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Feature Request: One-Tap Music / Home Theater Mode for Era 300 Surrounds

  • August 11, 2026
  • 7 replies
  • 42 views
S

Hi Sonos team,

I’d love to see an option to quickly switch a Sonos home theater system between Home Theater Mode and a dedicated Stereo Music Mode.

For example, my setup is:

Arc Ultra + 2 Era 300s + Sub

For movies, I want the system to work normally, with the Arc Ultra handling the front soundstage and the Era 300s acting as surrounds.

However, when listening to music, I would love the option to press a “Stereo Music Mode” button in the Sonos app that temporarily changes the system to:

Era 300 Left + Era 300 Right + Sub

This would allow the Era 300s to operate as a true stereo pair for music rather than as surround speakers.

Ideally, Sonos would save both configurations—including Trueplay/EQ settings—so switching could be instant:

Home Theater Mode
Arc Ultra + Era 300 surrounds + Sub

Stereo Music Mode
Era 300 L/R stereo pair + Sub

When the TV turns on, Sonos could even automatically return to Home Theater Mode, and when music is selected, users could choose Stereo Music Mode.

Currently, achieving this requires removing the Era 300s as surrounds, creating a stereo pair, moving the Sub, and then reversing everything when you want the home theater back.

Having both configurations saved and allowing one-tap switching would make systems with Era 300 surrounds much more versatile for people who care about both home theater and proper two-channel music.

I think this would be a fantastic addition for Sonos users who have invested in a full Arc + Era 300 + Sub system.

Thanks for considering it!

    7 replies

    Corry P
    Forum|alt.badge.img+19
    • Corry P
    • Sonos Staff
    • August 11, 2026

    Hi ​@Sonny360 

    Welcome to the Sonos Community!

    Thank you - I've marked this thread as a feature request, and it will be seen by the relevant teams for consideration. Keep the ideas coming!

    This has been requested many times, however, and is rather a large engineering task - as has been discussed many times here on the Community already. Would you be happy with just the soundbar being muted when playing music instead? This would be far easier to implement and make it much faster to switch between each mode too. Perhaps it would also be possible to then save two TruePlay configurations for each soundbar-equipped room setup, as you suggest.

    Edit: this would even eliminate the “one tap” - no taps would be needed at all as the system already knows if the source is music or TV.

    "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
      jgatie
      • jgatie
      • August 11, 2026

      At the risk of repeating the content from the myriad of other posts requesting this feature, here’s a brief explanation why a quick tap/toggle isn’t possible (and why the “mute soundbar” solution may be the best compromise):

      Switching between the one-way, ad hoc, 5 GHz low latency network for surrounds and the configuration used for full stereo takes time to reconfigure the radios and perform the handshakes necessary to optimize the connections.  There’s no speeding it up.  They could put a one button toggle between the two, but it’s not going to make it any more seamless or faster than it is now. 

       

        melvimbe
        • melvimbe
        • August 11, 2026

        Hi ​@Sonny360 

        Welcome to the Sonos Community!

        Thank you - I've marked this thread as a feature request, and it will be seen by the relevant teams for consideration. Keep the ideas coming!

        This has been requested many times, however, and is rather a large engineering task - as has been discussed many times here on the Community already. Would you be happy with just the soundbar being muted when playing music instead? This would be far easier to implement and make it much faster to switch between each mode too. Perhaps it would also be possible to then save two TruePlay configurations for each soundbar-equipped room setup, as you suggest.

        Edit: this would even eliminate the “one tap” - no taps would be needed at all as the system already knows if the source is music or TV.

         

        The issue with this is that you’ve then cut off the ability to play atmos music.  Perhaps there are consumers that want atmos TV, but no interest in atmos music, don’t know.  

        This request steps from the fact that the Arc just doesn’t match up with true stereo separate from the front speakers.  I don’t really think people want to use their rear surrounds  for stereo only, it’s just feels like the best available option.    And honestly, if Sonos were to provide this option, I think it would not limit requests for separate stereo fronts as an option...understanding that there are technical concerns about that setup as well.

        Danny
          106rallye
          Forum|alt.badge.img+18
          • 106rallye
          • August 11, 2026

          Since surrounds are behind you, for most people the stereo speakers would also be behind them. I would not want to have my stereo set up behind me, so this would not be something I would be interested in.

            Corry P
            Forum|alt.badge.img+19
            • Corry P
            • Sonos Staff
            • August 11, 2026

            Hi ​@melvimbe 

            The issue with this is that you’ve then cut off the ability to play atmos music.  Perhaps there are consumers that want atmos TV, but no interest in atmos music, don’t know.  

            That’s a good point, but it would not be particularly difficult to have a conditional statement in the code that checks for Atmos/stereo playback before muting.

            This request steps from the fact that the Arc just doesn’t match up with true stereo separate from the front speakers.  I don’t really think people want to use their rear surrounds  for stereo only, it’s just feels like the best available option.    And honestly, if Sonos were to provide this option, I think it would not limit requests for separate stereo fronts as an option...understanding that there are technical concerns about that setup as well.

            Perhaps, but as this has been requested many times without it being implemented (and in my own opinion, it never will be) muting the soundbar seems like an easy compromise. If only until more options become available (if they do).

            "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
              melvimbe
              • melvimbe
              • August 11, 2026

              Hi ​@melvimbe 

              The issue with this is that you’ve then cut off the ability to play atmos music.  Perhaps there are consumers that want atmos TV, but no interest in atmos music, don’t know.  

              That’s a good point, but it would not be particularly difficult to have a conditional statement in the code that checks for Atmos/stereo playback before muting.

               

               

              That is true.

              This request steps from the fact that the Arc just doesn’t match up with true stereo separate from the front speakers.  I don’t really think people want to use their rear surrounds  for stereo only, it’s just feels like the best available option.    And honestly, if Sonos were to provide this option, I think it would not limit requests for separate stereo fronts as an option...understanding that there are technical concerns about that setup as well.

              Perhaps, but as this has been requested many times without it being implemented (and in my own opinion, it never will be) muting the soundbar seems like an easy compromise. If only until more options become available (if they do).

              That is also true.

              Danny
                Stanley_4
                • Stanley_4
                • Grand Maestro
                • August 11, 2026

                For Atmos and Stereo detection triggered reconfiguration, not going to be pretty when playing a mixed source where every track could be in the other format.

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