Hi I am remodeling my house and want to use SONOS soundbar and subwoofer. I am interested in getting a 75" inch TV (prefer one of the QLED Samsung versions), but seen some posts about compatibility of one remote with sound bar. I also am designing two in ceiling speakers for rear sound. There will be 2 in the rear family room and 2 in the kitchen connected to a Sonos connect amp which is connected to the soundbar for 5.1 surround sound...These are my questions
1. Which 75" inch Samsung or other manufacturer TV will give be best compatibility with the soundbar. Is the One Remote issue for controlling the soundbar volume a showstopper or can it be resolved. Do I need to have the one connect box?
2. Which in ceiling speakers connected to the SONOS connect amp are best for the rear sound. I have 11ft high ceilings and a great room. Any input on best performance...willing to spend $300/speaker
3. Can I play music over the 4 speakers independent of the TV surround sound if I want.
4. Can I only play the 2 rear speakers in family room and keep the 2 speakers in kitchen off?
Thanks..new to this so doing some research before I invest in SONOS or the TV and speakers
What 75 inch tv and in-ceiling speakers should I buy for 5.1 Surround Sound
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1. Which 75" inch Samsung or other manufacturer TV will give be best compatibility with the soundbar. Is the One Remote issue for controlling the soundbar volume a showstopper or can it be resolved. Do I need to have the one connect box?
TV's can vary in performance even with the same manufacturer meaning every Samsung may not behave the same. Here are the basics:
-Optical out that passes DD5.1 (most do)
-Ability to select External speaker in TV menu
-Remote that is IR and not RF or BT
-Remote blaster output
I assume you are speaking of using 4 in-ceiling speakers therefore, you'll need two Connect:Amps_one for surrounds and the other for the kitchen area
2. Which in ceiling speakers connected to the SONOS connect amp are best for the rear sound. I have 11ft high ceilings and a great room. Any input on best performance...willing to spend $300/speaker
In-Ceiling speakers like any others are subjective to the listener. Here's a link on using 3rd party speakers as surrounds with the Connect:Amp: https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2248/kw/connect%20amp%20for%20surrounds
Here's a link on setting up 3rd party speakers with the Connect:Amp for general use:https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/269/kw/connect%20amp
3. Can I play music over the 4 speakers independent of the TV surround sound if I want.
Speakers used for surround will be permanently bound to the Playbar/Playbase. The others speakers connected to the second Connect:AMP (Kitchen) can act independently.
4. Can I only play the 2 rear speakers in family room and keep the 2 speakers in kitchen off?
See answer in 3 above
Thanks..new to this so doing some research before I invest in SONOS or the TV and speakers
I hope this helps. Cheers!
Thank you AJ Trek 1.
1. I think all the latest TVs don't have an IR remote, so that limits my choice, but I will do some research
2. I wanted to use one Sonos Connect AMP for the kitchen and rear sound speakers ( I guess all 4 will be surround speakers? Is that possible), Also as you say they will be all hooked to the Soundbar. Can i play them independently of the soundbar if I just wanted to play music or do I have to play with sound bar?
3. I also plan to get Apple TV and have read threads on HDMI compatibility issues with 5.1 surround sound. Is there a work around for this...
Thanks again
1. I think all the latest TVs don't have an IR remote, so that limits my choice, but I will do some research
2. I wanted to use one Sonos Connect AMP for the kitchen and rear sound speakers ( I guess all 4 will be surround speakers? Is that possible), Also as you say they will be all hooked to the Soundbar. Can i play them independently of the soundbar if I just wanted to play music or do I have to play with sound bar?
3. I also plan to get Apple TV and have read threads on HDMI compatibility issues with 5.1 surround sound. Is there a work around for this...
Thanks again
1. I think all the latest TVs don't have an IR remote, so that limits my choice, but I will do some research
This may help with some Samsung remotes that don't natively output IR: https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4198/kw/remotes/session/L3RpbWUvMTUyMTcxODE3NC9zaWQvZlUxRW1rXzVRXzhoU0FicDk4NFBMTHFtanpZMUlDcmI1VGNzRGRmdHl3bVZ0bkZPUldMMVZUbnFqSDJtRGJwV0ZqQUs3bGdzdGpqOURaQ2pUelRqV1FGcGVjYTlwQVIyS1hkYm9uY1V3NHlzNVk2OWhncTJDRGVRJTIxJTIx
2. I wanted to use one Sonos Connect AMP for the kitchen and rear sound speakers ( I guess all 4 will be surround speakers? Is that possible), Also as you say they will be all hooked to the Soundbar. Can i play them independently of the soundbar if I just wanted to play music or do I have to play with sound bar?
You can only use two speakers for surround with the Playbar or Playbase. FYI, DD5.1 equates to Left/Center/Right speakers all simulated by the Playbar/Playbase. Then there are two surrounds. At this point you have 5 speakers. The sub equates to the point one (.1) in the DD5.1 setup. What you are referencing using 4 surrounds is a 7.1 setup which the Playbar/Playbase does not support. Therefore you will need two Connect:Amps_one for the two urrounds and the other for the two kitchen speakers.
As I said early the HT speakers all work as a unit. When using Sonos branded speakers as surrounds it is possible via the Sonos App to set them to function as full-on speakers (automatically) when playing music; otherwise they only output ambient sound. Here again they are still part of the HT unit. That said I'm not sure if the same settings for surrounds can be achieved when using 3rd party speakers powered by a Connect:Amp. Call Sonos to ascertain if that is possible.
In any event you cannot separate the surrounds (Sonos branded nor 3rd party) from the HT setup to act as independent speakers at will. You can group the Kitchen speakers with the HT setup to output the main dialogue output by the Playbar/Playbase. The same applies when playing music. Of course when ungrouped the Kitchen speakers will act independently.
3. I also plan to get Apple TV and have read threads on HDMI compatibility issues with 5.1 surround sound. Is there a work around for this...
I use AppleTV and have no such problems. I have a Samsung 55 inch Plasma (got it B4 Plasmas were discontinued :)). I have a switch that I use for Apple TV, Xbox, PS4 and Google Fiber TV all connected to the main input on my Plasma via HDMI and Optical out to my Playbar. In fact the Apple TV remote will control the PlayBar volume as there's a setting in the Apple TV menu. See my switch here: http://octavainc.com/HDMI%20switch%204x1%20ARC%20port_pro.html
I hope this answers your questions. Feel free to ask again. Cheers!
Thanks again
Just a couple additional suggestions...
Regarding the remote requirements, I wouldn't let the remote that comes with your tv dictate your choice of tv. You can get a Logitech harmony remote that will work with Sonos and communicate over pretty much all protocols. If money is an issue, I'd consider lowering your budget for in-ceiling speakers to make room for the remote in the budget.
Regarding using the a CONNECT:AMP with the PLAYBAR, if you do this, the AMP needs to be directly wired to the PLAYBAR as I understand it. Not sure if that fits within your plans. If you connect 2 pairs of speakers directly to the AMP, then there is no way to operate them independently. Alternatively, if you connect the AMP to a speaker switch, you can turn off the pairs of speakers, and possibly volume control, independently. You would have to control this through the speaker switch, not through Sonos.
As AJTrek said earlier, Sonos has a full on (rear speakers play stereo) mode option when playing music, not for tv audio. This definitely works when using 1s, 3s, or 5s for surround, not sure when using the AMP. If this is a mode available for your setup, I can see where this would be useful for you. Regardless, you would never be able to play these independent of the PLAYBAR.
I think it really comes down to how the kitchen is used. Is it connected to the HT room? Will you ever really want to play music in the kitchen different than what's in the HT room? Is it a heavy listening room, or more nice to have/occasional use? If it needs to be independent and used a lot, it's probably worth it to get a second amp. If not, perhaps use just the 1st amp and see how it goes.
And just in general, Sonos is designed so you don't have to get everything at once. You can add to your system over time as you want. For the in-ceiling speakers, the most difficult part is the wiring. It's not that difficult to install the speakers at a later date if you want, or upgrade speakers (as long as you go the same size or bigger without moving the location).
Regarding the remote requirements, I wouldn't let the remote that comes with your tv dictate your choice of tv. You can get a Logitech harmony remote that will work with Sonos and communicate over pretty much all protocols. If money is an issue, I'd consider lowering your budget for in-ceiling speakers to make room for the remote in the budget.
Regarding using the a CONNECT:AMP with the PLAYBAR, if you do this, the AMP needs to be directly wired to the PLAYBAR as I understand it. Not sure if that fits within your plans. If you connect 2 pairs of speakers directly to the AMP, then there is no way to operate them independently. Alternatively, if you connect the AMP to a speaker switch, you can turn off the pairs of speakers, and possibly volume control, independently. You would have to control this through the speaker switch, not through Sonos.
As AJTrek said earlier, Sonos has a full on (rear speakers play stereo) mode option when playing music, not for tv audio. This definitely works when using 1s, 3s, or 5s for surround, not sure when using the AMP. If this is a mode available for your setup, I can see where this would be useful for you. Regardless, you would never be able to play these independent of the PLAYBAR.
I think it really comes down to how the kitchen is used. Is it connected to the HT room? Will you ever really want to play music in the kitchen different than what's in the HT room? Is it a heavy listening room, or more nice to have/occasional use? If it needs to be independent and used a lot, it's probably worth it to get a second amp. If not, perhaps use just the 1st amp and see how it goes.
And just in general, Sonos is designed so you don't have to get everything at once. You can add to your system over time as you want. For the in-ceiling speakers, the most difficult part is the wiring. It's not that difficult to install the speakers at a later date if you want, or upgrade speakers (as long as you go the same size or bigger without moving the location).
Danny
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