I have an arc and 2 300s on order. Am I correct that if I add the 300s as surrounds, there is no way to enable the front drivers when I want to play non spatial music like Spotify?
I just can't believe that would be the case, so hopefully I'm mistaken. I totally understand disabling them for atmos and spatial , but it's like you are locking them into that and then can't use them properly for regular music?
Thanks for any advice or workarounds !
Hi
I really appreciate the fact that the Sonos team will consider implementing forward-facing drivers in a surround configuration to be enabled with Home Theatre surround sound and stereo music as well.
I think that premium speakers such as ERA 300 must have an option that Allows users to manually enable center speakers of the ERA’s 300 if they are added as surrounds to ARC/Beam Gen 2. Every user will be happy to make his own decision to use forward-facing drivers or not.
To be honest with you I think that the decision that Sonos engineers have taken from the beginning to disable forward-facing drivers when they are added as surrounds to ARC/Beam Gen 2 is totally wrong. Sonos said that that decision is based on many user experience tests, but I think Sonos doesn't cover every user persona that will use ERA300 you know better from me how many complaints in the Sonos Community / Reddit / Youtube.
The main problem is that Sonos sells an Era 300 as a product with six drivers: Customers who use it and add it as surrounds to ARC/Beam Gen 2 can use only 5 of them because Sonos engineers decided that. Sounds like a car company to sell a sports car with 600ph with a speed limitation of 500 because the engineers decide that is better for you.
Don't get me wrong I like a lot of Sonos products and I will buy a two Era 300 for my surround system but I can't really understand why I have to pay for a product with six drivers but I have to use only 5 of them. If forward-facing drivers in a surround configuration are not OK then maybe Sonos has to create a similar and cheaper product with 5 drivers for those user personas that will use the speakers only in surround mode.
Adding extra options is not always a good idea. Some users are easily confused - most Sonos users fall under the “have money, but no technical insight”-category. This community probably has more of the other category “have money, some technical insight, and a bit cocky” (if that’s the word - I do think I’m part of this category of users myself).
If the option is available and turned on but actually degrades the experience, as Sonos have said to have found out, some users from category 1 will not reach the full potential of their system. Users from category 2 also won’t, but that would be their choice. More drivers do not always equal better sound.
@106rallye
I agree with you that most of the users have no technical insight.
You know that every app or software has default and custom options, so most of the users with no technical insight never try to change something if they do they can easily back factory settings by pressing the button “RESET”
If this extra option will stay off by default for all users ( Sonos recommendation for the best audio experience ) is a win-win situation for both sides.
For example, every TV on the planet has a default preset, and 90% of the users never touch it ( movie, sport, game, etc. - recommended by the company ) but people with technical insight have an option to change that preset according to their own preference.
I’d counter that argument by pointing at the ‘Wi-Fi off’ feature in the Sonos controller, and the seemingly unending number of users who think that because their soundbar is wired to their LAN, they need to turn it off. Which causes trouble for the soundbar in its attempt to communicate with both the Surrounds and Sub, as they do, across a 5Ghz radio signal. An option that really shouldn’t ever be used, except by the supposed ‘experts’, yet is commonly mistaken as something that should be done.
I’d counter that argument by pointing at the ‘Wi-Fi off’ feature in the Sonos controller, and the seemingly unending number of users who think that because their soundbar is wired to their LAN, they need to turn it off. Which causes trouble for the soundbar in its attempt to communicate with both the Surrounds and Sub, as they do, across a 5Ghz radio signal. An option that really shouldn’t ever be used, except by the supposed ‘experts’, yet is commonly mistaken as something that should be done.
‘Experts’ used to be able to disable the radio easily via http://<sonos_ip>:1400/wifictrl. It was simpler and less capricious than the controller option.
Hi
I brought up your query in a meeting today and I am told that allowing the front-facing driver of a Era 300 in a surround configuration to activate for stereo music sources would be feasible, so I have tagged this thread as a feature request in order for it to be flagged to the product team for consideration.
Thanks for your feedback!
For the amount of $$$$ SONOS wants for the Era 300’s, we should be able to have this feature.
Perhaps if our product were just an app, this would indeed be relatively easy.
I agree the UI Design of the APP is the easiest part.
I provide you with two quick design options :)
The UI team hates text. Even though it is more cryptic, the second version is more likely to be adopted. Or maybe control of the front facing speaker might be it’s own main item rather than being included as part of the surround adjustment.
After listening to the era 300 stereo pair vs combined with the arc and sub surround system, I realized why the engineers had to disable the front drivers in the era 300. My ears fatigued when listening to them for a long time. It’s much less fatiguing when in surround when the front drivers are off. You can adjust the settings in Sonos app to find your sweet spot.
In that case Sonos should have sold an Era 300 variant for people who buy it only for surround purposes and without the front facing speaker . thay would have reduced the cost too
Perhaps. Although setting up a second production line and packaging, not to mention the CS support for people who purchased the wrong ‘version’ may have been an issue. Not to mention the potential backlash from those who want both functionalities at different times.
Only reason I haven’t pulled the trigger on the 300s…
And this is why I will likely. never buy a pair of Era 300s. I listen to digital music in stereo (2.0) and multichannel (5.1). Some of my TV watching is in stereo, some in multichannel, and some with Atmos -- with the realization that I cannot get full Atmos without the 300s.
I am uninterested in giving up the stereo and the multichannel I get from the Ones in favor of an Atmos based system that chokes 2/3 of what I listen to. The Arc system can automatically switch from stereo to multichannel to Atmos, depending on what signal I am sending to it. A simple software switch for the Era 300s could do the same thing, allowing me and others here to utilize the full potential of the Arc system.
Too bad that Sonos won’t/can’t offer us that option. As I said, unless this is changed, I will likely never buy the 300s.
Wish I came to the community to learn this before I buy. The sales team buttered me up FULL FLEDGED LIED to me that they would do what they clearly can’t. As a developer, this is FULL *! I didn’t notice right away so I am outside of the return window. Robbed. Lied to. They literally only put the era 300 as a full entertainment option for $$$$$! #FREETHECENTERDRIVER
*Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.*
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