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Pemps
Contributor I
Oct 9, 2017 2:12 PM UTC

Surround sound for music.

I currently own an Onkyo amp with Tannoy speakers for a 5.1 system. Sound from the TV is now very good. I also own a Play3 for music. Whilst it's not as good as the 5.1 system it is fine for when we want to listen to music.
I'm now considering ditching the Onkyo/Tannoy setup and getting another Play3 and a sound bar to create a wireless home theatre setup with an additional Sonos sub further down the line.
My question is, when the system is setup for home theatre the rear speakers will be relatively quiet as they are just background noise. If I then want to play music through the system do I have to alter the settings or will the system know it's no longer dealing with the TV but playing music, therefore giving full power to all speakers?
Thanks in advance.
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15 replies

jgatie
jgatie
Oct 9, 2017 2:26 PM UTC
You can set the surrounds to Full or Ambient for music. Once that is set, the appropriate setting will automatically be applied to any music source.
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John B
Oct 9, 2017 2:26 PM UTC
There is a setting that affects music sources only, which can be set to 'Full' to achieve what you seem to be seeking
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Keithmac
Virtuoso
Oct 9, 2017 4:17 PM UTC
As has been said the surrounds have 2 settings, one for TV and one for Music.

I have 2 play ones, Sub and Playbar and in Music mode with surrounds in full music mode it sounds very good indeed!.
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Lucid AV
Lucid AV
Prodigy I
Oct 9, 2017 6:12 PM UTC
I currently own an Onkyo amp with Tannoy speakers for a 5.1 system. Sound from the TV is now very good. I also own a Play3 for music. Whilst it's not as good as the 5.1 system it is fine for when we want to listen to music.
I'm now considering ditching the Onkyo/Tannoy setup and getting another Play3 and a sound bar to create a wireless home theatre setup with an additional Sonos sub further down the line.
My question is, when the system is setup for home theatre the rear speakers will be relatively quiet as they are just background noise. If I then want to play music through the system do I have to alter the settings or will the system know it's no longer dealing with the TV but playing music, therefore giving full power to all speakers?
Thanks in advance.

Apart from saving on two bits of wire going to the rear speakers, why in God's name would you want to ditch the Onkyo/Tannoy combo for something that...
(a) is limited to PCM stereo or DD5.1, so not DTS or DPL or HD Audio
(b) has far fewer connections
(c) doesn't sound as good as a decent full 5.1 system
(d) costs a load more than a good 5.1 system

I love my Sonos, but you'd have to pry my Yamaha/Focal/REL system out of my cold dead hands before I'd chop it in for a Playbar system.

Buy a Connect and plug it in to the Onkyo. If you need more bass then go for BK P12-300SB (12" 300W) or a BK Monolith if you really want to rattle your fillings loose.
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    SOCalistic
    Renowned Enthusiast I
    Oct 22, 2018 12:43 PM UTC
    I have a Beam with two rear Sonos Ones. I just found out about setting the rears to full for music. It sounds pretty decent. But I also still get sound from the beam correct? It sounds like it.
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    Chris
    Chris
    Lead Maestro
    Oct 22, 2018 12:51 PM UTC
    With Beam and Surrounds. When set to FULL Mode.... when watching anything via HDMI the surrounds act as surrounds. When listening to music from Sonos app (or other source such as airplay) . . . the rear speakers will act as a pair of R/L stereo speakers and play in conjunction with the Beam as well (so all 3 speakers will be playing - Beam in stereo and Plays in stereo). It sounds really good!!
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    Respect the Queue (2)Move (3)Beam (1) Era100 (2)ARC (1)SonosOne (1)Playbar (4)Play5 (4)Play1 (3)Play3 (1)Port (2)Connect (1) Roam (2) Ace (1)Connect:Amp (4)Sonos Amp (1)Sub + (9) Echo + Smartthings; (2)Play)
    SOCalistic
    Renowned Enthusiast I
    Oct 22, 2018 12:58 PM UTC
    It does sound pretty good as I just tried it for the first time. Not sure if three sources playing is quite what I want. Now that I found out about full I'm thinking rear Play 5's might make more sense when I'm playing music.
    I see Airplaying music works for full mode too (not just from the Sonos Amp) which is nice. Airplay 2 has really added a lot of value and I've been an airplay fan for years.
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    Chris
    Chris
    Lead Maestro
    Oct 22, 2018 12:59 PM UTC
    I'm glad you asked this question - because I went into my room with the Beam/Surrounds/Sub. Turned on music and I was like …. yea this doesn't sound that great. Then went into settings and realized I had never turned on Full mode and was in ambient. Night and day difference with Full mode turned on - TERRIFIC!

    Of course I think the Sub also helps a lot with the Beam being on the "bright" side of sounding.
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    Respect the Queue (2)Move (3)Beam (1) Era100 (2)ARC (1)SonosOne (1)Playbar (4)Play5 (4)Play1 (3)Play3 (1)Port (2)Connect (1) Roam (2) Ace (1)Connect:Amp (4)Sonos Amp (1)Sub + (9) Echo + Smartthings; (2)Play)
    SOCalistic
    Renowned Enthusiast I
    Oct 22, 2018 1:02 PM UTC
    My sub is on the way 🙂
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      Chris
      Chris
      Lead Maestro
      Oct 22, 2018 1:04 PM UTC
      With Sub - you have no need for Play:5s in rear.
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      Respect the Queue (2)Move (3)Beam (1) Era100 (2)ARC (1)SonosOne (1)Playbar (4)Play5 (4)Play1 (3)Play3 (1)Port (2)Connect (1) Roam (2) Ace (1)Connect:Amp (4)Sonos Amp (1)Sub + (9) Echo + Smartthings; (2)Play)
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