Sonos S14 thoughts and wishes


Userlevel 1
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Hi. I actually enlisted all my Sonos for sale, as I think Sonos isn't up to date and actually doesn't have the visions to be (for us surround users) updated, only for multiroom purpose.

BUT, now s14 is in the horizon which is rumored to have hdmi. For at start I think its nice, since I will be able to control Sonos sound on my Apple TV remote app.
In this scenario, it would be nice and some kind of a must if this S14 has at least one hdmi input.I use all my hdmi inputs on my old b6 and would have to skip one unit in order to make place for at Sonos soundbar with hdmi. I think many Sonos users use all of their hdmi inputs on tv as its kind of the thoughts - the tv is the hub.
BUT isn't this against Sonos´s "bulletproof" philosophy?. im thinking on handshake issues, personally I could think Sonos only supports sound on hdmi, in order to avoid handshake issues.
Well it may have a hdmi 2.1 socket which have the capacity to potentially fix many of these hdmi issues.
Which brings me to my next thought - atmosphere is the shi... right now and is quite common, is it really realistic to think Sonos AND atmos.
Well hardwarewise I could think a Sonos connect for atmosphere or play one/1.

How about the design? The blueprints shows a square?

What are your thoughts and wishes for this new home theater unit?

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82 replies

Userlevel 5
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Well I have 3 main wishes

1) Atmos support (not just as pass-through) but I hope the soundbar includes upward firing drivers to create a 5.1.2 or 5.1.4 surround sound theatre experience
2) HDMI input and output - the details from the patent suggest only a single HDMI port, this makes me sad I would have hoped for multiple inputs and a output to the TV so it can pass-through 4k HDR image and the audio
3) Support for multi channel PCM - currently the only reliable way for me to get surround sound to the Playbar from my PC games is by using a soundcard to encode Dolby 5.1 and send it over optical (it won't send it over HDMI) - so in any new playbar, if the playbar no longer has an optical input, then it must support multi channel PCM, otherwise it would be impossible for me to get surround sound from my PC - if this is the case it would be a deal breaker for me
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Dolby Atmos will only happen If it has an hdmi input. Its only lg who supports Dolby Atmos passthrough from the tv (i think only lg).
It would not be a big marked imo. With an input any Blu Ray player and different streaming boxes would make atmos on Sonos s14 realistic.
Could might be upfiring speakers in a soundbar though:)
Userlevel 5
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Support for HDMI along with hi res codecs. Ability to add a pair of left and right channels to the ‘soundbar’ for wider seperation - which could also operate as a sepeate stereo pair with the sub for music (thinking a flexible 2.1 (music) and surround setup which would not require ungrouping to have a dedicated music only pair. (Maybe the new S14 can store the groupngs and dedicated trueplay and apply the settinga on the fky ti the other devices depending on which mode is selected). This would be awsome and make having a pair of Play 5s much more compelling as surrounds or extra side channels.
Sonos 9+1+4 = s14 ????
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Sonos 9+1+4 = s14 ????
??
Sonos 9+1+4 = s14 ????
??


9.1.4 what a happy coincidence
Userlevel 1
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Sonos 9+1+4 = s14 ????
??


9.1.4 what a happy coincidence


Reallly? Would be awesome AND ambitious;).
Userlevel 5
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New home theater Sonos product will be presented June 6!
Userlevel 1
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Since it is mentioned that play1 were used as slaves, how about a box like the connect that will Work as a surround receiver.
Here you can assign all sonos products for a 5.1 system or a 7.1 by adding 5 or 7 play1/3/5??
Maybe atmos
Userlevel 3
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The Sonos CEO told someone on reddit last fall that they were actively looking to incorporate Atmos.

My wishes for the new system are Atmos support, 7.1 support, the ability to add separate speakers as discrete left and right channel speakers, and the ability to add more subs.

They do that and I will buy the new system, two new Play 5s as the left and right channel speakers, two new Play 1s for the rear channels, and a new sub.
Userlevel 7
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I wish it wasn't a soundbar and was just a Connect with HDMI and then outputs Dolby Atmos to any combination of speakers.
Userlevel 6
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I wish it wasn't a soundbar and was just a Connect with HDMI and then outputs Dolby Atmos to any combination of speakers.

If it is really square, you may get your wish.
Userlevel 7
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SUPERCONNECT
Userlevel 7
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If it were just a box with HDMI pass through and optical/analog input that then sends signal to at least 7.1 wireless speakers independently = game changer!

Talk about some happy projector users!
Userlevel 6
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If it were just a box with HDMI pass through and optical/analog input that then sends signal to at least 7.1 wireless speakers independently = game changer!

Talk about some happy projector users!


Play 5 as center speaker, sub and 6 Play 1s!
Userlevel 3
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If it were just a box with HDMI pass through and optical/analog input that then sends signal to at least 7.1 wireless speakers independently = game changer!

Talk about some happy projector users!


Play 5 as center speaker, sub and 6 Play 1s!


This would be incredible.

Personally, I would buy the new “box”, three Play 5s as the front channels, two more Play 1s (in addition to the two I currently have for 5.1) for 7.1, any new Atmos speakers needed to incorporate Atmos, and an additional sub if supported. It would absolutely be a game-changer.
Userlevel 7
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FCC clearly states it’s a speaker.
Also, somewhere in the FCC documents it mentions a current of 2.5A which would be too much for a connect type device
Userlevel 7
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Just wishful thinking
Userlevel 6
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Personally, I would buy the new “box”, three Play 5s as the front channels, two more Play 1s (in addition to the two I currently have for 5.1) for 7.1, any new Atmos speakers needed to incorporate Atmos, and an additional sub if supported. It would absolutely be a game-changer.

Three Play 5s in the front would work too.
Userlevel 7
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It wouldn’t help projector people. But if the speaker could act as center only that would be impressive as well.
Userlevel 1
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I have had my Playbar for 5 years now, Last week along with my new purchase of a samsung Q8 tv......I also saw and heard The samsung 950 sound bar ( 5.1.2) with atmos and wireless rear upward firing speakers, sounded awesome. I have sonos everywhere else in the home. Before I pull the trigger on the 950, Ill wait till the 6/6 press conference. What I want to hear is a new atmos playbar and google assistant integration. Alexa does too much listening and not enough acting on the commands given.
Userlevel 5
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Yeah the Samsung k950 is real nice, costs about half the price of a sonos 5.1 setup - it's probably the best atmos sound bar on the market as it has more upward firing speakers than other sound bars

The only thing I'm not so sure about is the sound quality, the quality may not be as good as the sonos - that especially applies for the sub, the sonos sub woofer is big and fantastic as putting out the power with no distortion, the other major brands like samsung/sony/lg etc ship their soundbars will small subs that may distort at higher volumes or just not be very powerful (I used to have a Philips soundbar which came with a 5 inch driver Sub rated at 150w - trust me, the Sonos sub blew that thing out of the water, it's not even a contest)

In the end, I think we can all agree that Sonos needs to bring up a Atmos soundbar, Atmos is the future of home theater and it sounds fantastic
Userlevel 5
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Careful with that - I tried to post that picture earlier and a moderator removed it
Userlevel 7
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Looks small compared to the Playbar if you take size of the buttons. Maybe it will just be a Center Channel.
I don't have a projector, and I can't speak for the size of the projector market, but hopefully it's a center channel where the speaker can be turned off and the channel can be reassigned to a different speaker if you wished. In that way, it would work for projector users.

I was going to say that it would be cool if the speaker could be assigned to left, right, rears, etc...but that doesn't make any sense since any other assignment with have to be paired with a like speaker. And I assume the cost of this speaker+superconnect (if that's what it is) will be significantly highter than a like size PLAY speaker. Also, Sonos clearly wants you to use the voice control, which makes the most sense as a center channel below your tv.

What are thoughts on whether this new device could somehow be used in combination with a playbar or playbase? For example, for those who have the existing products, but want to modify to 7.1. Or perhaps this device isn't a center channel at all, but is just the supper connect with upwards firing speakers for atmos, designed to sig on top of the playbar/playbase or something (seriously doubt this)?

I also keep wondering, since the device apparently has hdmi, I wonder if there are any video aspect to this. I seriously doubt it, since Sonos has expressed no interest in video and would be way behind in the video/space. The general thought is that hdmi will come from the tv, but what if there are multiple hdmi ports , and it's designed to take an input source and output to tv. That way it could overlay volume levels, Alexa responses (if Amazon allows), or shut off video automatically when switching to a music source.

Again, I doubt the above, as it's just too much and out of Sonos wheelhouse. However, given that Amazon has already incorporated video into the Echo Show, Echo Spot, and to a lesser extent, the Fire TV, it seems quite possible that Amazon will come out with a Fire TV that has a microphone and camera built in. Such a device would make the voice control of the Sonos S14 unneeded. Is it possible that Amazon would work with Sonos to incorporate a full Echo/fire tv into a Sonos unit, but I seriously doubt it. I doubt they would even license any additional tech to Sonos. As well, Sonos wouldn't be able to work with Google and others at that point either.