Apologies, I’m a little confused by your post. Which Sonos speakers do you have, and how do you have them set up as Sonos ‘rooms’? 

How are you ‘directing content’? To which speakers are you trying to ‘direct’ this content to? 

Hi Bruce, thanks for trying to help. 
System 1 : Playbar

System 2: Playbar, sub woofer, two Ones

ad hoc: two, paired Moves

Systems 1 & 2 are all Ethernet connected. 
‘directed’ content is content from Sonos embedded services like (sorry for repeating myself) like Apple Music, or Spotify, that I select for the systems to play, otherwise they just broadcast whatever is on the TV. 
hope that helps!

Thanks, that does help. Hopefully, they’re all running S2, rather than S1. 

As a guess, there is a network issue. The first thing I’d try is somewhat similar to what you have done already, but with a specific order. Unplug/power off all your Sonos devices. Then reboot your router/network device. It might be helpful to know what you’re using for that, although it may not make a difference if this works. Give the router a couple of minutes to come back up and settle down. Then power back up / plug in your Sonos devices. Wait another two minutes before testing. 

Is there any particular reason you’ve chosen to connect both ‘rooms’ with Ethernet cable, rather than hanging them off your WiFi like the Moves? It shouldn’t make a huge difference, either way, but I’m a fan of using the ‘designed for’ feature of ‘wireless’ connection. I figure they work better, in a ‘normal’ situation, when using the primary functionality. 

Oh, forgot to add this.

If that suggestion doesn’t help (and I really think it will , if I understand what is going on), I would recommend that you submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it. Don’t post the resulting diagnostic number here, they get sensitive about GDPR.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the Support staff, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your network and Sonos system.

thank you for the suggestions - I’ll perform them momentarily. 
really appreciate the ‘what to do next’ advice too!

when we built this home in 2001, I installed RG59 (coax) & RJ45 (Ethernet) jacks at all locations I thought I’d have a TV.   I could turn any RJ45 into a phone jack by simply “patching” it to the ATT service. 
My builder thought I was loony, but it’s turned out to be a great choice. 
I no longer have cable TV, and instead receive my content via streaming services, facilitated by the Ethernet network, saving me hundreds of dollars vs Comcast every month, and I no longer have a land line. 
 

IMO WiFi is for mobility and ethernet is for fixed locations - since this is a neighborhood, I can regularly ‘see’ over ten other SSIDs being broadcast - which means there is potential interference for my WiFi network, which I don’t mind for my iPads or phones or even laptops (although I do have jacks in every room in case we need to be on a Zoom call), ethernet is way easier to troubleshoot than WiFi too. 
 

thanks again!

You can accuse me of being an old dog too. I prefer wiring whenever practical. In my current location, depending on where I stand, I’ve seen up to 70 access points. Currently, I’m sitting at a relatively quiet ground floor location in a 1920’s brick building and there are only 24 active access points. A couple are using 40MHz wide 2.4GHz channels and I see a couple channel 9’s and a channel 2. Fortunately they are relatively weak, but this is just unwelcome clutter in the band.

Is this a new issue? Which model router are you using? Is there any difference if you attempt to stream to a PLAYBAR or the MOVE’s? Rather than using an App on your phone, can you play Spotify or Internet Radio using the SONOS controller?

I’m being pedantic, but in SONOS parlance a “system” is all of the units that you can scroll through in the SONOS controller. A system includes a bunch of Rooms. A “Room” is a single speaker, a “Bonded” pair if speakers, or speakers Bonded as a surround Room. You can “Group” multiple Rooms to play the same audio. The “system” that you describe above consists of three Rooms.