Truplay Tuning Amp-Powered Rear Surrounds

Sonos is considering the front driver to be enabled for Stereo sources, it isn’t likely to sound as good as disabled but it seems folks want it on anyway.

Not sure how that possible option relates to Atmos sources though?

 Hi

@aburst42

Thanks for the diagram...very helpful! 

I suggest raising the Arc to the minimum distance of 4 inches  below the TV as indicated in the Arc Product Guide here. You want to increase the bounce angle to the floor as much as possible while directing more audio to the listener. Be sure to use the Sonos wall mount for the Arc shown here; as it provides the proper thickness to allow the Arc to detect that it is wall mounted.

Using Era 300’s will require that the right speaker (seated position facing TV) be moved away from the wall. Sonos recommends 8 inches. You could probably “fudge” a bit and get away with 5-6 inches without compromising its sound affect for Dolby Atmos. See Era Product guide here.

Era 100’s with dual angled tweeters (left/right) per speaker are more forgiving (than Era 300’s); but you’ll lose full immersion for Dolby Atmos affects in the rear. However the Arc will function as expected for Dolby Atmos content. Also, Era 100’s  will compliment the Arc better than a pair of One SL’s.

Using Trueplay will help equalize the sound to your room regardless of the angled ceiling. It’s not a silver bullet but works in most cases.

On a personal note...the Arc is an impressive sound bar. However, it lacks low-end IMO (and most will agree). If I had to choose between adding a sub or surrounds (based upon budget) I’d opt for the sub. Adding a sub relieves the Arc of low-end duties and allows it to better focus on mids, highs and directional channels. Dialogue is greatly improved as well.

I hope what I've provided is useful and helps you make an informed decision. BTW, be sure to check your private messages 😉.

@AjTrek1, all of that is super-helpful!

A pair of ERA 100s it is!

The 300, even at 5” from the wall, will still encroach into the head space of the secondary listener. Not to mention the vast price difference from the 100 (almost double).

On the other hand, “downgrading” to the Refurb (and discontinued) One SLs doesn’t seem to justify the corresponding discount.

Excellent point on the Sub, it’s in the plans :) Speaking of which - it so happens that the couch is hollow underneath (it’s more of a foam-padded shell than anything else). That allows me to experiment with putting the Sub on its side, literally under the main viewing position. Putting it on its side is supported (per the instructions in the faq here), but I’m wondering if putting it “inside” the couch, as it were, is likely to damage it due to the confined space, heat dissipation, or anything I might be missing. Or, put differently, is it safe to experiment with it in such a location?

Acoustically the couch is essentially transparent at the SUB’s operating frequencies. I don’t expect any major heat issues, but you’ll need to experiment with that.

@AjTrek1

Good Morning… 

So you think a Sonos amp for use with rearspeakers connected to none of these Sonance models won’t be included in a trueplay setup?

As I understand the Sonos article @Airgetlam linked above…

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/trueplay-compatible-devices-and-sonos-products

…and also what I got as information from Sonos support, in a home theater setup all devices are included in trueplay optimization, if the master device is ready for trueplay. 
For me this sounds logical, because the Connect Amp is also included there in rear mode and the Connect Amp isn’t ready for this special setup with Sonance speakers. 
So as a result the Connect Amp and Sonos Amp in rear mode connected to any passive speakers should be included in the trueplay setting by the master device.