Question

Basement: Sonos or plan B

  • 13 November 2016
  • 9 replies
  • 642 views

Badge +1
Hello fellow Sonos users,

My wife & I are working on remodeling the basement and are at the budgetary phase. My wish to is to add another pair in the house of PlayBar & Sub. The room will primarily used by teens (not us - we want to have some peace & quiet!) and if we can't budget the PB+Sub I'll be looking for plan B. Please don't hate me: anyone has a suggestion for a soundbar + wireless sub and maybe 2 more wireless speakers to make a 5.1 setup? Was looking a Vizio, pricing is appealing ($500 for a 5.1 kit) but what about sound, will I cry my price difference away in regret? Same idea with Sony, Polk and other vendors. Damn why did Sonos make sure a good product? 🆒

Looking for advice & guidance, thanks in advance!

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9 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +22
If went with another brand you had to hear them for yourself but I would want to make sure it had an input so I could hook a Sonos connect to it to make it a Sonos zone as well.
Badge +1
Not a bad idea actually - did not consider that!
And frankly if you're not intending to listen to it what difference does it make what it sounds like?
Badge +1
The classic catch-22 is you "do this for the kids" and you end up using it as much as they do. Then you get buyer's remorse "I should have gone with XYZ". So if I'm going plan B I'll get something decent.
Userlevel 5
Badge +11
I will add to what JP Hebert said...and if you are going with something decent, wouldn't it make sense to just go with Sonos in the 1st place (even if it i just the Playbar to start)? Your only regret might be $$$ spent, but you'll be thrilled with the integrated system throughout the house/basement.
Badge +1
I will add to what JP Hebert said...and if you are going with something decent, wouldn't it make sense to just go with Sonos in the 1st place (even if it i just the Playbar to start)? Your only regret might be $$$ spent, but you'll be thrilled with the integrated system throughout the house/basement.

Am in the process of going in that direction - slowly convincing myself that the next 3 to 5 years will be worth the investment. Wife is leaning my way. Here is why;
- Superior sound, once you get used to the good stuff it's hard to downgrade.
- One system in the house, not 2, 3 or 4. These ergonomics don't scale. This is supposed to be fun, not a project you need to manage (so am in room X do I use app A, B or C?)
- When we move out one day odds are speakers will be.. speakers. So I'm gambling on longevity of superior products. Not a guarantee but a gamble 🙂
Userlevel 5
Badge +11
I have a teenager in the house (well, actually he's 20 now)...and he uses the Sonos system all the time. He'd love to get a couple of speakers in his room. And when he uses the basement home theater, he would prefer it to be Sonos too. In other words, your point "- One system in the house, not 2, 3 or 4. These ergonomics don't scale." makes complete sense to me and would be the route I would go if I were buying now.

In fact, I've thought many times about selling my AVR + 5.1 speakers in my basement and moving to the Sonos setup. I very likely will do that sooner or later.
Badge +1
I have a teenager in the house (well, actually he's 20 now)...and he uses the Sonos system all the time. He'd love to get a couple of speakers in his room. And when he uses the basement home theater, he would prefer it to be Sonos too. In other words, your point "- One system in the house, not 2, 3 or 4. These ergonomics don't scale." makes complete sense to me and would be the route I would go if I were buying now.

In fact, I've thought many times about selling my AVR + 5.1 speakers in my basement and moving to the Sonos setup. I very likely will do that sooner or later.


Too funny - I have my old Pioneer receiver (HDMI 1.3 era if that's "old" 🆒), two Polk tower speakers & a Polk sub to my cousin yesterday. They took so much room and the Sonos sounds so much better when you have the Playbar & Sub kit.

Think I've convinced myself to stick to Sonos, and can get two Play 1's off a points program to make this a 51 kit.
Userlevel 5
Badge +11
Size, convenience, ease of use, extra Sonos zones, ditching an extra remote, etc. can all be factors. There are a couple of Black Friday specials on Play:1s in the coming couple of weeks. It will be hard to avoid adding a couple to the house!