Contributor I

Answered

Theatre and Sound Room

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
April 17, 2025
5 replies
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I am an electrician. I have a customer that would like to set up a 30 x 16' room as both his ultimate TV theatre and music listening room. The walls are drywalled so moving speaker wire around is not an option but could be used around the TV (if needed). I have been asked to add receptacles around the room where speakers are needed at the speaker height. Can you suggest the best setup and heights for speakers in this situation. I've suggested the Arc mounted under the TV, a Sub 4 on floor under the TV and two Era 300 for rear. He is suggesting we also need two front L and R speakers as well. Any help with a proven setup would be appreciated.

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Best answer by AjTrek1

As @nik9669a said you cannot add left/right speakers to a Sonos home theater. The only upgrades you can make would be to swap the Arc for an Arc Ultra and add a second sub 4.

Regarding @nik9669a suggest about adding another set of Era 300’s or Five’s as a stereo pair. To be clear they should only be used for music. They would not be part of the home theater setup. *

Even though you could group them with the Arc Ultra for TV audio you’d create a 75ms delay causing an echo effect having them in the same room. On the other hand you can group them to the Arc Ultra for music without introducing any delay.

You mentioned adding wall electrical outlets at speaker height? I assume you were referring to the Era 300’s you intend to use as surrounds. Unless you intend to wall mount them I don’t see the need to place electrical outlets at speaker height.

One more thought and bare in mind that I have no idea of the actual room layout…

I assume the TV will be placed at one end of the 30 foot length against the wall and the seating area would ideally be somewhere around 8 -10 feet from the screen. Mounting the Era 300’s 22-20 feet behind the listener/viewer on the rear wall is a pretty far distance. Remember, I prefaced the previous statement by saying I have no idea of the actual room layout.

In any event good look with your project!

* I have a set of Fives’s in my media room that house my Arc Ultra, Sub 4 x 2 and Era 300’s as surrounds. However, the Fives’s are only used for music as I’m a two-channel stereo purist concerning music.

N

nik9669a

Senior Virtuoso

Any and all soundbars are a combination of front left, centre and front right speakers. Sonos is no different, so you can’t “add” the speakers he’s asking for. If he wants independent front three speakers you can’t provide a solution using Sonos devices.

For an “ultimate” setup though, a second set of Era 300’s or a pair of Fives set up as a stereo pair will probably give much better stereo music play than the Ultra can do.

AjTrek1Answer

As @nik9669a said you cannot add left/right speakers to a Sonos home theater. The only upgrades you can make would be to swap the Arc for an Arc Ultra and add a second sub 4.

Regarding @nik9669a suggest about adding another set of Era 300’s or Five’s as a stereo pair. To be clear they should only be used for music. They would not be part of the home theater setup. *

Even though you could group them with the Arc Ultra for TV audio you’d create a 75ms delay causing an echo effect having them in the same room. On the other hand you can group them to the Arc Ultra for music without introducing any delay.

You mentioned adding wall electrical outlets at speaker height? I assume you were referring to the Era 300’s you intend to use as surrounds. Unless you intend to wall mount them I don’t see the need to place electrical outlets at speaker height.

One more thought and bare in mind that I have no idea of the actual room layout…

I assume the TV will be placed at one end of the 30 foot length against the wall and the seating area would ideally be somewhere around 8 -10 feet from the screen. Mounting the Era 300’s 22-20 feet behind the listener/viewer on the rear wall is a pretty far distance. Remember, I prefaced the previous statement by saying I have no idea of the actual room layout.

In any event good look with your project!

* I have a set of Fives’s in my media room that house my Arc Ultra, Sub 4 x 2 and Era 300’s as surrounds. However, the Fives’s are only used for music as I’m a two-channel stereo purist concerning music.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

buzz

I’m not sure what “ultimate TV theater and music listening room” means to you or your client. In my opinion a soundbar, from any manufacturer, is not the ultimate, however, soundbars are very convenient, using very few wires — and they can sound pretty good, just not “ultimate”.

M

MMNZSAuthor

Contributor I

Thanks everyone. The room is a rectangle 16x30. AjTrek1 you are correct the couch (viewer) will be about 12’ from the TV screen. I have the option of mounting the rear speakers at about 16’ from the TV on the side walls (4” behind viewer).

Theatre: 1 x Arc Ultra, 2x Sub 4 and 2x Era 300 as rears.

Music: 2x Fives mounted left and right of the TV at head height while sitting.

I anticipate his next question is can we add two more Fives at the back of the room. Would that really be necessary in a room this size?

N

nik9669a

Senior Virtuoso

Music: 2x Fives mounted left and right of the TV at head height while sitting.

I anticipate his next question is can we add two more Fives at the back of the room. Would that really be necessary in a room this size?

Don’t do it. There will be places in the room where you’ll only hear the “left” channel from front-and-rear speakers and other places where you hear the right channel. The result is a total loss of any stereo sweet “spot”.
A Sub (not mini) bonded to the Fives or Eras will add to the sound for music play though.

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