The Cheapest Way to Add a Subwoofer to a Sonos System: Use an Ikea Symfonisk!

[@todd.parker]

So happy you covered this hack and I like how you don't oversell it - it's a great way to add a bit of rumble on the cheap. Thanks for the shout out Joe!

[@joentell]

Hey, thanks for commenting and making your videos! I always try to credit the person who I got the idea from. That's you!

[@joentell]

0:00 What is the purpose of this mod? 0:37 Inexpensive subwoofer recommendation amzn.to/3uVuhFo 0:52 Why this isn't a perfect solution 1:18 Symfonisk Gen 1 vs Gen 2 1:40 Using DSP to recover bass? 1:51 Sound Demo Comparisons 2:00 Pink Noise - Symfonisk Only 2:12 Pink Noise - Symfonisk with Sub 2:20 Binaural Sound Demos 2:23 Binaural - Sonos Beam Gen 2 Only 2:51 Binaural - Sonos Beam + 2 Symfonisk + Subwoofer 3:17 Step-by-Step | How To Do This Mod 5:25 Connecting it to the subwoofer 5:51 More Tutorials & Outro Buy the Monoprice Sub: amzn.to/3uVuhFo Subwoofer I used in this video: bit.ly/OSDSS8DSP Access Exclusive Content: www.avmasterclass.com/joentell Disclosure: The Affiliate links above earn me a commission if you purchase using those links. This is at no additional cost to you.

[@lennart637]

Have you checked if the small Symfonisk have a high-pass filter on the woofer to protect it from over-excursion?

[@Steve30x]

This is why I like Joe. He thinks of people who aren't rich unlike the majority of other audio review channels I watch. You gave me a suggestion of a mini dsp I can use between my DENON soundbar and Yamaha NS SW309 a few months ago. I thought I saved it in a list on Amazon but I didn't. The reason why I need a dsp is because the sub out on my soundbar outputs midrange and bass around 170hz. Could you please give me a he suggestion again?

[@joentell]

Thanks. I have to remind myself what it was like when I first started out. It's easy to get used to seeing $500, $1000, $1500, $3000 products in this hobby. We have to remind ourselves, that's not cheap! Amazon Affiliate links ahead I usually recommend the 2x4HD but the price might be a bit high for an experiment. bit.ly/MiniDSP2x4HD Maybe check out the original 2x4: bit.ly/MiniDSP

[@nicolasguyon9613]

Great video, super clear, It's good you show how it's just a matter of drilling a hole, what you did is clean and the jumpers on the sub are quite important. Two things that would need to be added: 1) When doing true play, turn off the sub, otherwise you will loose all the bass 2) I assume the sub is connected to one of the surround, meaning the bass is only happening on the surround. Ideally, you might want to get a third symfonisk that would would group in the sonos app separately. This way you get the bass on everything and not just the surrounds.

[@joentell]

Good points! Thank you.

[@thieveslikeus1985]

@1:19 I’m confused. It’s not the frequency response of the Symfonisk that i need to worry about, it’s how much bass information is being sent to the Symfonisk bass driver because that signal is being sent to the sub, yes? Others have measured this and their frequency response measurements suggests there’s information almost to 20Hz.

[@psyphonyxaudio]

I wish Ikea sold HiFi flat packs for DIY speakers 👍🏻🙏

[@bearysh]

I love this kinda content! I actually used this same hack to make a higher send Sonos speaker with a JBL 530 because it is already biwired. I tapped the signal before the crossovers on the ikea speaker. It felt like it still needed to be EQ’d for great sound but I didn’t go that far

[@keepingupwiththejones2933]

JoeNTell and Ikea for the win ❤🔥❤🔥

[@ThaHammieJaassee]

I used a car amplifier for my low end sound. I think car audio just sounds better than any home theater amp for the same price.

[@VandepoelM]

what frequencies are possible to get out of this setup? can you reach 30-40Hz with this hack? (without a DSP)

[@rbrood267]

Me jbl 230 broke down because of this hack. You need to check the ohm value or make sure you use a high low convertor

[@chrisdinarte3462]

Currently using a sony sacs9 for the hack, would I benefit from getting an SVS with DSP?

[@joentell]

I personally think it's overkill. At that point it's time to step up to a dedicated system imo

[@itismanu]

I have been trying to open up the box, it is too tight, not opening up. Any trick ?

[@rolandrohde]

This is interesting, but I would much rather take the "Sonos" part and the little amp out of the Synfonisk Gen 2 and use it to turn a pair of KEF Q150s into a Stereo Pair of Sonos Speakers. Of course, getting a cheap class D amp and using a Chromecast Audio is probably a better idea...😂

[@slrhythm2087]

Can you do about bose?

[@lycanhd]

What about adding the monoprice sub to the echo show?

[@joentell]

I haven't tried it, but it's a similar concept.

[@bedr0ck]

Would it be worth it to add a sub Mini to a stereo pair of Symfonisk?

[@joentell]

I think a sub will really give you a better experience. Depends on the price and your budget.

[@bedr0ck]

@@joentell Thank you for your reply! For my room only a sub mini is viable and I already own the 2 Symfonisk and want to keep them, they fit perfectly into the room. I would be willing to spend the amount of money, but it's so hard to get an idea of how much of an effect it has or by how much it increases the experience. Its nothing that can be quantified like that, but for 2 % improvement it wouldn't be worth the money, for a 30 % improvement it most likely would. But you would say the Sub Mini isn't overkill for the Symfonisks? As they are only the "budget speakers"?

[@Harlizzlee]

could you tap into an actual sonos sub like this?

[@stefan.n894]

This is not possible at all! Your subwoofer is receiving too much power because you actually have 2 amplifiers, from the symfonisk itself, and then also the amplifier in your subwoofer. You have to somehow solder in such a way that you stay behind the amplifier! So you actually have to tap the signal where it is not yet amplified. Then this can work well.

[@joentell]

What you're saying is true, but this sub has a high-level speaker input.

[@stefan.n894]

Ah okay. yes, that is also possible. Do you happen to know where you can tap a weak signal from the symphony? My subwoofer only has an RVA input. My subwoofer is the harman/kardon HKTS200SUB@@joentell

[@joentell]

@@stefan.n894 I don't know where a low level signal is. Maybe someone more advanced with electronics can figure that out.

[@stefan.n894]

@@joentell I now have an active sub woofer with high level input. I connected it exactly the same way you did. It sounds good enough to me that way. But I did compare it to a Sonos sub at my brother's house. And I have to say, that does sound like more bass. But that is of course because we actually connected our sub as a regular speaker. There is also some music coming out of the sub. But I do have one question. Would I destroy the amplifier of the SYMFONISK if I completely disconnected that round speaker? And then extend the 2 wires to the sub woofer in particular? As far as I'm concerned, my SYMFONISK doesn't need to produce music, it only needs to function as an amplifier. I have that in my TV cabinet.

[@wkduff]

Sonos is wireless, why have a receiver? You don't need it.