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Playbar, Play:1’s, Sonos Sub, Amp, 3rd Party Sub

  • 26 November 2020
  • 8 replies
  • 202 views

I currently have a Playbar, Play:1’s and Sonos Sub in my living room. I have a larger living room and I’m not getting the level of sub sounds I want, even with the Sonos sub turned up. Can I add the new Sonos Amp to my existing setup with just a 3rd party sub for additional sub sound?

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Best answer by John B 26 November 2020, 16:40

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Hi @Mr.Technocracy.

Welcome to the Sonos community and thanks for reaching out to us. I understand where you’re coming from. Let me help you out.

Yes, as long as the Sonos Amp is not added as surrounds to any surrounds to any Sonos home theater, the Sub port on the Sonos Amp is active. Allow me to share with you the Sonos Amp specifications, limitations, functionalities, and guidelines to better understand how the Sonos Amp works. Here is the guide on how to set up the Sonos Amp.

 

I hope this helps.

Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

Wow.  You must really like your bass, and hopefully have no near neighbours.

I assume you are planning to group the Playbar and Amp?  This would sort of work.  It wouldn’t quite sync perfectly for TV sound but I am not sure that you would notice on low bass frequencies.  It might sound slightly wrong though.

An expensive way to add a subwoofer though.  I’ll float another idea, which may or may not appeal.  Sell the Playbar, buy the Amp and two passive speakers, and connect the Sonos Sub and a third party subwoofer to the Amp.  Feels a more integrated solution somehow, and everything would sync perfectly.

Wow.  You must really like your bass, and hopefully have no near neighbours.

I assume you are planning to group the Playbar and Amp?  This would sort of work.  It wouldn’t quite sync perfectly for TV sound but I am not sure that you would notice on low bass frequencies.  It might sound slightly wrong though.

An expensive way to add a subwoofer though.  I’ll float another idea, which may or may not appeal.  Sell the Playbar, buy the Amp and two passive speakers, and connect the Sonos Sub and a third party subwoofer to the Amp.  Feels a more integrated solution somehow, and everything would sync perfectly.

Many thanks for the response and proposed idea. Would I still be able to use my Play:1’s with this setup using just the Sonos Amp? I think I saw somewhere that I would lose the sub out if I used the surrounds.

You only lose the subwoofer out if you use the Amp to drive the rear speakers.  I am suggesting you use the Amp for the front. The subwoofer out then works fine and the P1s for the rear speakers also fine.

You only lose the subwoofer out if you use the Amp to drive the rear speakers.  I am suggesting you use the Amp for the front. The subwoofer out then works fine and the P1s for the rear speakers also fine.

I apologize for my ignorance here, but does that mean the Amp is able to send the audio signal to the Play:1’s wirelessly?

Yes it does. The Sonos Amp is very much an alternative to Sonos ' soundbars as the principal device in a HT setup. As I have mentioned you will need a pair of passive speakers for the front. The Amp creates a 'phantom' centre channel. 

You may find the discussion in this thread useful, particularly the recent post:

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/sonos-sub-and-3rd-party-aub-with-sonos-amp-6839995

And this is the thread  from the Amp’s launch. 

https://en.community.sonos.com/announcements-228985/introducing-sonos-amp-6812069

It includes the following comment from Sonos staffer Ryan S:

The Sub can only be bonded to a single Sonos room. A single Amp or a pair of them will count as a single Sonos room, so you can't bond multiple Sonos Subs to it. If you're using a single Amp, you can bond a Sonos Sub with it, and use the subwoofer output to connect a non-Sonos subwoofer as well. I believe they'll both use the same crossover frequency settings. A Sonos Amp that is being used as the rear speakers for a home theater setup (with any Sonos player) has the subwoofer output disabled.

 

You may find the discussion in this thread useful, particularly the recent post:

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/sonos-sub-and-3rd-party-aub-with-sonos-amp-6839995

And this is the thread  from the Amp’s launch. 

https://en.community.sonos.com/announcements-228985/introducing-sonos-amp-6812069

It includes the following comment from Sonos staffer Ryan S:

The Sub can only be bonded to a single Sonos room. A single Amp or a pair of them will count as a single Sonos room, so you can't bond multiple Sonos Subs to it. If you're using a single Amp, you can bond a Sonos Sub with it, and use the subwoofer output to connect a non-Sonos subwoofer as well. I believe they'll both use the same crossover frequency settings. A Sonos Amp that is being used as the rear speakers for a home theater setup (with any Sonos player) has the subwoofer output disabled.

 


Many thanks for your willingness to assist with answering all my questions on this topic. You have been most helpful. Cheers.