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Hi Everyone!

Somewhat of a Sonos Beginner but not a total newbie.  I’ve had a Sonos Playbar for a while but it’s time to upgrade my setup to match my LG C9 77” OLED.  So I’m looking to upgrade my existing setup in our Family Room but also wanted to add outside speakers and add a TV to our patio.  Here’s what I’m thinking:

  • Family Room - 
    • LG C9 w/ Apple TV 4K
    • Replacing Playbar with Sonos Arc
    • Adding Sonance In-Ceiling Speakers with new Sonos AMP to serve rear speakers
    • Eventually will add Sonos Sub
  • Outdoor Area - 
    • New TV with Apple TV 4K
    • Pair of Klipsch or Polk Outdoor Speakers hardwired into a 2nd Sonos AMP (both AMPs placed in same location)

From what I understand, I will need 2 stand-alone AMPs to create the multi-room/zone I want.  My questions to my proposed setup and what I hope to be able to accomplish is the following:

  1. Be able to watch movies/TV in my family room with all inside speakers going (not Outdoor Zone)
  2. At times, have the ability to stream and play the same source/music to BOTH Zones (Family Room / Outdoor)
  3. Have the ability for my Family to watch TV inside w/ all inside speakers going but simultaneously, have the ability to stream music to my outdoor speaker set as I’m grilling or having pool time
  4. Similar to Scenario #3, sometimes the girls will want to watch stuff inside while the boys are outside having drinks and watching sports on the Patio TV.  At times, patio TV speakers will not cut it.  Since I plan on having an Apple TV 4K alongside the Patio TV, can I technically AirPlay or use Sonos AMP/Outdoor Speaker Set Combo as a “source” to play audio from there as well?

Thanks everyone for the help and for confirming my proposed setup and hoping to achieve the following scenarios.  Just want to make sure I’m not missing anything or have some incorrect assumptions.  Would hate to spend all this money and for it not to work LOL

Hi @ASUDiablo42.

Welcome to the Sonos community and thank you for reaching out with a very detailed description of what you want and how you want things done.

To answer your question directly, Yes you need 2 Sonos Amps.

  • 1 Sonos Amp to act as your surrounds speakers for your Family room home theater set up with the Sonos Arc.
  • 1 Sonos Amp to act as your Home theater speakers for your Patio. 

Having these set up using 2 separate Sonos Amps would allow you to play music on the patio at the same time watch TV in the Family room. You can also group them all on the Sonos app so whatever is being played on the group coordinator, the member mimics the audio.

I hope this helps.

Please let us know if you still have further questions or concerns. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

Hi @Paul A ,

Thanks for the response and sounds like I’m on the right path.  

I guess my only pending clarification is the outside setup.  I understand I will need the 2nd AMP to power my outdoor speakers as a separate zone and would like to occasionally play audio through my outdoor speakers from my outside TV.  The question is...how can I accomplish this and where do I need to place this 2nd AMP?  If I have the outside TV hooked up to an Apple TV via HDMI, would I need to have the 2nd AMP connected directly to that outside TV/AppleTV?  Or can I somehow do it wirelessly?  I guess my concern is having the have the AMP stored outside?  I live in Phoenix and the summers get HOT!

 

Hi @ASUDiablo42.

Thanks for the immediate and detailed response. 

You may place the 2nd Amp connected to your TV via HDMI cable to the HAMI ARC on your outside TV in the same place as your Apple TV. The only problem you’ll have is controlling the volume. If the Amp cannot be in the same place as the TV, you won't be able to use the TV remote to control the volume. You would only be allowed to use the volume control on the Sonos app. I would suggest placing the Amp below the TV. If the TV can handle the heat then the Amp can too as well. With this setup, you can use the remote of the TV to control the volume on your Sonos amp. The connection needs to be TV » Amp via HDMI cable or HDMI to optical adaptor that came with the Amp to connect to the TV.

I hope this helps.

Please let me know if you still have further questions or concerns. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

 

Hi @ASUDiablo42.

Thanks for the immediate and detailed response. 

You may place the 2nd Amp connected to your TV via HDMI cable to the HAMI ARC on your outside TV in the same place as your Apple TV. The only problem you’ll have is controlling the volume. If the Amp cannot be in the same place as the TV, you won't be able to use the TV remote to control the volume. You would only be allowed to use the volume control on the Sonos app. I would suggest placing the Amp below the TV. If the TV can handle the heat then the Amp can too as well. With this setup, you can use the remote of the TV to control the volume on your Sonos amp. The connection needs to be TV » Amp via HDMI cable or HDMI to optical adaptor that came with the Amp to connect to the TV.

I hope this helps.

Please let me know if you still have further questions or concerns. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

 

 

I would like a similar setup as ASUDiablo42, but am unsure how to wire my future setup.

I plan on having a TV in the living and patio, but I would like to have all my components - blu ray players, media streamers, amps, etc inside the home. I did some research and it seems I need a HDMI matrix switch.

My question is - how would I wire this setup if I wanted to watch/listen to different content between the two spaces yet be able to sync everything together as well? I’m thinking...

Patio TV HDMI ARC → Sonos amp in living room / Patio TV HDMI input → HDMI matrix switch

Instead of running a long HDMI cable, can I use a HDMI transmitter using Cat5e/Cat6?

Thanks!

HI @vinhvo.

Thanks for reaching out to us and welcome to the Sonos community.

Sonos would not recommend using an HDMI switch as we recommend connecting our Home theater speaker directly to the TV via the HDMI cable that came with the package.

  • My question is - how would I wire this setup if I wanted to watch/listen to different content between the two spaces yet be able to sync everything together as well? I’m thinking… Connecting the Sonos Amp to a TV would make the Sonos Amp function as a Home theater speaker of that TV (patio or livingroom) same goes for the Sonos ARC, Connecting the Sonos ARC to a TV would make the Sonos ARC function as a Home theater speaker of that TV (patio or livingroom). Unless one of the TV is turned off, you would not be able to group them via the Sonos App if you are planning to run 2 TVs on each room, however, if you are only planning to run 1 TV and be able to generate audio from TV on both rooms, you can use the Sonos Amp as it can support up to 6 speakers in total with 125 Watts per channel @ 8 ohms.

  • Instead of running a long HDMI cable, can I use an HDMI transmitter using Cat5e/Cat6? This is not a supported setup (HDMI transmitter) a Cat5e/Cat6 cable is an ethernet cable used for internet connection only it would not transmit any audio or video data unless otherwise supported by the source (cable box).

  • What we can do is TV » Sonos Amp via HDMI cable » speakers located on Patio and Livingroom.

Please let me know if you still have further questions or concerns. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

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