Skip to main content
Answered

Sonos sub gen 3 compatibility with 5 channel in ceiling sonos speakers driven by 3rd party receiver

  • 14 June 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 272 views

Hey all,

 

We moved into a home that had 5 sonos ceiling speakers installed but was not connected to an amp. The builders told us we’d have to use our own receiver. We got one, and the 5 channel ceiling speakers work great. I want to add the gen 3 sub/s but am unsure how to tie the sub/s in (or even if its possible). Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

5 replies

Userlevel 7

You cannot use the Sonos Sub with a third-party receiver. The Sonos Sub can only be used if you used a Sonos Amp(s) to power the in-ceiling speakers.

Also, whatever Sonos equipment you have, you are not going to get 5.1 multichannel sound out of those ceiling speakers.  (The ceiling speakers cannot be Sonos speakers btw.)

How are the speakers arranged? I suspect they are intended only for music, not multichannel TV audio 

They are sonos in ceiling speakers but I'm not sure of the type without removing them. I saw the boxes when they installed them (was a perk that came with the home) but the installers told me I'd have to install them via line to a receiver. I didn't think about the base and have them hooked up to a 5.1 receiver to my TV in a large room and they sound great except they lack bass of course. I'm leaning towards sending the sonos subs back and just getting a regular sub that connects to the back of the receiver. Thanks for the thoughts!

In most respects the SONOS/SONANCE in-wall/ceiling speakers are regular passive speakers, but they have an extra feature that enables them to be detected by the SONOS AMP and AMP will optimize it’s response for these speakers. You are also able to use the SONOS Trueplay feature with these speakers.

A 3rd party amplifier or A/V receiver will have no problem driving these speakers. I couldn’t find any  exact impedance specification for the speakers, but it should be about 8-Ohms.

Thx!