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I have the Playbar and 2xPlay:1 set up as surround sound, this works great for tv but when playing music I would like the Play:1s to revert to standalone or stereo, but it appears the only way to do this would be to ungroup them. It would be good to see a software driven update to this issue to make switching between modes simpler. Just wondering how many others would like to see this implemented. Thanks
Completely agree.  Ideally should be able to switch between full 5.1 and just using Play:1s for stereo music. In theory, should be easy just be defining a separate zone - ie one zone being 5.1 (Playbar and sub and 2*P1)and other being stereo comprising the Play1s.  So, same equipment but managed as two different zones (obviously theses zones won't be able to be grouped!)
I thought this idea was already planned?
Found it:

https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/switch_play_3s_between_surround_for_tv_and_stereo_pair_for_music

Don't know what the timing is likely to be though.
Just downloaded the latest version 5.0 of the controller released yesterday (13th of May 2014) and you can now have your Play:1's or Play:3 surrounds in paired stereo mode for music playback! It works brilliantly! Well done Sonos!!!
At the risk of sounding like a troll-type-looking-for-trouble sort of forum crasher (I'm not, I'm a genuine Sonos convert!) So now I have to move my furniture to the opposite side of the room (or sit on the floor in front of the tv) if I want to listen to stereo music properly?!!! Maybe a handy 'check' but hardly a realistic solution. I realise that a playbar on its own is never going to match separate HiFi speakers for separation etc etc but it does a pretty good job and the convenience of the system outways the cons for most of us. I'm sure with a sub its a step up again but ...



Please can we have a way to play straight forward stereo from the playbar - no processing or ambient weirdness - even better, have the option to do this automatically for stereo music. I know this isn't going to match two separate play3s/5s but at least I won't have to move the sofa ;-)



Keep up the good work Sonos - love it!
At the risk of sounding like a troll-type-looking-for-trouble sort of forum crasher (I'm not, I'm a genuine Sonos convert!) So now I have to move my furniture to the opposite side of the room (or sit on the floor in front of the tv) if I want to listen to stereo music properly?!!! Maybe a handy 'check' but hardly a realistic solution. I realise that a playbar on its own is never going to match separate HiFi speakers for separation etc etc but it does a pretty good job and the convenience of the system outways the cons for most of us. I'm sure with a sub its a step up again but ...



Please can we have a way to play straight forward stereo from the playbar - no processing or ambient weirdness - even better, have the option to do this automatically for stereo music. I know this isn't going to match two separate play3s/5s but at least I won't have to move the sofa ;-)



Keep up the good work Sonos - love it!


Completely agree. I posted a question about turning off simulated surround processing for 2ch sources on PlayBars. I think the volume page of the controller app could benefit from a few options for different sound stages PLUS plain old unprocessed stereo.
Is there a reason this still hasn't happened? Seems like such a no-brainer. Personally, I am bummed that my Play:1s disappear when we connect them to the Playbar.
Is there a reason this still hasn't happened? Seems like such a no-brainer. Personally, I am bummed that my Play:1s disappear when we connect them to the Playbar.



It has happened (sort of). You can choose between Full and Ambient output from the surround speakers when playing music:



https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2938/~/setting-up-surround-sound-with-the-sonos-playbar#surround_settings