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Surround Sound options

M

Hi

first off, thanks for a one who can help me in advance. 
I have owned a Play 1 for a few years now, and finally want to take the plunge into a full surround sound system home cinema type situation. I have read that for surround sound to work the two, L and R speakers have to be identical. Meaning. Would I need to get two new One and One SL’s for the idea to work? 
 

and the second question is do I need to have a subwoofer for the surround sound system to work?

what would I need to get a surround system working with what I already have?  
 

I would love all of the new stuff but as you all know it’s quite expensive and I can’t afford it all right now! 
 

thanks so much for any help as any advice would help. 
 

matt. 

Best answer by AjTrek1

Hi @Mattroberts0909 

Congrats on finally taking the plunge into Sonos Home Theater (SHT).

The basic (most common) SHT consists of: *

  1. Playbar or Playbase (Optical connection only) or Beam (HDMI or Optical connection) to provide the Left/Center/Right channels **

Surrounds can be:

  1. Sonos One x 2
  2. Sonos One SL x 2
  3. Sonos One and Sonos One SL
  4. Play 5 x 2 (Overkill as surrounds...save your money)

To complete the setup to make it DD5.1 you would add a Sonos Sub. The Sub can be added at anytime if budget is a concern.

Recommended setups ***

  1. Playbar or Playbase / Sonos One / Sonos One SL / Sonos Sub 
  2. Beam / Sonos One SL x 2 / Sonos Sub

Other Info:

Using an iOS device TruePlay in the Sonos App can be used to tune the entire setup as a unit to the room environment. 

You can also set the surrounds to play as FULL stereo speakers for music and auto-switch to surround mode during movie play and vice-versa.

 * A Sonos Amp can also be used with 3rd party left/right speakers. However, the dedicated center channel is lost and replaced by a phantom center created by the left/right speakers.

 ** Beam is the latest offering HDMI-ARC (CEC) when connected to a compatible TV with HDMI-ARC (CEC). Using Alexa or Google voice assistant you can control on/off, volume up/down and input selection, as well as voice, commands commonly associated with Alexa and Google voice. It can also be connected to a non-HDMI-ARC (CEC) TV via optical. However, optical negates the voice assistant feature to issue commands to the TV but other voice commands generic to Alexa or Google voice are still available. Note: The Beam is designed for medium to small rooms such as a large bedroom

 *** Using a Playbar or Playbase the Sonos One would provide Alexa or Google voice assistant. Matching it with a Sonos One SL saves money. The sonics are identical on both.

^ Airplay2 is available with the Beam and Playbase to send music stored on an iOS device directly to your SHT.

Important: Sonos Play:1 cannot be matched to a Sonos One or Sonos One SL as a surround. 

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask additionl questions. 

Cheers!

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    7 replies

    N
    Forum|alt.badge.img+19
    • nik9669a
    • Senior Virtuoso
    • 5515 replies
    • April 11, 2020

    A One can be paired with an SL, either as a stereo pair or, as you want, for surrounds. 
     

    The sub is the .1 in a 5.1 system. It is not required, but does add ooomph to your system, musically and for Home Theatre. 
     

    For the front channels, Beam, Playbase or Playbar are your choices. 
     

    M

    Thanks for responding! so technically, I could just purchase either a brand new One or SL to go alongside my 3 year old Play 1 And purchase a new beam to create a home theatre? 
     Would the old play 1 and the new One work together? 

    thank you, Matt. 

    AjTrek1
    • AjTrek1
    • 6557 replies
    • Answer
    • April 11, 2020

    Hi @Mattroberts0909 

    Congrats on finally taking the plunge into Sonos Home Theater (SHT).

    The basic (most common) SHT consists of: *

    1. Playbar or Playbase (Optical connection only) or Beam (HDMI or Optical connection) to provide the Left/Center/Right channels **

    Surrounds can be:

    1. Sonos One x 2
    2. Sonos One SL x 2
    3. Sonos One and Sonos One SL
    4. Play 5 x 2 (Overkill as surrounds...save your money)

    To complete the setup to make it DD5.1 you would add a Sonos Sub. The Sub can be added at anytime if budget is a concern.

    Recommended setups ***

    1. Playbar or Playbase / Sonos One / Sonos One SL / Sonos Sub 
    2. Beam / Sonos One SL x 2 / Sonos Sub

    Other Info:

    Using an iOS device TruePlay in the Sonos App can be used to tune the entire setup as a unit to the room environment. 

    You can also set the surrounds to play as FULL stereo speakers for music and auto-switch to surround mode during movie play and vice-versa.

     * A Sonos Amp can also be used with 3rd party left/right speakers. However, the dedicated center channel is lost and replaced by a phantom center created by the left/right speakers.

     ** Beam is the latest offering HDMI-ARC (CEC) when connected to a compatible TV with HDMI-ARC (CEC). Using Alexa or Google voice assistant you can control on/off, volume up/down and input selection, as well as voice, commands commonly associated with Alexa and Google voice. It can also be connected to a non-HDMI-ARC (CEC) TV via optical. However, optical negates the voice assistant feature to issue commands to the TV but other voice commands generic to Alexa or Google voice are still available. Note: The Beam is designed for medium to small rooms such as a large bedroom

     *** Using a Playbar or Playbase the Sonos One would provide Alexa or Google voice assistant. Matching it with a Sonos One SL saves money. The sonics are identical on both.

    ^ Airplay2 is available with the Beam and Playbase to send music stored on an iOS device directly to your SHT.

    Important: Sonos Play:1 cannot be matched to a Sonos One or Sonos One SL as a surround. 

    I hope this helps. Feel free to ask additionl questions. 

    Cheers!

    Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
    M
    1 person likes this
    • M
      Mattroberts0909
    Smilja
    • Smilja
    • 2770 replies
    • April 11, 2020

    @AjTrek1, A small error crept in: The Play:1 is not going to be designated as a legacy product in May.

     

     

    »And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
    Airgetlam
    1 person likes this
    • Airgetlam
      Airgetlam
    AjTrek1
    • AjTrek1
    • 6557 replies
    • April 11, 2020
    Smilja wrote:

    @AjTrek1, A small error crept in: The Play:1 is not going to be designated as a legacy product in May.

     

     


    Oops my bad. Had a brain lapse :slight_smile:

    Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
    M
    AjTrek1 wrote:

    Hi @Mattroberts0909 

    Congrats on finally taking the plunge into Sonos Home Theater (SHT).

    The basic (most common) SHT consists of: *

    1. Playbar or Playbase (Optical connection only) or Beam (HDMI or Optical connection) to provide the Left/Center/Right channels **

    Surrounds can be:

    1. Sonos One x 2
    2. Sonos One SL x 2
    3. Sonos One and Sonos One SL
    4. Play 5 x 2 (Overkill as surrounds...save your money)

    To complete the setup to make it DD5.1 you would add a Sonos Sub. The Sub can be added at anytime if budget is a concern.

    Recommended setups ***

    1. Playbar or Playbase / Sonos One / Sonos One SL / Sonos Sub 
    2. Beam / Sonos One SL x 2 / Sonos Sub

    Other Info:

    Using an iOS devcie TruePlay in the Sonos App can be used to tune the entire setup as a unit to the room environment. 

    You can also set the surrounds to play as FULL stereo speakers for music and auto-switch to surround mode during movie play and vice-versa.

     * A Sonos Amp can also be used with 3rd party left/right speakers. However the dedicated center channel is lost and replaced by a phantom center created by the left/right speakers.

     ** Beam is the latest offering HDMI-ARC (CEC) when connected to a compatible TV with HDMI-ARC (CEC). Using Alexa or Google voice asssitant you can control on/off, volume up/down and input selection as well as voice commands commonly associated with Alexa and Google voice. It can also be connected to a non-HDMI-ARC (CEC) TV via optical. However, optical negates the voice assistant feature to issue commands to the TV but other voice commands generic to Alexa or Google voice are still available. Note: The Beam is designed for medium to small rooms such as a large bedroom

     *** Using a Playbar or Playbase the Sonos One would provide Alexa or Google voice assistant. Matching it with a Sonos One SL saves money. The sonics are identical on both.

    ^ Airplay2 is available with the Beam and Playbase to send music stored on an iOS device directly to your SHT.

    Important: Sonos Play:1 is discontinued. It cannot be matched to a Sonos One or Sonos One SL as a surround. 

    I hope this helps. Feel free to ask additionl questions. 

    Cheers!

    Thanks a lot for your help! :) 

    jgatie
    • jgatie
    • 27663 replies
    • April 11, 2020

    Just to note, when S2 arrives in the next month or so, it is expected to include new hardware.  Nobody knows what that hardware is, but I'd hold off buying anything older than the Playbase, because the Playbar is pretty long in the tooth.

    Airgetlam
    1 person likes this
    • Airgetlam
      Airgetlam
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