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My original setup was two Sonos Amps, one configured as Front TV speakers and the other as Rear Surrounds.

Yesterday I bought the Sonos Arc and wanted to keep the original configuration the same but add the Sonos Arc so I would get a better listening experience with more audio coming from the center. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a way to configure it that way.

I tried removing all components from the system and started from scratch. If I add the Sonos Arc first, the only option is to add one of the Sonos Amps as surrounds. There is no option to configure it as front TV speakers. If I add the Sonos Amp first, I can configure it as front TV speakers but then I can’t add the Sonos Arc to the system.

Why do I care if the Sonos Arc provides great audio up front that actually gives me the left and right like the Sonos Amp does? For me the answer is simple. If I use the Arc for the front and configure the Amp for rear surrounds, the subwoofer output of the Amp is disabled and there is no way for me to use my 3rd party subwoofer in my system.

I could repurpose one of my Sonos Amps and my front two passive speakers and subwoofer and purchase the Sonos Subwoofer but that is a pretty expensive alternative for something that should not be limited by software.

Any other ideas?

There just is no way to do what you want to do in the Sonos ecosystem. The Arc can not be used as only a center speaker, there is no solution to drive three separate speakers as the front of a home theater system. 

You can return the Arc, and stay with the Sonos Amp driving your own pair of speakers and a Sub (either Sonos or someone else’s) with the interpolated center channel, or you can go with the Arc, which has all three front channels built in, and restricts you to the use of the Sonos Sub. In that situation, I’d use the Amp in another room. 

I opted to keep the Sonos Arc and use the Sonos Amp for rear surrounds with Bowers Wilkins ceiling speakers.  I will get the Sonos Subwoofer to complete the system.

I moved the other Sonos Amp to the kitchen and attached a pair of Era Design 4 satellite speakers and set it up for music only. Both configurations sound great as is, but I will be glad once I get the subwoofer.

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