Sonos makes a lot of wireless speakers, but what about a record player? Victrola makes the case for a multiroom-capable answer for vinyl.
If you’re one of the many people with a growing collection of vinyl who also happens to embrace the digital era with two hands, you might just wonder how to connect the two and bridge the gap.
The joy of vinyl is something that doesn’t always translate to digital media, even though listening to the albums you love exist in both forms.
Listening to records is often a warmer experience, delivering a rich sound with the warmth of the crackle behind it, and is different to digital. High-res audio can translate to the digital experience of vinyl, and may be why some refer to it as “digital vinyl”, but listening to records is often an experience left for one room of the house, wherever the stereo or amplifier is.
But it doesn’t have to be.
With the right technology, vinyl can be a home-wide setup, provided you bring some gadgets. Typically, that’s a multiroom speaker system connected to a record player or even a record player with Bluetooth built-in talking to several synced Bluetooth speakers.
However, one record player maker may have a different approach: a record player with direct support for Sonos.
It’s coming from Victrola, which has made the “Stream Carbon”, a turntable designed to work with Sonos and certified by Sonos’ “Works with Sonos” program. That means the turntable can talk to the Sonos app directly, with its app allowing the record player to integrate with Sonos, so much that the volume control knob on the front of the record player can directly control the volume of the rest of the Sonos system it’s grouped with.
Outside of the Sonos compatibility, the Victrola Stream Carbon is more or less demonstrative of its name, including a carbon fibre tonearm to go with its ability to stream records wirelessly, all sitting inside an aluminium and plastic casing.
Aside for that ability to stream, the turntable also includes RCA output to go to wired speakers, with its own app supporting adjustments to the record player, as well.
One thing it doesn’t have is pricing for Australia, with this neat gadget not exactly found locally. We’re checking with Victrola to find out whether that will change, but folks keen to have a wireless option for their vinyl may want to consider the $799 USD before shipping.
Alternatively, grab some RCA cables and plug in your record player to a Sonos Five, or if you can afford it, a Sonos Amp. Until Victrola brings the Stream Carbon to Australia, that may be your best option.
