Sonos with Headphones???

  • 15 December 2014
  • 14 replies
  • 20036 views

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I'm looking to integrate.. Hopefully wireless headphones with Sonos..

I'm leaning towards Beats.. Any success with setup and or those headphones or any other headphones ?

Thank you

Matt

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14 replies

Presumably you're planning to plug the base unit into a CONNECT/ZP90/ZP80 or a PLAY:5. Sonos can't wirelessly connect to headphones directly. Note that inserting a headphone plug into PLAY:5 will mute its internal speakers.

Whatever you choose, make sure you can return the headphones if they interfere with SonosNet wireless. Headphones (and other wireless audio gear such as subwoofers) operating at 2.4GHz can sometimes spray their own signal across the entire band. Their attempts to avoid interference can in fact cause problems for other spectrum users.

Headphones operating at other frequencies such as 900MHz or even 5GHz wouldn't cause trouble.
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Great response.. I'm not sure Beats wireless work on 2.4/900 or 5ghz...
Beats works on Bluetooth.. So I guess I'd plug into my iPhone directl.. I'm not sure there is another way
Will need to look into that..

Thanks again Ratty
Bluetooth is at 2.4GHz, so will have some effect on Sonos but quite probably not a fatal one. Sonos will certainly see the Bluetooth as 'noise' but depending on SonosNet's signal strength it could well be fine. Moreover Bluetooth is by design a low power, limited range, wire replacement technology. YMMV.

Connecting a Bluetooth headset to your phone won't get you Sonos though. The Sonos app is a controller, not a media player. You'd need to wire a Bluetooth audio transmitter to a Sonos Player.
At the recommendation of a fellow forum member, I've got a pair of Sony MDR-DS6500 wireless headphones hooked up to the optical output on a Connect. The coax output is connected to my stereo amp. Both are active by default. When I want to use the headphones, I switch the input selector on the amp to something other than the Connect or just turn it off.

It works acceptably. The headphones are closed back and little heavy so moving around excitedly with them is not really wonderful. But they sound great and it allows me to listen to music while the rest of the family can watch the tv or listen to something else.
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Regarding headphones, has anyone connected a stand alone headphone Amp to a Play 5 ? I have a Topping NX1 portable headphone Amp that is designed for phones MP3 players etc I was just wondering if the Play 5 would be suitable for it ?
Regarding headphones, has anyone connected a stand alone headphone Amp to a Play 5 ? I have a Topping NX1 portable headphone Amp that is designed for phones MP3 players etc I was just wondering if the Play 5 would be suitable for it ?
That headphone amp is designed for 3.5mm in/out, to supplement an existing headphone outlet, so it should work. Note that a PLAY:5 mutes its own speakers when a plug is inserted into the headphone jack.

If you don't already possess a PLAY:5 you might want to consider a CONNECT (or a pre-owned ZP90/80) to drive a headphone amp using its analog Line-Outs.
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Ratty thanks for reply I do already own a play 5 ,so I plugged the amp in and used it this evening with wireless headphones it was excellent . very powerful sound with a neutral sound bias . No static or buzzing using wireless headphones either, all in all works very well .
Hi there! Beats works good with Sonos. For me bluetooth headphones are more preferable to work with Sonos. My friend is using cheap audiophile headphones with Sonos. I think it works great and connect well to give good sound quality.
I have a Samsung TV, Playbar and 2xPlay 5 with Sub. I paired my Bise QC35s to the TV via Bluetooth. Running the Sonos iPhone app I was able to control the TV (playbar) and switch between Playbar audio (digital audio) or toggle to Bluetooth by muting the Playbar (room) on the iPhone controller app. I could also group the QC35s with other "rooms". I assume this would work with other TVs and Headphones. One catch - I had to "forget" the iPhone on my QC35s in order to get the Samsung to pair with the headphones. Also, and not perfect, I had to use the volume switches on the Bose as the Sonos sliders do not control Bluetooth volume. Does the trick when I'm asked to turn the TV or Music down. HTH
I've tryed to integrate Beats wired with new Play 5 (just one port) , it doesn't works but with old one (old Play 5: has 2 ports ... it has audio port dedicated ) and it's working ...why ???
Because the one port is a line in socket, not a headphone socket. There is no headphone socket on the P5 gen 2
John thank you for your replay , but I'm dissapoint on it .. can believe 2 generation with less service .. high value and low quality for me .. the sound is equal .. I don't know but something is wrong with 2 gen!
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Why not solve this with the existing hardware that was so expensive?

This is possible of Sonos would update their app and their firmware on the Playbar. And it's incredibly useful. If I'm watching TV and I have my output always going to my sound bar, I don't want another system like wireless headphones only for my TV. I don't want to run a 30 foot cord from my TV to my headphones (which eliminates the assortment of Bluetooth headphones I have anyway). And I don't want an Apple TV or a FireTV - I have a TV and cable.

Here's the solution that works for anyone with Cable, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast - or antenna. As long as you have a Sonos handling your Audio output...

Sonos should allow the app on my phone to tell the Playbar to redirect the audio to the app. The app should operate as any other app that can output sound. From there, let the iPhone or Android phone handle the sound and send it to the Bluetooth headphones that I already have paired.

Sonos, please address. This is definitely possible. Why not do it and open yourself up to an even wider market share? This additional feature would eliminate those costly devices people buy just to watch TV keeping the sound private. And you could potentially sell more units as people would possibly even want a 2nd Sonos unit for their bedroom TVs.