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

Sonos Hack Videos I mentioned:

Channel Sponsors:

Follow me on:

Disclosure: The Affiliate links above earn me a commission if you purchase using those links. This is at no additional cost to you.

0:00 What is the purpose of this mod?
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 AFFILIATE LINKS:

Disclosure: The Affiliate links above earn me a commission if you purchase using those links. This is at no additional cost to you. This product was sent free for the purpose of this review.

[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!

[Stevex]

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?

[nicolasguyon]

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]

0:00 What is the purpose of this mod?
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



Disclosure: The Affiliate links above earn me a commission if you purchase using those links. This is at no additional cost to you.

[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

[psyphonyxaudio]

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

[thieveslikeus]

@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.

[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)

[bedrck]

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

[chrisdinarte]

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

[rbrood]

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

[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...😂

[lycanhd]

What about adding the monoprice sub to the echo show?

[Harlizzlee]

could you tap into an actual sonos sub like this?

[stefan.n]

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.

[wkduff]

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