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Ya know how we have the option for full stereo or ambient when listening to music in a full 5.1 sonos stet-up?  Can we get that with TV output as well, please?  There is still plenty of content that is stereo output on many internet streams and traditional media.  Having full stereo helps create an enveloping sound field when outputted via the playbar and the surrounds.
I would also like to use my surrounds on a full playback mode with music for any source.
Push push push
Please consider this in the next update of the software. I would like to use my surrounds on a full playback mode with music for any source.
Are there any downsides to using the Neat box type solution other than added wiring/complexity?



I presume the wiring arrangement is; connect ATV4 via hdmi to Neat box ( or similar ) then connect Neat box to tv with hdmi and then Neat box to playbar with optical tos cable?



I want to use atv with a second tv that wont pass through 5.1
+1



Just added rear speakers - Im so disappointed... :(



Many TV-channels in Denmark have reverted to only send in 2.0 - so without this feature, Sonos as Surround is really pretty useless in Denmark.
YES! I would like to have a full stereo option when watching TV audio!

---

Sonos should focus a lot more on cutomer dialogue.
[quote=Mishonio]Me too but mainly when watching or listening to music channels on TV or music based smart TV content. There should be a 'music' button between 'speech enhancement' and 'night mode' that uses the 'full' or 'ambient' setting of the app



+1
Me too but mainly when watching or listening to music channels on TV or music based smart TV content. There should be a 'music' button between 'speech enhancement' and 'night mode' that uses the 'full' or 'ambient' setting of the app



+1
^ thats not the way to make them add that feature.



indeed. Ill ask nicely (again) :-)



Dear Sonos. Please may we have this feature. Some kind of acknowledgement of the request would be nice also.

thanks.
^ thats not the way to make them add that feature.
Hello Sonos, it's me again, and again and again ...



Just a reminder in case you change your mind and take care of your basic customers needs ... STEREO ... you know that system from the 30's (past century) ...



Good bye sonos I'm busy finding another solution ... and telling everyone not ti buy your 1000$ system 🙂
Another vote for this!!! PLEASE Sonos add this to the under consideration list and get it into Beta.



You've already given us the functionality to choose between ambient and full playback when playing music through the Sonos App. Surely it can't be that much harder to give us the same option when playing music through the TV or other external source. We can already achieve it by unlinking the surrounds and regrouping as a stereo pair (and then back again next time we want to watch TV). But that's way too clunky and manual for such a slick sophisticated system (and now you've made that method even more time consuming by prompting us to retune Trueplay each time we de-link and regroup - so much so that i'm now skipping the Trueplay step which surely defeats the object of you spending months developing it!!!)



Come on Sonos, where are you on this??????




Exactly what I'm thinking....
Hi,

I experience the same problem and would really like to have a simplier solution than the one given by Aman.

Please Sonos try to satisfy your buyers by providing them a simple solution on the App.



Thx in advance
OK - sorry if this has been posted already, but my installer taught me a trick to do this. It is labor intensive to go back and forth, but it can be done. Instructions:

1. Remove Surrounds from your current home theater system (ex: Living Room)

2. The two rear surrounds now become stand alone speakers, named Living Room 2, and Living Room 3

3. Group Living Room, with Living Room 2, with Living Room 3

4. Done - 5 Channel Stereo



Now to go back to Surround:

1. Un-Group all of the Living Room speakers

2. You now have 2 rear stand alone speakers

3. Now, add surrounds, like you did when you first go the system, one at a time, follow the prompts

4. Done - you are back to surround sound



SONOS - why can't you make a single click function in the app that switches between surround and 5 speaker-stereo???




well detailed by Aman - agreed ! Just give us a button to toggle this (of course it would have to 'remember' the surround settings) - how hard can this be ?? Put it right between Night Mode and Speech enhancement.
Another vote for this!!! PLEASE Sonos add this to the under consideration list and get it into Beta.



You've already given us the functionality to choose between ambient and full playback when playing music through the Sonos App. Surely it can't be that much harder to give us the same option when playing music through the TV or other external source. We can already achieve it by unlinking the surrounds and regrouping as a stereo pair (and then back again next time we want to watch TV). But that's way too clunky and manual for such a slick sophisticated system (and now you've made that method even more time consuming by prompting us to retune Trueplay each time we de-link and regroup - so much so that i'm now skipping the Trueplay step which surely defeats the object of you spending months developing it!!!)



Come on Sonos, where are you on this??????
Also S T I L L waiting for this to come.

PLEASE SONOS. I am longing for this feature for so long 😞
OK - sorry if this has been posted already, but my installer taught me a trick to do this. It is labor intensive to go back and forth, but it can be done. Instructions:

1. Remove Surrounds from your current home theater system (ex: Living Room)

2. The two rear surrounds now become stand alone speakers, named Living Room 2, and Living Room 3

3. Group Living Room, with Living Room 2, with Living Room 3

4. Done - 5 Channel Stereo



Now to go back to Surround:

1. Un-Group all of the Living Room speakers

2. You now have 2 rear stand alone speakers

3. Now, add surrounds, like you did when you first go the system, one at a time, follow the prompts

4. Done - you are back to surround sound



SONOS - why can't you make a single click function in the app that switches between surround and 5 speaker-stereo???
Biffy - I don't think we are talking about the same thing. Folks want stereo from LF/RF, and the same signal from LB/RB. The center is usually a mono mode (? I think). That is what we are looking for. Every other receiver on the market can do this.
OMG, this is basic stereo functionality. I cannot believe that you all have been begging for this for over a year, and no response from Sonos. I bought my system yesterday ($2000) and am frustrated that this basic mode, is non-existent. I agree with whoever made the comment about using this mode for football games too, in addition to what I asked for in the other blog.



I have 14 days to return this system. I do like the sound and the surround and the idea behind it.... but this is discouraging.
Sonos ? hello, anyone there ?
I have the SONOS system (PlayBar, SUB, 2x Play:1) but have not recommended it to anyone, because I am disappointed for multiple reasons. Mainly the issue described in this thread.



I'm definitely no audio-techie, and not interested in becoming one. I just wanted nice "surround sound" when listening music and watching TV, without any cables. I understand that there are different "kinds" of surround sound, and that "real" 5.1 surround sound sometimes isn't available, but can be emulated. My very, very oldskool old wired amplifier had this option and this worked fine for me. Sound "from around" is real enough surround sound for me.



Now I have a new "modern" SONOS system, and my back speakers are almost silent most of the time; main volume blaring from the Playbar just in front of the TV. So the back speakers are almost useless to say the least.

Reading the forum I have to conclude this is by design, so maybe I should have done more research. Some lessons are (much...) more expensive than others apparently.

As far as support goes, I also would NOT like to be reminded of the room/surround-settings. Of course I've fiddled around with ALL the settings, but none of them had the desired result. If this is a feature that can be build in then I definitely recommend doing so, to prevent users from being felt ripped off.
I too would like this feature because I access my music via my television using an Apple TV. Currently Sonos doesn't support Apple music so it's the only way I can get to my Sonos system since I don't have a Sonos play:5
Holy crap. I just came across this thread.



So I assume you have a 5.1 setup (LCR in front, LS, RS in rear, .1 as the LFE). Regardless of your preprocessor, when you device gets device gets a stereo signal (Left and Right, 2.0 channels) from say a music source, It will play Left and Right. But you want it to play through all six speakers. Well therein lies your problem. Stereo is a two channel signal, and you want it to play 5.1. Some systems call this "party" mode. Sonos isn't doing anything wrong, it is just playing the signal it decodes. Maybe that's not what you want, but it's not wrong.



Think about it this way. When you watch a movie that was originally recorded in black and white, do you expect to see it in color on your new $3,000 flat screen? No, because the information was not there in the first place. So for Sonos, or any manufacture for that matter, they have to "colorize" the sound by adding a "party mode" feature, basically fill up the extra channels. But again, currently I don't think they aren't doing anything wrong.



Some of my audio systems have a 5CH Stereo (kind of a colorized black and white) mode, same kind thing.

Andrew




You are technically correct but in my opinion your analogy with a black & white movie is disingenuous. A better analogy would be if you bought a new 4K TV and watched a 1080p source you would expect the TV to upscale it to 4K. Now of course this wouldn't be native 4K - the TV is just approximating the extra non-existent pixels from those around them - but this more comparable to 'upscaling' stereo by duplicating the left channel to the left surround and the right channel to the right surround.



So while they aren't doing anything wrong (just as a 4K TV displaying 1080p content at its native res isn't doing anything wrong) it would be nice to have the option to duplicate stereo to the surrounds.



+1 from me for this trivial software tweak of a feature - seriously, how can this have been unacknowledged for almost a year??
Another vote for this feature. Would be very useful when playing stereo music through TV input.
Holy crap. I just came across this thread.



So I assume you have a 5.1 setup (LCR in front, LS, RS in rear, .1 as the LFE). Regardless of your preprocessor, when you device gets device gets a stereo signal (Left and Right, 2.0 channels) from say a music source, It will play Left and Right. But you want it to play through all six speakers. Well therein lies your problem. Stereo is a two channel signal, and you want it to play 5.1. Some systems call this "party" mode. Sonos isn't doing anything wrong, it is just playing the signal it decodes. Maybe that's not what you want, but it's not wrong.



Think about it this way. When you watch a movie that was originally recorded in black and white, do you expect to see it in color on your new $3,000 flat screen? No, because the information was not there in the first place. So for Sonos, or any manufacture for that matter, they have to "colorize" the sound by adding a "party mode" feature, basically fill up the extra channels. But again, currently I don't think they aren't doing anything wrong.



Some of my audio systems have a 5CH Stereo (kind of a colorized black and white) mode, same kind thing.

Andrew







And when your device gets a