Question

Using 5 Play:5s + Sub as a 5.1 channel surround system

  • 19 May 2017
  • 6 replies
  • 634 views

If one were to take 5 (or more) Play:5 speakers and wire the 5 (or 7, 9, 11 etc) channels of a surround preamp to the line-inputs of individual Play:5 speakers, can they all have their own line-input set to autoplay their own zone and create an all Play:5 surround system? More importantly, would all of the Play:5s have an identical audio delay (70ms?) on their line-inputs when being played simultaneously as different zones?

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

6 replies

I think yes, but the obvious question: why not just wire passive speakers in that case? With no delays of any kind?
More importantly, would all of the Play:5s have an identical audio delay (70ms?) on their line-inputs when being played simultaneously as different zones?
I wouldn't bank on that at all. Without deliberate sub-millisecond sync between the units you could easily get timing skew.

Also, the SUB could only be bonded with one PLAY:5. For symmetry one might choose the centre channel, but a receiver would be sending mostly voice there, redirecting bass to its LFE (.1) channel. And where is the LFE channel going? Nowhere.

An expensive and contrived way of arriving at a thoroughly unsatisfactory result.
And where is the LFE channel going?
Wired to a sixth play 5?!
Why stop there? Six PLAY:5s and six SUBs, surely. 😉
Well, I just stopped at making sure that every channel output of the receiver has a Sonos speaker wired to it. But as I said, nothing is lost and much gained by just wiring up appropriate passive speakers and a Sub instead.
Indeed. The OP's suggestion makes no sense.