HD and 4k video streaming of live music is becoming standard across many platforms (Nugs.net, LivePhish, etc) and leveraging ERA 300s (or similar) forward facing tweeters should be made available to allow users to take advantage of their full potential.
Current setup: Arc soundbar, Sub, Era 300s as surround pair
Ideal set ups for various use-cases:
TV and video: current configuration with Atmos style surround, where side and upward facing speakers are utilized on the Era 300s and the forward facing speakers are disabled
Audio Music via various apps: Arc, Sub, and Era 300s with all speakers firing, especially if audio being streamed isn’t Atmos
Music video streaming: Arc, Sub, and Era 300s with all speakers firing
Potential implementation options (obviously knowing nothing about the code base and difficulties associated with each option...):
- Room specific profiles allowing various combinations of speakers to be used depending the content being consumed
- A toggle specific to the surrounds that allows all speakers to be leveraged
What I didn’t realize when purchasing the Era 300s as surrounds is that I’d never be able to use the forward facing speakers unless I decoupled them from the Arc. This renders a portion of the hardware in the Eras as inaccessible, based on the assumption that this is what the user base wants. Given there are several other, older feature requests that are near identical to this one, I can say this isn’t a fair assumption.