Connect a Sonos soundbar to a Sonos Amp and a Sonos Port

  • 17 April 2024
  • 7 replies
  • 82 views
G

Hello, 

I have a client who is already in the Sonos system. He has a pool house with a TV and wants to add a soundbar. He would also like to play the TV to 2 speakers mounted on the pool house and possibly to the speakers around the pool. Not all the time but likes the option. I was going to suggest a Sonos soundbar for the TV. Then a Sonos amp for the 2 speakers on the pool house and a Sonos port to connect to the amp for the speakers/sub around the pool. Will this work? Can the TV audio going to the soundbar connect to the Sonos Amp and the Sonos Port through to the mesh network? Can you group and ungroup the speakers through the app?

I would probably leave the pool house speakers and the pool speakers permanently grouped or bonded and add or subtract the TV soundbar when needed if possible. Let me know if this is possible and if I’m going in the right direction.

Thanks

7 replies

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Your idea will work…except for one thing.

Sending audio from any Sonos soundbar to a Sonos speaker or Amp with speakers will result in a 75mm delay resulting in an echo effect. You could alternatively connect the Sonos Amp to the TV.

The sonos amp will power up to six (6) Sonos Outdoor speakers by Sonance. Two of the six would flank the TV left/right. The other four (4) can be placed strategically according to preference. However, I would recommend connecting the speakers to attenuators in banks of two to control volume.

The only downside to the setup is that it is recommended that the Amp be set to mono which negates stereo especially for the TV. The reason for the mono setting is that all would hear the same audio regardless of their physical location. 

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
G

When I contacted support, they said there would not be a delay. Are you speaking from personal experience. If so, what devices did you use?

G

I did find more information. If you bond them there is no delay, but if you group them there is a delay. Is that correct. Can you group/ungroup and bond/unbond fairly easy with the app?

Airgetlam

Depends on what you mean by ‘fairly easy’. The nature of the connection is different between the two, so it does take several seconds, and a few clicks to change. You also lose any TruePlay on the speakers, due to the nature of making the change. While I would consider fairly onerous, but only after the second time changing them, and moving forward. It really isn’t something I’d want to do regularly. And, of course, any delay when grouped is only when playing the TV input. When streaming music to multiple rooms, they’ll play in sync. 

Bruce
Schlumpf
Userlevel 7
Badge +16

As a workaround for the tv connected Sonos ht device you can set „tv dialogue synchronization“ level to 2 or 3 and that compensates the delay in tv mode. 
For me that doesn’t produces a remarkable delay to video. 

Ralf
AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

@Gman1341 

Sorry for not being more explicit regarding audio delay from a soundbar (in your case the Amp) to other Sonos speakers. The delay occurs for TV audio only when the soundbar/Amp is grouped to other speakers not part of the home theater.

Bonding and Grouping are in no way synonymous.

Bonding occurs when a Sonos sub and/or surrounds are used with a soundbar to create a Sonos Home Theatre. In your case  a Sonos Amp can Bond to a set of Sonos surrounds such as the Era 300/100 series or to another Sonos Amp with wired speakers as surrounds.

Grouping is sending the same TV audio source from a Sonos home theater to a non-associated Sonos speaker or speakers which typically results in the delay mentioned.  Although @Schlumpf has presented a work around. Music sent over a grouping has no delay and the source can originate from the home theater or other Sonos speakers. 

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
buzz

When playing music through Grouped speakers, all will be time aligned. There is always a 75ms latency between Line-In and output from a SONOS player, Grouped or not.

You may not have an issue if the TV, soundbar, and surround speakers are inside the pool house and the other speakers are outside. Since it will not be possible to hear the TV audio and view the picture from outside, there will not be any lip sync issues. The outside speakers will all be time aligned with each other, but lip sync may be annoying if the picture is visible. Within limits you can tinker with voice sync in the cable box, TV, or SONOS soundbar.

Note that there will be audio delays simply due to speaker spacing. Sound travel is pokey at about one foot per millisecond.

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