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I have been using a Nuvo system for about 8 years now that allows my 7 zones to all play separate audio. I have 2 3 zone systems and 1 single zone all integrated together. It’s rare (never?) that all 7 are playing and playing different things at the same time. 

I would like to change over to Sonos for various reasons and I need to know what to get to run those. All are hardwired and I run the zones from the app. I only need 2, a pair of speakers on my patio and a pair by the pool,  that I would like to be able to run TV audio through. The rest can just be from Spotify, Pandora, Iheart, whatever.

 

If I understand the Sonos products, to run 7 individual zones I would need 7 amps. I can cut down the number of amps I need by pairing zones together. Those zones (pairs of speakers) would then become 1 single zone that would play the same audio at the same volume. 

 

Am I right and  what options do I have for the zone(s) to run TV sound? I have read about HDMI arcing but the television and speakers are very far away from where my Nuvo system it stored so I am not sure how that would work. One amp on the back of the TV? 

 

Much thanks. 

In Sonos terminology, a zone = a room.  A Sonos room can contain different speakers in specific configurations, but in your case, a room would be just just a single Amp.  Each Amp has speaker output ports for left and right audio channels, and you can connect 2 pairs of speakers (if they are 8ohm, which is common)  to these ports.  If you connect the Sonos/Sanos speakers, 3 pairs of speakers is possible.  All speakers connect to an amp are playing the same audio at the same volume.  You could get a separate 3rd party  volume control speaker switch between the Amp and speakers, but then you are not fully controlling volume with Sonos.

All that to say that 7 amps would be ideal for your setup most likely, but you might be able to get away with fewer depending on your needs and setup.  As an example, I have 4 speakers out in part of my backyard, and I am fine with them always playing the same audio and volume, so 1 amp is used.

Each Amp has an HDMI-ARC port for TV audio, so all of them can play TV audio.  This is really the only way to play TV audio, so if you need to relocate the Amp closer to TV or use a long cable, you’d need to do that.  I run cable about 50 ft for  TV audio, so it can be done.

One word of warning about TV audio though.   When you play a streaming music station, Sonos will delay/buffer  the audio slightly so that it can accurately play the audo  in sync across all your various rooms.  With TV audio, the amp connected to the TV will play the audio sooner to match the TV video and avoid lip sync issues. Any grouped rooms playing that TV audio will still be delayed though.

Also, you didn’t mentioned your reasons for wanting to switch your system out, but you do have the option of adding a Port(s) to your existing system.

Thank you. 

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