Question

AMP 5.0 Setup with existing passive speakers


Hi all - looking to take a first step into Sonos in my family room that already has two decent Front L/R speakers.  My thought it to add an AMP to power those (creates Phantom Center) and then buy two One SLs to pair with the audio source plugged into the AMP.

Am I understanding this setup correctly?  And do any of you suggest a different configuration?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Cheers!


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5 replies

Yes, you are, and no, I don’t ;)

Note that the SLs should probably be ‘bonded’ as surrounds with the Amp. There are specific meanings in the Sonos ecosystem to the words ‘pair’, ‘bond’ and ‘group’. 

paythepiper,

Note that AMP does not support 5.0. There is no way of adding anything that will drive a physical center speaker along with AMP.

Yep, his post mentioned the phantom center channel. The title is misleading, the Amp can only do 4.1 when set up properly, with bonded SUB and surrounds.

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What they said. I have an Amp with two passive speakers and a 3rd party sub hooked up to the TV. The speakers are mostly for music, but I decided to try it out with the TV since it was capable, and I can say that we have zero issues with the phantom center - it sounds great. If you are really into home cinema you might want a full blown 5.1 or 7.1 setup, but if you currently have no home theater setup, I suspect you’ll be fine. 
 

I have some One SLs as well but I haven’t bothered with the surround setup. I’d rather have music in other rooms. 

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@buzz  Do you have any idea why Sonos shows 5.1 and 7.1 setups in the documentation for the Architectural series in-wall speakers which are made for the Amp? They even reference using the Amp in the instructions… 

https://www.sonos.com/pdfs/productguides/en-us/sonos_in_ceiling_by_sonance.pdf

https://www.sonos.com/pdfs/productguides/en-us/sonos_in_wall_by_sonance.pdf

Is this oversight or an error? Or a hint at what is to come?