Surround sound guidelines and limitations

This article provides guidelines and limitations of surround speakers in a Sonos home theater setup. To learn how to add your speakers as surrounds, see our article on adding surround speakers.

Sonos products that can be used as surround speakers

A Sonos home theater speaker can use two Sonos speakers of the same model as surrounds. For example, two Sonos Ones can be used for surround sound but One and Play:1 cannot. However, related models like One and One SL can be used together as surround speakers.

Select a Sonos product below to see a list of compatible speakers that can be used as surrounds.

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General Guidelines

Ensure both speakers are in the same orientation: vertical or horizontal.
Place your surround speakers behind and to the left and right of your usual listening position.

Limitations

The following features will be disabled on Sonos products used as surround speakers:

AirPlay
Bluetooth audio playback
Line-In
Subwoofer output

Limitations when using two Amps for home theater

You can use two Amps for home theater: one as TV front speakers and the other as surround speakers. When using two Amps in this configuration, there are some limitations on how they can be wired to the network.

The Amp powering your surround speakers cannot be wired to the network on its own – it must be wired in addition to the Amp powering the TV front speakers. However, if the Amp powering the TV front speakers is wired, the Amp powering the surround speakers can remain wireless.

Limitations when using Era 100 or Era 300 as surrounds

When Era 100 or Era 300 speakers are used as surround speakers, there are some limitations to their Ethernet connectivity when using the Sonos Combo Adapter.

When the primary home theater speaker is connected to the network with a wireless connection, the Era surround speakers cannot be connected to the network with an Ethernet cable. However, if the home theater speaker is wired to the network, then the Era surround speakers can also use Ethernet connections if desired.