Sony has a weird blue screen when i start up netflix, so I think I'll get another, taking your advice , i thought I'd a Samsung UBD-M7500 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player as it has the optical output you mentioned, it think that would solve it.
But will it output 5.1 ?

BxVelocity wrote:

i thought I'd a Samsung UBD-M7500 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player as it has the optical output you mentioned, it think that would solve it.
But will it output 5.1 ?

Hello BxVelocity

Although the Samsung UBD-M7500 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player has optical out and will most likely decode DD5.1 it lacks one feature that for me would be a deal breaker_there;s no Wi-Fi option. You'd have to run an Ethernet cable for internet access which means another cable to contend with.

The model I suggested before will give you every option you need and provides choice: The Sony UHP-H1.
Remember, connections that don't have to be converted (i.e. coaxial to optical) are the best. The Optical to HDMI associated with the Beam IMO is a SOFT conversion as the initial signal from the UHP-H1 is already optical. Meaning not a coaxial to optical to HDMI.

I know the UHP-H1 is more expensive but not like hundreds above what you are considering but sometimes we have to bite the bullet, get what we need and move on. Of course I'm not advocating that you sacrifice essential needs for an electronic device. Either your budget allows it at this time or you may want to wait. Good luck to achieve what you want.

Cheers!

I can’t thank you enough for the effort and the sincerity in your answers!
I’ll search for the model you mentioned
Many, many thanks!

Hi BxVelocity

Scratch the Sony I recommended. I realized it is 4K UpScaling and not capable of playing 4K Discs natively. However, fear not here's a Samsung model that hits all the check marks. Click the link: https://www.samsung.com/us/televisions-home-theater/home-theater/blu-ray-dvd-players/ubd-m9500-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-player-ubd-m9500-za/

Cheers!

I started using a PS4 and it works, however, its not a PS4 Pro, i connected it to the projector via a Marantz receiver, now I plan to connect it to the Beam