5.1 Question about not being in Surround Sound

Thanks! So also, in your opinion, is JUST playing music better from 2 Ones and a sub OR a Playbar and a sub?

Well that's a little more difficult question.

I personally really like the sound of the Playbar and Sub with music. But - its a little more spacial in the way it sounds - don't think discrete stereo separation think more club music coming from all directions. 2 Play:1s with Sub would give you more of that sweat spot listening position type experience.

This wouldn’t be an ideal set up but if you set up the Play 1s as their own room in a stereo pair you could have them in the front and group with the Playbar. (I think, someone please correct if I am wrong) I have my Sonos 5.1 set up and I also have a pair of Play 5s that sit to the left and right of the tv. When I group these together the Play 5s give me the left and right audio also, I just have to slightly back off the volume slider on the 5s to avoid echo.
I am sure you could do something similar with the Play 1s. Once they are grouped, you can control the volume of the bar and the 1s separately or as a group volume.
Just a side note-before I had the 5s and I only had the 5.1 set up, I had the 1s set up as surrounds but temporarily had them in front with the bar and the sound was not pleasing at all. And do yourself a favor, if it’s possible, use the Trueplay tuning. As Martha Stewart would say: “Its a good thing”

As for your 2nd post, by far the Playbar and sub. Plus you get the bonus of great quality sound with your tv/movies/games

So, to both who replied, here is my main issue. My taste preference would absolutely be the Ones plus the Sub for MUSIC. However, I would like to buy the Playbar to replace my existing surround sound setup. So, is it possible to keep the setup as is (Playbar, Sub, and the two Ones all int he front, near each other), BUT group them separately (lets say Living Room TV and Living Room Music) and use the Playbar + Sub for TV/Movies and then when I just want music, switch to the Ones + the Sub grouping? Is that possible/probable?

I may be wrong but if you want the 1s and sub for music and the Playbar and sub for tv you have 2 options. 1 is to buy another sub and group with the 1s, but this is very expensive or constantly keep unpairing the sub with bar or 1s and pair with whichever you want each time. Definitely not ideal and a pain in the ass. You currently only have the pair of 1s correct?

Correct. 2 Ones. My living room/kitchen is basically one giant room (from tv that is over fireplace to the fridge is 25 feet and then width of the room is around 20). That prevents me from moving the Ones into the kitchen since it's all one giant area. That does sound like a pain to unpair/pair each time, but it def beats having two subs. I guess if I like the sound of music from the Playbar/Sub, I can always move my Ones to my bedroom, or separate them in two different rooms, but they just woudn't get as much use.

The Play:1s grouped to Playbar for TV audio - the Play:1s will be slightly behind (built in delay over wifi) and will have a slight echo sound to them - not in sync completely with Playbar.

As far as having ones and switching the Sub between them.

It is actually a pretty quick process the way they have it now for switching the sub between zones. Lets assume you have the sub attached to your playbar and have been using it for home theater (lets call that room Theater). You decide you want to use the play:1s with the sub now for music (lets call that room Music). You go into Sonos app. Go to settings. Rooms. Theater. Chose Remove Sub. It will ask you for the New Room to move it too. You chose Music. It will take 4-5 seconds and now the sub is attached to the Music room (the 2 Play:1s).

That's not bad at all! That's probably the move I will make and then slowly add a Play 5 in my bedroom at some point. Thanks.