One SUB for Two Rooms


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Customer suggested adding the ability to bond a SUB with 2 different Sonos devices.

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I found this thread as i was searching for “ share sub between rooms” . And as i read it is not possible.

Why i want this!

I have 2 plays and a sub. Perfect for music. I bought a beam for better tv quality, but the beam has poor bass.

So i want to share the sub….

TV OFF = SUB WITH THE PLAY’S

MUSIC OFF = BEAM WITH SUB.

NO MORE NO LESS.

 

 

 

I would love this too … according to me it should be possible. Hopefully there will be a solution some day, but this thread is there for 7 years … so I have some doubts 😬

Surround setting is not ideal for me because of different positions for listening to music and watching TV

Userlevel 7
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Why not set up your room as a surround package?

I found this thread as i was searching for “ share sub between rooms” . And as i read it is not possible.

Why i want this!

I have 2 plays and a sub. Perfect for music. I bought a beam for better tv quality, but the beam has poor bass.

So i want to share the sub….

TV OFF = SUB WITH THE PLAY’S

MUSIC OFF = BEAM WITH SUB.

NO MORE NO LESS.

 

 

 

Userlevel 1
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Ugh - I was just researching how to do this exact thing (one sub tied to two “rooms”) and I discovered this very old thread with no solution. I assumed Sonos would support this given how portable the speakers are and the overwhelming cost of the sub. I just want the sub to kick in when I play music in the house, aside from the bar + 1:rear setup. 

tl;dr +1

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+1 for the ability to move a Sub between two “rooms” in the same physical space.

I own a Stereo pair of ones with a sub (Placement of ones left and right of the tv in order to get a stereo experience while sitting on the couch. The couch ist the main music listening area and the only area to watch tv).

Im thinking of purchasing a beam. As i can‘t pair the sub with the beam and the ones - what about bonding the sub with the beam (for tv only) and group the stereo pair of ones with the tv setup for music?

Or would the music experience of the grouping scenario be worse than my current setup?

Thanks!

@Cronos147 

I have a very similar set up and I made the “compromise” of putting the Ones in the rear – even though it’s not ideal for music, it sounds pretty cool for surround.

Ones in stereo with Sub sounds amazing, but I don’t like the way music sounds quite as well when the Beam is included though... Not sure exactly what it is. Seems to me like it shifts the focus of certain frequencies, but it could also just be something to do with a third source of sound feeling out of place in “stereo” recordings.

Not to say that the combination sounds bad, but I have tried various configurations – as well as tweaking the settings to put the emphasis on the surrounds (to the point the Beam is hardly present), but I still prefer the Ones+Sub on their own (without the Beam) for music.

I sometimes switch them between home theater mode (with all 4 speakers) and stereo (without the Beam), but while 2 minutes to rerun Trueplay may not seem like much in theory, in practice it’s a real hassle to have un-bond, re-bond, and re-run it each time… to the point that I usually just live with it in one or the other for a while until I get irritated enough to take the steps to change it back. If there were a way to “save” the settings for different configurations it would make life a lot easier.

+1 for the ability to move a Sub between two “rooms” in the same physical space.

I own a Stereo pair of ones with a sub (Placement of ones left and right of the tv in order to get a stereo experience while sitting on the couch. The couch ist the main music listening area and the only area to watch tv).

Im thinking of purchasing a beam. As i can‘t pair the sub with the beam and the ones - what about bonding the sub with the beam (for tv only) and group the stereo pair of ones with the tv setup for music?

Or would the music experience of the grouping scenario be worse than my current setup?

Thanks!

Userlevel 1

+1 for the ability to move a Sub between two “rooms” in the same physical space. 

Understand all the possible reasons mentioned as to why Sonos hasn’t enabled this to date - just wanted to add my voice to the crowd of users who could make use of this feature :)

Userlevel 2
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The Sub can't have it's own room. It aways needs to be bonded to another speaker. You can't group it stand alone with another speaker (that also would have to adjust it's settings when the Sub-room would be grouped). 

Yes, the Sub has to be bonded to either the sound bar or the stereo speakers. I go back and forth from time to time and it's a bit of a pain.

The other problem is that if you try to group the Sub separately from the sound bar it will suffer from a delay

Userlevel 7
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The Sub can't have it's own room. It aways needs to be bonded to another speaker. You can't group it stand alone with another speaker (that also would have to adjust it's settings when the Sub-room would be grouped). 

Hi

I see some suggestions to make 3 "rooms"

1. Beam tv room

2. Play stereo room

3. Sub room

And then put them together (1+3 or 2+3) depending on what you are listening to. Anyone tried this? Does the Beam/Play recognize the sub and cut of the bas, leaving it to the sub as if you made a regular 2+1 system? 

 

Thanks

Kim 

@SNI

Since it was my comments that “triggered” your post then it’s only appropriate that I respond. Thanks @melvimbe for your comments.

IMO (no offense intended) you injected your concerns or frustrations in the wrong thread. The topic of this thread was “One Sub for Two Rooms” not about adjusting the sub sonics for movies versus music.

The original poster wanted to be able to (for example) setup a stereo pair in room “A” and a stereo pair in room “B”. Then subsequently without breaking the Sub’s Bond in room “A” pick it up and move it to room “B” and have it work by merely indicating in the Sonos app that the Sub is now in room “B” and work accordingly. The same would apply (according to the original poster) if the rooms were in close proximity not requiring a physical move of the sub. (i.e. no Bonding, un-Bonding, re-Bonding etcetera between the two rooms). Therefore my comment that Zone capable AVR systems costing much more did not allow a single Sub to operate in a Zoned area vs the Main area of the original setup. 

Regarding adding two more surrounds to a Sonos HT setup. Here you saying that Sonos should have designed the system to support DD7.1 vs DD5.1. Could Sonos have done that ...probably so...but (IMO) at a cost increase. That’s not to say that one would be forced to acquire 4 surround speakers upon initial purchase. To the contrary...the system could have been expandable. However, baking that expandability in to the system would still have come at a consumer cost. Why force an option that the consumer may not want? As I hear the demand in this forum DD7.1 is not it..more so it’s DTS and Dolby Atmos.

More direct to what I believe was the original intent of your post “Cinematic Profiles” would be a nice option. However, you’re adding yet another dimension to a “Wireless” system which requires more sophistication in design to employ than with a wired system. Here again cost has to be a consideration.

I think that we may see some of what you are asking if the demand dictates a design change. Sonos is a company for profit and now even more so as it is publicly traded. However, I don’t believe those features will become a reality in the current Sonos HT system.  More likely a Sonos II speaker system. :thinking:

Company’s don’t change design or introduce new products until the market research has been done to prove such a move as viable and sustainable for profitability.  Think Apple...they are typically late with a lot of DEMAND technology.  However, when they introduce it (or more aptly adopt it) profits are assured. Has Apple made mistakes...yes...anyone remember “Newton”.

 


apologies, you are absolutely right. Even if it would have been in the right thread, I think I went a bit over the top. Thanks anyway for letting me blow my steam off even it was in wrong place against the wrong person :)

Userlevel 7

@SNI

Since it was my comments that “triggered” your post then it’s only appropriate that I respond. Thanks @melvimbe for your comments.

IMO (no offense intended) you injected your concerns or frustrations in the wrong thread. The topic of this thread was “One Sub for Two Rooms” not about adjusting the sub sonics for movies versus music.

The original poster wanted to be able to (for example) setup a stereo pair in room “A” and a stereo pair in room “B”. Then subsequently without breaking the Sub’s Bond in room “A” pick it up and move it to room “B” and have it work by merely indicating in the Sonos app that the Sub is now in room “B” and work accordingly. The same would apply (according to the original poster) if the rooms were in close proximity not requiring a physical move of the sub. (i.e. no Bonding, un-Bonding, re-Bonding etcetera between the two rooms). Therefore my comment that Zone capable AVR systems costing much more did not allow a single Sub to operate in a Zoned area vs the Main area of the original setup. 

Regarding adding two more surrounds to a Sonos HT setup. Here you saying that Sonos should have designed the system to support DD7.1 vs DD5.1. Could Sonos have done that ...probably so...but (IMO) at a cost increase. That’s not to say that one would be forced to acquire 4 surround speakers upon initial purchase. To the contrary...the system could have been expandable. However, baking that expandability in to the system would still have come at a consumer cost. Why force an option that the consumer may not want? As I hear the demand in this forum DD7.1 is not it..more so it’s DTS and Dolby Atmos.

More direct to what I believe was the original intent of your post “Cinematic Profiles” would be a nice option. However, you’re adding yet another dimension to a “Wireless” system which requires more sophistication in design to employ than with a wired system. Here again cost has to be a consideration.

I think that we may see some of what you are asking if the demand dictates a design change. Sonos is a company for profit and now even more so as it is publicly traded. However, I don’t believe those features will become a reality in the current Sonos HT system.  More likely a Sonos II speaker system. :thinking:

Company’s don’t change design or introduce new products until the market research has been done to prove such a move as viable and sustainable for profitability.  Think Apple...they are typically late with a lot of DEMAND technology.  However, when they introduce it (or more aptly adopt it) profits are assured. Has Apple made mistakes...yes...anyone remember “Newton”.

 

I would settle for and be very happy if i could create multiple profiles with the same (room) set up fi with my surround setup: soundbar, sub, 2 ones. I prefer much more kick (sub) when i watch movies than with music. Each time I switch between music from tv to music or vice versa I have to adjust the sub levels. I cant think of no reason why Sonos does not allow that. If I buy the cheapest wired media surround set, it would allow me to do that. Multiple room profiles  would be even  better, but I can understand why Sonos is hesitant to enable this.

 

I agree that it would be a good addition to allow different profiles for groupings and volume levels, including sub level and other equalization.  It would be a nice feature. 


I really dont understand your comparison with wired setup. I have a wired set in my living room with an amp that allows me to switch with one-click between preset cinema/tv or music listening profiles. I cant do it in my office at home in which I have a sonos set up with a soundbare 4 ones and a sub. In the first place it is really anoying that I am not allow to hook up more  than 2 ones (surround setup), but even worse, I cant use the other two to listen to music using the same sub, because i can only link it to one room at the time.

 

I can’t follow what you are talking about here.  The cinema/tv/music listening profiles you can change in a wired system is not the same thing as being able to have a sub quickly switched between two physical rooms.  I don’t think that’s a good comparison.  

What is “soundbare 4 ones and a sub”?  Are you saying you have 4 Sonos Ones and a sub in a single physical room?    And the comment up using more than 2 Sonos Ones for surround sound..it sounds like you’re wanting Sonos to offer more than the current standard room configurations they offer, correct?    I think part of the limitations is related to trying to keep things simple, using the configurations people will use most often, the current codecs supported, Trueplay capabilities, and maintaining a stable connection (for home theatre setups).  Maybe Sonos will be able to make some of this happen after S2 goes live, not sure, but I don’t think it’s simply just a matter of choosing to offer features, but making sure they are wise options to offer.

 

Basically i am talking about two major differences between a wired system of 100 bucks that allows me to  creat profiles and or hook up multiple speakers which my Sonos gear 2000 bucks doesnt allow me to do. We all know that this its a deliberate choice of Sonos and has nothing to do with software/hardware limitations or their statement regarding the sound quality.

 

While I think Sonos could do more, I don’t think it’s accurate to say it’s just a deliberate choice.  What $100 wired system are you referring to?

 

I know this is not your decision and I am free to buy something else, i was just trigger by your remark that we should accept this because its similar as wired setups. Or do is miss something here?

Again, it sounds like you’re not specifically talking about dual use subs as you are talking about more configuration options for a single room.

 


I would settle for and be very happy if i could create multiple profiles with the same (room) set up fi with my surround setup: soundbar, sub, 2 ones. I prefer much more kick (sub) when i watch movies than with music. Each time I switch between music from tv to music or vice versa I have to adjust the sub levels. I cant think of no reason why Sonos does not allow that. If I buy the cheapest wired media surround set, it would allow me to do that. Multiple room profiles  would be even  better, but I can understand why Sonos is hesitant to enable this.


I really dont understand your comparison with wired setup. I have a wired set in my living room with an amp that allows me to switch with one-click between preset cinema/tv or music listening profiles. I cant do it in my office at home in which I have a sonos set up with a soundbare 4 ones and a sub. In the first place it is really anoying that I am not allow to hook up more  than 2 ones (surround setup), but even worse, I cant use the other two to listen to music using the same sub, because i can only link it to one room at the time.

 

I can’t follow what you are talking about here.  The cinema/tv/music listening profiles you can change in a wired system is not the same thing as being able to have a sub quickly switched between two physical rooms.  I don’t think that’s a good comparison.  

What is “soundbare 4 ones and a sub”?  Are you saying you have 4 Sonos Ones and a sub in a single physical room?    And the comment up using more than 2 Sonos Ones for surround sound..it sounds like you’re wanting Sonos to offer more than the current standard room configurations they offer, correct?    I think part of the limitations is related to trying to keep things simple, using the configurations people will use most often, the current codecs supported, Trueplay capabilities, and maintaining a stable connection (for home theatre setups).  Maybe Sonos will be able to make some of this happen after S2 goes live, not sure, but I don’t think it’s simply just a matter of choosing to offer features, but making sure they are wise options to offer.

 

Basically i am talking about two major differences between a wired system of 100 bucks that allows me to  creat profiles and or hook up multiple speakers which my Sonos gear 2000 bucks doesnt allow me to do. We all know that this its a deliberate choice of Sonos and has nothing to do with software/hardware limitations or their statement regarding the sound quality.

 

While I think Sonos could do more, I don’t think it’s accurate to say it’s just a deliberate choice.  What $100 wired system are you referring to?

 

I know this is not your decision and I am free to buy something else, i was just trigger by your remark that we should accept this because its similar as wired setups. Or do is miss something here?

Again, it sounds like you’re not specifically talking about dual use subs as you are talking about more configuration options for a single room.

 

Maybe I’m getting old and just set in my ways.:thinking:

Anywho I’ve been involved as a consumer in audio and video equipment for well over 40 years since leaving undergrad college. I only mention “college” to let everyone know that I’ve been buying the equipment myself in my own place of residence for that long of a time.

I just don't understand why it’s expected that Sonos do more than a traditional wired setup. There are wired systems costing $30K and up with zone speakers that don’t share a sub between rooms. 

As I said earlier...even if the technology exists...to do what is being suggested in this thread I doubt Sonos would do it unless the price point were adjusted.  Probably making it beyond the reach of many (including yours truly). 

More so than a dual purpose sub I’d like to see Sonos adopt DTS and Dolby Atmos codecs in their soundbars. IMO that would be less cost prohibitive.However, then again licensing fees may be the reason.

Lack of the aforementioned is the main reason Sonos HT is no longer in my main media room. B4 anyone asks...yes...I’ve invested in a high-end 4K player with Dolby Atmos decoding (as well as Apple TV) and a 4K TV to enjoy the experience. I can attest first hand that the listening experience between DD5.1 and Dolby Atmos is night and day. BTW my Dolby Atmos speaker system is wireless..so no loss there.

However, I digress...I just don’t see Sonos granting this wish especially after 6 years. Just as Sonos refuses to bring DTS and Dolby Atmos to their sound bars; for whatever reason. :thinking:  I’m sure there is an equally justifiable reason not to indulge a dual purpose sub. :wink:

Cheers!


I really dont understand your comparison with wired setup. I have a wired set in my living room with an amp that allows me to switch with one-click between preset cinema/tv or music listening profiles. I cant do it in my office at home in which I have a sonos set up with a soundbare 4 ones and a sub. In the first place it is really anoying that I am not allow to hook up more  than 2 ones (surround setup), but even worse, I cant use the other two to listen to music using the same sub, because i can only link it to one room at the time.

Basically i am talking about two major differences between a wired system of 100 bucks that allows me to  creat profiles and or hook up multiple speakers which my Sonos gear 2000 bucks doesnt allow me to do. We all know that this its a deliberate choice of Sonos and has nothing to do with software/hardware limitations or their statement regarding the sound quality.

I know this is not your decision and I am free to buy something else, i was just trigger by your remark that we should accept this because its similar as wired setups. Or do is miss something here?

Userlevel 7

Maybe I’m getting old and just set in my ways.:thinking:

Anywho I’ve been involved as a consumer in audio and video equipment for well over 40 years since leaving undergrad college. I only mention “college” to let everyone know that I’ve been buying the equipment myself in my own place of residence for that long of a time.

I just don't understand why it’s expected that Sonos do more than a traditional wired setup. There are wired systems costing $30K and up with zone speakers that don’t share a sub between rooms. 

As I said earlier...even if the technology exists...to do what is being suggested in this thread I doubt Sonos would do it unless the price point were adjusted.  Probably making it beyond the reach of many (including yours truly). 

More so than a dual purpose sub I’d like to see Sonos adopt DTS and Dolby Atmos codecs in their soundbars. IMO that would be less cost prohibitive.However, then again licensing fees may be the reason.

Lack of the aforementioned is the main reason Sonos HT is no longer in my main media room. B4 anyone asks...yes...I’ve invested in a high-end 4K player with Dolby Atmos decoding (as well as Apple TV) and a 4K TV to enjoy the experience. I can attest first hand that the listening experience between DD5.1 and Dolby Atmos is night and day. BTW my Dolby Atmos speaker system is wireless..so no loss there.

However, I digress...I just don’t see Sonos granting this wish especially after 6 years. Just as Sonos refuses to bring DTS and Dolby Atmos to their sound bars; for whatever reason. :thinking:  I’m sure there is an equally justifiable reason not to indulge a dual purpose sub. :wink:

Cheers!

OK...you might say the HT setup and dedicated stereo pair are in the same room. Therefore the listener could switch the sub between HT and stereo pair and it would be Smart enough to align itself with the correct source. That scenario IMO would be a limited exception and not worth the dollars in R&D to develop the capability and continue to sell the sub at the current price point. Producing two separate subs is not cost-effective either.

 

For this scenario, I am sure 99% of the people really don’t want two Sonos rooms in the same physical room ideally.  This is just a work around  for the fact that Sonos doesn’t have a single wireless, separated stereo, home theatre solution available ( not counting the Amp as wireless here).  If Sonos had an HT setup where you could use two play:5s as front speakers, with a phantom or real center, I think the need for dual subs in the same room would go away almost completely.

 

The other requirement, to be able to physically move a single sub between rooms, has more to do with the cost of the sub than anything else.  If the cost was cut in half, for example, I image most of those who ask for this feature would be fine with 2 separate subs.

 

Maybe I speak for myself, but I’d rather see the above two changes that see Sonos allow a single sub to be used in 2 Sonos rooms.

 

Userlevel 7

Hi Everyone

This thread is 6 years old :fearful:. I doubt seriously that Sonos is going to attempt a sub design that works for two rooms simultaneously or as a Smart sub.

For the sake of argument lets assume that such a design became reality. Thinking this through the sub would have to be portable to go between rooms unless; you want to physically lug it around. Heaven forbid one of the rooms is up or down stairs.

Let’s take this further...the sub is assigned to the HT setup. Someone wants to listen music in another room. The sub is moved. Later in the day the HT is fired up and after a few minutes you realize the sub is missing. What’s the solution assuming the other party is still listening to music :thinking:

OK...you might say the HT setup and dedicated stereo pair are in the same room. Therefore the listener could switch the sub between HT and stereo pair and it would be Smart enough to align itself with the correct source. That scenario IMO would be a limited exception and not worth the dollars in R&D to develop the capability and continue to sell the sub at the current price point. Producing two separate subs is not cost-effective either.

However, lets assume that such a Smart sub could be produced for pennies on the dollar. Sonos is in the business to earn revenue’s and I doubt it would give such technology away for free (i.e. same price point as the current sub.) That is just bad business.

However, I do get it. Sometimes the voice of the customer can be a powerful force. In reality such things don’t happen unless there is a compelling reason to so. I guess one can always wish/hope :relaxed:

Cheers!

Sonos listen to requests by customers and prioritise them against other requests and other planned developments.  As it is impossible to do everything, some requests are not going to be actioned and some people will be disappointed.  Unfortunately for you, this request has clearly not made it to the top of the priority list yet.  Maybe it never will. Why should Sonos favour your pet wish over others’?  ‘Resolution’ implies a fault.  There is no fault

Sonos,

This is incredibly frustrating there is no resolution to this yet. I too would like a 2.1 system for music and 5.1 for tv. The beam ruins the sound quality of the play 5. We don’t have space for 2 subs. This restriction completely goes against the appeal of your “system”. I want to buy another play 5 and many more one’s but am now hesitating on all of it and thinking of returning. There are a lot of people here that have a lot of money invested in your products and you seem to be ignoring us all without a good reason. If things don’t improve, I can’t recommend this product to friends even though I really want to be able to. When can we expect a resolution?

Well said Jack.

Sonos,

This is incredibly frustrating there is no resolution to this yet. I too would like a 2.1 system for music and 5.1 for tv. The beam ruins the sound quality of the play 5. We don’t have space for 2 subs. This restriction completely goes against the appeal of your “system”. I want to buy another play 5 and many more one’s but am now hesitating on all of it and thinking of returning. There are a lot of people here that have a lot of money invested in your products and you seem to be ignoring us all without a good reason. If things don’t improve, I can’t recommend this product to friends even though I really want to be able to. When can we expect a resolution?

Andrew Jones Pioneer system + traditional amplifier (undecided).

Certainly, a whole different feature set but a bit more predictable.

 

What do you mean by predictable?  And if you’re considering wired options, then you might want to consider using a Sonos amp to power speakers.   It will give you the stereo separation with music you’re looking for and a simulated center for TV/moves.  Not sure if that’s acceptable to you.  Then you can use a single sub + surrounds if you wish.

Andrew Jones Pioneer system + traditional amplifier (undecided).

Certainly, a whole different feature set but a bit more predictable.

 

So there is no comparable system to Sonos that allows you to bond a sub with more than one room? 

Andrew Jones Pioneer system + traditional amplifier (undecided).

Certainly, a whole different feature set but a bit more predictable.