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moberg
Contributor I
Feb 18, 2013 3:24 PM UTC

Too many Connect Amps?

Geek Squad coming in an hour and would love to hear from the Sonos Community's collective big brains first to make sure I bought the correct items!

Here's the background:
The house I purchased was incredibly "wired" in the 80s with every room having speakers and its own volume control. I know everything was working a year ago (heard it work during the open house) but after the old owners moved out I just have a bunch of wires hanging in a media closet and I don't know what wire goes to what.

Current configuration:
I have 8 new Polk in-ceiling speakers (4 different rooms - attached to existing wires)
I still have wires hanging from disconnected outdoor speakers (would like outdoor music)
Note: I have no other stereo equipment in the house as I've been relying on a Bose docking station and an iPod for years.

What I bought/was sold:
4 Connect Amps
2 Play 5 Speakers
1 Bridge

Question:

1) Should I have purchased a normal receiver to handle all of the "wired" speakers and something else to connect to Sonos?

2) Since Play 5 isn't really for outdoors, are there other wireless speakers that can connect to Sonos that you'd recommend?

Thank you!!
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    7 replies

    the_lhc
    Avid Contributor I
    Feb 18, 2013 3:30 PM UTC
    2) Since Play 5 isn't really for outdoors, are there other wireless speakers that can connect to Sonos that you'd recommend?

    No, there are no other wireless speakers that can connect to Sonos, if you have the wires there why not use them? There are many weatherproof speakers available on the market, I have a pair that I use with a Connect:Amp via a speaker selector switch which is also connected to a pair of speakers in the house, so I can flick between the two (or have both running).
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    mobergAuthor
    Contributor I
    Feb 18, 2013 4:00 PM UTC
    Makes all the sense in the world - thank you! Didn't know about that speaker select switch -- really appreciate the help/suggestion!!
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    Another One
    Contributor I
    Feb 21, 2013 12:19 AM UTC
    1) Should I have purchased a normal receiver to handle all of the "wired" speakers and something else to connect to Sonos?


    You should try home theater direct for a system that will control 6 zones pretty easily and at a reasonable cost. htd.com. I'm using a pair of 6-zone controllers with a single Connect.
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    industryNorm
    Avid Contributor I
    Feb 22, 2013 5:43 AM UTC
    I was in the same boat. I bought a house with four zones and wires hanging in basement. There are also blank wall panels with cables behind for volume control and in-ceiling speakers.

    I started the quest to figure out the wiring and found Sonos. I now have 4 zones of play 5 and 3 stereo pairs and singles. I will leave the ceiling speakers and wiring for the next owner to figure out. People come over and ask what brand of ceiling speaker I have because they sound so good. I have to point out the Sonos Play5's in the living room and the Play 3's in the family room.
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    DarkRelms
    DarkRelms
    Lyricist III
    Jan 26, 2018 8:11 PM UTC
    Im actually doin whole house audio with here soon. I will be running 6 connect amps with a total of 12 Polk audio MC 60's
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    airforceteacher
    airforceteacher
    Headliner I
    Feb 6, 2018 1:18 AM UTC
    Four connect amps - with what you save by getting Connects, you could have gotten a multizone amplifier designed for whole house audio and it would have been cheaper than the $600 extra you spent on getting the Connect:Amp, and you'd have gotten optical outputs too.

    https://smile.amazon.com/Pyle-8-Channel-Theater-Amplifier-PT8000CH/dp/B002UL0XIQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1517879841&sr=1-3&keywords=multichannel+amplifier+8

    If I were doing the same, especially with professional installers, I'd have bought car amplifiers and a good AC/DC converter, and used the car amps to drive the speakers, but the Pyle I linked is also a good option.
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    airforceteacher
    airforceteacher
    Headliner I
    Feb 6, 2018 1:20 AM UTC
    Im actually doin whole house audio with here soon. I will be running 6 connect amps with a total of 12 Polk audio MC 60's

    https://smile.amazon.com/OSD-Audio-MX1260-Universal-selectable/dp/B004S3PY9M/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1517879944&sr=1-4&keywords=multichannel+amplifier+8&dpID=51K0RYZXkNL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

    Same wattage as the Connect Amp, and saves you $400.
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