Contributor I

Music in Stereo and Surround Sound on TV

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
May 5, 2023
32 replies
4601 views

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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106rallye

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

MrJvG

Contributor I

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

nik9669a

Senior Virtuoso

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

rpnet

Lyricist I

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

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

yack79

Contributor I

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

yack79

Contributor I

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