Are these in ceiling speakers made by Sonance? Sonos technically doesn’t make in ceiling speakers.
 

In general, in ceiling speakers should be connected via some wiring to either

1) a Sonos Amp, or

2) a Sonos CONNECT:AMP, or

3) a third party amp which has either a Port or CONNECT hooked to it.

So I’d be looking for the wires that are connected to those speakers and see where they terminate, and what they are connected to. 

Thanks. 
 

7 year old system. Wired speakers (which is assumed were Sonos but seems not) via Connect through an amp. 2 of 6 not working, and one with a background hum when not operating. 
 

I’m a newbie to this :)

No worries, just helps us build a mental image in order to help figure it out. The CONNECT (and any Sonos device) has only one stream at a time, so either it has an output, or it doesn’t. If four speakers work, the Sonos CONNECT is functioning. 

I would still be looking pretty strongly at where and how the wires from those speakers terminate, and the settings on this random amplifier you speak of. Maybe let us know the make and model number, so we can look up a manual, or even provide us a link to an online version? A picture of the back where these speakers are connected might be helpful, too, although might not be easy. And of course, if the issue is somewhere in the middle, or where the wires are connected to the speakers themselves, this becomes much more complex, and it may be time to have an expert come in to look. 

A background hum is frequently an indication of a poor ground for that speaker. It certainly may be worth checking all the wires and reconnecting them to the posts on the back of this amplifier. 

It’s possible that the former owner removed parts of the system.

Let’s make sure that we have our equipment identifications correct.

AMP is a relatively recent SONOS product. One would wire speakers to AMP

CONNECT is a SONOS product that supplies line level signals to a 3rd party amplifier. Speakers are wired to this amplifier.

CONNECT:AMP is an earlier version of AMP. ZP120 is an earlier name for CONNECT:AMP.

With respect to your issues: Are there any dangling wires? There may be speaker Volume controls scattered throughout the house. These controls allow adjusting the level of individual pairs of speakers. Sometimes a central box is used for this function. If the speaker Volume controls are set to zero, incorrectly installed, or defective, some speakers might be silent. In the case of a central Volume control box, it may have been removed by the former owner. In this case I expect that there would be some wires that don’t connect to anything.

If there is a CONNECT driving a 3rd party amplifier, the hum that you describe is a separate issue. How many 3rd party amplifiers are in the system? Does the speaker that hums play music? Does the level of this hum track the system Volume control?

Obviously, I don’t know how this system is setup, but it would be highly unusual for only one speaker to have a hum issue because speakers are usually connected in pairs. There could be multiple issues. I suspect that something is wired incorrectly.

An easy test of speaker wiring can be done with a flashlight battery. Disconnect the speaker wire from the amplifier and make a momentary connection to the battery. At the instant the connection is completed, the speaker will ‘pop’. You can use this technique to identify each set of wires and prove that the wire is connected through to a speaker. Note, however, that a speaker Volume control set to zero will prevent the ‘pop’.

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Is it possible that there was a surround sound system installed in the kitchen that was removed by the former owner and replaced by a quickie system that attempts to provide music in the kitchen, but the system is mis-wired?

Thanks both. Went and checked all connections from Connect to Amp input them Amp output. Tightened everything, problem solved. No hum, all speakers working……will likely be back again when I’ve set up the 7 Play speakers and it breaks  :)