Soundbar/Surround Placement?

  • 26 September 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 207 views
W

I’m considering ditching my 5.1 surround sound system for Sonos (I love the system now, but HDMIs buried in the wall need replacing, necessitating serious construction to make things work).

 

My TV is mounted above a fireplace, and is tilting down to compensate for the less-than-ideal mounting situation.

 

If I put the Sonos Arc on the mantel below the TV, I there wouldn’t be a direct line of site to the ceiling (I’m guessing altering acoustics).  If I mount the Arc to the TV mount (so as to hide cables), the speaker would be angled down.

Does anybody have this same situation?  Would acoustics be drastically affected?
 

Also: when it comes to the surrounds: there isn’t any space behind the couch.  Currently my surrounds are mounted to the left and the right of the main-viewer’s seat on the couch (most of the promo images show the surrounds located behind the listeners…)

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3 replies

Jamie A
Userlevel 7
Badge +16

Hi @Wayland1984, welcome to the Sonos Community!

If you mount the Sonos Arc to your TV which is tilted downwards, it will effect the overall sound experience. Our mounting guidelines are the following:

  • Keep 4.0" (102 mm) space (minimum) between Arc/Arc SL and your TV.
  • Make sure the touch controls are facing up.
  • For best sound quality, keep both ends of the soundbar at least 1' (30cm) from a wall or other obstructions.

I don’t know exactly how much the sound experience will be effected but, out of the two options you have, I believe that mounting the Arc at an angle with the TV is better than it being on the mantle and the height channels being blocked.

My reply will bring your thread to the top of recently active so other users may reply with their own solutions to this situation.

I hope this helps!

W

Thank you.

This is what I was afraid of.  I realize some of the Arc Mounts that attach to TV mounts don’t follow the 4” rule which may further impact that choice.

Do the height channels fire straight up?  Or are they angled up and forward?

melvimbe

Thank you.

This is what I was afraid of.  I realize some of the Arc Mounts that attach to TV mounts don’t follow the 4” rule which may further impact that choice.

Do the height channels fire straight up?  Or are they angled up and forward?

 

They are angled up/forward.  The idea is to bounce audio off the ceiling to the seating area.  For this reason, the height of the soundbar from the ground and the distance from the seating area to the TV/soundbar make a difference. My TV is also mounted above the mantel, and Iplaced some old books under the back of the Arc (sitting on mantel) to have it tiled slightly down to improve the angle slightly for my space.  I do have the 4” clearance between TV and soundbar, plus the soundbar is a few inches in front of the TV.

Is it possible to mount the TV slightly higher to accommodate room for a soundbar?  Not sure if that’s possible given the material you’re mounting to or whether that would improve things.  Another thing to look into is “Mantle Mounts”, which allow you to pull the TV, and attached soundbar to a better viewing height.  I’ve only looked into this briefly myself, as I don’t find my situation to be unacceptable, but it does look like it would improve things.  If you can’t get a 4” clearance using thier brackets, you may be able to use a different bracket.  Or mounting the soundbar above the TV may be more acceptable given you’ve lowered the overall height.  Downsides to this, besides cost, is you would not get atmos effect for streaming music unless in the down position, tuning would be impacted, and/or you might just leave it in down position most of the time.

 

Danny
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