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When will Sonos make an AC receiver?

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It just seems like a no Brainerd that Sonos should be offering an A/V receiver. Why don't they? Also are there any plans or forecasts of them doing so in the near future? It just seems to make the most sense especially for those of us who would like to replace existing equipment and the versatility ot would provide would be unparalleled ( Sonos products with 3rd party speakers, tvs, etc.) I would totally purchase it and so would several of my friends.

Seems like a fairly simple concept if they based it around the Sonos amp and just added a bunch of inputs and a couple outputs

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melvimbeAnswer

I forgot the name of the company that Sonos partnered with to produce the Sub to their specs and will get that info to you later- As for the features the as you put it " hypothetical" receiver would have that the Sonos Amp does not let's start with hdmi ports. The Sonos amp @ $700 has only 1 and it does not even come with the hdmi cable for that one. It's not a lot to ask for the ability to have multiple hdmi ports.

Now we are getting somewhere. The HDMI port on the amp is technically an HDMI output, with audio returning from an HDMI input (on your TV) via ARC (Audio return channel). What you’re essentially asking for is a built in HDMI switch for inputs, and for Sonos to be able to strip the audio from those inputs, pass on to the TV, etc. The natural progression is that for Sonos to control input selection, etc. You’re throwing in a lot of features that complicates the basic operation of the Amp, all things that are done quite well by your TV or external HDMI switch already.

Next would be an optical port which the current iteration of the Sonos Amp does not have.

You can get an optical to HDMI-ARC adapter for around $25 from this Sonos site.

And I think having the ability to have more than 2 pair of speaker wire posts in a 2 channel system that pushes 125W per channel ( which for most speakers is much more than enough) is not asking a lot for something deemed to be an amplifier.

if you’re looking for additional stereo speakers, you can connect a 2nd pair of speakers to the same posts as long as all speakers are 8 ohm. Perhaps some A/B speaker option would be nice, and I suspect that would add a little benefit with little cost. If you want surround speakers, Sonos is setup to do this wirelessly, with Sonos speakers or a 2nd amp. This could add cost depending on what you choice, but means you don’t need to have speaker wire from the front to back of the room.

I’m not suggesting that traditional receivers have no place in the market anymore, as I think they do for a lot of people. However, I think Sonos covers most of that with single or multiple amps. For what it doesn’t cover, you have the option of using a Port with the Receiver of your choice.

Danny

J

John B

It is impossible not to admire your faith in your understanding of the technical issues involved (simple) and the commercial attractiveness of this development (no brainer).

melvimbe

Sonos sells an amp that covers the need for a receiver already, for the most part. If you want surround sound you can add a second amp. And of course, you can mix in Sonos speakers to fell either of these roles. And of course, the Port is an option to connect any existing 3rd party receiver to Sonos.

Like John stated, I don’t know that it’s all that easy, or that there is room in the market for it. I could see Sonos partnering with a receiver maker to get their wireless audio tech into an existing receiver, but that seems like a long shot.

Danny

controlav

Lead Maestro

The “Works with Sonos” program should have this covered, although it has proven tricky to keep those devices working after some updates.

Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.

ratty

“Works with Sonos” is a more comprehensive integration. The 12V trigger from Port is generic.

I

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Trending Lyricist I

I see your all ofbyour points but I still stick by my stance that either byway of a partnership with a existing receiver maker to produce a Sonos branded product or making one of their own its not rocket science. And yes it would be a commercially viable alternative considering not onlybits use but the fact that Sonos is already not at the " cheap" range of its competitors. Sonos has already done the same thing with its production partnership for the Sonos sub.

melvimbe

I see your all ofbyour points but I still stick by my stance that either byway of a partnership with a existing receiver maker to produce a Sonos branded product or making one of their own its not rocket science. And yes it would be a commercially viable alternative considering not onlybits use but the fact that Sonos is already not at the " cheap" range of its competitors. Sonos has already done the same thing with its production partnership for the Sonos sub.

Two questions. What features would this hypothetical receiver have that is not already a feature on the Sonos amp? What production partnership for the Sonos sub are you referring to?

Danny

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I forgot the name of the company that Sonos partnered with to produce the Sub to their specs and will get that info to you later- As for the features the as you put it " hypothetical" receiver would have that the Sonos Amp does not let's start with hdmi ports. The Sonos amp @ $700 has only 1 and it does not even come with the hdmi cable for that one. It's not a lot to ask for the ability to have multiple hdmi ports. Next would be an optical port which the current iteration of the Sonos Amp does not have. And I think having the ability to have more than 2 pair of speaker wire posts in a 2 channel system that pushes 125W per channel ( which for most speakers is much more than enough) is not asking a lot for something deemed to be an amplifier.

melvimbeAnswer

I forgot the name of the company that Sonos partnered with to produce the Sub to their specs and will get that info to you later- As for the features the as you put it " hypothetical" receiver would have that the Sonos Amp does not let's start with hdmi ports. The Sonos amp @ $700 has only 1 and it does not even come with the hdmi cable for that one. It's not a lot to ask for the ability to have multiple hdmi ports.

Now we are getting somewhere. The HDMI port on the amp is technically an HDMI output, with audio returning from an HDMI input (on your TV) via ARC (Audio return channel). What you’re essentially asking for is a built in HDMI switch for inputs, and for Sonos to be able to strip the audio from those inputs, pass on to the TV, etc. The natural progression is that for Sonos to control input selection, etc. You’re throwing in a lot of features that complicates the basic operation of the Amp, all things that are done quite well by your TV or external HDMI switch already.

Next would be an optical port which the current iteration of the Sonos Amp does not have.

You can get an optical to HDMI-ARC adapter for around $25 from this Sonos site.

And I think having the ability to have more than 2 pair of speaker wire posts in a 2 channel system that pushes 125W per channel ( which for most speakers is much more than enough) is not asking a lot for something deemed to be an amplifier.

if you’re looking for additional stereo speakers, you can connect a 2nd pair of speakers to the same posts as long as all speakers are 8 ohm. Perhaps some A/B speaker option would be nice, and I suspect that would add a little benefit with little cost. If you want surround speakers, Sonos is setup to do this wirelessly, with Sonos speakers or a 2nd amp. This could add cost depending on what you choice, but means you don’t need to have speaker wire from the front to back of the room.

I’m not suggesting that traditional receivers have no place in the market anymore, as I think they do for a lot of people. However, I think Sonos covers most of that with single or multiple amps. For what it doesn’t cover, you have the option of using a Port with the Receiver of your choice.

Danny

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@melvimbe that was a really great and detailed answer so thank you for that. I did know that you could run a second pair of speakers in parallel on the same binding post for the Amp but I planned on a(s you suggested) adding 2 OneSL's for that purpose.

I'm very interested in your statement that the Sonos Amp's HDMI is actually an Output. What would happen if I plugged it into one of my existing AV receiver's hdmi inputs? Would my Sonos amp in effect become the most expensive Sonos connect? If so that's not a bad option for me since I would simply just add the Sonos sub to my amp.

NOTE: Could you verify and/or correct some information I received in this forum from a different user?

They stated that the Sonos sub could NOT be added to the Sonos Amp's infrastructure while it was my understanding that the Sonos Amp WAS capable of being integrated with it and that it is actually the Sonos Connect which can't support the Sonos sub.

The capability to use the Sonos sub is the very reason I purchased the Amp and not the Connect. Thoughts?

Airgetlam

I’ll take exception to Danny’s statement of the HDMI port on any Sonos device being an output. They’re all inputs, of the ARC/eARC variety. Which means they’re looking for data on a specific set of pins coming from an ARC/eARC source, which is not a standard HDMI output. To my knowledge, there are very few regular HDMI switches that might handle ARC, and one (maybe two, I’m unfamiliar with the second one), the HDFury Arcana, that handles eARC. To be specific, separates the incoming HDMI audio stream, and outputs it back out via either ARC or eARC ‘pins’ on the HDMI cable. Most common HDMI switches instead pull the stream off and put it on an optical output, but there are, I think, some that can put it on an ARC channel via HDMI. I’ve never personally tested these devices, I do use an HDFury Arcana to generate an eARC signal to go to my Vizio TV.

As to your second query, I think you’ve gotten some, but not all the correct information.

When used to power the front speakers in a home theater setup, connected via ARC or optical to the Sonos ARC adapter, the subwoofer port on the Sonos Amp remains active. It’s only when in use to power the rear “surround” speakers that the subwoofer output is turned off.

Bruce

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