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Feflicker
Contributor I
October 21, 2016
Question

Playbar customer, baffled

  • October 21, 2016
  • 13 replies
  • 518 views
So... For some reason you can't set the rear speakers (in my case two play 3some paired with the playbar in a 5.1 setup) to duplicate the front L/R signal when watching TV. Frustrating. Its nice to be able to do that so you can keep the vplume relatively low and still hear the voices on shows/movies.

Sonos needs to either: Add a toggle to move quickly between surround sound or full stereo, OR allow us to drop more money on speakers and pair them with the soundbar as front L/R signal.

For $2300 this is a simple feature that $300 units usually have. Come on guys 😉
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    13 replies

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    John B
    October 21, 2016
    There have been literally thousands of feature requests on here over the years. It is plain common sense that even the sensible ones cannot all be implemented. Development resource is limited. Every change, however simple its proponent thinks it will be, has to be coded and tested, including regression testing. Sonos has to prioritise, and keep its focus on developments that will add real value to large numbers of customers, and so add value to the bottom line. In the end I don't think this suggested change would sell a single extra speaker, and its absence will go unnoticed and be unwanted by 99.99999% of users.
      FeflickerAuthor
      Contributor I
      October 21, 2016
      I understand all of that, I design and develop software for a living. I'm well aware of the SDLC, the STLC and all of those considerations around ROI. If users don't ask for things on these boards, they are never prioritized into a release. There was no harm in asking, I'm new to the product. It's possible someone found a workaround for all I knew...

      Appreciate all the input.
      FeflickerAuthor
      Contributor I
      October 25, 2016
      The solution for this ended up being quite simple.

      I bought a pair of play:1s. I created a new room, added them as a stereo pair. Then I grouped the new room to the room I created for my playbar 5.1 setup. I had to adjust the audio sync by 1 tick on the playbar, and the new speakers are in sync with the playbar.

      There are 2 known issues with doing this, both manageable imo:

      1) The TV volume still only moves room 1, not the entire group volume. This should be an option at some point (fingers crossed). In the meantime volume will be controlled from my mobile device.

      2) The grouping isnt permanent, may need to regroup at some point. It's easy enough, so won't be end of world if it loses its grouping. A "group lock" would be a nice feature at some point too.

      That said, I now have extra front speakers with the playbar. 🙂
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