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How Can I Play Music from My Android Phone Through My System?

Al Griffin  |  Dec 26, 2013

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Q My Onkyo HTS-S5400 home theater system has a front USB input where I plug in my iPhone to play music. I recently bought a new Sony Xperia L Android smartphone, however, and would like to use that for music playback instead. The Onkyo’s manual says the USB input is for iPhone/iPod playback only. Is there any special cable or app that I can use to play music through the system with my Android phone? —Mila Arasu via email

A There are two ways that you can play music through your Onkyo system using your Sony smartphone. The first is the old-school method: Buy a stereo minijack-to-RCA adapter cable and use it to connect the Sony’s headphone output to one of the Onkyo’s receiver’s back panel stereo inputs. The downside to this approach is that you’ll have to get up and walk over to your system to change track selections on the phone—a drag.

The second method—the one I’d recommend—is to buy a Bluetooth receiver and tap your phone’s Bluetooth feature to stream music wirelessly to the system. If you want to remain in the Sony product universe, you should check out the company’s BM10 Bluetooth Music Receiver, which at $70 is fairly cheap for a unit with aptX audio and NFC support. Just run a set of RCA cables from the Bluetooth receiver’s back panel to the Onkyo system, settle back in your listening chair, and stream away.

COMMENTS
johnstja's picture
Submitted by johnstja on December 27, 2013 - 7:01pm

You'd be well served to buy a Google Chrome cast. It'll allow you to stream music to your receiver and it will also allow access to netfix, pandora etc. All you need is $35 and an available HDMI port.

Al Griffin's picture
Submitted by Al Griffin on December 29, 2013 - 8:08am
Another option—thanks for adding. Wi-Fi network is required, though, and music app support is limited to Google Play, Pandora and Songza.
adwit's picture
Submitted by adwit on December 29, 2013 - 1:21pm

great question for posting---Mr Griffin's suggestion of the sony BTreceiver is a simple and straight forward approach----however if you want a top of the line approach that allows you to leverage any flac or other lossless file format I strongly recommend taking a look at Arcam's rblink DAC----it is an aptX and BT receiver smartly coupled with a state of the art wolfson chip dac so you can connect via rca or coax to the receiver---this is a wonderful unit and has allowed me to connect all my handsets and tablets to my receiver and your friends when they come over!!
Arcam customer support in the UK was great in helping me when the usa retailer was not helpful---I continue to be suprised that experts in hi-fi seem to be unfamilar and not promote a really neat product.
Also chromecast can never match the specs if you are interested in high quality audio
Good Luck

thx2468's picture
Submitted by thx2468 on December 30, 2013 - 10:04pm

I use my Xperia tablet and mobile to throw music, pix and vids to my Sony receiver. Everything works through Wi-Fi using the TRENDnet AC1750, a dual band wireless router. It's very convenient to put all your favourite music on those devices and create your play lists since they are portables. MP3 is not my favourite format but it's convenient when I get busy at home and the music plays non-stop.

CarltonFarmer's picture
Submitted by CarltonFarmer on April 10, 2024 - 10:54am

Many applications for listening to music and watching movies online are available right here https://apkmia.com/it/

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