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Tango64
Contributor I
May 1, 2019
Answered

How to use Sonos products to power 5 rooms each with stereo hard-wired ceiling speakers

  • May 1, 2019
  • 3 replies
  • 4064 views
Is it possible to use any combination of Sonos products to drive passive hard-wired stereo ceiling speaker pairs in 5 separate rooms around the house and configure each room as its own zone? All speaker cables come back to one 19" rack-mount cabinet in the garage right next to the router where I already have a single Connect:Amp wired up to the kitchen ceiling speakers.
I was using a Nuvo 3-zone streaming amp but its PSU just failed and it wasn't that good anyway.
Would I use multiple Connect:Amps (expensive) or is there a better solution?
Thank you for your help.
Tim.
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      Best answer by John_314
      As per above reply, if you want separate music in each room then you need a separate Sonos Amp or Sonos Connect:amp for each room. Which as you say, will be very pricey. Again, as @melvimbe says, if you don't mind some rooms having the same output playing then get a speaker switch (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/Speaker-Selector-Individual-AVX-Audio/dp/B008X6VZQQ) and then you can control volume in each room (though as in "setting up" control for the speaker / room configuration - you wouldn't want to use it for turning the volume up and down depending on what song was playing). I use one of these in a series of open plan rooms where there are different speakers in different parts of the room (e.g. bookshelf speakers in a "library" bit, ceiling speakers in the kitchen) which allows me to control how loud the speaker sets are, but I wouldn't ever want different songs playing in different bits of the room so don't want to have separate amps powering the speakers.

      3 replies

      melvimbe
      melvimbe
      May 1, 2019
      Is it possible to use any combination of Sonos products to drive passive hard-wired stereo ceiling speaker pairs in 5 separate rooms around the house and configure each room as its own zone? All speaker cables come back to one 19" rack-mount cabinet in the garage right next to the router where I already have a single Connect:Amp wired up to the kitchen ceiling speakers.
      I was using a Nuvo 3-zone streaming amp but its PSU just failed and it wasn't that good anyway.
      Would I use multiple Connect:Amps (expensive) or is there a better solution?
      Thank you for your help.
      Tim.

      The Connect:amp (or Sonos amp) is your best bet, if you want each room to be able to play separate audio. If you don't mind zones locking into playing the same audio, than you can look to get a speaker switch (turn on/off speakers, volume control) to save on money.
      Danny
      John_314
      John_314Answer
      Trending Lyricist I
      May 7, 2019
      As per above reply, if you want separate music in each room then you need a separate Sonos Amp or Sonos Connect:amp for each room. Which as you say, will be very pricey. Again, as @melvimbe says, if you don't mind some rooms having the same output playing then get a speaker switch (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/Speaker-Selector-Individual-AVX-Audio/dp/B008X6VZQQ) and then you can control volume in each room (though as in "setting up" control for the speaker / room configuration - you wouldn't want to use it for turning the volume up and down depending on what song was playing). I use one of these in a series of open plan rooms where there are different speakers in different parts of the room (e.g. bookshelf speakers in a "library" bit, ceiling speakers in the kitchen) which allows me to control how loud the speaker sets are, but I wouldn't ever want different songs playing in different bits of the room so don't want to have separate amps powering the speakers.
      JPM
      airforceteacher
      airforceteacher
      Headliner I
      May 7, 2019
      If you do want that many separate zones, you need a separate Sonos device for every zone. You can indeed accomplish this with Connect:Amps or Amps for each room, but as the number of zones goes up, it becomes more economical to consider a multizone amp designed for multiple rooms (really, designed for exactly your situation) and then separate connects. This amp: https://www.amazon.com/Dayton-Audio-MA1240a-Multi-Zone-Amplifier/dp/B003DKVZHQ/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=multi+room+amplifier&qid=1557230054&s=gateway&sr=8-8 and 5 Connects is a little bit cheaper than 5 Connect:Amps, and still gives you another channel to use later if you want to.

      Multizone Amp: 545.00 + 5 x 349.00 = $2290.00
      All Connect:Amps: 499.00*5 = $2495.00
      All Amps: 599.00 x 5 = $2995.00
      Still pricey, but you could slowly ramp up to this by sharing zones between multiple rooms as you add more Connects.You might also consider eBay - I've picked up many Sonos components on eBay or open-box at stores and so far had no problems at all. (Obviously YMMV.)

      Incidentally - the Connect:Amp doesn't show up on the Product page - is it now discontinued? EDIT: best Buy now has them for $399, which would make them the most economical plan.
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