To Amp, or not to Amp...that is the question!

I would go with the Sonos amp. I think the Sonos amp is going to be plenty for up to 4, maybe more, speakers. You'll probably pay more for a Connect+amp. As well, there are some volume concerns with the connect+amp as you can control volume with the amp or the connect. It's workable, but not ideal.

The bigger factor to me is if you ever want to have an outdoor TV. You can't really run tv audio output to a Connect (audio and video will be out of sync) so you'd end up running tv audio directly to the amp. Which again means you've got volume control issues, and you can't play that audio anywhere else in your sonos system.. I actually have this issue myself right now. With the Sonos amp, you can wire the tv audio direct to it, as well as a 2nd peripheral, with no syncing issues.

I'm actually planning on selling my 3rd party amp, and maybe the Connect, when the Sonos amp comes out since it resolves my issues with outdoor tv.

Hi JonnyMac1

Well it looks like melvimbe has already responded. I couldn't see that until after I posted. There are some links in my post :8

If you choose in-ceiling speakers for music and/or as surrounds you will have to go with the Connect: AMP. The outdoor speakers will require a Connect: Amp as well. The only way to use a Connect with the above is with powered speakers; but not in a surround setup. You can choose a multi-channel amp with a Connect but that would limit you to one zone, but again not for surrounds.

There is a new Sonos AMP coming in February 2019 that may interest you. In the meantime the link below will give you important info about the Connect AMP, connections and limitations for speakers.

Current Connect: AMP
https://support.sonos.com/s/global-search/connect%20Amp?language=en_US
Sonos Amp coming February 2019
https://www.sonos.com/en-gb/shop/amp.html

Cheers!

A Connect cannot be set up to power rear speakers in a 5.1 setup, so using a Connect with a multi-channel amp won't work for in-ceiling speakers to be used for surround sound. Assuming you only have two outdoor speakers, that leaves these possible setups remaining...

1. 2 x Sonos speakers as your surround sound speakers, 1 x Amp for your outdoor speakers
2. 2 x Amp, one for the in-ceiling speakers, one for the outdoor speakers.

Thanks for the opinions. I love Sonos but at $599 a pop, it's tough to swallow 2 Amps when you only are looking for something as basic as hiding surround sound speakers and just being able to power some simple outdoor speakers.

A Connect cannot be set up to power rear speakers in a 5.1 setup, so using a Connect with a multi-channel amp won't work for in-ceiling speakers to be used for surround sound. Assuming you only have two outdoor speakers, that leaves these possible setups remaining...

1. 2 x Sonos speakers as your surround sound speakers, 1 x Amp for your outdoor speakers
2. 2 x Amp, one for the in-ceiling speakers, one for the outdoor speakers.

Thanks MikeV

I forgot to emphasize that in-ceiling speakers for surround require a Connect AMP (also in boost mode). I've edited my post.

You could go with the older Connect:Amp and save a bit over the new Amp (which isn't even available yet)... but for surround use, it will need to be wired to your network (or your Beam)... not sure if that's a requirement of the new Amp or not (I didn't see anything mentioning it on Sonos' site, but that's a rather technical detail).

I would use Sonos ones for rear surrounds. For outdoor I would use new Sonos amp when it comes out with good outdoor speakers.

You could go with the older Connect:Amp and save a bit over the new Amp (which isn't even available yet)... but for surround use, it will need to be wired to your network (or your Beam)... not sure if that's a requirement of the new Amp or not (I didn't see anything mentioning it on Sonos' site, but that's a rather technical detail).
The new Amp will not need to be wired in to act as surrounds for a home theater setup. It's equipped with the 5 GHz that's required for that sort of setup, as opposed to the older Connect:Amp which didn't have 5 GHz

Hey Ryan

That’ very interesting regarding the new Sonos Amp and surrounds. So I can use my wired speakers in front and whatever Sonos speakers I like as rears? If all true (and l doubt it) will TruePlay somehow allow balancing the 3rd party fronts with Sonos rears? Lastly will such a setup require two Amps?

Cheers!

You can use the Amp with your own speakers as the front and bond a pair of Sonos speakers like Sonos Ones as the rears. In this configuration, you won't be able to use Trueplay.

You can also use the Amp with your own speakers, and another Amp as the rear-surrounds with another set of speakers.

There are currently only going to be two setups where you can use Trueplay with the new Amp:
1. When it's the surround speakers for a Beam, Playbar, or Playbase.
2. When you're using the Amp with the Sonance speakers that we're working with them to develop.

If you're using the Sonance speakers for the front channels, with another Amp or any other Sonos speakers as the rears, you should be able to use Trueplay as well.

Because we're helping make these speakers, we know what their digital and audio signature is, and can make some smart adjustments with Trueplay based on the room. Something that isn't currently possible with all speakers out there. Using Trueplay with setup 1 above (when not using the Sonance speakers), the tuning is mostly making adjustments for the Amp based on volume and distance, not major audio changes that might be possible with other players.