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Combining Beam with existing Play 5


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I have a Play 5 that sits below the living room TV. If I purchased a Beam would I be able to "link" the two for improved sound?
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Best answer by ratty 24 June 2018, 09:32

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11 replies

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Oh well... Thanks for all your advice, it's a pity I can't use the Play 5 how I want... never mind - upward & onward!
Not in the way that you'd want, with a single PLAY:5.

A SUB could be bonded with a PLAY:5. Two PLAY:5s could be bonded as a stereo pair. And two PLAY:5s (gen2) could be bonded with a Beam, but only as rear/surround speakers.
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I mean the Play 5 can't be bonded to a Beam...
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Ah! - and I take it then that the Play 5 can't be bonded...
Yes. SUB is bonded with its parent player, not grouped. It becomes a semi-permanent part of that room. It always plays in sync.
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OK, so does the Sub connectivity differ from Play 5? Sonos market the Sub as "Get immersive sound and deep bass plus voice control for your TV, music, and more."
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You could group them. They'd play music in sync. However for TV sound they'd be out of sync, which would make the arrangement non-viable.
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@jacob_7, that's a slightly different situation. The play:5 isn't designed to work with your tv. Anything connected to the line in on the play:5 will be slightly buffered (70 ms I think) so that it can be grouped with other Sonos units and play in sync audio wise. Because of that buffer, you may notice the video on your tv to be out of sync with the audio. Some people notice and are bothered by it, others are not.

In other words, for your current situation, I would expect no audio sync issues between your play:5 and play:1. Any sync issues would be between the video and audio.

The Beam is designed to work with your tv. It will play the audio without a buffer so that it's in sync with the video on the tv (only when playing tv audio). However, that means that when you group your Beam with other Sonos zones/rooms the audio will not be in perfect sync (only when playing tv audio).

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Thanks!

I never get the issue with the TV being out of sync with the TV (so I clearly fall into the "not bothered" category)

So I'll just get a 70ms delay with my kitchen when I get the Beam which is probably not going to bother me either. I was worried it might be a whole second or even more.

Thanks for the info.
@jacob_7, that's a slightly different situation. The play:5 isn't designed to work with your tv. Anything connected to the line in on the play:5 will be slightly buffered (70 ms I think) so that it can be grouped with other Sonos units and play in sync audio wise. Because of that buffer, you may notice the video on your tv to be out of sync with the audio. Some people notice and are bothered by it, others are not.

In other words, for your current situation, I would expect no audio sync issues between your play:5 and play:1. Any sync issues would be between the video and audio.

The Beam is designed to work with your tv. It will play the audio without a buffer so that it's in sync with the video on the tv (only when playing tv audio). However, that means that when you group your Beam with other Sonos zones/rooms the audio will not be in perfect sync (only when playing tv audio).

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How much out of sync? Fractions of a second?

I too am getting a Beam as i currently have my play 5 connected to the TV and also group with a play 1 in the adjoining kitchen. I've never noticed them being out of sync in this set up (although there's not a huge overlap in being able to hear them at the same time).

Cheers
You could group them. They'd play music in sync. However for TV sound they'd be out of sync, which would make the arrangement non-viable.