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Music in Stereo and Surround Sound on TV

The key issue I discovered is Sonos does not allow rear speakers in a surround sound system to then also  be used in stereo with a turntable as the line-in and Bluetooth become disconnected. You would have to uncouple the rear speakers and set them up as stereo each time you want to do this which is time consuming.
 

is there a technological fix or switch that enables you to switch with ease so you can enjoy surround sound on TV and then pure stereo for music? 
 

If not will Sonos work on one in the future? 

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32 replies

J
Userlevel 1

I am aware that you can set the surround speakers to ‘full’ so the rear speakers play in stereo but the beam still plays music in this situation. 
 

I want to be able to play just in stereo without the beam as it sounds way better.

 

I really thought the era 100s would solve this conundrum of switching by connecting line in to turntable but it doesn’t as the line in gets disabled. 

J
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

I have Arc, two Era 300s and Sub Mini.  Currently using as surround system but I would also like to be able to toggle the Arc off in the same way that I can toggle the surrounds and Sub off.  Be great if that was possible then you’d have best of both worlds.  Switching the 300s back to stereo means redoing Trueplay which whilst it isn’t too time consuming I have mobility issues which makes this difficult. Ideally the system would store two sets of Trueplay settings for stereo and surround to allow toggling the Arc on and off.

J
Userlevel 1

I have Arc, two Era 300s and Sub Mini.  Currently using as surround system but I would also like to be able to toggle the Arc off in the same way that I can toggle the surrounds and Sub off.  Be great if that was possible then you’d have best of both worlds.  Switching the 300s back to stereo means redoing Trueplay which whilst it isn’t too time consuming I have mobility issues which makes this difficult. Ideally the system would store two sets of Trueplay settings for stereo and surround to allow toggling the Arc on and off.

That would be absolutely ideal. I honestly thought Sonos had solved it with the eta 100s which is why I upgraded them from my Sonos ones. Or they created a line in for them and Bluetooth. 
 

thanks for bringing attention to your mobility issues. It shows that the whole true play timing after every time you switch between surround and stereo  is not a practical or convenient solution. 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Jaxx75 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

Thank you - I've marked this thread as a feature request and it will be seen by the relevant teams for consideration. Keep the ideas coming!

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
J
Userlevel 1

Hi @Corry P thanks so much for reading this and taking the comments on board for feedback.

jgatie

Before getting one’s hopes up over a standard reply for requests (Sorry Corry), it’s important to understand what is at work here.  When adding surrounds, the radios are reconfigured to a one-way dedicated 5 GHz connection from the soundbar to the surrounds.  This requires a series of handshakes to get right, which is why adding surrounds takes a bit of time.  The reverse happens when the surrounds are removed.  So therefore, a toggle done with “ease” between the two is not possible.  They could place a hot button that does the add surrounds/remove surrounds at the touch of the button, but that is not going to speed up the actual process, and doesn’t save much from the system menu commands we have today.

An alternative would be allowing one to mute the front device and just play out of the surrounds, which would appear to be easier to do, but I defer to the actual engineers on the practicality of the idea, especially with regards to spatial audio through the Era 300s.   I’m sure switching from sending just surround info to sending a full Atmos audio stream through the surrounds from the soundbar isn’t trivial, and given hardware limitations of the decoder and the way it is wired to the soundbar, may not even be possible.  Maybe in the Arc 2, perhaps 😉?

D

i have the same issue.  its hard to believe i have to navigate sonos 2 app system settings when going from surround for TV vs playing music.  absurd, i think i will sell it all and buy something else.  The app is just not intuitive either.  

Ken_Griffiths

i have the same issue.  its hard to believe i have to navigate sonos 2 app system settings when going from surround for TV vs playing music.  absurd, i think i will sell it all and buy something else.  The app is just not intuitive either.  

I struggle with the fact that folk want the soundstage behind their seated position in the room, unless they are perhaps turning their furniture around to play music (and rotating back again when watching TV). My own choice has been to add a stereo pair of ‘Five’ speakers and a Sub to the same physical room instead and place those vertically out in front. I just believe the soundstage should always be out in front, but it’s each to their own, I guess.

Although it does ‘muddy’ the soundstage somewhat, grouping the two Sonos ‘rooms’ together, the HT setup and the Stereo pair, actually doesn’t sound too bad either, but I am using a Sonos Arc in my case and that does keep good stereo separation out in front in our lounge/living area. I much prefer using the HT setup in Ambient mode for music playback.

D

My kitchen is open to my living and the first generation play 5's were great with the playbar.  So I forked up more mula to get the woofer and boom needed new app and new play 5's because woof woof wasn't compatible.... so I'm in it for a lot of dough and it's all a disappointment cause now to make it work easier I should get a pair of play 1s and separate the systems.  I can't even use this forum without pop-ups, sorry I'm grumpy about it all

M

The key issue I discovered is Sonos does not allow rear speakers in a surround sound system to then also  be used in stereo with a turntable as the line-in and Bluetooth become disconnected. You would have to uncouple the rear speakers and set them up as stereo each time you want to do this which is time consuming.
 

is there a technological fix or switch that enables you to switch with ease so you can enjoy surround sound on TV and then pure stereo for music? 
 

If not will Sonos work on one in the future? 

Really everyone with a surround setup would like this.
I replaced my 2 Sonos Ones for the Era 300 with my Arc.
The sound when I watch movies is truly phenomenal. But the 2 Era 300 as a stereo pair for music is much nicer than in a surround setup with the Arc.

For years, a function with the Arc of Beam in a surround setup has been requested:
- When sound comes in via the HDMI on the Beam or Arc, use the 2 Ones, 2 Era 100 or 2 Era 300 as a surround setup.
- Streaming music via the Sonos app using 2 speakers in a stereo setup.

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Sonos chose a different technical take on surround a versus stereo system. Combined with Trueplay (that works on the system as a whole), it seems hard for Sonos to get this right.

I keep thinking if people would also ask this if they’d own a classic home cinema receiver. I’ve own a couple of those and they also could not do this.

M

Sonos chose a different technical take on surround a versus stereo system. Combined with Trueplay (that works on the system as a whole), it seems hard for Sonos to get this right.

I keep thinking if people would also ask this if they’d own a classic home cinema receiver. I’ve own a couple of those and they also could not do this.

But Sonos is not a classic company, but a company that makes smart speakers and its own hardware and software.
So yes, customers do expect such features from Sonos.

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +19

Sonos chose a different technical take on surround a versus stereo system. Combined with Trueplay (that works on the system as a whole), it seems hard for Sonos to get this right.

I keep thinking if people would also ask this if they’d own a classic home cinema receiver. I’ve own a couple of those and they also could not do this.

But Sonos is not a classic company, but a company that makes smart speakers and its own hardware and software.
So yes, customers do expect such features from Sonos.

Upping the price of the speakers by a significant amount would pave the way to upgrade the processor and increase the memory capacity in the devices. Then the speakers could do a lot more than they do today - which might include what you’re asking for, and could include multiple Trueplay settings. But would folk pay that increased price? 

R

An alternative would be allowing one to mute the front device and just play out of the surrounds

 

This would solve the issue without adding any complexity. No need to handshake, pair or unpair anything. Just mute the soundbar and let us use the surrounds as stereo.

Of course this solution is only worth it if the sound quality of the "surrounds functioning as stereo" is on par with a separate stereo pair.

The sound quality of the Era 100 stereo pair is awesome.

The same can't be said of the Soundbar + Era 100 surrounds. It sounds tiny and muddy.

 

But Sonos is not a classic company, but a company that makes smart speakers and its own hardware and software.
So yes, customers do expect such features from Sonos.

Absolutely. 

I've owned Sonos products for many years now. What puts Sonos apart from the competition is its sound quality combined with versatility and reliability. Omitting functionality feels punitive.

Buying a separate pair of Sonos speakers to have good quality stereo playback is definitely not the answer here.

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Does just muting the front device not trigger the need for an extra Trueplay profile, especially when there's also a Sub being used?

Y

i have the same issue.  its hard to believe i have to navigate sonos 2 app system settings when going from surround for TV vs playing music.  absurd, i think i will sell it all and buy something else.  The app is just not intuitive either.  

I struggle with the fact that folk want the soundstage behind their seated position in the room, unless they are perhaps turning their furniture around to play music (and rotating back again when watching TV). My own choice has been to add a stereo pair of ‘Five’ speakers and a Sub to the same physical room instead and place those vertically out in front. I just believe the soundstage should always be out in front, but it’s each to their own, I guess.

Although it does ‘muddy’ the soundstage somewhat, grouping the two Sonos ‘rooms’ together, the HT setup and the Stereo pair, actually doesn’t sound too bad either, but I am using a Sonos Arc in my case and that does keep good stereo separation out in front in our lounge/living area. I much prefer using the HT setup in Ambient mode for music playback.

My speakers are behind the sofa. I stand and move in front of the speakers. So the stage is in front of me. When I'm sitting on the couch, the same speakers are already behind me as surround. Why should they only play as surround and I can't switch them to a stereo pair with one click? This is sick.Am I forced to buy a second pair of the same speakers and place them next to the existing ones (or maybe above or below them) just because I want a different software setup?
Airgetlam

They do play as stereo, for a music stream, if you set the settings to ‘full’ rather than ‘ambient’. The only difference there is that the soundbar continues to play. Some folks like that, some folks don’t. 

Bruce
Y

They definitely Sound better when unpaired as surrounds and paired as stereo than set as stereo in surround mode with full option. Stereo sound is deeper, have more clear. And no soundbar! Surround mode sounds like from casette tape 

M

Still no response from Sonos. No possibility of what users have been asking and calling for for years.

Give us more freedom Sonos!

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Sonos has responded: this has been noted as a feature request.

Q

it is fu**ing joke.. 10 years later and we still don’t have this function..

It should work like this:

  • If the signal is 5.1, the rear speakers operate in surround mode.
  • If the signal is stereo, the rear speakers operate in stereo mode.

Alternatively, you can implement a switch in the settings.

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +19

it is fu**ing joke.. 10 years later and we still don’t have this function..

It should work like this:

  • If the signal is 5.1, the rear speakers operate in surround mode.
  • If the signal is stereo, the rear speakers operate in stereo mode.

Alternatively, you can implement a switch in the settings.

Wow! Your first post, according to your profile. Where does the “10 years” come from? 
For clarity: are you saying you want stereo tv sound coming from the rear speakers as well as the fronts? Or that if any input is a stereo signal the surrounds should be exclusive speakers? 
When you stream music, the rears do operate in stereo mode, as do the soundbar speakers. 

Q

it is fu**ing joke.. 10 years later and we still don’t have this function..

It should work like this:

  • If the signal is 5.1, the rear speakers operate in surround mode.
  • If the signal is stereo, the rear speakers operate in stereo mode.

Alternatively, you can implement a switch in the settings.

Wow! Your first post, according to your profile. Where does the “10 years” come from? 
For clarity: are you saying you want stereo tv sound coming from the rear speakers as well as the fronts? Or that if any input is a stereo signal the surrounds should be exclusive speakers? 
When you stream music, the rears do operate in stereo mode, as do the soundbar speakers. 

It means that just because I've never been active on the forum doesn't mean I'm a new Sonos user; I've been using it for 7 years. The mention of 10 years comes from seeing a forum thread about this feature created 9 years ago.

I know that with the music source, the rear speakers work in stereo mode, but this only applies when playing music from the Sonos app, which is, to put it mildly, limited, or via AirPlay. I use Apple Music, and to listen to music with the rear speakers in stereo mode, I have to play it from the Sonos app (lossy) or AirPlay (lossy). To listen lossless, I have to use Apple TV through HDMI but then i have rears in ambient mode. It would be much easier if there was an option in the Sonos settings for "TV Music Mode." Many users are missing this option, but unfortunately, Sonos isn't doing anything about it.
Using the Sonos app is a real pain, searching and browsing feels like a joke. And when I do find something I'm interested in, I can't add it to my Apple Music playlist directly. I have to go to the Apple Music app, search for the track there, and only then add it to the playlist. 

melvimbe

I know that with the music source, the rear speakers work in stereo mode, but this only applies when playing music from the Sonos app, which is, to put it mildly, limited, or via AirPlay.

 

 

The full music mode works for all cases except when the source is TV.  You obviously wouldn’t hear stereo from the rear when the audio source is atmos.  It’s the last point that makes me think that it shouldn’t be that complicated for Sonos to play stereo from the rear speakers with TV source when the source is stereo.  The system can obviously automatically determine what audio channels to play on what speakers based on source and/or audio format of the source.

I use Apple Music, and to listen to music with the rear speakers in stereo mode, I have to play it from the Sonos app (lossy) or AirPlay (lossy). To listen lossless, I have to use Apple TV through HDMI but then i have rears in ambient mode. It would be much easier if there was an option in the Sonos settings for "TV Music Mode." Many users are missing this option, but unfortunately, Sonos isn't doing anything about it.

 

 

I don’t think this is an Sonos problem so much as it’s an Apple problem?  Sonos doesn’t have any control over the audio Apple sends to the speakers, and it does play lossless audio for streaming services that support it through Sonos, as I understand it.  I might be mixing up hi res and lossless/lossy in terms of what’s supported  and don’t feel like researching it right now. Sonos obviously has no say in the audio quality of airplay.

Using the Sonos app is a real pain, searching and browsing feels like a joke. And when I do find something I'm interested in, I can't add it to my Apple Music playlist directly. I have to go to the Apple Music app, search for the track there, and only then add it to the playlist. 

I believe adding tracks to playlists is a feature of the Sonos API, but Apple and other streaming services are not required to implement the feature on their end.

https://docs.sonos.com/docs/add-playlists

 

Apple might be motivated to intentionally not implement the feature to encourage use of airplay and/or buy their competing smart speakers...but that’s speculation.

Danny
D

Hi @Jaxx75 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

Thank you - I've marked this thread as a feature request and it will be seen by the relevant teams for consideration. Keep the ideas coming!

Yes please. I feel like this limitation really prevents me from g getting the most out of this system in the main room of my house (TV/kitchen). 

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