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

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.

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.

could I connect the connect amp to a 5GH radio? cabling would be problematic....

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.

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.

Ah, awesome. Would be worth a test, I'd think. Thanks for the clarification, ratty.

It does like a big hassle compared to getting a pair of Play 1 speakers....

AsonosInEveryPot wrote:

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.

Not complaining- just trying to deal with the hand I've been dealt

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.

AsonosInEveryPot wrote:

(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?

The IP addresses will almost certainly remain the same. If you're interested, check in About My Sonos System. Give the units a minute or two to settle down first, after wiring them.

(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?

You could quite likely have problems. That arrangement is not hardwired via Ethernet as required, and the latency on powerline connections tends to vary significantly. Anything over 30ms -- which is more than likely from time to time -- and the CONNECT:AMP could drop out. Try it by all means, but Sonos won't support that configuration.

I think I'll just run an Ethernet cable between the teo units...my wife might tolerate it foe a single movie....