Please make a sonos multi zone amp!

  • 6 January 2013
  • 64 replies
  • 6655 views

I really like my sonos equipment. However, my whole house was wired for speakers in every room (ceiling, walls, patio) with the wiring centralized in a wiring closet/built in audio rack. Instead of purchasing a separate zone amp for every room/speaker pair, I would much rather buy one or two multi zone amps from Sonos. Any chance there is a multi zone amp on the horizon? Please, please, please!!!!

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.

64 replies

If they limit themselves to the "Play" product line going forward..... but I also don't see it going anywhere with a product line consisting only of powered speakers.

I doubt that they'll get rid of the Connect and Connect:AMP variants at the moment, just don't see that providing anything more specialist would be cost-effective.
Userlevel 1
Badge
I think I've found what I'm looking for, Control4. It will do everything I want to do and I don't have to buy all the individual Sonos amps. Plus it works with all the other media, lights, security, and internet of things.

Just need their 8 zone amp and controller, interfaces with Sonos as well

https://www.control4.com
Be careful. There are some problems with the Control4 and the new Sonos home integration API.

https://en.community.sonos.com/announcements-228985/control4-integration-with-sonos-70-6762342
Userlevel 1
Badge
Be careful. There are some problems with the Control4 and the new Sonos home integration API.

https://en.community.sonos.com/announcements-228985/control4-integration-with-sonos-70-6762342


https://www.control4.com/press_releases/2016/08/30/control4-partners-with-sonos-in-their-first-ever-endorsed-partner-integration-program

i suspect it will get worked out. Control4 is an endorsed partner
I don't think a connected home strategy requires a multi-zone zone player product but I also don't see it going anywhere with a product line consisting only of powered speakers.
Is the former not a function of the control application and not of the nature of the speakers? If so, play units are fully capable of delivering on a connected home strategy?

Is the former not a function of the control application and not of the nature of the speakers? If so, play units are fully capable of delivering on a connected home strategy?


In a word no. There is more to connected home integration than simple interoperability through an API as the current fail with Control4 is demonstrating. Most advanced integrations using Sonos depend heavily on the Connect and Connect Amp to utilize I/O ports, special speaker situations and so on. There aren't many truly connected homes that are at the same time so simplistic that a few powered speakers are all they need for sound.

If the Sonos definition of "connected home" is simply to let some third party hardware or software provide basic transport control and start playback from a limited list of favorites (as apparently Control4 integration has been reduced to) then I'm afraid they don't really understand what consumers are looking for in this space.
So... We are all looking for a Sonos version of the HEOS Drive. Why is this not a thing yet?
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Seems a redundant device and more expensive then individual units.
The bottom of this page has a great summary of why the Drive would be used instead of multiple Amps:
http://www.audioholics.com/amplifier-reviews/denon-heos-drive-preview
So, $2499 for 4 zones instead of $2000 for 4 zones? Kind of goes against the theme in this thread about not wanting to pay for individual Connect:Amps when combining them would be less expensive.
Badge
I wish I had heard of this Denon unit before I started buying Sonos amps. 😞
I wish I had heard of this Denon unit before I started buying Sonos amps. :(

Why, so that you can pay $125 extra per zone?
Badge
To have everything in one unit and be able to play in multiple zones at once (and possibly play Spotify without a subscription)? Heck yeah!
Don't much care about single unit vs. discrete amps but the summing mono and 12V triggers would be super handy.