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Chromatic Producer I
March 27, 2019

Which to get first, Sub or Surrounds?

Hello everyone, I'm new here and this is my first post.
I will be purchasing a Sonos Beam in the near future with plans of building a 5.1 system (though I wish Sonos offered a 7.1). I will be building my system in steps ans wondering after getting the Beam should I go for sorrounds next or for the sub. Eventually I'll have both but in the meantime which would I benefit from more?
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
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    17 replies

    Dom1da
    Collaborator II
    March 27, 2019
    hi i have a beam as well i have gone for surrounds first it is amazing to be surrounded in sound movies and music have more detail
    so i think it is more beneficial to do so before getting the sub
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    Beam plus two One(Gen 1)'s 5.0 in surround
    Ravica3Author
    Chromatic Producer I
    March 27, 2019
    Thanks Dom1da!
    This pretty much what I was thinking. Not to mention it will take me a little longer to save for the sub as it cost more than several Ones or Play 1s. On that note which surrounds did you get. Really glad to hear you're enjoying your system.
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    Sjoop1985
    March 27, 2019
    Since you have a Beam, Play 1s would suffice for your use, it will save you some money you could put towards a Sub in the future. The Beam will handle voice control and Airplay 2 capability.
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    Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans (John Lennon) --- Living room: Arc, Sub, 2x One - Kitchen: One - Bedroom: Play 3 - Office: Beam - Bathroom: Play 1
    melvimbe
    March 27, 2019
    To add to this, the microphones on the Sonos one are actually turned off when used with as Surrounds with a Beam. So the only current difference between Sonos Ones and Play:1s in this scenario is aesthetics and cost.

    The decision of which to go for first is really subjective. I personally am not as big on bass as other's might be, so surrounds is my first choice. However, there's also a part of me that wants to get the larger expense done first sometimes. No real wrong decision here.
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    Danny
    spydrwebb
    Prodigy I
    March 27, 2019
    +1 surrounds
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    Beam, Sub, 2 x P:1 -- 5.1 (video) / 2 x P:3 (music) / 2 x gen1 One (music) ----> ever evolving setup, as they say...
    Dom1da
    Collaborator II
    March 27, 2019
    Thanks Dom1da!
    This pretty much what I was thinking. Not to mention it will take me a little longer to save for the sub as it cost more than several Ones or Play 1s. On that note which surrounds did you get. Really glad to hear you're enjoying your system.


    hi i got 2 Sonos one 1st gens's as i got them before i owned the beam. if you are just using them for surrounds go with 2 Play:1's . if you want to do something different in the future go with 2 sonos one's
    Translate
    Beam plus two One(Gen 1)'s 5.0 in surround
    Ravica3Author
    Chromatic Producer I
    March 28, 2019
    .....However, there's also a part of me that wants to get the larger expense done first sometimes.....
    YES... this is usually my mentality also. It's actually what prompted me to even post this question. Usually I go for the expensive purchase first but was curious what I might be missing in the meantime. Thanks for your input. Also for letting me know about the beauty of the microphones. If I were to go with us Sonos ones, was wondering how that would work.
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    Ravica3Author
    Chromatic Producer I
    March 28, 2019
    Since you have a Beam, Play 1s would suffice for your use, it will save you some money you could put towards a Sub in the future. The Beam will handle voice control and Airplay 2 capability.
    You actually addressed my very next dilemma. Ones or play 1
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    spydrwebb
    Prodigy I
    March 29, 2019
    A set of Ones or P:1s would act exactly the same as surrounds, with the only exception being Alexa (and forthcoming Google Assistant) support.

    If what you're asking is how that might work with Ones having microphones, in addition to your Beam. You can disable the Voice Assistant functionality on any/all of your devices that offer voice assistance.
    Translate
    Beam, Sub, 2 x P:1 -- 5.1 (video) / 2 x P:3 (music) / 2 x gen1 One (music) ----> ever evolving setup, as they say...
    melvimbe
    March 29, 2019

    If what you're asking is how that might work with Ones having microphones, in addition to your Beam. You can disable the Voice Assistant functionality on any/all of your devices that offer voice assistance.


    Just to clarify, when using the Ones as surrounds with the Beam, the mics on the ones are automatically turned off. There is no option to enable or disable.
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    Danny