Sonos zones and grouping
Discussion
I have recently fitted some Sonos equipment in a customers house, one zone is 2 ceiling speakers in the kitchen wired to a connect amp and a Sonos sub woofer in the kitchen, the sub woofer has been set up to work with the kitchen ceiling speakers, so far so good.
He has also bought a Sonos sound bar for the TV in the kitchen and was told by the shop he could play the TV sounds through the ceiling speakers and sub woofer as well as the sound bar if he wanted, for things like YouTube music etc. This is the bit I'm having trouble with, is it just as simple as grouping the two zones together? Also he might not always want the ceiling speakers playing but it would be handy to have just the sub woofer and soundbar together, however you don't seem to be able to add the sub woofer to two different zones.
Edit to add, play bar is connected to the tv via optical cable and tv remote works the soundbar.
He has also bought a Sonos sound bar for the TV in the kitchen and was told by the shop he could play the TV sounds through the ceiling speakers and sub woofer as well as the sound bar if he wanted, for things like YouTube music etc. This is the bit I'm having trouble with, is it just as simple as grouping the two zones together? Also he might not always want the ceiling speakers playing but it would be handy to have just the sub woofer and soundbar together, however you don't seem to be able to add the sub woofer to two different zones.
Edit to add, play bar is connected to the tv via optical cable and tv remote works the soundbar.
Edited by mickmcpaddy on Saturday 16th December 10:59
Simple answer is Yes, it can be as simple as grouping them together in the app. But there could be a slight delay between the sound bar and the connect / inceiling speakers. However if he wants to use them as a surround system there is a different setting and you need to go in up address of the device and change its function to become just a surround rear pair.
But I have to ask, why are you fitting this stuff if you haven’t got it at home or at the very least played with it or been on one of the numerous free training courses? You imply you did this as a paid service.
Sonos’s basic stuff is very simple to configure, but other functions and larger systems can be harder to do without playing with it yourself and can play havoc with Wi-fi and networks.
V.
But I have to ask, why are you fitting this stuff if you haven’t got it at home or at the very least played with it or been on one of the numerous free training courses? You imply you did this as a paid service.
Sonos’s basic stuff is very simple to configure, but other functions and larger systems can be harder to do without playing with it yourself and can play havoc with Wi-fi and networks.
V.
Edited by VEX on Sunday 17th December 09:57
VEX said:
Simple answer is Yes, it can be as simple as grouping them together in the app. But there could be a slight delay between the sound bar and the connect / inceiling speakers. However if he wants to use them as a surround system there is a different setting and you need to go in up address of the device and change its function to become just a surround rear pair.
But I have to ask, why are you fitting this stuff if you haven’t got it at home or at the very least played with it or been on one of the numerous free training courses? You imply you did this as a paid service.
Sonos’s basic stuff is very simple to configure, but other functions and larger systems can be harder to do without playing with it yourself and can play havoc with Wi-fi and networks.
V.
Thanks for the reply, I've fitted a few Sonos items for people and am capable of setting it up with the app etc. I also always wire them with network cabling and never use the wifi on them. Its just easier if I do everything in the house all in one go. Just sometimes for more involved stuff you have to ask a couple of questions. Its not rocket science.But I have to ask, why are you fitting this stuff if you haven’t got it at home or at the very least played with it or been on one of the numerous free training courses? You imply you did this as a paid service.
Sonos’s basic stuff is very simple to configure, but other functions and larger systems can be harder to do without playing with it yourself and can play havoc with Wi-fi and networks.
V.
Edited by VEX on Sunday 17th December 09:57
In the past when other trades have done different things I always come back to things like alarm cables run through with my wiring or straight across where downlights are meant to go, no-one else on site work tends to give a stuff.
I do think its an oversight though not being able to use the sub woofer with 2 different zones without changing the app settings.
mickmcpaddy said:
I do think its an oversight though not being able to use the sub woofer with 2 different zones without changing the app settings.
The Sub was always designed to work with a single group, ie a player and rear channel speakers. Its not designed to work as a speaker as such.mickmcpaddy said:
Thanks for the reply, I've fitted a few Sonos items for people and am capable of setting it up with the app etc. I also always wire them with network cabling and never use the wifi on them. Its just easier if I do everything in the house all in one go. Just sometimes for more involved stuff you have to ask a couple of questions. Its not rocket science.
In the past when other trades have done different things I always come back to things like alarm cables run through with my wiring or straight across where downlights are meant to go, no-one else on site work tends to give a stuff.
I do think its an oversight though not being able to use the sub woofer with 2 different zones without changing the app settings.
A personal pet hate is lack of trade communication on site, it is so simple and so often missed. I will always talk to the trades I have to work with and around on a site. If I can see a clash I’ll talk about it directly or raise it as an issue with the site manager. In the past when other trades have done different things I always come back to things like alarm cables run through with my wiring or straight across where downlights are meant to go, no-one else on site work tends to give a stuff.
I do think its an oversight though not being able to use the sub woofer with 2 different zones without changing the app settings.
Just because you wired them to the network, doesn’t mean it isn’t trying to use the Wi-fi! It is!!
One of the biggest issues is people wiring them into the network as it is not how Sonos designed it to work first off.
If you have wired it, ideally you need to turn the Wi-fi off, which I think you can now do via the app (hold-on let me check on that) otherwise it could get stuck in a network storm looping data to a point of bringing the network down.
Why is it an oversight? Sonos just want to sell you stuff.
As it is, you are not running two zones really, why not just leave them paired / grouped then you’ll get better music coverage as well as sound from the Tv.
V
I was under the impression Sonos defaulted to the hard wired system if it had a choice and the sub was a bit hit and miss on wifi where we placed it, connected it to a network socket and it has been perfect.
As for grouping them, does this work the same way if the sound bar is connected to the TV, ie the music is coming from the tos lead and not via the app. The customer wants to use youtube on the TV to play music, this despite explaining to him the abundance of music apps via sonos.
As for organisation in site, no chance. This job had a couple of kitchen fitters on site who I'd never met before and they were all best palls when talking to them and despite going through everything with them, when I returned on the Monday not one cable had been pulled through inside the units, can you imagine how difficult it was to untangle and feed the cables through a 25mm hole via the very small void in the back of the cabinet, something the fitters would have took 10 seconds to do as they were fitting the units. Everyone on site is only interested in doing their own job as quickly as possible, its the equivalent of me 2nd fixing as soon as I've first fixed before the plasterer.
As for grouping them, does this work the same way if the sound bar is connected to the TV, ie the music is coming from the tos lead and not via the app. The customer wants to use youtube on the TV to play music, this despite explaining to him the abundance of music apps via sonos.
As for organisation in site, no chance. This job had a couple of kitchen fitters on site who I'd never met before and they were all best palls when talking to them and despite going through everything with them, when I returned on the Monday not one cable had been pulled through inside the units, can you imagine how difficult it was to untangle and feed the cables through a 25mm hole via the very small void in the back of the cabinet, something the fitters would have took 10 seconds to do as they were fitting the units. Everyone on site is only interested in doing their own job as quickly as possible, its the equivalent of me 2nd fixing as soon as I've first fixed before the plasterer.
Yes, it does work the same way, the bar should always prioritise to the optical input / tv.
If you always group the kitchen zone to the Bar and not the other way round, then the sound from the tv should come out from the kitchen zone too.
Sonos will use the wired network if it is given one, but it will always try to mesh with other Sonos devices if available. I have had it where network dropped for a little time, Wi-fi took over but when network came back Wi-fi didn’t drop off again. Hence an large network/data loop occurred.
To be honest, I don’t find sparks any better at listening and doing what I have asked / agreed them to do, but if they don’t I will challenge them because it just makes everyone’s job on site.
Last month I had cabinet fitters cover a complete and needed access cover in a £15m appartment, we had to remove it totally and without damage to do what we needed, no way we could cut into it.
It is our business life, and people wonder why we charge what we charge for labour!
If you always group the kitchen zone to the Bar and not the other way round, then the sound from the tv should come out from the kitchen zone too.
Sonos will use the wired network if it is given one, but it will always try to mesh with other Sonos devices if available. I have had it where network dropped for a little time, Wi-fi took over but when network came back Wi-fi didn’t drop off again. Hence an large network/data loop occurred.
To be honest, I don’t find sparks any better at listening and doing what I have asked / agreed them to do, but if they don’t I will challenge them because it just makes everyone’s job on site.
Last month I had cabinet fitters cover a complete and needed access cover in a £15m appartment, we had to remove it totally and without damage to do what we needed, no way we could cut into it.
It is our business life, and people wonder why we charge what we charge for labour!
Grouped the two zones together today and the TV now sounds fantastic through all the speakers.
What I do find a little odd though is when we first set the sound bar up the TV volume control just controlled the level on the TV optical output (you could see the volume slider on the TV move side to side) and the sound bar went louder and quieter as expected. We then programmed the remote to the soundbar so it controls it directly but it still moves the TV slider so I would imagine its still varying the TV output level through the optical link as well as adjusting the soundbar volume.
However when the 2 zones are grouped so everything is playing with the sound source coming from the TV the TV remote only controls the volume of the soundbar and not everything, you have to use your phone to control the master volume.
Does the TV (Sony OLED) know something else is controlling the volume because the slider still moves on the TV.
What I do find a little odd though is when we first set the sound bar up the TV volume control just controlled the level on the TV optical output (you could see the volume slider on the TV move side to side) and the sound bar went louder and quieter as expected. We then programmed the remote to the soundbar so it controls it directly but it still moves the TV slider so I would imagine its still varying the TV output level through the optical link as well as adjusting the soundbar volume.
However when the 2 zones are grouped so everything is playing with the sound source coming from the TV the TV remote only controls the volume of the soundbar and not everything, you have to use your phone to control the master volume.
Does the TV (Sony OLED) know something else is controlling the volume because the slider still moves on the TV.
That is because the sound bar is a zone in itself, no different to using the buttons on the side of it, I wouldnt expect it to do a global volume control because it has no knowledge of where the other zone is.
It just happens to be in the same area, but it could easily be on the other side of the house.
It just happens to be in the same area, but it could easily be on the other side of the house.
VEX said:
That is because the sound bar is a zone in itself, no different to using the buttons on the side of it, I wouldnt expect it to do a global volume control because it has no knowledge of where the other zone is.
It just happens to be in the same area, but it could easily be on the other side of the house.
Makes sense, cheers for your help.It just happens to be in the same area, but it could easily be on the other side of the house.
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