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Is this possible, or does surround sound only come via a Soundbar at the front?

Apple TV just seems to give me the option to select the pairs of speakers, with no way of saying which ones are front and rear. 

I don’t think you can. Apple AirPlay 2, when connecting to a non Apple device, can only send a stereo signal, not a 5.1 signal, or in your case, an odd stereo plus surrounds signal. So you could send a stereo AirPlay 2 signal to both Sonos ‘rooms’, but not a surround channel signal. 


No, it’s not currently possible with 4 Sonos Ones - you ideally need a Sonos Soundbar, either Ray, Beam, or Arc, connected via a TV. All these contain the front TV channels.  Then you can use two ‘Ones’ as rear surrounds.

The other two ‘Ones’ I would pair and use for stereo music audio out in front, or perhaps utilise them in other room(s) around the Home to listen to Music or TV audio (the latter only of which, is slightly delayed by 75ms due to buffering of the TV audio across ‘grouped’ rooms.


One would think that a software/audio company could accommodate an Arc, Sub and 4 1SL” s for a 7.1 signal. I’ve been wanting to have this configuration as well.


One would think that a software/audio company could accommodate an Arc, Sub and 4 1SL” s for a 7.1 signal. I’ve been wanting to have this configuration as well.

 

That’s not what the OP is requesting.  The OP didn’t mention the Arc, or any other soundbar, except to ask if one was needed. 


One would think that a software/audio company could accommodate an Arc, Sub and 4 1SL” s for a 7.1 signal. I’ve been wanting to have this configuration as well.

 

The Arc has side firing speakers, so an Arc with sub and 2 surrounds will play something like a 7.1.2 with an atmos signal, but I don’t think it technically qualifies.  Besides, it sounds like you were wanting additional front wide speakers rather than side speakers. 

I’m not aware of any software/audio company that can wirelessly bond a soundbar, sub, and 4 satellite speakers in home theatre room, so I’m not sure why you would treat that as a given for Sonos.

 


Thanks all, I think that does answer my question.
Basically it isn’t currently possible, without adding a Sonos Soundbar to the configuration.
It’s a shame that the ATV config doesn’t let you specify a Front pair and Rear pair (or more) of speakers for surround sound.


It would be really nice for this feature. I have an odd setup with projector screen and can’t put a sound bar in the middle. using 4x Sonos One and Mini Sub as a surround sound setup would really solve my situation.  


Yes, it would be awesome if Apple were to provide this feature.