Amp(s) for 8 Ceiling Speakers, 2 Zones

acambitsis

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Hello all,

I am looking for a solution to power 8 ceiling speakers in 2 zones.
  • I have 8 celing speakers (Boston Acoustics, I think they are 8Ohm), in an open plan area.
  • I want to treat them as 2 zones (4 speakers in each zone), specifically:
    • Independently control on/off and volume in each zone
    • Each zone will always play the same source
  • My source will be Spotify and Tunein from a Sonos Connect
  • I had the solution working with a Russound CAA66 multizone amplifier, which eventually packed up
  • I do all my controlling (on/off, source and volume) using the open source home automation system Home Assistant
  • The Russound was more than enough in terms of power output to each speaker (I believe it was 20w per channel)
I am looking for a replacement amp or amps to achieve the above requirements. The ideal would be a 2 zone (or 4 zone), 8 channel networked amplifier.
I was hoping to spend no more than USD800 / GBP600. (Although in South Africa we often pay a 50% premium in relation to US prices). Although I can increase this for the "right" solution.

Many thanks in advance,
Andreas.
 
Last edited:
I think the obvious as you already use Sonos would be more Sonos Connect Amp's as this would enable you to integrate them into your system however, depending upon what's available in your territory but the Yamaha WXA-50 looks like one alternative (but it will not integrate with the Sonos, it would be a complete change)
 
I think the obvious as you already use Sonos would be more Sonos Connect Amp's as this would enable you to integrate them into your system however, depending upon what's available in your territory but the Yamaha WXA-50 looks like one alternative (but it will not integrate with the Sonos, it would be a complete change)
Many thanks for the reply. As per your suggestion, I am gravitating to getting two Sonos Amps. My Ceiling Speakers are the Boston Acoustics HSi 270s. They are 8Ohms and seem to be rated up to 90watts. Can I connect 4 of them to a Sonos Amp (with parallel wiring) based on these specs?
 
I wouldn't recommend ever connecting four sets of speakers to a stereo amp unless it has A and B speaker options which can be run in tandem. You could look at a pair of QED SS20 units (although I would contact Sonos directly to make sure they can be used in conjunction with them
 

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