Official SONOS owners thread - Page 18

Can Sonos bookmark partially played mp3 spoken word podcast files?

I have an original Sonos but haven't kept up....hoping for a yes, bookmarking has been added answer.

Thanks

It will go just about anywhere, but if sound quality is what you're looking for then something as close to ear level as you can get will be best. Also moving it closer to a wall will increase low frequency output a little.

I do put my Play 5 on top of the fridge when I use it in the garage and it sounds fine.

Almost positive the answer is no, but you could get the Sonos iPod dock and that would accomplish what you're looking for assuming you have access to an iPod.

If I wanted to do whole house audio with SONOS in 7 locations would I have to buy a SONOS AMP for each set of speakers? Or is there a receiver I would be better off going with or some other device..?

speakers need amps to drive them so you need 14 channles worth of amp. whether that comes from sonos or someone else is a personal choice.

I use a variety of amp strategies on my setups. dedicated amps, receivers, jam boxes, etc....

The integration of the amp is certainly attractive if your concerned with space.

you also need to ask yourself do you really want or need 7 zone sonos or might it be better to have a smaller # of zones with a large multichannel amp. This keeps everything in Sync perfectly.


http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-815

You can easily power two sets of speakers off a connect amp.

I think this would be better.. When i would want the house filled with music 3-4 rooms would all be playing the same station. I do like to have music in the bathroom so having that on its own channel would be nice also.

That 12 channel amp is nice Sean! This the first time I'm looking into whole house audio. Didn't know it was so affordable.

Good to know! I will definitely keep that in mind.

How you plan to (or will end up) using the system will dictate your Zone strategy'!

For maximum flexibility a Zone Player per listening Zone is the best option.

If there are areas of the house where listening to the same music is not an issue then you can group sub-zones to the main Zone Player using a multi-channel amp and or a Speaker Switch.

The danger of having too many sub-zones served from a single Zone player is that in the long term you may regret that strategy as it may prove to be too inflexible depending on the number of folk in the house and how they end up using the system!

You can connect two pairs of suitable Speakers to a single Connect Amp as per the Sonos FAQ - https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/269

Joe

So the multi channel amps that Sean posted a link to will only allow me to play the same song in 12 zones correct? I wouldn't be able to play say 1 song outside, one on the house and another in the shower? Correct? I'm just using this as an example.

not only will it only allow you to play the same song in 6 zones (12 channels = 6 stereo zones... you want stereo right?) it will ALWAYS play the same song in all 6 zones, and at the same volume... unless you put volume/mute controls in all 6 zones... you may save a bit of money up front, but once you are done running the wiring from the central amp location to all 6 zones, and dealing with the in room controls, is whatever money you might have saved really worth it? (actually when you add it all up, how much do you really save?)

for the bathroom, just get a s5/play5/whatever the new goofy naming convention is... $400 and you are done... no wires to run, no speakers to install...

if the initial $$$ is a problem, start small, ie just get a few zones to start with, then as deals/sales come along expand couple zones at a time... with sonos, adding a zone is a simple process of plugging in the new zone and clicking/selecting "add a zone"... makes it super simple to add as needed...

an amp is an amp. amps dont decode MP3' from servers they take an analog input signal and they amplify it.

12 channels at 2 channels per zone equals 6 zones.

This amp can drive independent content on 12 channels or 6 zones. Whether it broadcasts the same signal or an indepent signal all depends on the input.

I have an 8+ zone system and me personally including the family don't see a big need to play a different song in every zone or even 2 songs across N zones. Ask yourself, is it really worth $350*N zones. in your case that one feature will cost you $2,000. Only you can decide what your needs are.

correct but you can always add a Zone in the future.

splitting analog gurantees reliability, simplicity, syncrhonization.

as for cost. Despite what one of the posters said there is no way your gonna spend $350 a drop on an electrician pulling wire. Not gonna happen.
less sonos zones is clearly less expensive from someone who has been through this 3 times now. regardless of whether I put a Sonos in every room I still want a physical volume control on the wall. Wife, Kids, etc hate to be bothered to fire up an app to turn the volume down when the phone rings. Can't beat the convience of an inwall volume control.

In your example you will require a minimum of 3 Zone Players (House Internal, House External and Shower) - if you want to further granulate' the House Internal to allow additional flexibility in terms of simultaneously playing different Songs/radio stations you will require additional Zone Players.

Break the property down into those key zones' and then start to look at what kit is best for you - as Somewhatlost says starting small can be a good solution with Sonos and as the likes of the Play:5 and Play:3 only require a power cord in most situations you can easily expand' the system or even move things around from room to room if required.

We have 8 Zone players at home - a mix of Play:5, Connect and Connect Amp.

We don't get enough good weather to justify a permanent external install - though one of the Play:5 does make the odd foray into the garden.

Joe

I believe that particular amp has two buses and individual line ins per zone, so yes you could, but one zone would be all by itself (not shared in any way). However, that amp doesn't have the ability to change sources by remote control so you'd be stuck with what whatever config. you had set up unless you wanted to reach behind the amp and flip the little switches that control what is sent to what zone. With a Sonos system you'd then need three ZP90's to provide the different signals to each zone.

There are more expensive matrix switchers that would allow you to pick and choose what went where by remote control. Some with amps, some without.

Note that you can feed a regular AVR with a ZP-90 or 120. If you use a ZP-120 you take the line out to your AVR and you can also use the speaker out to another set of speakers. However, the speakers and the AVR will always see the same source signal in this set up.

oh, I don't disagree that you will save some money... my only thing is the question of: "is it worth it?"

just guessing at some numbers:
6 zone amp solution:
dayton amp for 6 zones - $400
1 x zp90 - $350
6 pairs of speakers - $150ea = $900
electrification to run 6 zones = $75/zone = $450 (I just made this up, no clue really...I would just run my own wires and I would charge $100+/zone, but then I really don't like running wires...)
6 in wall volume controls - $14/ea = $84
Total = $2184

6 zones of Play5
6 x play5's = $400 ea. = $2400
total = $2400

3 zones play5, 3 zones play3
3 x play5's = $400 ea. = $1200
3 x play3's = $300 ea. = $900
total = $2100

6 zones of Connect:amp
6 x Connect:amp = $500/ea = $3000
6 pairs of speakers - $150ea = $900
total = $3900

2 Connect:amp, 2 play5, 2 play3
2 x Connect:amp = $500/ea = $1000
2 x play5's = $400 ea. = $800
2 x play3's = $300 ea. = $600
Total = $2400

note: all amps/speakers are Dayton, all in wall controls are monoprice...

with the dayton 12ch amp, you need to wait until wires are run/schedule an electrician/start doing nasty cable running yourself/etc before you can start enjoying your music...

sonos solution, just plug it in and you are good to go... does it cost more? in just about every case yes, but to me it is worth it... especially if all 6 connect:amp's are not bought all at the same time...

New Sonos owner and just hooked up my Connect & Play5. Really dig how easy it was to setup. Like others have said I wished I did this earlier.

The big CON to me so far is that Sonos doesn't support multiple profiles. My wife & I both have a Spotify account and right now we have to share my account which is a bummer. Also not having playlist folders was a let down. I'm hoping these issues get fixed shortly.

Lots of good info!

Don't you have an unRAID server to build???

It's currently transferring all the files from whs to unRaid now. It going to take a couple days to complete then I get back to watching movies.

It does have playlists and imports them from itunes. Unless I'm confused I believe you are incorrect here.

What I mean is that within the desktop version of Spotify I can create folders for my playlists to keep playlists organized and tidy. Sonos doesn't see these folders and shows them as one big list. I have iTunes but do not use for Sonos since I stream everything with Spotify.

Right now Sonos only allows one login for Spotify so my wife cannot use her login info to get to her Spotify playlists. This is what I'm hoping will be fixed.

Yes ok was confused. Sorry never used spotify. And I mainly use just my somewhat large music library and pandora on occasion on my sonos.

I'm having trouble with my receiver (Pioneer elite vsx21) switching between surround and 2 channel music. It worked fine before, but all the different input settings I try, surround music plays fuzz only. It worked last night, but not today..... Need some help.

Hello everyone,

I've been reading this thread and I really liked the SONOS. I'm actually thinking of buying the ZP 90 Connect or the ZP120 (AMP).

I'm just a little bit confused whether I should buy a PC or Mac mini instead of the SONOS Connect.

I currently have a Harman Kardon AVR 3600 and here is my idea for a PC or Mac Mini:

- Internet
- Movies
- Listen to music
- Control iTunes player using my phone.

Something that I really like about Sonos is that I can actually use my phone to operate it. Also I can add zones and it has pre-loaded Radio. The ZP120 is sweet because I can have the Play 5 in the balcony(I won't be able to power up the Play 5 with the ZP90 right?). It is for sure a great product.


Any thoughts?

If you have a play 5, you don't need an amp. It is a self amplified speaker system. The zp90/connect is to connect to an AVR, or amplified (anything with RCA, optical, or coax in). The connect amp is to power an existing set of speakers, that are not connected an AVR, or another amp. Not required for a Play 5 or 3.


Get the Sonos, you won't regret it. The money saved from not needing a connect amp should go toward an NAS (I love my synology), so all your music is connected to the network. In one separate location, not attached to one pc. Then no computer needs to be on to listen to your stored music. Also, Sirius xm integration is nice, amongst others. Report back when you decide.

JustBusiness,

Thanks for the input.

I've got it. The router would be SONOS: Connect.

Talking about NAS, will this thing work? It will get attached to my Wireless Router - AFAIK DLink DIR 655 does support NAS. So that no computer needs to be on.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/.../10150452.aspx

EDIT: Mind you I don't have that much of content to justify a 3TB storage...


I've seen the Synology. Is this the one you have?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Synology-DS2...item2ebbda5f44


Then I would have to buy the Hard drives. Correct?

Whats the difference between the Synology and the Seagate listed above??

Technically, a Play 5 doesn't need Connect, it needs a Bridge; however, since you want your AVR connected, you need a Connect, and a play 5 for your bedroom. No need for a bridge if you can plug the connect in to an Ethernet connection, and your AVR/amplifier you need.

I was in a similar position to you regarding the Nas. I bought a Synology ds212j, for $160 on amazon a few weeks ago, and added a 2tb seagate barracuda green hdd (only used 1 slot for the time being). The sinology interface is superior to seagate, as well as all the applications that are built for it, spend the extra and go synology you won't regret it. Superior build quality, performance, and features. Assembly and setup is a breeze. Sinology devices do not come with hard drives, you need to supply, I went for a single 2tb so I have room for expansion down the road.

I too have a NAS (HP WHS), but my SONOS local library is from a 1TB USB drive that is connected to a USB capable router (Netgear 3800). I am really liking this setup since I like to have my server be able to power up/down on its schedule, perform maintenance, etc. I feel that this is also a low-power solution as well. Just another way of achieving the same goals I guess...

I see.

I will probably get a NAS first. Any 1TB or 2TB solution would be good enough for me as I don't have tons of content. I don't want to spend a lot of money on it.

I will hook it up on my network to test it. After that, I will get the Sonos Connect so that I can test them all together and see if I like it.

This is very attempting... Have you seen this? US$890 for the modified SONOS Connect.

http://www.wyred4sound.com/webapps/c...0/117839/46317

A brand new SONOS Connect it will cost $452 (tax included)..