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Contributor I
November 14, 2018

Sonos for Dance Studio?

Hi all,

My wife and I are in the process of fitting out 2 dance studios - both 8m x 7m x 3m. We have had a studio in the past, and used a more traditional receiver/ amp/ passive speaker setup.

Was initially heading towards that again, when I thought perhaps Sonos could work? And if so, what setup? While I did do quite a bit of research on Sonos about a year ago for our home, I haven’t really used the system myself (ended up with a more traditional setup at home in the end).

We would have 2 classes running different music simultaneously, and being controlled separately by 2 different teachers - I presume this is possible?

Thanks in advance!
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    12 replies

    November 14, 2018
    Yes perfectly possible - it's what Sonos does. If you set them up as one system, though, you run the risk of accidentally changing the music in the 'wrong' room. So I would be inclined to have two separate 'systems', with the controller apps connecting to one system or other. It is fine to have two systems (aka 'households') operating on one network with one internet connection. You could see what sort of setup works for you - these are just options.
    November 14, 2018
    I suppose I should not presume anything.... you do need a local wifi network for Sonos to work, and an internet connection to install the system, update it and to play internet music sources.
    EmilJAuthor
    Contributor I
    November 14, 2018
    Thanks John, two systems make sense - was thinking of having dedicated devices/ controllers that stay in the studio to avoid confusion.

    Any recommendation on speakers? I will go and get a demo but are we looking at a pair of 5s, or would a pair of 3s work (budget)?
    EmilJAuthor
    Contributor I
    November 14, 2018
    And yes, we will have internet / wifi and I will run some Cat6 to hardwire at least one speaker per system...
    November 14, 2018
    Thanks John, two systems make sense - was thinking of having dedicated devices/ controllers that stay in the studio to avoid confusion.

    Any recommendation on speakers? I will go and get a demo but are we looking at a pair of 5s, or would a pair of 3s work (budget)?
    I'd avoid the 3s, which are being discontinued, and getting a bit left behind. The gen 2 P:5s are worth the extra.

    The Play:1s are another option. If you group two of them in one studio you may get a more even distribution of volume. And I do mean group, not stereo pair. You would be better having two 'mono' speakers playing both channels. Just an idea.

    (Sonos One has voice control, as an alternative to the Play:1, which doesn't. Voice control may be not so good an idea in this context anyway?)
    November 14, 2018
    Or were you thinking of a pair of 5s for each studio?
    Trending Lyricist I
    November 14, 2018
    If you want to stick with a more conventional setup and it might be easier in this instance to have in ceiling speakers or at least ones that don't need a power supply.
    Why not add a sonos connect as a feed into the amp , then use this as a source in the same way you would a CD player or the sonos amp will connect directly to passive speakers. (there is a new version of the AMP due at the start of next year).
    EmilJAuthor
    Contributor I
    November 14, 2018
    I really need to go and have a listen, but I did think perhaps a pair of wall mounted play 5s per studio? I like the idea of multiple play 1’s, but wonder whether they would provide the low end that the dancers want. In ceiling is not an option with the layout, but certainly the Sonos amp/ connect option is a possibility (the new one looks impressive!). I would certainly prefer the simplicity and neatness of a pure Sonos system if there is a suitable play speaker.

    Thanks for all the responses.
    November 14, 2018
    Yes thinking about it you need good bass and the Play:5s deliver on that
    melvimbe
    November 14, 2018
    I agree that the Play:5s is probably the way to go. I have little experience with dance studios, but the rooms are typical large and you'd need to play the music pretty loud. I don't think Sons Amps are a bad idea either.

    I'd really think about your music sources in this decision. I'm guessing that the majority of the music you'll play won't be coming from a streaming service. If you're going with play:5s you do have a line-in connection, so your instructors could plug their phones (or whatever) directly to the speakers as a source. I imagine this is what they're typically used to. Alternatively, the music could be stored on the same device you have the Sonos app stored on, or on a computer or NAS on your network. That doesn't seem like it would be quite as practical to me, but I am guessing.

    if you did set it up so that instructors just plugged their phone in to play audio, then you really wouldn't need dedicated controllers to each room really. You would control playback and volume through the phone connected by the line in. You could add iport controllers so that instructors could control volume in their hand, but I imagine that's not going to be too useful.
    Danny