Is it possible to use 2 Sonos Amps with passive speakers whereby 1 Amp is the left channel and 1 the right channel in a stereo set up ? Thanks in advance for any replies..
Best answer by GuitarSuperstar
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I don’t think it will produce any more power, if that’s what you’re after, since Amp is rated 125w per channel and can run as a stereo device.
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You could probably wire speakers only to the left channel post on one Amp and only the right channel post on the other Amp. Then in the Sonos app, set the Balance all the way to the left on the first Amp and all the way to the right on the second Amp. Then group both Amps together in the Sonos app when you stream music. I wouldn’t recommend this setup for TV audio though.
You could probably wire speakers only to the left channel post on one Amp and only the right channel post on the other Amp. Then in the Sonos app, set the Balance all the way to the left on the first Amp and all the way to the right on the second Amp. Then group both Amps together in the Sonos app when you stream music. I wouldn’t recommend this setup for TV audio though.
Thanks for answering so fast, it's not for TV audio, I want to by amp my floor standers for hifi and bring it into my Sonos eco system..
I don’t think it will produce any more power, if that’s what you’re after, since Amp is rated 125w per channel and can run as a stereo device.
Thanks for your answer, it's not extra power I'm after, I'm thinking as by amping, mono block type set up for improved sound quality and the convenience of not needing long speaker cables from one side of the room to the other..
While the cable length might be shorter, it’s hard to imagine there would any change in audio quality….
What will your source be? If you’re streaming, I think you’re out of luck. If it’s a phono source you could send the left signal to one Amp and the right to the other, but you’ll still need a cable to connect source to the Amps meaning a long cable… and probably a more detrimental result than a long speaker cable.
Yeah it's for streaming and so I was hoping I could have the same stream going to both amps, seems like I'll be sticking with the Bluesound Node2i then, shame I couldn't bring it all together..
Thinking again, I think you will be ok. The Amps can be grouped, so will play in sync. Just because each is only playing one channel (left or right) makes no difference; there’s just nothing connected to the other channel.
Sorry to have not thought it through properly the first time!
There is a “Dual Mono” option for AMP where both sets of speaker terminals will output the same signal. You’ll need to figure out a way to distribute Left and Right audio to the appropriate AMP. Note that this is not what might be called “Bridged” amplifiers in a different context. The Bridged amplifiers become one larger, more powerful amplifier that is normally connected to a single speaker. With AMP there are still two independent amplifiers that are fed the same signal which is a simple sum of the L/R inputs.
As far as the SONOS system is concerned these are two different “Rooms” and because you are sending different signals to each AMP, it will not be possible to Group these AMP’s with other Rooms. I have never tried this, but I suspect that there could be some time alignment issues between the Left and Right AMP’s. Grouped Rooms will be time aligned, but there is no reason to keep independent Rooms time aligned because they normally would play different music.
the convenience of not needing long speaker cables from one side of the room to the other..
SQ won't change; and by keeping the amp next to one speaker, the cable to the other need not cross the room. The unequal cable lengths will not matter if the cable is thick enough.
Don’t count on the two AMP’s staying time aligned. I’d be interested in learning about your results.
Why spend on two amps if the cable runs can be shortened as I have suggested?
After some further thought.. While I’m not so sure that there will be an overall benefit for establishing separate LEFT and RIGHT AMP’s, you could use one AMP as the input, Group the two AMP’s and simply connect only one output of each AMP. Note that, if you are very sensitive to shifts in the soundstage, you will notice some subtle shifts over several hours of listening.
Only you know what sounds “best” (to you).
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