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Sonos Era 300 wall mount positioning

J
Userlevel 4

Hello everyone, pre ordered a pair of Era 300 with wall mounts, I want to use them as rear speakers with Arc and Sub. Could you please help me? I’m not a native English speaker so please, understand me if I write something incorrect :)

Most of the people have te sofa against the wall, in my case I can leave 50cm to 1m space from wall to the sofa, but I’m so scared to do something wrong. My room is quite big, my sofa height is 1.10m with headrest included. I was thinking to put the speakers above the armrests of the couch (wall mounts), a little over the ear level (this because of the headrest, I think it will “block” the sound somehow) so from 1.10m up, would that be a good thing to do? Over the speakers I’ve got a lot of space, it’s not a problem leaving 60cm above the speakers, same thing with the sides, I can leave 20cm at the sides of the speakers without problem. Then it comes the distance from wall to the couch, I can leave up to 1 meter of space. What would you do if you were me? Please guys, help me decide :)

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Best answer by Corry P 27 March 2023, 16:16

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56 replies

Majo133
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

Hi @Majo133 

The decision was made after extensive user testing and feedback determined no front speaker audio provided the best sound, when the Era 300s are configured as surrounds.

The advertising materials state what they state because that is what the speakers have. When not configured as surrounds, the centre channel driver is active, whether the speaker is operating alone or with another in a stereo pair.

I hope this helps.

 

 

Well thanks for your reply.

Wouldn’t be good to inform users about this decision somewhere in the app after ERAs are added as surrounds? I guess i (and few other users who already noticed this) won’t be the last. I get it when the creator decides what is best for the user, but when user is testing the feature and the feature doesn’t work as it should and user is not informed anywhere how it should work, well then the confusion occurs. 
 

So wouldn’t u consider adding this information somewhere to the ERAs surround setup?

Yesterday, is not today.
Majo133
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

Hi @JackThr1ll3r 

You are very welcome!

The best height for any surround speakers would be at head height for anyone sitting watching a movie.

As for the centre channel not firing, this is by design for when Era 300s are configured as surround speakers - nothing to worry about. Note that the centre driver is a tweeter, so you’re not missing out on any oomph.

I hope this helps.

I am the OP the of “ERA's 300 center channel not working if connected as surrounds to ARC/SUB” 

 

So could u please explain, why marketing materials are stating, that there are 6 drivers, specifically, center, side left, side right, upfiring, and 2 side woofers and yet u are knowingly omitting the center channel in the surround setup? I am kinda really not fan of this fact.

Yesterday, is not today.
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Majo133 

The decision was made after extensive user testing and feedback determined no front speaker audio provided the best sound, when the Era 300s are configured as surrounds.

The advertising materials state what they state because that is what the speakers have. When not configured as surrounds, the centre channel driver is active, whether the speaker is operating alone or with another in a stereo pair.

I hope this helps.

 

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @JackThr1ll3r 

You are very welcome!

The best height for any surround speakers would be at head height for anyone sitting watching a movie.

As for the centre channel not firing, this is by design for when Era 300s are configured as surround speakers - nothing to worry about. Note that the centre driver is a tweeter, so you’re not missing out on any oomph.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
melvimbe

@Corry P

 

I don’t want to “reach”, but couldn’t there be a toggle to enable the “center driver” for example only for music?

Something like the Surround Audio — Music Playback feature.

So at least in music scenarios, ERAs are not “crippled” in surround setup. Because in “stereo” standalone mode without ARC, they sound much better in my opinion.

I think this is a very strange feature of the era 300, been testing for two days and couldn't figure it out until I put my ears to the speaker and had no sound with the front driver😳 Sonos fix this!!

 

I understand why someone would want the center channel always in use, whether it’s objectively or subjectively better audio or not, simply to fully use what they paid for.  However,  I’m not exactly crazy about the prospect of development spending a lot of time setting up an alternate mode for these rears where it processes the audio differently, send different audio to different speakers, as well as the impact on trueplay tuning.  It does seem like it would be a good idea to use the front speaker for ‘ful ‘ stereo streaming sources.  I’m of mixed mind on this, but not having heard the speakers yet (arriving today) and intending to use the speakers as a pair rather then surrounds, I suppose I don’t have much of a dog in the fight.

Danny
Majo133
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

Hi @Majo133 

Perhaps - I recommend you start a new topic making this point and it will be marked as a feature request. Thanks!

I created a post

 as u suggested 

Yesterday, is not today.
C
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Majo133 

Point taken - thanks for your feedback! I’ll pass this along to the product team.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
B

 

Merci beaucoup cela me rassure sur ma futur installation. Pouvez-vous me faire un retour d’expérience à l’occasion ? Merci beaucoup 😉

Majo133
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

Hi @Majo133 

Point taken - thanks for your feedback! I’ll pass this along to the product team.

Thanks Corry, appreciate it.

Yesterday, is not today.
C
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

Hello everyone, pre ordered a pair of Era 300 with wall mounts, I want to use them as rear speakers with Arc and Sub. Could you please help me? I’m not a native English speaker so please, understand me if I write something incorrect :)

Most of the people have te sofa against the wall, in my case I can leave 50cm to 1m space from wall to the sofa, but I’m so scared to do something wrong. My room is quite big, my sofa height is 1.10m with headrest included. I was thinking to put the speakers above the armrests of the couch (wall mounts), a little over the ear level (this because of the headrest, I think it will “block” the sound somehow) so from 1.10m up, would that be a good thing to do? Over the speakers I’ve got a lot of space, it’s not a problem leaving 60cm above the speakers, same thing with the sides, I can leave 20cm at the sides of the speakers without problem. Then it comes the distance from wall to the couch, I can leave up to 1 meter of space. What would you do if you were me? Please guys, help me decide :)

Hello, sorry for my English, I'm French. Just to warn you that I received the 2x Era 300 when they came out, and I mounted them on the ceiling with the inverted brackets, and it's just too good. The trueplay setting is done, and after several tests of movies in dolby atmos and also with atmos testers I can tell you that it plays super well. I'm delighted. Personally, I would strongly recommend this inverted positioning because the vertical sounds descend directly to the ears and are not attenuated or broken by reflection on the ceiling.

 

J
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

7 months later sonos still don't support inverted mount , pair of 900£ speakers that manufacturers doesn't care about customer... 
Stop working so hard on new arc 2 and fix what need to be fixed first... 
 

RANT OVER :D

T

Good afternoon, 

 

@Corry P 

I have my Era 300's inverted and tuned them with trueplay and they sound great.  I've checked audio to ensure left and right sounds were accurate and it seems correct. 

 

I also called Sonos customer support and they said they ran diagnostic and could see the trueplay set up ensuring the left is left (even inverted) and right is right.  

 

One suggestion would be that the Sonos App displays that they're inverted to help the confusion for installs.  

 

Thanks

Trevor

 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @JackThr1ll3r 

To be honest, I think that would still count as “head height”, so no worries there!

As for the centre channel, it is by design so I wouldn’t expect any changes - the speakers are designed to work in concert with Arc to deliver 7.1.4 sound, and the centre channel tweeter not firing will be a part of this collaboration.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Chuck XM 

Thanks for reporting.

So we can be sure of several things, could you please take the trouble to submit a support diagnostic and reply here with the number given, and please include in your reply a screenshot of the message you see in the app and a photo of your Era 300s in-situ? I’ll be happy to take a look at the situation for you. Thank you!

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
SarahN
Userlevel 6
Badge +14

And @Corry P - maybe add some info on the pinned Era 300 Post on this site?

Just so those who are using them in this way, don’t think there is something wrong with their speakers.

Can you have too many Sonos speakers? 🤔 😆
C
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

 

Merci beaucoup cela me rassure sur ma futur installation. Pouvez-vous me faire un retour d’expérience à l’occasion ? Merci beaucoup 😉

j’ai déjà fait mon retour dans le précédent message. Ce système monte à l’envers est vraiment très très bon.

les effets sont précis et puissants en atmos,

Testé sur plusieurs films comme MAD MAX , Ready player One, le dernier Batman, Dune et free guy.

 

faudrait juste que je test aussi sur Bohemian Rhapsody pour essayer un film musical atmos.

je pense que cela peut être super.

Majo133
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

@Corry P 

 

I don’t want to “reach”, but couldn’t there be a toggle to enable the “center driver” for example only for music?

Something like the Surround Audio — Music Playback feature.

So at least in music scenarios, ERAs are not “crippled” in surround setup. Because in “stereo” standalone mode without ARC, they sound much better in my opinion.

Yesterday, is not today.
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Majo133 

Perhaps - I recommend you start a new topic making this point and it will be marked as a feature request. Thanks!

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Paul0521 

No-one has thought of putting that in the reference material, but I think I’m safe in saying that both units would need to be in the same orientation, and, importantly, at the same height. Please also note that in the inverted orientation Atmos rendering will not be as immersive, so even once inverted is supported, we’d still recommend the normal orientation wherever possible.

 

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @tjwilliam07 

I’m not sure what aspect of the inverted configuration is not yet supported by the software, but I am glad to hear you are happy with the results so far! Thanks for sharing.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
C
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

Hi @Chuck XM 

Thanks for reporting.

So we can be sure of several things, could you please take the trouble to submit a support diagnostic and reply here with the number given, and please include in your reply a screenshot of the message you see in the app and a photo of your Era 300s in-situ? I’ll be happy to take a look at the situation for you. Thank you!

Hello Corry,

since my come back at home, I cant show the warning message. Maybe an update of app or sound system.

 

I let you know if the issue back again.

have à Nice week-end.

C
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

Hi @Chuck XM 

Thanks for reporting.

So we can be sure of several things, could you please take the trouble to submit a support diagnostic and reply here with the number given, and please include in your reply a screenshot of the message you see in the app and a photo of your Era 300s in-situ? I’ll be happy to take a look at the situation for you. Thank you!

hi Corry, ok thank you, I will send you all information when I come back at home after my summer holiday week.

 

have a Nice day.

 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @thecodingart 

I think you’ve misunderstood - though it’s also just as possible that I have misunderstood you. I think one or both of the following points will give you an answer, either way.

It is not a case of the speakers swapping being a left speaker or a right speaker, but that when a speaker is flipped upside-down, the right of the speaker becomes the left of the speaker and vice versa. The speaker being aware of this is down to it’s accelerometers (not TruePlay), so when these tell it that it has been flipped, the software must react and flip it’s concept of which side of that one speaker is which, not which speaker it is in the Home Theatre configuration. It took me a wee while to type this paragraph as clearly and unambiguously as I could, so I can easily see why it was not done in the quoted text, or perhaps not clearly explained to the author during a support phone call.

This whole process is independent of TruePlay, but when TruePlay is performed on a flipped speaker, TruePlay has to be aware of the orientation to compute the changes to be made, and to apply them properly. TruePlay cannot swap the speakers from being left to being right, or vice versa.

I hope this helps.

Just to be clear, and in case anyone reading this missed it when I said it earlier, inverted mounting of Era 300s is not yet supported by the software.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
T
Userlevel 2
Badge

Hi @thecodingart 

I think you’ve misunderstood - though it’s also just as possible that I have misunderstood you. I think one or both of the following points will give you an answer, either way.

It is not a case of the speakers swapping being a left speaker or a right speaker, but that when a speaker is flipped upside-down, the right of the speaker becomes the left of the speaker and vice versa. The speaker being aware of this is down to it’s accelerometers (not TruePlay), so when these tell it that it has been flipped, the software must react and flip it’s concept of which side of that one speaker is which, not which speaker it is in the Home Theatre configuration. It took me a wee while to type this paragraph as clearly and unambiguously as I could, so I can easily see why it was not done in the quoted text, or perhaps not clearly explained to the author during a support phone call.

This whole process is independent of TruePlay, but when TruePlay is performed on a flipped speaker, TruePlay has to be aware of the orientation to compute the changes to be made, and to apply them properly. TruePlay cannot swap the speakers from being left to being right, or vice versa.

I hope this helps.

Just to be clear, and in case anyone reading this missed it when I said it earlier, inverted mounting of Era 300s is not yet supported by the software.

I believe I was misunderstood earlier, but I do believe you answered my question. There are others in Reddit and various other communication channels reporting that the inner/outer speakers were swapped without the Era 300s being inverted, or even performing True Play. From your comments, it sounds like the build in accelerometers are the hardware component that can trigger a swap like that. Hypothetically, if there was a bug or defect in the unit, it would likely be around the accelerometer functionality hardware/software wise or a bug in the initial pairing as surrounds. 

I do believe there should be a visual showing if this “switch” is active or not within the application for debugging and awareness purposes. Especially to point out if an issue is occurring unintentionally. 

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