Skip to main content
Hello everyone!



I got Playbase with Sub and just bought 1 Move. I would like to use 2 Moves as back speakers. FAQ states that I can't use 2 Moves as surround speakers, but at the same time it states that I can pair them with 5.1 system, which Playbase with Sub is. So how exactly Moves can be used as?
The Move can not be used as a surround speaker. You can, however, group them with a 5.1 system.
Ok, let me ask differently, what exactly pairing with 5.1 mean? What will their lead role be in such situation? Front? Side? Back?
Not pairing. Grouping. It means a 5,1 system (no Moves involved) can play in sync with a Move, or stereo pair of Moves.



Edit: as Bruce has subsequently pointed out, the sync only applies to music sources.
Since I didn't write that marketing information, I can only tell you what I "know", and not interpret what they intended.



When grouped with a 5.1 room, any single or stereo pair of Sonos speakers would be getting a normal stereo signal from the Sonos. And, in fact, it will be slightly delayed, since the Sonos system buffers the signal so it can be played in sync throughout all of the other Sonos speakers, since they're all on a 2.4Ghz connection, rather than the 5Ghz low latency connection that the 5.1 speakers are using.



Important note, I do not have a Move yet. So this is based on my understanding of the Sonos ecosystem, and not personal experience.
Since I didn't write that marketing information, I can only tell you what I "know", and not interpret what they intended.



When grouped with a 5.1 room, any single or stereo pair of Sonos speakers would be getting a normal stereo signal from the Sonos. And, in fact, it will be slightly delayed, since the Sonos system buffers the signal so it can be played in sync throughout all of the other Sonos speakers, since they're all on a 2.4Ghz connection, rather than the 5Ghz low latency connection that the 5.1 speakers are using.



Important note, I do not have a Move yet. So this is based on my understanding of the Sonos ecosystem, and not personal experience.




So basically Moves shall not have any role in 5.1 and just play the same. 5.1 will not turn into 7.1, Moves will only duplicate Playbase sound?
Sonos doesn't do 7.1 with any combination of speakers.
I cannot find anything in the FAQs that says anything about Moves in the context of 5.1 other than that you can't use Moves as surrounds, although that was a quick look on my part.
Sonos doesn't do 7.1 with any combination of speakers.



Ok, that's a really important information, didn't know that. Still, from what I understand, Moves will not act as back speakers in 5.1 setup?


Sonos doesn't do 7.1 with any combination of speakers.Ok, that's a really important information, didn't know that. Still, from what I understand, Moves will not act as back speakers in 5.1 setup?


That is correct.




Sonos doesn't do 7.1 with any combination of speakers.Ok, that's a really important information, didn't know that. Still, from what I understand, Moves will not act as back speakers in 5.1 setup?
That is correct.




Thank you! Topic answered 🙂
I got Playbase with Sub and just bought 1 Move. I would like to use 2 Moves as back speakers. FAQ states that I can't use 2 Moves as surround speakers, but at the same time it states that I can pair them with 5.1 system, which Playbase with Sub is. So how exactly Moves can be used as?

Hi @Sawpel, could you point me to where you saw that it says you can pair them with 5.1? I'll pass that along to the team. We try to use "group" vs "bond/pair" on the community to specifically mean two different things. Grouping is when you go into the Sonos app, and press on the group button, to have the two rooms play the same thing. Pairing or Bonding is when you take two or more units and make them part of a stereo pair or surround sound system.



Looks like you've already gotten your question answered, but let me know if you have any followups still.
Hi @Ryan S , My main problem was not even understanding the difference between pairing and grouping, more like not knowing that these 2 words are not synonyms. Now everything seems pretty clear. Thank you!