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zgmei
Contributor I
January 22, 2021

Play 1 or Five as surround for Sonos Arc?

I have bought several Sonos products so far: Arc, dual Sub, dual Five, dual Play one. I have tried several options to setup my home theater. Two of them are: (1) dual Five as surround, paired Play one grouped as front speaker to enhance dialogue; (2) dual Play one as surround, paired Five group as additional front speakers. I can tell there are some noticeable differences in terms of surrounding sound effect and dialogue from these two setups, but still cannot decide which setup to go. Our family room is quite big 17*25 feet with arched ceiling. I wonder if anyone here had a similar situation. Any suggestions are welcomed. BTW, any suggestions on the orientation of Five as surround, horizontal or vertical?

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3 replies

John B
January 22, 2021

Hi.  Are you not getting an echo on the additional front speakers when you play TV sound, as opposed to music sources?  I would expect imperfect sync in that situation, leaving aside the fact that the stereo through the additional speakers will muddy the surround effects.

This is not a supported configuration and i would have my doubts whichever way round you went for.

    zgmeiAuthor
    Contributor I
    January 22, 2021

    Hi, I didn’t hear any noticeable delay or echo from the additional front speakers when watching movie, but they are definitely helpful to improve the vocal (volume can be controlled separately from Arc) without adding too much volume to the Arc.  

    John B
    January 22, 2021

    Hi, I didn’t hear any noticeable delay or echo from the additional front speakers when watching movie, but they are definitely helpful to improve the vocal (volume can be controlled separately from Arc) without adding too much volume to the Arc.  

    OK I’ll take your word for it.  I think if I had to choose one or other of these setups I would put the Fives at the front.  That may just reflect the fact that I use Sonos for music more than TV & movies, and I think that arrangement would be the better one for music.

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