My BIL is needs help justifying a Sonos purchase for the surround sound system in his TV room. I don't understand the Sonos system, especially how it works as a surround system.Any help?
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Help explain and justify Sonos 5.1 system (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter DaveF
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The Bridge connects to your router.Sonos creates its own wifi.You buy a Playbar and two 3. You set the 3 up as surround for the Playbar.Since the Playbar only has one optical, you need an optical switch.
The Sonos page says it connects to your TV. Last I checked, most TVs only output stereo over optical. Do recent TVs typical output 5.1 over optical?
Otherwise, Video Devices (cable box, blu-ray) -> Optical Switch -> Sonos
Otherwise, Video Devices (cable box, blu-ray) -> Optical Switch -> Sonos
Exactly. The only thing that leaves all TV as 5.1...is the internal tuner.DaveF said:
My BIL really wants to buy a Sonos system, but I don't like it. It seems an inferior but expensive solution for a surround sound setup.
ArmSC
Supporting Actor
Sonos seem to be very popular at the big box stores because they are "wireless" and people seem to really want a solution that is wireless. I have no idea if there are incentives for selling it but it seems like they are really pushing it. The playbar, the heart of the 5.1 solution, seems like an expensive soundbar to me. In fact the whole line of speakers seem expensive to me. The whole home audio is kind of a cool feature but not enough to replace a traditional 5.1 system in the main viewing room/area.DaveF said:
Lots of advertising for this lately all over tv. Is the sound quality decent? I'd consider a wireless setup for my condo but have concerns of sound for the price, and wireless dropouts, etc... Plus you're both right, it does seem expensive. Has anyone tried it? Is this the new bose?
vidiot33
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I agree it can't replace a good dedicated wired system and also that they tend to be pricey, but I'm still getting one for my kitchen for casual listening, mostly because there's so many issues with competitor's stuff not connecting/dropping out, etc. I'll report back, but the vast majority of people are very satisfied with these.
My BIL's corporate AV guy uses them in some conference room installations, and said they're great quality. But my BIL lost interest when he learned the core speaker of a surround setup is a bar, and requires a Sonos sub (of which already has a good one)My view is that Sonos is a great choice for whole-house audio, without the cost and difficulty of in-ceiling speakers and a wired run.But the surround sound systems...seems very limited. And their approach of using Optical out from the TV seems misleading.
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