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Greetings everyone,

 

Looking for some guidance on outdoor speaker set-up.  We’re building a boathouse on the Lake and wanted to leverage the Sonos/Sonance outdoor speaker system for audio.  We we’re considering using the Sonance Mariner Speaker set plus the Sonos Connect Amp, but have since seen that Sonos has their own “Sonos Architectural Outdoor Speaker” package as well, that was built in collaboration with Sonance, and powered by the Sonos Amp. Not sure if there’s an advantage between the two setups but any guidance would be helpful.

 

Our overall approach for the boathouse is to install 4 speakers in the boat house and wire them back to the boathouse bar area to connect to the Sonos Connect Amp. Each speaker will be about 75-120’ away from the Sonos Amp and thinking of using an outdoor 12 gauge speaker wire.  We’re contemplating using an enclosure for the Sonos Amp to help mitigate heat/water exposure.  We’ll also install an outdoor TV at the bar area with a Sonos Soundbar.  I think we can link the 4 outdoor speakers to the Sonos soundbar/TV setup to give it a surround sound experience, even though it may not be “True Surround” sound.

Am I missing anything in the above set-up?  Suggestions on taking different path or modifications to the above approach?

 

Long time Sonos user but first time wiring a Boat House with Sonos.

 

Thank you in advance for comments/suggestions!

The architechtural speakers are more Sonance than Sonos.  The advantage for the Sonos/Sonance outdoor speakers is that you can safely connect 3 pairs of speakers (with Sonos Amp), rather than the normal 2.  

As far as your future plans to add a outdoor TV, Sonos soundbars are not made for outdoor use. As well, your connect:amp + speakers can play the TV audio, but you will have sync issues between the two.  The soundbar will play audio immediately to match video, while the connect:amp is delayed for multiroom audio.

I think the best plan for your case is to use a Sonos Amp + 3 pairs of speakers, rather than a soundbar + connect:amp + 2 pair of speakers.  The Amp can connect directly to your TV and power a pair of speakers for your bar, and 2 pair for the boathouse.  One single zone, with everything in sync.

Thank you for the feedback Danny.  I wasn’t sure about the Soundbar synchronicity but makes sense the way you explain it.  Also, the outdoor environment may shorten the life of the soundbar.

Question on the 3 speaker set, do we still have the ability to split audio amongst the pairs of speakers?  Meaning, if we wanted to play TV audio from the pair at the bar and the other 2 pairs can play music?

 

So, suggested punch list for the Bar Area:

  • Sonos Amp
  • 3 Pairs of Sonos Architectural speakers
  • Sonos Amp Enclosure
  • 12 Gauge Speaker Wire
  • Speaker mounting brackets

Any thoughts on the outdoor speaker wire, is there really an impact to sound loss when you get above 100’+?  I hoping to mitigate some of the loss with a heavier wire gauge.

 

Thanks again!

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