Question

Music and TV audio automation

  • 20 January 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 455 views

Hello All,

I'm fairly new to the home entertainment system so I am looking for some advice on what is the best product to get that will suit my needs.

I am hoping to install some (not yet looked into) internal ceiling speakers throughout my home, bathroom bedrooms living rooms etc.
I am hoping there is something available that can connect either (wired or wireless) to all devices (phones, tablets and also TV) so I can play music in separate rooms, but also so I can play the audio of my TV through the ceiling speakers. I am hoping this is then controllable via an app so for instance, I can turn down the volume to my sons room when he plays XBOX!

Does anyone know of a system that can achieve this?

Any help on what is needed will be great!!

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4 replies

With a Playbar connected to the TV, you can play music and TV audio to all other Sonos speakers. All are controllable from the app, including volume. The unit you want for ceiling speakers would be the Connect:Amp. Each one will play a single source and can power 2 pairs of 8 Ohm speakers.
So to be clear,

I would need 1 Connect:Amp. per for 2 speakers? for every room.

My idea is to remove all visable speakers, I am hoing to put an entertainment system somewhere like a cupboard and have all the sound from the ceiling speakers only.
Well that's different. The only Sonos unit specifically designed for TV is the Playbar. However, the Connect:Amp has an analog line-in that can be used if the TV has analog line-outs (or you use a DAC on the digital out). However, the analog Line-in has about a 70 ms delay due to buffering that may or may not be noticeable when played with the TV video.
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I have 2 Sonos playbars in my home. In the main viewing room I have that and the Connect amp setup to power my ceiling speakers as 5.1 surround sound. The only really hard part is, there is only one optical digital input to the playbar, so if you want true surround sound, the only bitstream, or channel based input, Sonos will decode is Dolby digital 5.1, IFm and I mean IF, you HDTV has an optical audio output, you have to make sure it at least passes through bitstream if you want surround sound. If you just are ancient and want stereo or a hyped up version of it call PCM, many TV's dumb it down to that. If you have a BDP(Blu-Ray disc player) connected to your HDTV and a disc is in DTS surround, you are screwed. You will be forced to dumb down to PCM. All of the Sonos items will play music via the app, and several streaming service if you choose to pay for streaming music. I have t in iTunes on my phones and pads and listen in that fashion. I am very perturbed that the playbar won't decode DTS. Apple sells Sonos in the Apple stores so I thing they should just purchase Sonos.