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Contributor I
Nov 16, 2012 5:09 PM UTC

Can the Amp and Connect be told to output mono rather than stereo? Using with mono ceiling speakers in bathroom and kitchen.

Single ceiling speakers (already bought) being used in the bathroom and kitchen. I need to sum the stereo signal for those, as I listen to a lot of soul which is 'dual mono' i.e. drums on left, everything else on right. Can the output be set to mono?
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95 replies

Lyricist I
Apr 17, 2014 3:39 PM UTC
I'm installing a big Sonos system in a friend's house. Without a mono option the wiring is far more complicated: stereo input ceiling speakers, local impedance matching volume switches, what a nightmare. Thanks for skipping the obvious Sonos. Same camp as Mr. Olson, took it for granted that ceiling speakers and whole house audio would be familiar territory for these guys. With odd rooms and hallways and bathrooms, etc. why would they assume stereo is appropriate everywhere all the time? Odd...
Not so hard because you would not use a sonos amp in this situation. You would use a connect and you can simply use RCA Y cables to make it mono then hook it up to the appropriate amp for whole house audio. The sonsos amp units are not made for audio distribution, but single rooms with stereo speakers.
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Lyricist I
Apr 17, 2014 3:41 PM UTC
This was from a while ago, but don't use multiple sonos amps. You use connects and a multi channel amp made for multi room audio.
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Lyricist III
Apr 17, 2014 7:19 PM UTC
I'm installing a big Sonos system in a friend's house. Without a mono option the wiring is far more complicated: stereo input ceiling speakers, local impedance matching volume switches, what a nightmare. Thanks for skipping the obvious Sonos. Same camp as Mr. Olson, took it for granted that ceiling speakers and whole house audio would be familiar territory for these guys. With odd rooms and hallways and bathrooms, etc. why would they assume stereo is appropriate everywhere all the time? Odd...
"RCA Y cables to make it mono".... LOL... Good way to damage your unit. Sonos needs to make mono available in their software. It's that simple. All these other "solutions" are half-baked and a source of future problems, never mind extra cost. I can't believe there isn't even a reply from someone at sonos on this thread. Especially with at least two dealers chiming in.
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Lyricist III
Apr 17, 2014 7:19 PM UTC
I'm installing a big Sonos system in a friend's house. Without a mono option the wiring is far more complicated: stereo input ceiling speakers, local impedance matching volume switches, what a nightmare. Thanks for skipping the obvious Sonos. Same camp as Mr. Olson, took it for granted that ceiling speakers and whole house audio would be familiar territory for these guys. With odd rooms and hallways and bathrooms, etc. why would they assume stereo is appropriate everywhere all the time? Odd...
"RCA Y cables to make it mono"....Good way to damage your unit. Sonos needs to make mono available in their software. It's that simple. All these other "solutions" are half-baked and a source of future problems, never mind extra cost. I can't believe there isn't even a reply from someone at sonos on this thread. Especially with at least two dealers chiming in.
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Lyricist I
Jun 21, 2014 3:46 PM UTC
One more vote for mono option here for all the reasons listed above


I'm using the mono-mixer as well.. It works .. you do loose about 30% of power but for these smaller rooms it doesn't really matter unless you were planning to blast the music.   I need 3 more mono-mixers!!  I wish they would just add a software toggle for MONO!!  This is ridiculous.
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Lyricist II
Nov 11, 2014 5:57 PM UTC
Yes on mono output please! We use Sonos Connects with large amps to drive multiple speakers over a large area and in different rooms. Stereo signals tend to sound funky when you have one speaker with the left signal in one room and the right signal in the other room OR when you have a hallway or outdoor lanai with more than two speakers in a row. Thanks in advance for adding this feature!
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Lyricist I
Dec 17, 2014 11:24 PM UTC
I'm installing a big Sonos system in a friend's house. Without a mono option the wiring is far more complicated: stereo input ceiling speakers, local impedance matching volume switches, what a nightmare. Thanks for skipping the obvious Sonos. Same camp as Mr. Olson, took it for granted that ceiling speakers and whole house audio would be familiar territory for these guys. With odd rooms and hallways and bathrooms, etc. why would they assume stereo is appropriate everywhere all the time? Odd...
Ive used Y cable for over a year, no issues. Its line level out of connect so a Y cable wont damage the unit. Not sure where you got that info from
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Lyricist III
Dec 18, 2014 12:55 AM UTC
I'm installing a big Sonos system in a friend's house. Without a mono option the wiring is far more complicated: stereo input ceiling speakers, local impedance matching volume switches, what a nightmare. Thanks for skipping the obvious Sonos. Same camp as Mr. Olson, took it for granted that ceiling speakers and whole house audio would be familiar territory for these guys. With odd rooms and hallways and bathrooms, etc. why would they assume stereo is appropriate everywhere all the time? Odd...
I got it from science and engineering. Without proper resistors in place you should never sum an output using a Y. Only a split. I've been installing audio for over 23 years and am a Sonos dealer, and can tell you not a single person in the industry with any knowledge would do this. I absolutely do not recommend it, if you don't believe me call Sonos tech support and ask. You will damage the I/O stages of the device. If you want to do it then use resistors and make a proper cable. You can YouTube it. Please be careful of giving advice that can damage people's components.
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Lyricist I
Jan 16, 2015 6:00 PM UTC
I'm installing a big Sonos system in a friend's house. Without a mono option the wiring is far more complicated: stereo input ceiling speakers, local impedance matching volume switches, what a nightmare. Thanks for skipping the obvious Sonos. Same camp as Mr. Olson, took it for granted that ceiling speakers and whole house audio would be familiar territory for these guys. With odd rooms and hallways and bathrooms, etc. why would they assume stereo is appropriate everywhere all the time? Odd...
Here's the answer to safely creating a mono output from a Sonos Connect RDL TX-MX2R http://www.rdlnet.com/product.php?page=89
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Lyricist III
Jan 16, 2015 6:08 PM UTC
I'm installing a big Sonos system in a friend's house. Without a mono option the wiring is far more complicated: stereo input ceiling speakers, local impedance matching volume switches, what a nightmare. Thanks for skipping the obvious Sonos. Same camp as Mr. Olson, took it for granted that ceiling speakers and whole house audio would be familiar territory for these guys. With odd rooms and hallways and bathrooms, etc. why would they assume stereo is appropriate everywhere all the time? Odd...
That would work safely but unfortunately it's an $80 discontinued item. Sonos just needs to do this. This feature can be added for almost zero extra cost. It already exists in the play units. It's just getting someone to actually listen.
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