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So I'm looking for a little guidance around a decision I have to make. I'm kind of new to Sonos so any help would be appreciated. I have the Beam on one TV in my house. Love it. I'm in the process of buying another Beam & Sub but I have in ceiling surrounds that I want to power. I also have outdoor speakers I'd like to power as well and looking to link them all together and still have the ability to expand down the road with some Play1s.



My question is what do I need to do this? Can I use a Connect with an 3rd party amp? I assume if I do this I lose the surround capability. Do I want the Connect Amp? This would give me the surround capability but I could not separate the outdoor speakers if I connected both the outdoor speakers and surrounds. Do I wait for the new Amp and just use that with a speaker selector?



Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
Can I use a Connect with an 3rd party amp?

Yes, but the CONNECT does not provide surround sound capability, that's the CONNECT:AMP, which has to be wired.



Do I want the Connect Amp?

For surround, yes. Probably not to connect both Surround and outside speakers, you'd want 2 devices. or some sort of selector to decide what speakers are in use. And if it remains the way it is now, you'll not be able to play only the outside speakers without also playing the Beam and SUB at the same time



Do I wait for the new Amp and just use that with a speaker selector?

Indeed, this is what I would recommend. But I'm still not overly fond of using a surround device to drive another set of non-surround speakers. See my comment above. If you're really interested in both outside speakers, and surround speakers, I'd heartily recommend two differing Amps.