How many Amps do I need for true 5.1?

Question

Hey there, so I have 4 speakers mounted in my ceiling, a sub on the ground, and I bought a Sonos Beam as well. I'm trying to get this 5.1 to work, so I bought the newer model Sonos Amp. How do I get the 5.1 sound to work with this method? Do I need another Sonos Amp? Do I need to use the Connect:Amp instead? It seems to have the same number of inputs.

Sjoop1985 · Answer

Let's start out with a few facts on Sonos' home theater offering:

Sonos' soundbars (Playbar, Playbase and Beam) all constitute a 3.0 system, with separate drivers for left, right and center, and only function as such, not as a separate center speaker. Additional Sonos speakers or an Amp can be added as surrounds and the Sonos Sub for the LFE channel.
The Sonos Amp can either drive 2 passive front speakers with a virtual/phantom center or 2 passive rear speakers. In the latter (surround) capacity, it can combine with one of the soundbars or a second Amp and a sub for 5.1 surround. In the former capacity (front), you can add either two separate Sonos speakers as surrounds, or a second Amp to drive the rear speakers, for a maximum of 4.1 surround.
5.1 surround with 6 discrete speakers cannot be done with Sonos. If this is what you would define "true" 5.1, it can't be done with Sonos.
The subwoofer line out for use of a third party sub, is disabled when the Amp is used in a home theater setup (as far as I know).

With the Beam and the Amp you have, you can use the Beam for the 3.0 front channels and the Amp to power the rear channels. From your posts I can't make out if by "sub" you mean a Sonos Sub. If that is the case, you can add that to create 5.1 surround.

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