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AsonosInEveryPot
Contributor III
April 27, 2017
Question

using Connect Amp for home theater surround speakers-Ethernet connection necessary?

  • April 27, 2017
  • 12 replies
  • 1345 views
I got a LG OLED TV and currently have a Sonos PlayBar connected via an optical cable. It works great and the Sonos app shows I'm in the 5.1 mode. I realized that I have a connect amp that (not in use) and there are a couple of ceiling mounted speakers in a reasonably good location (rear of room, on either side of the listening area). I followed the setup instructions and the app shows it to be connected. I have not had a change to play any 5.1 enabled content, but the instructions say that the soundbar and the connect amp need to be connected to the router via Ethernet cable or connected to each other via an Ethernet cable. Is this really necessary?
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    12 replies

    Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
    April 27, 2017
    Yes. The Connect: Amp does not have a 5GHz radio receiver, which is the band that the Playbar uses to communicate to the surrounds. Hence there needs to be an ethernet connection (which can be through a router) between the Playbar and the Connect: Amp.
    Bruce
    John B
    April 27, 2017
    Yes. The Connect:Amp does not have a 5GHz radio, and Sonos uses that frequency for the 5.1 surround set up. So cabling was the only way Sonos engineers could make it work with acceptable latency. Note that if you wire the PB and C:A together rather than to the router, you also need to be in Boost mode.
    AsonosInEveryPotAuthor
    Contributor III
    April 27, 2017
    could I connect the connect amp to a 5GH radio? cabling would be problematic....
    Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
    April 27, 2017
    It would get really messy, I'd think. You'd have to be able to convince the Playbar to communicate with a non-Sonos 5GHz radio, I'm assuming there's some sort of handshake process involved. SonosNet is something Sonos cooked up, and I don't know if they've published any information on how to connect to the 5Ghz band. Apparently, there's a way for Android devices to connect to SonosNet directly, but that's the 2.4Ghz band.
    Bruce
    ratty
    ratty
    April 27, 2017
    If the CONNECT:AMP was wired to a 5GHz WiFi bridge it would think it was hard-wired to the router. Results could however be unpredictable. Some bridges could garble the MAC address of the attached C:A.
    Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
    April 27, 2017
    Ah, awesome. Would be worth a test, I'd think. Thanks for the clarification, ratty.
    Bruce
    AsonosInEveryPotAuthor
    Contributor III
    April 28, 2017
    It does like a big hassle compared to getting a pair of Play 1 speakers....
    John B
    April 28, 2017
    It does like a big hassle compared to getting a pair of Play 1 speakers....It is. But the C:A was designed long before a home theatre setup was even a gleam in Sonos' eye. Sonos could have just said 'sorry, can't do surrounds with a C:A'. Instead, they found a way - the only practical way - of doing it.
    AsonosInEveryPotAuthor
    Contributor III
    April 29, 2017
    Not complaining- just trying to deal with the hand I've been dealt
    AsonosInEveryPotAuthor
    Contributor III
    May 5, 2017
    For a test: (1) if I connected the soundbar and the connect: amp via Ethernet to the router would that cause IP address issues? at the moment, both are connected wirelessly: what happens when I connect the Ethernet cables? Does the wireless connection drop and a new IP address get assigned via DHCP w/o issues? (2) If I connect the connect:amp via cable to the router and then connect the soundbar via a powerline networking adapter that would be plugged in to a power outlet next to the soundbar do you see any issues? This would be much more practical since the soundbar and the TV are mounted on a bedroom wall and the router is in a closet 30 feet away.
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