Play:5 gen 1 with Arc soundbar

  • 3 August 2020
  • 9 replies
  • 5094 views

Hi Sonos Folks,

 

I am thinking about buying an arc soundbar and wondering how it will work with my current set up. Thus , i have a questions hoping i can get answered.

Current set up

play5 gen1

play1 gen1

play1 gen2 x 2

total of 4 speakers

 

Question:

  1. If i buy an arc sound bar will i be able to connect all of my sonos together (wirelessly) so i can get surround sounds for movies?
  2. If #1 is not possible, what can i do to have surround sounds and connect all of my speakers w/the television?

Thanks in advance folks.


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9 replies

Userlevel 5
Badge +13

Hi @sinnedk, welcome to the community, and thanks for reaching out. All your four speakers, except Play:5 Gen 1 will not work with the Sonos ARC, since you wouldn’t be able to add/upgrade it to Sonos S2 app unless you proceed with the Trade-Up Program to upgrade your Play:5 to Gen 2 or eligible Sonos product you wish to upgrade with 30% discount. About the surrounds setup, as long as you have two Sonos speakers that are the same model as your Play:1s you can choose with them your left and right surround speakers. More here about the Surround sound guidelines and limitations. Hope this helps. Thanks! 

Hi @sinnedk, welcome to the community, and thanks for reaching out. All your four speakers, except Play:5 Gen 1 will not work with the Sonos ARC, since you wouldn’t be able to add/upgrade it to Sonos S2 app unless you proceed with the Trade-Up Program to upgrade your Play:5 to Gen 2 or eligible Sonos product you wish to upgrade with 30% discount. About the surrounds setup, as long as you have two Sonos speakers that are the same model as your Play:1s you can choose with them your left and right surround speakers. More here about the Surround sound guidelines and limitations. Hope this helps. Thanks! 

 Hi Krishma,

Can you clarify a bit more.

  1. All of my speakers currently work with the S2 app. Are you saying only play5 will work with the arc?
  2. Will having the arc allow me to use my 2 Sonos One SL speakers together?
Userlevel 5
Badge +13

Hi @sinnedk, thanks for your reply. Yes, let me clarify that for you. Thought you have Play:5 Gen 1, and it seems you have Gen 2 since they are all working in S2 now. Meaning you would be able to add the Sonos Arc to S2 app with all your speakers and use your two same model speakers as surrounds like your two Sonos One speakers. You can submit a diagnostic and reply to us with the confirmation number if you’d like me to take a look at your speakers. Thanks! 

Hi @sinnedk .  You really need to start by finding out what speakers you actually have.  As @Krishma M says, if your Play:5s are working with S2 then they are gen 2 not gen 1.  There have never been any gen numbers associated with the Play:1.  A Play:1 is a Play:1.

@John B, @Krishma M 

Ok folks apologies on the original post, I did not realize there were 3 generations for the play 5. After checking everything here is what I have:

  • Play 1
  • Sonos One SL x 2
  • Play 5 generation 2

So back to my question will the soundbar allow for me to play sound from the tv to the rest of the speakers?

Userlevel 7

Hi @sinnedk 

Assuming you have the Sonos products you listed...YES you can send TV audio to other Sonos.

However, TV audio sent to any Sonos speaker that is not bonded to the Arc, Beam, Playbar or Playbase as a surround speaker (x2) will result in a 70ms delay. 

Your Home Theater setup would be:

  • Arc
  • Sonos One SL x 2 as surrounds

The Play 5 and Play:1 as a stand-alone speakers would experience the 70ms delay when receiving TV audio. There is no delay when playing music to Arc and/or Play 5 (gen2) or Play:1 when all are grouped together.

Also, the Sonos One SL’s although used as surrounds can be set to play in FULL stereo for music sent to the Arc and auto switch to surround mode when music is not being played.

Final Note: Speakers used as surrounds cease to work as stand-alone independent speakers when bonded to the Arc (or any Sonos sound bar). Meaning they will not show as a separate room in the Sonos app.

Cheers!

Hello, I was unclear about the answer. I have 4 Play 5 GEN 1 (for sure Gen 1). Two questions

  1. Can I use them as surrounds for a ARC soundbar?
  2. Can I, at the same time play the same music service via the app and google home voice, my 4 Gen 1 play 5s and the ARC soundbar 

Hi. No. You cannot even use them in the same system.

The Arc can be used only on S2 and Play:5 gen 1 only on S1.

Gen 1 Play:5s cannot be used as surround speakers in any Sonos HT setup.

Hey guys,

Just to be certain, I’ve got a similar question. 
Im about to get a hold of an Arc as well. Can I use my two Play:5 (gen 2) as surround speakers? They are compatible with S2 so I’m pretty sure they’re gen2. 
 

thx in advance!