Santa was good to me and delivered a Woofer, Sound Bar, 2*Sonos 3 and a Connect Amp.
Is this however, the best configuration I need?
Basically, I have a few room's (Zones) I want Sonos sound in:
1. Living room with TV - Currently 5.1 via Sony Receiver with 5 HDMI inputs (All inputs are used). This feeds the TV via a HDMI cable. The Sony TV only has 2 HDMI inputs and one optical input. This will be the main Sonos setup ie Bar+Woofer+ 2 rear speakers (Currently Sonos 3's - Recommended to my wife by the salesman as opposed to Sonos 1's).
2. Kitchen area - Music to cook by. I was thinking a single Sonos One. Can you set these up so that they play both stereo channels through the one speaker. (Converted into Mono).
3. Rear dining / rumpus room - Maybe two Sonos 1's?
4. Outside area - Single Sonos One.
5. My Office - Single Sonos One.
I know Santa did not bring enough components to make the above, and in deed, I may need to send a couple back for exchange to other models.
Additional comments:
1. I'm in Australia so I know the Sonos One with Amazon Alexa is limited at the moment.
2. How do I connect the Living room system to the receiver? I want to maintain my 5.1 movie surround sound experience. My Receiver does not have a Optical Output. Do I actually need a Connect Amp for the above scenario's?
3. I want the Sonos system to be on it's on WiFi network. The TV unit already has a 4 port network switch, so I could easily plug a woofer or Sound bar into the physical network. Or do I need a Boost module to do this? If not, how much extra range (distance) does the Boost unit give me for accessing outside speakers etc.
4. My Office is actually in a separate building 5m from the house. I have a second AP for WiFi in this area. If I place a Sonos One in this location and plug it into the physical network, will it still appear on the Sonos Android app as a controllable zone even though it is wired?
5. For Zone 1 (TV Area) - Should I change the Sonos 3's for Sonos 1's or even Sonos One's?
Greatly appreciate any feedback.
Kind Regards,
Neil.
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Wow. Lots of questions, so thanks for numbering them :)
1) You should connect the PLAYBAR or PLAYBASE to the optical port (out) on the TV. The TV probably doesn't have an optical port (in) on it. You need to be sure that the TV is locked down to Dolby Digital, and not something else, otherwise the PLAYBAR or PLAYBASE won't work. It can handle PCM/Stereo or Dolby Digital only.
2) Yes, any single Sonos speaker in a "room" is by definition a "both channels in one speaker" mono device. It's when you "pair" it with another speaker that it becomes either left or right.
3) Makes sense. A pair of PLAY:1s or Sonos Ones (I prefer the Sonos Ones, if you're buying them new) set up as a stereo pair is sublime.
4) Sonos speakers aren't designed for outside use. The PLAY:1 and Sonos One are humidity resistant, but not water resistant. You may be better off with a good outside speaker(s) connected to a CONNECT:AMP that resides inside.
5) Depending on how much you listen to music in your office, you may want to think about a pair, rather than just one speaker. But the nice thing about Sonos is you can start off with just the one, and then add another at a later point, it desired.
Extra comments:
1) It's just a matter of time, though. So go with the Sonos Ones, they'll work with Alexa eventually, and are still great speakers in the meantime.
2) See 1) in original response.
3) In order for Sonos to be on its own network, one of the speakers (or a BOOST) needs to be connected to your router with an ethernet cable. Then it will generate its own parallel network. You should check to see which channel your router is on, and make sure that the Sonos chooses something as far away as possible. If your router is on 1, then make sure SonosNet is on 6 or 11.
4) If the Sonos One is on your main network (not a separate SSID), it should be recognized by the controller app. That means that AP in your office needs to be set up as a bridge device.
5) I'm of the opinion that for surround purposes, the PLAY:1s or Sonos Ones are fine. However, I'd just repurpose those PLAY:3s for the kitchen and office, rather than returning them.
1) You should connect the PLAYBAR or PLAYBASE to the optical port (out) on the TV. The TV probably doesn't have an optical port (in) on it. You need to be sure that the TV is locked down to Dolby Digital, and not something else, otherwise the PLAYBAR or PLAYBASE won't work. It can handle PCM/Stereo or Dolby Digital only.
2) Yes, any single Sonos speaker in a "room" is by definition a "both channels in one speaker" mono device. It's when you "pair" it with another speaker that it becomes either left or right.
3) Makes sense. A pair of PLAY:1s or Sonos Ones (I prefer the Sonos Ones, if you're buying them new) set up as a stereo pair is sublime.
4) Sonos speakers aren't designed for outside use. The PLAY:1 and Sonos One are humidity resistant, but not water resistant. You may be better off with a good outside speaker(s) connected to a CONNECT:AMP that resides inside.
5) Depending on how much you listen to music in your office, you may want to think about a pair, rather than just one speaker. But the nice thing about Sonos is you can start off with just the one, and then add another at a later point, it desired.
Extra comments:
1) It's just a matter of time, though. So go with the Sonos Ones, they'll work with Alexa eventually, and are still great speakers in the meantime.
2) See 1) in original response.
3) In order for Sonos to be on its own network, one of the speakers (or a BOOST) needs to be connected to your router with an ethernet cable. Then it will generate its own parallel network. You should check to see which channel your router is on, and make sure that the Sonos chooses something as far away as possible. If your router is on 1, then make sure SonosNet is on 6 or 11.
4) If the Sonos One is on your main network (not a separate SSID), it should be recognized by the controller app. That means that AP in your office needs to be set up as a bridge device.
5) I'm of the opinion that for surround purposes, the PLAY:1s or Sonos Ones are fine. However, I'd just repurpose those PLAY:3s for the kitchen and office, rather than returning them.
Hi Bruce,
Thank you for the detailed response.
So a bit further clarification:
1. If I wish to use the Sonos in the TV room, the TV needs to be ON? Not everything I play through my Sony receiver goes to the TV ie music DVD player playing Music CD's or listening to the radio via the receiver. In these scenarios, there is no tv signal so therefore I do not turn it on.
2. I am heavily into Home Automation and the HA application I use (OpenHAB) supports the Sonos equipment and play annunciations on the Sonos gear. In addition, it also works with Amazon Echo's for Voice prompting of turning Lights etc On/Off, so I'm hoping the Sonos Ones with internal Alex, will also allow this control of the HA gear. Hence the Sonos Ones in the kitchen and office as opposed to the Sonos 3's.
3. The house and Office building both have AP's with the same SSID and on the same physical network. If I setup the Sonos gear onto it's own WiFi network and channel (possibly via a BOOST), it will not be using my main Wired/WiFi network for communicating, so therefore I was unsure if the One located in the office on a CAT5 connection or connected to the WiFi AP would still work/play with the others and the Android App.
Thanks,
Neil.
Thank you for the detailed response.
So a bit further clarification:
1. If I wish to use the Sonos in the TV room, the TV needs to be ON? Not everything I play through my Sony receiver goes to the TV ie music DVD player playing Music CD's or listening to the radio via the receiver. In these scenarios, there is no tv signal so therefore I do not turn it on.
2. I am heavily into Home Automation and the HA application I use (OpenHAB) supports the Sonos equipment and play annunciations on the Sonos gear. In addition, it also works with Amazon Echo's for Voice prompting of turning Lights etc On/Off, so I'm hoping the Sonos Ones with internal Alex, will also allow this control of the HA gear. Hence the Sonos Ones in the kitchen and office as opposed to the Sonos 3's.
3. The house and Office building both have AP's with the same SSID and on the same physical network. If I setup the Sonos gear onto it's own WiFi network and channel (possibly via a BOOST), it will not be using my main Wired/WiFi network for communicating, so therefore I was unsure if the One located in the office on a CAT5 connection or connected to the WiFi AP would still work/play with the others and the Android App.
Thanks,
Neil.
Userlevel 7
+22
1. In your TV room as the Sony Receiver sends all audio via the TV. If you want to listen to something that is playing on the Sony receiver you will need the TV on to hear that through your Sonos system in the house. (only alternative would be hook a connect to your sony receiver to input the audio into Sonos).
2. Sonos One will control home automation exactly like an echo device does.
3. As long as all access points and wifi are same subnet getting ip addresses from primary router you can plug in Sonos devices as needed (after plug in first, can be any of the units, they will start using their own wifi and not pull bandwidth from your home wifi) and leave others using Sonosnet. You can control them via your home wifi or in case of android you can actually direct connect to Sonosnet as well.
2. Sonos One will control home automation exactly like an echo device does.
3. As long as all access points and wifi are same subnet getting ip addresses from primary router you can plug in Sonos devices as needed (after plug in first, can be any of the units, they will start using their own wifi and not pull bandwidth from your home wifi) and leave others using Sonosnet. You can control them via your home wifi or in case of android you can actually direct connect to Sonosnet as well.
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