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gdsrwq421
Contributor I
April 26, 2017
Question

Modernizing a traditional 5.1 setup

  • April 26, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 605 views
Curious what you'd do.

Let's say you...
- already have a 60" Samsung KS8000 with a more traditional 5.1 system (4 built in ceiling speakers, 1 center, and 1 sub) powered by an old receiver (2005 JVC RX-D302)
- use all apple stuff already (iphones, apple TV, macbooks)
- usual activities are watching tv... streaming, mirror, airplay music from your devices
- want to keep the existing 5.1 system.. but don't mind trashing the receiver for something better
- want to be able to incrementally add sound to other rooms as needed
- ideally control everything from your phone without needing to interact with anything else (goal is to make it easy for grandparents to control/access)

How would you go about getting started?

I've researched Sonos connect, bridge, other receivers, but am thoroughly lost what my core first step should be.

Thanks guys!
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    1 reply

    Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
    April 26, 2017
    If I were brutally honest, in that setup, I'd start with a Harmony remote, to make it easier for the Grandparents to use the system.

    Then I'd add a Connect to the receiver, so that I could start the Sonos environment, and start putting Play:1s in the extra rooms as needed. And that's it.

    Now, if you want to go a little bit crazy, you could potentially ditch the ceiling speakers altogether, and go with a Playbar and rear surrounds. In fact, you could potentially 'save' the rear speakers by involving a Connect:Amp and hard wiring it with ethernet to the Playbar to power the surrounds. Unfortunately, if you're using a Connect:Amp for powering rears, it really does require an ethernet cable either to the Playbar/Playbase or both have to be cabled to the router. This is due to the fact that the Connect:Amp does not have a 5Ghz receiver in it, which is the frequency that the Playbar/Playbase uses to broadcast to surround speakers.

    It's a pretty big deal in my mind to ignore those in-ceiling speakers, and may or may not be aesthetically pleasing to you. But if you're mostly using the TV, and not using a Tape Deck, CD player, Phono, etc, then you could conceivably go with my second suggestion.

    Hope I haven't muddied the thought process here.
    Bruce
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