Question

Setting up an at-home bar area for sports / music

  • 28 August 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 988 views

My folks are setting up a bar area at their new home. It'll have a 60' wall mounted TV and mainly be used for watching sports, though they'd also like to be able to play music there. They are Sonos-experienced in a previous home and have found it easy to use, which for them is a miracle.

The bar area is outdoors near the pool, though the TV area will be covered to the elements. Ideally the music would reach the pool area, which starts less than 10 feet away and is only about 20 feet long.

What I'm thinking is mount a Playbar under the TV to get proper sound for the sports games. This can then play music for the pool area as well. I'll put a Sonos boost in the house to ensure the signal can pass outdoors.

My question is, is it worth wall mounting two Play 1s (or better) on the wall for music purposes? Would the play 1s be able to receive the TV sound from the Playbar? Would it matter, seeing as the Playbar is the left, right and centre channel anyway? Really it's all about the music, though... would I need the Play 1s to get a real stereo sound out there? Would I need to move up to the Play 3s or better?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

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4 replies

I think the Play:1s would be adequate, IMHO, but your (or your parents) ears are the important ones. However, I'll add one suggestion...you may not want to stereo pair them, but set them up as individual rooms, and group them. That way you'll get all the music, without having a specific soundstage that someone would need to be in to hear the stereo signal. Forces them to be mono speakers getting both left and right at the same time.
I think the Play:1s would be adequate, IMHO, but your (or your parents) ears are the important ones. However, I'll add one suggestion...you may not want to stereo pair them, but set them up as individual rooms, and group them. That way you'll get all the music, without having a specific soundstage that someone would need to be in to hear the stereo signal. Forces them to be mono speakers getting both left and right at the same time.

Thanks. Do you think I gain a lot from adding the two Play 1s to the Playbar setup?
I'm not sure what you mean by covered by the elements. I would be rather cautious in putting a non-conditioned space.

However, if that's the plan you're going with, you could look into bonding a connect:amp to the playbar. The amp can power 2-4 outdoor speakers that will act as surrounds while using the tv, and stereo speakers while listening to a music source.

I understand the appeal of sonos for everything, but this may be a case where a regular receiver paired with CONNECT (inside) with outdoor speaker may be the smarter way to go.
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I'm not sure what you mean by covered by the elements. I would be rather cautious in putting a non-conditioned space.

However, if that's the plan you're going with, you could look into bonding a connect:amp to the playbar. The amp can power 2-4 outdoor speakers that will act as surrounds while using the tv, and stereo speakers while listening to a music source.

I understand the appeal of sonos for everything, but this may be a case where a regular receiver paired with CONNECT (inside) with outdoor speaker may be the smarter way to go.

This is what I initially thought as well. When moving outdoors, even if covered, you need to get equipment that's designed for the heat, humidity, cold, and wildlife. Think of how your day would be ruined if a bunch of wasps moved in to the playbar?

I'd actually suggest two separate systems: one for the TV, the other for music, and the second one running on a connect:amp, with the former being stand-alone from the TV. Proper outdoor speakers can also be fed a stereo pair, or set up for wide sound staging, which isn't really possible with the Play:1's.