Vinyl Access: How to Upgrade Your Turntable with Sonos

If you’re a music lover, a vinyl record player is likely a key part of your equipment. However, it is not always easy to make this very analog device fit into the smart digital home.

The appeal of buying, owning and enjoying vinyl records has skyrocketed sales. Almost all members of The environment The team has one. But while record players are great in terms of sound quality and offer us the opportunity to slow down and consume music more thoughtfully, technological realities can be a problem.

The first is that a vinyl setup has many different elements, which causes clutter. And then there are the cables. So many cables. This has led many to wonder if it is possible to use the turntable wirelessly or with a Sonos system, and the answer is a resounding yes.

Read on to learn about the various options you have at your disposal to make your turntable setup a little smarter.

How to use your turntable with Sonos speakers

Traditionally, a turntable needs many elements to work: the turntable itself, a preamplifier, an actual amplifier, and a pair of speakers, all connected in that order.

You can cheat a little by integrating a preamp into an amplifier or turntable (available on some models, but far from ubiquitous), but you need all those parts. In fact, Sonos sells a pair of Pro-Ject turntables with built-in preamps, to make things easier.

However, with a Sonos system, you can do without quite a few aspects of the setup and there are several configurations you can opt for.

Using a wired Sonos setup

This is the simplest approach and will probably suit most people. In this setup, take your turntable and run it through a preamp phase. From there, use a line input on the back of a Sonos Play:5, Sonos Five, or a Sonos Era 300. These are the only speakers that offer line input, so we’re afraid there won’t be many options there . .

Then you will have to select the line input through the Sonos app and that’s it. It’s a good idea to rename the line input from the Sonos app to keep things clear, something like “turntable,” for example.

You may also want to modify with the Line input source level settings in the Sonos app, to bring the volume to a level you like. By default it is set to 2, but we recommend testing around the 6/7 mark; although this will depend on the output impedance of your preamplifier..

In a Play:5 / Five / Era 300 setup, you’ll eliminate the need for an amplifier and stereo speaker in your setup, saving a lot of cables.

Once you’ve played music through your Sonos speaker, you can, of course, group that speaker with any other Sonos speakers in your setup… but we’ll get to that in a moment.

Using a Sonos port or Sonos amplifier

Many people will want to add their turntable not only to their Sonos system but also to their existing stereo and speakers. If you’re in this boat, you’ll need the Sonos Port or Sonos Amp. (Or the older versions of these, if you have one or can get one: Sonos Connect or Connect:Amp).

With all these devices you You’ll still need a preamp. as part of the configuration. Turntables need both the preamplifier and an amplifier. So while the Connect:Amp and Amp have, of course (the clue is in the name), amplification powers, that preamp is still a must-have.

With the Port (or the old Connect), you’ll also need to feed its output through a dedicated amplifier or a hi-fi system with a built-in amplifier.

You can also use Sonos Connect as a receiver for the turntable’s output (still through a preamp) and stream its line input to your other Sonos speakers.

If you have dedicated non-Sonos speakers and want to connect them to the system, the amplifier and port are also still your best option.

These have outputs for wired speakers on the back, which can then be slipped into your system, like a pair of old slippers among a collection of new English brogues.

How to stream vinyl around your home with Sonos

Not only can you play music on Play:5, Era 300 or Five, but you can also group other devices together and put them into playback. This is great for large rooms, or if you want to listen to the vinyl in a different room (although don’t think about the hassle of changing the side of the record every 25 minutes).

The problem is that the audio may appear choppy, depending on the quality of your Sonos network. While Sonos is great for pinging compressed digital music in your home, your turntable is producing uncompressed music, which will flood your wireless network and cause everything to break down.

Your best option, at least in the past, was to connect (using Ethernet) as many Sonos speakers as possible to create a SonosNet network, or invest in a Sonos Boost, which when placed at the heart of your rig-up will speed everything up very much. good on the wireless side.

However, if you have a decent modern mesh Wi-Fi system, you may be able to stream your analog music throughout your home digitally.

Whichever method you choose, the Sonos app can also choose to compress any line-in audio signals, although we’ve always found that leaving this setting on “auto” works.

The native Sonos turntable

Until last year, the above method was the only way to get a turntable to work within a Sonos system.

There are now a couple of additional ways to do this, including the first verified ‘Works with Sonos’ turntables: the Victrola Stream Carbon and the Victrola Stream Onyx.

These nifty turntables potentially offer a much easier path to a Sonos vinyl solution.

They have built-in Wi-Fi and can communicate directly with your Sonos system, as a music source, just like Spotify, Apple Music and the rest.

You can control playback directly from the Sonos app, adjust the volume, and even group the turntable with other Sonos speakers for a truly immersive listening experience.

Another solution (and this is not ideal) is to pair a Bluetooth vinyl record player, of which there are many, with any Sonos speaker with built-in Bluetooth, such as the Roam 2 or Move 2, and then group those speakers with others. Sonos non-Bluetooth speakers.

However, it is not an ideal solution and should probably be avoided.

The Perfect Sonos Vinyl Setup

Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Sonos Edition (Walnut)

$799 / £699, sonos.com

The sleekest turntable Sonos sells directly, and built with a Sonos system in mind, this Pro-Ject turntable includes a preamp stage so you don’t need an additional device to play your vinyl. It comes with an acrylic plate to improve audio quality and you will also receive a stylish mat with the Sonos logo in the box.

Plan 1 Irrigation

$499/£475, Amazon

There is no need to use the turntable that Sonos suggests. A great entry-level turntable from the Porsche of turntables, the Rega’s pedigree may not be immediately evident from the simple, understated design and standard materials. But the quality comes from the technology inside the cartridge, which filters down from Rega’s $1,000+ systems. Unmatched sound quality for the price.

Pyle Phono Turntable Preamplifier

$25 / £25, Amazon

The idea of ​​using Sonos to go cable-free in your turntable setup means, ideally, keeping the hardware part of listening to vinyl as minimal as possible. The Pyle preamp is small and allows you to keep the technology to a minimum, while feeding that analog audio into your Sonos system.

There are five of us

$549 / £549, sonos.com

The flagship bookshelf speaker, one of Sonos’ latest speakers, is actually a highly evolved version of Sonos’ first speaker. It features six class D digital amplifiers, six dedicated speaker drivers, three tweeters, and three mid-woofers.

The Five replaces the second-generation Play:5 and also offers a pair of Ethernet ports so it can act as a handy switch or extender for your wired devices. It can also be placed vertically or horizontally, and is available in an all-black or all-white color option.

Sonos amplifier

$699 / £649, Amazon | sonos.com

The Sonos Port is great if you just want the record tunes played on your existing Sonos speakers, or if you already have a decent amp, but it’s the Sonos Amp that we have to recommend for the perfect setup.

It’s twice as powerful as the old Connect:Amp, and if you opt for the new Sonance Architectural range (built specifically for Sonos), you can add up to six speakers to the mix.

I can’t afford Sonos, are there other vinyl streaming options?

There are few systems where you can integrate existing turntables as easily as Sonos, but that doesn’t mean a wireless system is out of reach. Some turntables are now available with built-in wireless Bluetooth, which can connect to powered speakers with a Bluetooth connection.

The panacea, right? Not so fast: This type of connection can be spotty at best, and this is especially problematic in this case. And again, the audio will have to be compressed for Bluetooth, so many will question the point of using vinyl just to compress it to basic MP3 quality.

But the quality of that conversion will differ greatly. Generally, an aptX streamer should offer the best quality, but it is far from universal and there are players that don’t sound bad without using that technology.

connected turntables

Audio-Technica AT-LP60BT

Audio Technica’s turntables have a superior pedigree and the LP60BT comes with built-in Bluetooth, allowing you to connect to powered speakers for a wired setup. It’s not aptX and some users have complained about unevenness, but if you’re building a vinyl setup from scratch with the option of going wire-free, it’s a good option.

$179 / £189, audiotechnica.com

Pro-Ject Juke Box E

If you really want to reduce clutter, then the Pro-Ject Juke Box E is your best option. This turntable includes a preamp, amplifier, and Bluetooth, so you can simply add speakers to get started. Pair it with a powered Bluetooth speaker or Sonos Connect for a powerful, wire-free setup.

$400 / £370 Richer sounds

Leema Pulse IV

If you’re looking to play with wireless speakers, consider this tech amplifier created by British audio lab Leema and its team of former BBC sound engineers. It may not solve the problem of eliminating clutter in your vinyl setup, but with an aptX Bluetooth input built into the amplifier, it can receive the signal from a Bluetooth turntable and transmit it to analog speakers, which should maintain sound quality. intact.

$3,000 / £2,000, leema-acoustics.com