Answered

First Sonos System

B
Badge

Hello all!

This is first time posting and first Sonos system.  I am in the process of finishing out my basement and creating a theater room.  I currently have an ARC, 2 subs, 2 in wall speakers, 2 in ceiling speakers and 2 amps.  The plan is mount the ARC under the TV with the 2 in wall speakers on each side of the TV and use the ceilings as rears. 

First question -  Will the above set up even work? 

Second question - Can I add another pair of in ceiling speakers (with another amp I’m guessing) and create a left and right pair for the rears? 

Third question - Is there a better way to do this? lol

 

Thanks! 

icon

Best answer by Airgetlam 12 July 2023, 20:12

View original
This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

19 replies

Airgetlam

Welcome!

No, the proposed system will not work the way you want. The Arc already has right, center, and left built in to it, there is no way to separate that out to feed the extra front speakers. 
 

You can only have a single pair of speakers as your rear surround speakers, bonding an Amp to the Arc would achieve that, although general wisdom is that ceiling speakers are not necessarily the best for that, since the ambient sound from surrounds is really designed to be at ear height. That being said, there are many who are pleased with that setup, so it’s worth a test to see how you like it. 

The Arc, with a pair of surrounds, an a Sub (or two, or one mini-sub) is all you can place in a Sonos Home theater ‘room’

If it were up to me, I would just set up the Amp powering those wall speakers as a separate ‘room’ and use them just for music. If you tried to ‘group’ them with the Arc, while playing input from the TV, there would be a minimum of a 75ms delay between the two rooms. However, grouped while streaming music would be wonderful. 

Bruce
B
Badge

So you can only bond 1 amp to Arc?  What about not using the Arc and only using the in wall/ceiling speakers with the subs? I could also position a pair of the in-wall speakers behind my one side of my couch at ear level, would that help?  

Airgetlam

Yes, you can bind one Amp as surrounds to an Arc. 
 

You could replace the Arc with an Amp, which would drive your stereo pair of speakers, and then get a ‘faux’ center channel created by that pair. You would then bond the second Amp to the first to get the surround channels. 

Sonos doesn’t make any situation in which you can have a disparate center channel speaker, all of their solutions either include it in a sound bar, or as a generated channel created by combining signals from the right and left speaker. 

Take a few minutes to read this area of the forum, you’ll find dozens of requests like yours, all with similar answers like mine. 

Bruce
106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Sonos is great for dual use, music and HT, in a "normal consumer" like set up. For a dedicated theater room I'd choose a dedicated HT receiver and speakers, maybe binding them to Sonos speakers elsewhere in the house through a Sonos Port.

B
Badge

Which option is going to sound the best?  The Arc with rears only or the in walls and ceiling both powered by amps?  Will the subs work without the Arc?

melvimbe

You say you already have all these speakers.  Are they wired and installed or you’ve just purchased them but they are still in box?

Sonos is a wireless multiroom audio system first and foremost.  Secondary, it’s a home theatre system for people who can’t setup wired systems for various reasons.   It sounds to me like your trying to use Sonos more like a traditional wired home theatre system.  Since you have access to put wires behind the walls and ceiling, why not use a traditional wired home theatre system?   Seriously, I think Sonos is great, but it’s not right answer for every situation,  If you want wide stereo front speakers, separate center channel, atmos ceiling speakers, and rear surround audio, then don’t use Sonos for this.

You can connect a Port to whatever system you setup so that it can play in sync with whatever Sonos you have in the rest of your house.

Danny
Airgetlam

And, to answer the specific question, the Sonos Sub requires being “bonded” with another Sonos speaker, it can’t exist by itself, or work with another company’s speakers. 

Bruce
AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

If you want to be able to enjoy Dolby Atmos you’ll have to go with the Arc and any combination below for the ultimate sound:

Sub Gen3 x 1 or 2

The above Sub(s) with Era 300 x 2 as surrounds

You could start with Sub(s) and add surrounds later or start with surrounds and add Sub(s) later

If you don’t care about Dolby Atmos you could use in-wall  speakers up front powered by a Sonos Amp and in-ceiling speakers positioned over the seating area for surround powered by a second Sonos Amp.

Honestly, I don’t recommend the in-wall nor in-ceiling setup unless there is a compelling reason. I haven’t read that being voiced in your query.

I suggest you explore alternative use for the in-wall and in-ceiling speakers or return them.

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

Everything is brand new in the boxes.  I was gifted 85% of the items and purchased a few myself.  I don't think I can return the gifted items.  I have a few locations already pre-wired and can wire up another location or two if needed.  First time using Sonos and kinda surprised I can’t create whatever system I want.  I would think with the amps I create my own pairs, etc. 

Would a better option be to use Era 300’s as the rears?

Airgetlam

You can create your own pairs with the Sonos Amp. What you can’t do is break out a Front Channel Center using the Sonos software. As indicated, if you want to use the Amp to drive your own speakers as the “front” of a Home Theater system, you’ll get the generated, not physical, center channel, created by the combination of the signals generated by the right and left.

As previously said, Sonos does not offer a discrete center channel solution, they’re all either generated by combining right and left, or physical, but enclosed in the sound bars offered by Sonos,

I’d tend to agree with Danny here. At this point, you may be better off using the Sonos somewhere else in your home, and go with a wired solution in this particular room. 

Bruce
melvimbe

Everything is brand new in the boxes.  I was gifted 85% of the items and purchased a few myself.  I don't think I can return the gifted items.  I have a few locations already pre-wired and can wire up another location or two if needed.  First time using Sonos and kinda surprised I can’t create whatever system I want.  I would think with the amps I create my own pairs, etc. 

Would a better option be to use Era 300’s as the rears?

 

There are numerous reasons why Sonos doesn’t allow you to set up any number of speakers in any weird configuration you may dream up, but it basically sums to Sonos wanting to offer a good reliable system for you.  

For rear surrounds, anything coming from behind you and head level is going to sound better than ceiling speakers.  Those can be in wall speakers (amp), bookshelf speakers,  ikea symfonisk speakers, Sonos Ones, Era 100s or Era 300s.  Era 300s would be the best option, but I personally and rather happy with using Sonos Ones.  That said, I don’t have a dedicated theatre room or optimal position to place Era 300s.

Danny
B
Badge

Has anyone watched this yet?

 

 

melvimbe

I have not watched that particular video, but familiar with Peter Pees videos.  He does a good job of evaluating Sonos products and features, and wireless audio systems in general, 

Danny
Airgetlam

I’m not a regular watcher of Mr. Pee’s videos, but have watched many of them in the past, just not this one. Having watched the first 3 or 5 minutes of it, I’d argue with him that using ceiling speakers as rear home theater surrounds is not the ideal setup. But sound is a personal thing, if he likes it, that’s absolutely fine. That kind of placement for surrounds is just not for me. 

Bruce
B
Badge

Why does it say this was answered? I’m not done

 Instead of the in ceiling speakers as my rears can I use my in wall speakers I was planning on using for the front as in wall rears which can be ear height?

or do I use era 300s for the rears with the subs and Arc and use all these in wall/ceiling speakers for “music”?
 

 

Airgetlam

Sometimes, the forum moderators mark an ‘answer’, or the original poster can. I know I’ve accidentally hit that button before on some of my threads, but the regulars who are replying here won’t look at that. 
 

You could use the in wall speakers as rear surrounds, but then you’d be missing out on any Atmos effects that you could get from the Era 300s. 
 

If it were me, I would still go with an Arc, a Sub, and Era 300s as surrounds. If you get a third generation sub, rather than an older version (effectively the same sound profile) you could then decide to get a second Sub ( either 2nd or 3rd gen).

I would use the in wall speakers, and the in ceiling speakers as music only devices, each connected to their own Amp. 

Bruce
B
Badge

Ok thanks. I prefer the discreteness of the in walls but I guess I’ll have to decide. Can I mount the Eras on the ceiling and face them downwards?

I have 2 gen 3 subs already. 

B
Badge

New day.  New question.

Can 

I pair one in wall and one in ceiling speaker to create a Right or Left? I would only need 1 Amp right? Which is the Arc’s limit correct?

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

The Amp does not have any issues with that.

The sound may be a bit odd though.

I’m not a fan of knocking holes in the room to try out how a setup sounds, changing your mind is usually expensive and often ugly as the patch won’t blend perfectly. In your situation I’d be tempted to get an inexpensive Sonos pair and try placing them as close as possible to where you intend to cut holes. A pair of One SLs, 100s or even a used set of Play 1s is going to be cheaper than a hole patching project.

Terms & ConditionsCookie settings