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Surround Sound w/ Playbar and Connect:Amp - Ethernet Help

  • 7 October 2021
  • 3 replies
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I recently moved into a house with in ceiling speakers. It came with a Control4 system that’s too out of date. So to still take advantage of them (and utilize my current Sonos network) I got a Connect:Amp (get 2) from eBay. I’d like to set up the Front L+R and the Rear L+R through the Amp and have my Playbar serve as the center to give me somewhat of a surround set up. 

I’m sorry if this doesn’t make much/enough sense but how many Ethernet connections do I need to make this set up work? There is currently one cord going through the wall (about 10-15ft away) from where the TV is to the little AV room. Is that enough or do I need another one (one from the PlayBar to the Amp and another from the PlayBar to the hardwired modem)? I’m really hoping I don’t need to find a way to string another cable through the wall (if I do, any tips on how to do so?). It works for playing music through the S2 app, I just can’t get the whole surround set up.

Also, can I connect multiple speaker wires into the Amp? Right now I just have the the Rear plugged in. If I can, do I twist them together to make them fit in the whole?

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Best answer by Airgetlam 7 October 2021, 18:11

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3 replies

Sonos doesn’t provide the option to use any device as an explicit center channel speaker. All of the soundbars they sell/have sold contain the three channels of front right, center, and front left in them. There is no option to split out those channels to other speakers.

If you choose to use a Sonos Amp for your home theater, you can drive your own pair of speakers, and they will create a ‘faux’ center channel, but again, there is no option to split out that center channel signal and send it to another physical speaker. 

All Sonos speakers can communicate with each other across WiFi. It can be your own WiFi signal, or one created by Sonos itself. In the case of surround speakers, they connect directly to the ‘front device’, be it a soundbar or Amp, using a separate 5Ghz signal.

If you prefer to remove the Sonos signal from your own WiFi channel, but don’t have a speaker close or convenient enough to wire directly, Sonos makes the BOOST, which can be wired directly to your router and creates the SonosNet signal. I use this type of setup myself.   

i’m looking to do something similar with existing in-wall rear speakers.

 

 i’m going to purchase an arc or a beam 2 for the front channels, and would like to power the rear surrounds with a gen 2 connect:amp.

 

 can anyone confirm that this setup would work wirelessly between the arc and connect:amp?

 

 

i’m confused by a sonos article that states the connect:amp has to connected via ethernet:

from https://support.sonos.com/s/article/2237?language=en_US :

 

 “Your home theater speaker and Connect:Amp must be wired in one of the following configurations:

  • Both the Sonos home theater speaker and Connect:Amp are wired to the router with an Ethernet cable.
     
  • The Sonos home theater speaker is wired to the Connect:Amp with an Ethernet cable and another Sonos product is wired to the router.”

 

No, as stated in the article, a CONNECT:AMP (of any generation) will be required to be wired with Ethernet in order to be used as surround speakers, as the CONNECT:AMP lacks the required 5Ghz antenna that the surround data is transmitted on. 

Only the newer Sonos Amp can be connected wirelessly to a Sonos soundbar in order to receive the surround information.