Sonos Connect Amp newbie

A Sonos amp by itself will give you one zone. That means you can play one stream of music at one set volume. Sonos recommends that you only connect up to 4 speakers at a time, but you can do more if needed, using a speaker switch. I will reduce the performance of your speakers when all are in use, but not to the point where it's unusable.

For volume control, you can have individual room controls put in, or a speaker switch with volume controls. Neither of these are really ideal.

My personal advice, wiring for speakers is very difficult after construction. Do everything you would ever want now, regardless of cost. Also make sure you wire Ethernet and power to any place you'd ever want. Wifi is popular and prevelant these days, by hardwiring is still better whenever possible.

As far as the amp goes, remember that the cost is being rolled into the loan (assuming you aren't paying cash) so it might makes sense to get everything that you want now. It may only be a couple dollars a month over a 30 year loan. On the other hand, you can get one now and add more later as your budget and needs allow.

But as I would wire every room I could now and worry about amps later if it didn't fit in the budget.

A Sonos amp by itself will give you one zone. That means you can play one stream of music at one set volume. Sonos recommends that you only connect up to 4 speakers at a time, but you can do more if needed, using a speaker switch. I will reduce the performance of your speakers when all are in use, but not to the point where it's unusable.

For volume control, you can have individual room controls put in, or a speaker switch with volume controls. Neither of these are really ideal.

My personal advice, wiring for speakers is very difficult after construction. Do everything you would ever want now, regardless of cost. Also make sure you wire Ethernet and power to any place you'd ever want. Wifi is popular and prevelant these days, by hardwiring is still better whenever possible.

As far as the amp goes, remember that the cost is being rolled into the loan (assuming you aren't paying cash) so it might makes sense to get everything that you want now. It may only be a couple dollars a month over a 30 year loan. On the other hand, you can get one now and add more later as your budget and needs allow.

But as I would wire every room I could now and worry about amps later if it didn't fit in the budget.


Thanks for the quick reply!

The cost of the amps are out of pocket, the 6 built in speakers are built into our mortgage so that's no worry. From what we are told, they are installing volume control for the 2 speakers in each master bedroom.

So, it's possible to connect all 6 speakers with something called a speaker switch? Ok, I'll have to look into that.
So, if we connect all 4 to the amp, all 4 will stream the same music because they are all on one zone so that's the problem there.
Do you have to splice the speaker wire to be able to connect the 4?? The guy working at visions said its impossible to connect 4, even after I told him it says it's possible right on the sonos website....

Would the new sonos amp be a better option because it has more wattage therefore adding more speakers wouldnt be an issue??

Hi Beaugirl

Congrats on your new home!

You know...I get why people like the idea of built in speakers as it may be more aesthetically pleasing and/or in a home theater setup there are no exposed wires as all equipment is tucked in a closet.

However, in your case you are talking speakers in bedrooms (2 x 2) and main floor (1 x 2). Besides the fact that as melvimbe indicated that one Connect Amp or Sonos Amp will only equal one zone...why would you want that? Does everyone want to listen to the same music or pod cast? Do you really want to have to get up from a chair or out of bed to control volume?

Sonos is designed to give you the flexibility to play the same music in all rooms or different music in each. With the Sonos App loaded on an Android or iOS device you can select what music is played to a room (or all rooms) and control the level as a group or individually from wherever you are. There are even portable 3rd party kits to control volume and music.

If you haven't done so I'd strongly recommend looking at Sonos One's with Alexa voice assistant setup in Stereo pairs for the bedrooms and foregoing the built-in speakers. It's quite easy for a guest to download the Sonos app to their phone or tablet and play their own selection of music in the bedroom (of course you have to give them access to your Wi-Fi). FYI, the Sonos One's for a limited time come if different colors (in addition to the standard white and black) designed by Hay.

For the Main area I'd consider Play 5's in stereo pair.

The speakers I've mentioned IMO will most certainly sound better than built-in speakers with a more focused punch and low-end. You might even consider adding a sub to the Play 5's.

Just my unsolicited two cents. I wish you the best regarding whatever your decision may be.

Cheers!

Hi Beaugirl

Congrats on your new home!

You know...I get why people like the idea of built in speakers as it may be more aesthetically pleasing and/or in a home theater setup there are no exposed wires as all equipment is tucked in a closet.

However, in your case you are talking speakers in bedrooms (2 x 2) and main floor (1 x 2). Besides the fact that as melvimbe indicated that one Connect Amp or Sonos Amp will only equal one zone...why would you want that? Does everyone want to listen to the same music or pod cast? Do you really want to have to get up from a chair or out of bed to control volume?

Sonos is designed to give you the flexibility to play the same music in all rooms or different music in each. With the Sonos App loaded on an Android or iOS device you can select what music is played to a room (or all rooms) and control the level as a group or individually from wherever you are. There are even portable 3rd party kits to control volume and music.

If you haven't done so I'd strongly recommend looking at Sonos One's with Alexa voice assistant setup in Stereo pairs for the bedrooms and foregoing the built-in speakers. It's quite easy for a guest to download the Sonos app to their phone or tablet and play their own selection of music in the bedroom (of course you have to give them access to your Wi-Fi). FYI, the Sonos One's for a limited time come if different colors (in addition to the standard white and black) designed by Hay.

For the Main area I'd consider Play 5's in stereo pair.

The speakers I've mentioned IMO will most certainly sound better than built-in speakers with a more focused punch and low-end. You might even consider adding a sub to the Play 5's.

Just my unsolicited two cents. I wish you the best regarding whatever your decision may be.

Cheers!

Thanks for the advice, but I'm looking for help based on what we have already purchased.

Your decision is going to break on how many zones you actually want 1, 2, or 3. You'll need an amplified source for each zone that supports the wattage and impedance of the speakers.

You can definitely connect four speakers to both a Connect:Amp and a Sonos AMP, provided the impedance math works out. Your installer can refer to this page https://support.sonos.com/s/article/265?language=en_US for info on connections and ensuring the correct impedance.

Now, if your goal is three zones, with different audio at each, I suggest using three Connects and a 6 channel amplifier, or 3 inexpensive stereo amplifiers. For example, this: https://smile.amazon.com/Pyle-8-Channel-Theater-Amplifier-PT8000CH/dp/B002UL0XIQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1548736034&sr=8-3&keywords=8+channel+amplifier can take 4 stereo inputs and drive 4 stereo pairs. (Your installer should have other similar options to achieve this.) With the Connect selling for $350, that's $250 less than an AMP and $150 less than a Connect:Amp. A multichannel amplifier will let you save money and space by putting all of those channels in the same chassis.