DuB-EnG: SONOS Hacks - Connect ANY powered SUB BASS speaker to SONOS 1 - teardown & full explanation
2020 ж. 18 Сәу.
64 848 Рет қаралды
A detailed UK DIY guide on how to avoid spending £700 on a SONOS SUB BASS speaker by drilling a small hole in a cheap used SONOS 1 and wiring up a very simple jack port so you can feed the output to ANY powered sub bass speaker system!! IT WORKS LIKE A DREAM!!
*It’s perfect for me. The size is exactly **Newest.Technology** what I needed. The sound is loud enough for me to hear without having to turn it higher. Suggestions on various uses is extremely helpful! Worth every dollar spent!*
fantastic
like the features, setup was difficult for some of my devices (August Door lock, kzhead.infoUgkxhB5YOMNj04GuoAosExygP4cH-dKeb4aB Bose speaker)... but all switches and outlets (5), thermostat, tankless water heater. Unfortunately all I can do is turn on/off Bose. It doesn't support volume or changing channels, but I believe that is due to the particular speaker I have.... Worth getting if you already have other devices to use it with... I don't sit around and ask Alexa questions much so that doesn't really matter to me....
Happy to have helped! Best, Howard
Absolutely grand slam on those big bass speakers. It came over on my earphones great. Another great job, Howard!
Teehee!!! Thanks David!! ... when I produce these videos, I have a Cambridge Audio amp connected to a pair of mission 774s ... and I always love the BASS :-)
I used a Sonos one , gen 2 for this hack and it works great 😀 Thanks for making the video and sharing it with all of us .
You're welcome! And great work 👍
Good fellow! Works also perfectly fine with Sonos One (gen2). Very similar construction of this speaker to your Sonos 1! Would like to encourage many people to follow your instructions within the video! This is a job of max. 1 hr and really saves a lot of money, especially if you already have a subwoofer! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Torsten !! It’s a great little hardware hack and my system is BOOMING now !! :-)
Subscribed! You Sir, just saved me £500! I was looking for a Sonos sub unit for my system... Ended up buying a second hand sub and using this hack! Although there's no crossover to the speakers, it does deliver the low end necessary to fill the room! Thanks!
Fantastic!!! Boom!! I still love mine!!
Thanks, i did it with 2 play ones and paired them with a playbar, works better than i thought, just perfect
Epic! Thanks for your feedback!!
NOTE: works amazing! I ended up added a line converter LOC2SL to convert the 2 wire to RCA. Best part is the LOC2SL doesnt require 12v power. Soldier into SONOS speaker and done.
what a great idea!
You’re a cracking member of the KZhead community! 🤙
How very kind! - Sharing these fixes is very useful...
Ive got a play 5 gen 1. I bought a £3 hi to low output filter connected to midrange to a active sub , works perfect. Beautiful sound now, no loss of bass either
Great news - they have an output already fitted - the "one" doesn't.
Man, what a precious video! 👍👍👍 Edit: It would be nico to do something similar to this with the IKEA Symfonisk speaker. Thank you so very much and greetings from Portugal.
Aww thanks for watching 👀 ☺️... I really enjoy making this one!
This is a good one, I'm actually planning on doing the same thing to a Playbar.
Good luck buddy!
I own 2 one SL s, one Arc soundbar and 2 Roams and don't regret it one bit. Provides adequate highs mids and lows . I don't have the equipment for this plus I would be afraid of messing up a nice setup. nice hack 👍
Thanks Robert!! All the best and enjoy your music!!
great video. Since my power sub has speaker line in ports, I use a regular speaker wire instead. Work perfect. Now I have a 2.1 system. Thanks.
Very nice! Thanks for sharing!!
can you elaborate more ? you still did the hack or bypassed it ?
@@evantheking I opened one of the speakers, then connected a speaker wire to the bottom mid/bass driver. Then connected other end of the speaker wire to a powered subwoofer.
Cool vid. Made me laugh when I looked at the name of the channel. Very on-point. Subscribed.
Haha... thanks for the sub!! :-)
What a great hack and presentation!! Well done. I am new to the Sonos world having just gotten a Beam. I agree the sub is overly priced and having an older Klipsch sub I would love to do this. I like to go the RCA cable idea another one suggested here in the comments so I can go straight into my sub. Thanks Dubious
Good luck Dan!! - I love mine!! Still use it every day!
what is the RCA idea , can you please elaborate ?
Great vid . My Sonos now have BASS ! Cheers.
Well done!
Somewhat shocking update: I did this hack last year (thanks btw), hooked up my sub and worked great, but a month ago, the sub blew (it was old, second-hand). Rather than toss the sub out, I cut out the plate amp electronic and ran the speaker wire from the Sonos Play:1 DIRECTLY to the (now) passive sub terminal connections. So my Play:1 is now driving a 12" subwoofer driver directly.....and amazingly, its driving it really well. Like shockingly well. Deep, full, soul-rattling bass and fairly loud volume levels, all coming from that tiny Play:1.
Dude!!! Lush!!! Epic to hear that !!! I think 30watts of RMS drive is fantastic through a 12” speaker in a decent box!!! Well done!!! Great idea!!!
Howard, you are a genius!!! Really! Thanks!
Whooop!! Hope it saves you some cash!
@@DubiousEngineering Already did! :)
That was really great!
Aww thanks blimpy:-)
What a cool guy. All the best from turkey :)
Massive hugs to Turkyie
@@DubiousEngineering
I agree on the Sonos build quality. I've had some 1s and a 5 now for about seven years and they are solid bits of kit. I'd also agree that a hand drill is great to have around for quick jobs. People laugh at them but so handy for pilot holes and quick drills.
I’d love a 5 but they are so expensive... one day I’ll muster up the cash and courage to buy one... what I like about the 5 is it has an input for connecting a separate source into it, like a record player or keyboard... :-). thanks for your kind comments :-)
@@DubiousEngineering - Agreed, not cheap. We managed to get some Royal Mail shares at the time and that paid for the Sonos gear. Looked at a playbar and bass but just couldn't justify those as well. I think we've had value out of what we have. The P5 did have one issue when it wouldn't come on at all but I spoke to Sonos support and they arranged a courier label and replaced it in about ten days.
And... that is a big bart of it... you are paying for good quality and good support - but, my oh my, that Sub Bass and sound bar are expensive :-) - Great to know how well supported you were when you had a fault in warranty. Thanks for your input here :-)
Well done Sir! 🤙
Thanks kindly... hope its useful!!
Great video
Thanks Michael!!! ... I still use this everyday!!! And I still love it!!!
You are absolute genius
You are too kind!!
Thanks for the video! Simple but good explanations 10/10 one question: is this also possible with the model Play 3?
I believe so
Brilliant!
Thanks!!
"we've gone bottom entry" oooh Matron!
Absolutely epic!!! Well spotted!!! :-). Kenneth Williams eat your heart out... Sid James :-)
Excellent DIY! Who all has reproduced this at home?
Thanks very much!! I’m still loving mine and use it every day!
I have! just did it. I'm terrible at soldering and it took some trial and error with the wiring (I used your standard white and red RCA cables, which I learned only needed one (can choose white or Red). My powered amp has the line in for these cables and it worked by only plugging in one lead. Not too sure if it's needed? What do you think Dubious?
Suggest combining the red and white then you filter the stereo into mono... mono bass makes sense... but either way, if it’s working... I’m happy for you!!
@@DubiousEngineering Isn't the Sonos speaker essentially a mono speaker in itself? Also, Where is the best spot to solder on the Sonos terminals? I'm finding the solder isn't sticking easily.
Hi Thank you for this video!! One question: how did you configure your bass as separate unit in your Sonos app to control the volume?
Configured as a separate speaker that i bring into the group. Works well...
U can use the settings on the sub also.
You crazy beautiful mad man 😄 Brilliant 👍
Bahahahah.... you too!!! If you haven’t seen some of mad Pete’s videos... go check them out!!
Hi, great video and I want to give this a try. Just one question. Does the sub needs to be an active subwoofer or is any subwoofer good for it? Thanks for your help.
Strongly 💪 suggest active sub mate!
Enjoyed your Sonos play1 hack. Request that you do a play5 hack as well? Also what sub-woofer do you recommend?
Any powered sub will do!! Cheap eBay job! Maybe an old Yamaha or something from a surround system! ... when I buy a play 5 I’ll do a teardown :-)
Hello and thank you for a nice and educational video. Just a quick question: Does your setup consist of 2 Sonos1 acting as a stereo pair and a sacrificial third just for the subwoofer or you just use one of the speakers from the stereo pair? /Mike
I have two Sonos1 in stereo pair and a beam bar then this sub bass on a separate Sonos1 offering mono sub. Hope that helps... it sounds nice but probably isn’t a true 5.1 surround system!!
How do you setup a Sonos1 as a sub? 🫤
Nice video, very interested in doing this Thanks! I have a couple of questions. Can you show the cable that connects to your sub? How the input to your sub is connected? and finally, how much for 2 of those speaker mounts? I would like to buy 2 please. Thanks for your time!! Moose
Hi moose... I wasn’t planning on selling anything, but if you’re desperate I can help. Pop onto dubious engineering on Facebook and I can send you more details about the cable and brackets...
It might be worth noting to turn down your Max volume of your Sonos speaker. My powered sub is only on the 2nd volume notch and that's plenty. If the volume goes too loud on the Sonos speaker, you could blow your sub. I turned my Sonos Max volume to 15 percent which works nicely. I have also noticed issues with this speaker now ungrouping on its own. Not sure if others have experience that, too?
Aha!! My car sub had “speaker” inputs ... so it can handle the higher level drive in. I’m still enjoying my home brew sub nd it’s working well :-)
great video. Question. is there any way to make Sonos think this is a sub to add to a 5.1 set up or are you essentially "fudging it" by using the one as a rear and just getting one channel of bass?
It's a fudge... but it works so well..
How exactly did you solder the aux cable wires at 9:10? + to +, and - to - but don't aux cables also the ground wire? thanks!
Each speaker in the unit has its own driver so there is no common ground. You literally solder a cable to each of the speakers terminals. If you have a stereo cable, the sleeve is the negative and the tip and ring are the positives ... make sense?!?
I love this hack! I just bought a sonos beam 2, and truthfully it could use a little bass help. I have 2 old Technic floor speakers collecting dust, but I also have an Ampeg BA-112 bass amp. Could I buy 1 or 2 small sonos speakers and use my bass amp as a subwoofer???
I'd say absolutely yes... I hope your bass amp has some low pass filters
@@DubiousEngineering Yay! I'm excited! Before I get too excited...I don't see lpf anywhere on the amp - does that mean it's a no-go? I'll put a link here to the amp manual and maybe you can look at the input specs and advise (there's a cd input as well; could the sonos speaker connect there)? Thank you!!! ampeg.com/support/files/Discontinued%20User%20Manuals/BA112/BA112.pdf
@@tinaj.7620 you will need powered speakers.
Great hack my man 💪 So when you solder the cables does it matter or not where is the placement of the cables?
I'n not sure I understand your question... but they dont suffer interference if thats what you mean...??
I've been looking for a cheap way to link my Sonos system to an occasional outdoor PA set-up. Don't want to pay $450us for the Port. If I use a modified Sonos 1 I would have another component too...bonus! Could your approach be modified for a full-spectrum line-out?
You'd need two units - one configured for left speaker and one right speaker. but yes!
I’m intrigued by the idea of a powered piece of electronics like a RPI you can plug to the line in on any sub and which will show up as a Sonos sub for the Sonos Arc. Does anyone know if this has been done before?
Yeah I'm keen to see anyone that has done this too... someone please hack the sonos WiFi so we can add our own speakers!
This is super interesting. I have a Sonos Play 1 which has started making an unpleasant distortion sound on the bas whoofer which has rendered it un useable. I'm wondering if the bass speaker itself is damaged in some way. In which case this hack would rescue it from the trash. I'm wondering if it would it be possible to connect the bass speaker and the tweeter of the Sonos 1 to an external speaker which had both of these and have a complete speaker? In this hack do you disconnect the remaining tweeting speaker?
Sounds like the speaker has come unglued!! Definitely an opportunity for upgrade!!!
OK - but can I connect the Sonos tweeter to an external speaker as with the bass speaker?
Hey mate. Great job. Can you show me how you have wired the sub amp to the Sonos and power socket. I’m not tech at all. Thanks. Keep up the good work.
Contact me on Facebook then I can send you picture pictures
Dubious Engineering great thanks. Doing that now.
I have a Playbase and 2 Play 3's for the rears. Do i add this as a sub to the system/room?
Nope, just another satellite speaker
Hey I live In London and got the beam gen2 with two one sl's, i have an active subwoofer from mordaunt ms308 with Is old but got it for free ;) I assume it would work with it , but will I lose the sound from that Sonos speaker or will it work alongside? I would even send this speaker to you and we could get a deal sorted as I'm not that great with DIY projects :D
Sadly it'll cost you more to post it all to me and for me to post it back than its worth... buy yourself an old used sonos play one and wire it in!! It's child's play!
great video, can u make the sonos sub in your next video. i buy used sonos sub but suddenly its not working now im planing to make DIY for this can u share some ideas on your next video. thanks for sharing
Hey, thanks for your feedback, sorry your sub has broken down, perhaps you can try getting it fixed under warranty.?
Hi the sonos play 1 you connect to your sub You used a headphone extension cable that is a single cable. Do you split that into 2 to solder onto the terminals
Yes, the two inner cores come out in mono for the sub, the ground is common. Hope that helps
Will the result of this hack work as a replacement to the Sonos Sub in the Home Theatre setup? It'll appear as a 3rd Play 1? Is that possible? Great video btw!
I'm still using mine today - and continue to love it!
Nice video! I have a disclaimer though. I did the same with an Ikea Sonos speaker. It is a surround speaker. The signal sent to the speaker is only surround (rear) signal. So you wont get the full Sound signal. E.g. If an explosion happens on the front speakers No signal goes to the sub. So Its not perfect. It Works though.
Very good point!!! ... that said, mine sounds absolutely fine.
What if you do this to their soundbar
is the hacked sonos paired or synced with the Beam ? i heard it wont get the full effect if its paired as surround speaker . please advise
The software compeensates for delays and phase shifts
The 7 P's! "Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance"
Thats the one :-) ... I should have been prepared!!
Hi. I have a beam and two so is 1 running as rear. How do I add the third and secret sub speaker. I’m not seeing an option on the app. Thank you!!
I'm sorry I don't know!
is the speaker in the sonos needed if you have a beam ? is it better to use the sonos as a connector to the sub only or to keep its speaker used
I was worried about having no load on the amp... So I left the speaker in line
@@DubiousEngineering would there be a delay ? is the hacked sonos is paired with the beam or synced ?
Hello mate do you have a video for mains powering your sub box by any chance
I’m sorry I don’t. But it’s quite simple - I use a car amp and a 15v 5amp laptop power supply - that’s about 75 watts total It’s enough for my needs in the house.
if you use this with a soundbar and use trueplay to sync all the audio is there any issues with sounds delay and things or is it perfect?
Nadir Hassan so long as you use the app to sync it, everything is perfect 👌
Are you using a separated amplifier in between? Nice job again 😉
Nope, the SONOS speakers output drives the powered amplifier's input.
So,you connect an HP level, low impedance signal into what should be a line / aux input? No hum / noises?
All still working just great. Feel free to add in a potential divide network if you want, but this continues to work well for me.
@@DubiousEngineering Thank you for the information, I really should try this once I got a bit of free time (working in touristic zone, our high season started)
Have you fixed an old sonos Amp connect s1 system. Problem is sounds after a minute or 2 cuts and lowers sound. Wondering if you have a hack.. I'm geek squad
Does it cut out at high volumes? If so, likely a power supply problem... Turn the volume down to very low levels and test again.
Is the sub connected in parallel to the speaker inside the Play 1? Or is it disconnected?
Ummm. Yes! :-)
Isn't the power supply of the sonos one likely to die ? It’s just a question but the power supply isn’t made for feeding a big sub in addition to?
The sub has a separate power supply.
would this work the other way ? i'm considering making 7 channel wired surround ?
ummmm... likely no... :-)
Does this setup with bass also works for sonos home cinema setup?
Thats pretty much how I have it setup. Sound bar, two satellite sonos ones as surround, and the big bass boom to scare you off your seat!!
How about to connect this to a tv? Can i put an hdmi attack instead the 3,5 jack attack?! Im very sad cause theres no tv connectivity on Sonos One to a tv audio channel
I dont think you can connect this to a TV matt.
How do you know which conector is + or - in the sonos cabinet?
Good question... I think my sub has a phase inverter button.
Do you know how to use the SONOS SUB to pass to it analog signals independent of the Sonos WiFi? In other word how to survive a SONOS SUB which WIFI is not working.
That’s a very good question, I’m sure u can feed into the amp somewhere!
And i bought the sonos port to hook to my existing sub. Maybe i need to spend more time on youtube lol
“Scare the poopy out and my and my wife” 🤣🤣🤣
Yup! There's poop 💩 all over the lounge!!
Where can get some of the Sonos one brackets?
If youre in the UK - I can print some and mail them to you. Otherwise you can check eBay.
How similar is the Sonos One? Will this work on one of those?
I expect so... I don’t own one and haven’t been inside one... needs exploratory surgery!!
hmm, would this feed the "amped" bass signal to a powered sub with its own amp?? is that a good solution?
That’s exactly what I’m doing in this video. If your worried the signal may be too high you can pop a variable resistor in line with the output, but my powered amp has its own volume control.
@@DubiousEngineering okay, mine has that too. But I am worried that the "line in" input circuit can't handle the amped sub signal.
Just chuck a 1k and a 10k potential divide network or put a small variable resistance inline. Sorted :-)
how can i do this put instead of a subwoofer i want to add more tweeers or speaker
Basically the same, just tap into the tweeter
What about LFE? Doesn’t the Sonos DSP remove the LFE if it thinks it has a dedicated sub and only send mixed low frequencies to the surrounds? Yes it will liven up the low end but if the LFE isn’t in the surround input then you are missing out on all the lovely LFE the sound designers spent so long editing for your pleasure. Maybe I am missing something. Wouldn’t be the first time
That's a fair challenge... that said, I'm still very happy with the boom 💥
@@DubiousEngineering not a challenge. I’m just checking my theory if anything! If I can find a way to tell Sonos Beam to send the LFE data to a symphonisk or ONE then I’ll be very VERY happy
Can you use this hack to connect a wireless sonos sub to a soundshaker system ?
Probably! ... I don't have a sound shaker !
Is this possible with the 2nd gen version too?
I’m sure it must be!
so if you put the bass volume ++ also the regular speakers goes ++?
Yes, but I have the bass volume on the sonos very low and the amp turned up a little high... then small differences in the sonos controls make larger bass sounds without the small sonos speaker being heard
@@DubiousEngineering great thanks for info
I followed the video, it works on low volumes, but when you turn up volume and sub hits really hard, Play 1 starts blinking amber and loses connection. It's like a power draw monitor is in the programming. Has anyone else had this problem?
No issues my end... all works flawlessly. Perhaps turn the gain up on the sub so the play 1 doesn’t have to work so hard? Then you can keep the volume turned down on the play 1. Mine is never more than 1/4 Max volume.
You can accomplish the same with a Ikea Symfonisk Speaker which is cheaper and also part of the Sonos ecosystem. Still, thanks for uploading!
try to buy one in the UK... second hand Sonos 1 makes more sense :-) thanks for your good tip and good wishes!
Clever hack
Thanks!! :-)
"Drilly, drilly, drilly." Man, you're hilarious. Great video! My one desire: rig a Sonos sub to a non-Sonos kit. Their subs, while I'm guessing aren't outstandingly musical, have a great WAF. I'm guessing that's a bit more complicated.
This one nearly WAFFED me over!! ... I’m still loving the sub-bass on this system ... it’s a great way of not having to spend loads on money on sonos kit... thanks for your fun comments Jim :-)
I'm literally switching from a really nice ELAC setup to Sonos because of WAF. She hates the large speakers and when I bought a sub she was like ...what the hell is that monstrosity? I had to return it. I showed her a photo of the Sonos sub and she liked it.
I’d love a Sonos sub but I’m not prepared to pay 1000 for it! Thankfully I’ve been able to hide this one under a table :-). I bet your loving your Sonos system... I love mine :-)
The same Hack can be performed on a IKEA Simfonisk speaker, cheaper than the Sonos one
Yes if your Canadian or American... in the UK they don’t sell them
@@DubiousEngineering I am European
The only problem is that signal has the frequencies cut at around 70 hz before they hit that little speaker, so your sub isn’t going give very good bass response.
Interesting... my sub is literally Booming... like earthquake shattering low grunty rumbles. No problem at all!
how do u fix that
How long did it take you to make it all to the end? Glad you both got what you wanted for less money. I'm sensitive to loud sounds and don't have cable to my unused TV, but I have an old Alexa I don't like anymore so I hit it with a hammer a number of times to test how strong it is. Very strong, didn't phase it. She can't answer my questions well so I am done with her, and Amazon said it would give me $2 credit if I mail it to them. No! They seem to use great plastic on some of these things.
haha... I wish you have made one of your short videos Karen... smashing the Alexa ... I believe you’d get a load of views :-0 ... THEY CHARGE 40/50 FOR AN ALEXA, BUT ONLY GIVE YOU 2 BACK... PAH!
@@DubiousEngineering I still have it I can still do a video hahaha.
What is the small speaker??
A Sonos
Same way we can do on Symphonisk speaker
If only they sell the ikea speaker in UK .... They dont :-(
How does this connect to the subs ?
With an audio cable. I used two RCA to one 1/8" or 2.5mm jack. Mono
Dubious Engineering ok cool. Also are the subs powered by another powered amplifier?
Paul Eriole yes the subs are self powered... the Sonos offers a small signal output
Absolutely yes... that is a powered amp. You can buy similar powered bass amps for about £100 on ebay
But why do this when the IKEA Sympfonisk speakers exist and they are $99 and super easy to open?
Because they don’t sell them in Uk
does anyone commercially offer that mod? thanks Michael
Do you live in the UK? I may be able to help!
no, I live in Germany :-( this mod is awesome!!! I would pay the price of a play 1 + x for the mod ;-)
Yeah ... sadly it’ll cost you that to ship to me in the UK... :-(. If you were in UK I’d be happy to do it for you!!!
And what about LPF / HPF?
They are on my Sub amp. Controls are tweaked with a small screwdriver.
£700 for the sub? They can Sonoff :-)
AAAAaaaaahahahahahahah!!! - BOOM!! Thank you! - I just PMSL :-)
Is it truly using the .1 channel?
it’s using one common stereo channel L and R merged together
I have sonos 1... I find difficult to connect...
Awww sorry man!
These are part of an ecosystem, correct? One can buy a single speaker, and then complement that with, more, as need arises? Neat little hack, that.
you got it exactly... you can fill your whole house and have them all playing at the same time... I just watched an action movie... my ears are ringing :-). I’m loving my new bass bins!
8:26 I think I heard Bruce Lee😁
:-). Hiyaaare!!! (Smack bash pop)
Can you make me one please?
Yes, youre welcome to contact me and I'll quote you!
Save some money and do this with the Ikea Sonos speaker $99 !
Strangely... I can’t seem to buy the sysonofnisk (ikea Sonos) speaker in Uk
The best hack can be achieved with an insulating 1:1 audio transformer, because the final stage is a bridge amplifier with no zero voltage on the speaker.
I’m loving this comment... !!
Some one in netherlands who can help sonos one?
Sorry - expensive to post to UK
Way too much risk in wrecking a 200 dollar speaker imo.
I’m a confident engineer... :-)
its 6 p's------- piss poor planning = piss poor performance
Hahah... that’s the one :-)