Answered

4 x Sonos One SL with Amazon Echo

J

Hi all,

First post on the forum and relatively new to the Sonos ecosystem.

I’m currently in the process of converting an outbuilding into a games room. I’m deeply entrenched in the Amazon Echo / Alexa ecosystem, and have the devices throughout the house.

I’m planning on mounting a Sonos One SL in each of the four corners of the outbuilding, and using an Amazon Echo device to play audio through them - mainly Spotify.

Am I correct in believing that I’ll be able to stream music to all four Sonos One SLs simultaneously via an Amazon Echo device?

 

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Best answer by UKMedia 11 May 2022, 12:13

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4 replies

J

 

For that size room, I would either go with 4 Sonos Ones, or two Fives.  If there’s a specific listen area, then Fives would be better.  If you expect people to be in several locations in the room, not surprising for a game room, then 4 Ones may be the the better choice.

  • Thanks - you’re correct re no specific listening area and people spread throughout the room so I think a One in each corner is the way I’ll go.

 

No, they would be left and right channels and general speaking the left, right, and  main listening area should make a triangle.  Essentially, like a stage at a concert.

If you go with the 4 speakers in corners though, I would still setup 2 pairs, but change the setting for mono.  Or try mono vs stereo and see which sounds the best.

  • I’m with you - I’ll try both and see what sounds best.

 

This is what  I do in  a few different rooms.  It’s not so much Alexa features as it is having the mic/speaker of the echo near me, not across the room where I want music to come from.  Given that, if you get Ones, you could get One SLs.  However, Sonos is rumored to come out with thier own voice assistant.

  • I’m very much leaning towards for One SLs with one of the Echo Show devices. I’ll still be able to see feed from video doorbell, my wife will be able to ‘drop in’, and I’ll use the Echo Show to play music via the One SLs. Seems like the best solution given my requirements.

 

Stereo pair on the short wall.  Again, mono may be the way to go, but I imagine you will want to control volume this way.  And if if you go stereo it will make more sense..  Oh, and I would alternate, so it’s L-R-L-R as you circle around the room.  Not L-L-R-R.

  • Ok, I think I’m with you. I’ll try both mono and two stereo pairs and see what sounds best.

 

Thanks again for the input, very much appreciated.

melvimbe

Thanks, appreciate the response. In regards to your points…

 

  • The games room is approx 8.5m x 4.6m, but it has a pitched roof so quite a lot of ceiling height towards the middle. I’ll need to get the electrician to mount power sockets in the upper corners of the room where I plan on installing the speakers on mounts, so I’d prefer to decide on the number of speakers before commencing works. Given the size, do you think two or four speakers would be best if I’m striving to achieve fairly even sound throughout?

 

 

For that size room, I would either go with 4 Sonos Ones, or two Fives.  If there’s a specific listen area, then Fives would be better.  If you expect people to be in several locations in the room, not surprising for a game room, then 4 Ones may be the the better choice.

 

 

  • If I were to go for two speakers as a stereo pair then I imagine I should mount them at opposite ends of the long wall of the room?

 

 

No, they would be left and right channels and general speaking the left, right, and  main listening area should make a triangle.  Essentially, like a stage at a concert.

If you go with the 4 speakers in corners though, I would still setup 2 pairs, but change the setting for mono.  Or try mono vs stereo and see which sounds the best.

 

 

  • I think my preference is for an Echo device to control the Sonos system due to a combination of familiarity and not losing any Alexa features - it would be useful for my wife to be able to drop in on the room to speak to me when I’m in there which I understand isn’t possible via Alexa on Sonos?

 

 

This is what  I do in  a few different rooms.  It’s not so much Alexa features as it is having the mic/speaker of the echo near me, not across the room where I want music to come from.  Given that, if you get Ones, you could get One SLs.  However, Sonos is rumored to come out with thier own voice assistant.

 

  • If I were to go for four devices set up as two stereo pairs, what would be the best configuration? A stereo pair on each short wall, or a stereo pair on each long wall? I imagine that I’d want to keep the L and R channels opposite each other?

 

 

Stereo pair on the short wall.  Again, mono may be the way to go, but I imagine you will want to control volume this way.  And if if you go stereo it will make more sense..  Oh, and I would alternate, so it’s L-R-L-R as you circle around the room.  Not L-L-R-R.

 

 

Danny
J

Thanks, appreciate the response. In regards to your points…

 

  • The games room is approx 8.5m x 4.6m, but it has a pitched roof so quite a lot of ceiling height towards the middle. I’ll need to get the electrician to mount power sockets in the upper corners of the room where I plan on installing the speakers on mounts, so I’d prefer to decide on the number of speakers before commencing works. Given the size, do you think two or four speakers would be best if I’m striving to achieve fairly even sound throughout?

 

  • If I were to go for two speakers as a stereo pair then I imagine I should mount them at opposite ends of the long wall of the room?

 

  • I think my preference is for an Echo device to control the Sonos system due to a combination of familiarity and not losing any Alexa features - it would be useful for my wife to be able to drop in on the room to speak to me when I’m in there which I understand isn’t possible via Alexa on Sonos?

 

  • If I were to go for four devices set up as two stereo pairs, what would be the best configuration? A stereo pair on each short wall, or a stereo pair on each long wall? I imagine that I’d want to keep the L and R channels opposite each other?

 

  • I’m aware that I can’t play music via the Sonos and Echo devices at the same time, but given that I’d likely be going for one of the Echo Show devices so I can view the Ring Doorbell this is no great loss given the sound quality.

 

  • Thanks for the article, I’ll bookmark the link.

 

Many thanks for your thoughts, much appreciated.

UKMedia
Userlevel 7
Badge +20

 

  

Hi all,

First post on the forum and relatively new to the Sonos ecosystem.

I’m currently in the process of converting an outbuilding into a games room. I’m deeply entrenched in the Amazon Echo / Alexa ecosystem, and have the devices throughout the house.

I’m planning on mounting a Sonos One SL in each of the four corners of the outbuilding, and using an Amazon Echo device to play audio through them - mainly Spotify.

Am I correct in believing that I’ll be able to stream music to all four Sonos One SLs simultaneously via an Amazon Echo device?

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.  :)

A couple of basic points:

  • You don’t say how big the games room is but personally I would try 2 devices set-up as a stereo pair first.  If you use a Sonos One and a Sonos One SL paired together, you won’t need a separate Alexa Device - When in a stereo pair, the mic is disabled on the right hand device, so don’t bother buying 2 Sonos Ones..  Although Sonos don’t support all of the functionality available in an Amazon Echo device, some users prefer to use an Echo device to control their Sonos system.;
  • If you do go for four devices, I’d still recommend them to be set-up as two stereo pairs.  These will be set-up as two Sonos ‘Rooms’ but can be grouped together to output the same audio in sync.
  • Your last statement is almost correct: Your can use Alexa via voice control to instruct your Sonos devices to stream music from Spotify.  But please note, you can’t output the same music across Sonos and Amazon devices in sync.
  • Please refer to this support article on how to set-up Alexa Groups so that devices are grouped together if you do decide to get 4 devices. Alexa Smart Home Device Groups and Sonos | Sonos

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Edit:

Added link this time!🙄

Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)
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