What Can You Listen to on Your Whole Home Audio System?

With the move of most audio and video entertainment to internet streaming, the choice of what to listen to or watch is wider than ever before. Yet sometimes, do you find that a certain older movie or TV show is nowhere to be found on streaming services? Or that a classic jazz album isn't available on Spotify?

Despite all the choices we have in digital music and video, sometimes it’s almost impossible to find something off the beaten path. But what if you already have it in physical form? What if it’s a custom mix cassette tape from decades ago or a long out-of-circulation vinyl record? And what if you want to listen to that not just in the room where that equipment is located, but all over your house with whole-home audio?

Despite the age of some of those old formats, if you've got the equipment, the beauty of analog audio was that it still plugs into anything else with an analog input. There's no worrying about different digital file formats, copy protection, apps, or other vagaries of the digital content world. Keep reading below to see how Sunbelt Technology, your Atlanta, GA home audio installer, makes it easy to continue enjoying that hard-to-find analog music on your very modern, very digital whole-home audio system.

SEE ALSO: What Do You Get with a Professional Home Audio Installation?

A Sonos System

Sonos is a well-known name in audio. Their relatively compact, wireless, powered speakers produce sound quality that belies their size and price. Sonos also makes it easy to put together a whole-home audio system thanks to a robust software platform that allows you to seamlessly configure your system from a smartphone or tablet app. Proprietary networking technology links the speakers together and keeps them in sync for satisfying music that flows all over the house.

But what if you want to plug in another source like a turntable? With speakers like the Sonos One, that isn't a viable option. The larger Sonos Five does have an analog line-in input, and you can play that source throughout a Sonos system.

Another option, which offers a better-quality connector, is the Sonos Port or Amp. The Port provides a way of bringing an existing audio system – like the one you use with your turntable – into a Sonos multiroom setup. The Amp offers a way to use Sonos with almost any speaker you want, freestanding or built-in. You can then use the Sonos app to select that analog input (output from your stereo setup) and play it in one or more of your Sonos zones or rooms.

A nice bonus is that the analog input on all the Sonos devices can be configured to play automatically when a signal is detected, so it begins playing as soon as the tonearm lowers onto the record.

A Control4 Whole-Home Audio System

Sonos is a great solution, but depending on the size of your home, how many zones of audio you want, and the speakers you will use, you may prefer other solutions like Control4 that offer more scalability and flexibility.

Control4 is a full home automation system, so with whole-home audio, you also get the power of home automation to orchestrate smart features like lighting, climate, security cameras, door locks, powered shading, and your AV systems. Sonos has an incredible array of streaming choices for music and audio podcasts, but Control4 also has services like Spotify, Qobuz and Tidal for high-resolution music, and more.

What about those analog inputs we were discussing? Control4 has that covered, too; analog inputs to their EA controllers can pipe your turntable or that ancient cassette player throughout your house's speakers. Digital inputs let you also take TV sound all over the house, so you can listen to your favorite news broadcasts or talk shows in any area where you have speakers. The Control4 system is highly scalable and can cover large properties cost-effectively, with home automation built-in.

Speaking of Turntables

If you have a prized vinyl collection, whether it's an old one curated throughout the years or you enjoy the physical nature of it and the warm sound, you'll want a good turntable to get the most from the format. Sunbelt Technology is proud to now offer Thorens turntables, a celebrated brand with origins in the heyday of hi-fi. With quality automatic models and auto-shutoff, it's easier than ever to enjoy your rare vinyl recordings on your modern whole-home audio system.

 

Listen to anything and everything with a whole-home audio solution from Sunbelt Technology. Call us today at (404) 236-0007, visit our showroom, or reach out on our online contact page. We look forward to working with you.