Question

Building new system in old house

  • 29 October 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 550 views

I am looking to add a multi room system in my house but do not know what I am doing and could use some advice on what to get. I am looking to add sound in the living room and dining room as two separate zones. This will be audio only and connected to in wall wired speakers. The wiring for those speakers goes down to the basement. At the same spot in the basement, I have the internet router. The house is supported by a mesh network and I have strong coverage throughout. To connect those speakers, I believe I need a CONNECT:AMP for each room. We mostly just listen to internet streaming like Spotify. Do I need to buy a receiver/tuner as well? What else do I need to actually play music, control volume, etc? I believe we can use an app, but I would like to have a dedicated remote in each room as well.

In the kitchen, I already have a Beosound 8 which is a wireless speaker that I like very much. I would like to keep that speaker, but would prefer to control all sound in the house from one interface so it’s seamless. Is there a way to connect Sonos to this? It does have a right/left aux input and a USB input, but I don’t have wiring run between there and the basement where I was thinking the connect amps could go. Would I use CONNECT for this purpose?

I have essentially the same question for the family room with TV. I am happy with my current speakers but would like to be able to play music in this room. Do I get the Connect system and plug into TV? In this room, I don’t have speakers on the rear wall. If I have connect, can I add Sonos speakers to rear wall for full surround? In this case, the front speakers are non Sonos and rear speakers would be Sonos. Does that work?

So, a total of four zones that are controlled independently. I Am confused about how I actually control everything once set up.

Appreciate any advice you may have. Thank you

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3 replies

Connect:Amp for the installed speakers. You can run 2 pairs of 8 Ohm speakers from each Connect:Amp. Both pairs will play the same source at the same volume, so choose the number of Connect:Amps needed accordingly. For the Beosound, you need a Connect. For the TV room, I would go for a Playbar or Playbase and a Connect:Amp for the rear speakers for surround. Note, you need an Ethernet cable between the Plarbar/Playbase and Connect:Amp for this configuration.
Thank you. Had not looked at the playbar/playbase, and seems like a good option. With regards to the in wall speakers in the dining room and living room that would be connected to connect:amp, that amp will be in the basement. How do I actually play music on those speakers? Seems like I would need other equipment such as a receiver for that to work?
No, all the sources either come from your own digital library or online sources. No real need for a receiver when everything is online. The Sonos app gives you a choice of rooms and a choice of sources, all you do is tell it what to play where. Internet radio, Pandora, your own ripped music, several juke-box style services with millions of tracks, etc., all at the tips of your fingers, or via voice control with Amazon Alexa, with Google Assistant and Apple Airplay to come.