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dfisher64
Contributor I
August 13, 2024
Answered

Upgrading from 3.1 to 5.1

Hi everyone,

I currently have a 3.1 system: a gen 1 Beam, gen 3 subwoofer and 2-One SL’s for the rear speakers.  I am thinking of upgrading to a 5.1 system by replacing my Beam with a gen 2, and adding 2-Era 100’s.  I would love to get 2-Era 300’s instead, but not in the budget.  My question:  If I upgrade I will have 2-One SL’s and 2-Era 100’s.  Which set should be front speakers and which should be the rear? Or does it matter?

Thanks,

D

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Schlumpf
SchlumpfAnswer
Virtuoso
August 13, 2024

@dfisher64

Hi… it‘s not like you think about Sonos home theater setups. Your current system already IS a 5.1 Setup. Any Sonos soundbar itself is a 3.0 setup as it combines a center and the left and right front channel speakers in one chassis. 
So it‘s NOT possible to add further speakers as frontspeakers to any Sonos soundbar. 
What you can do to improve your setup is replacing the Beam with a Beam2 and the Ones with two Era100. That will push your setup to be Atmos ready and it will be called a 7.1.4 Atmos setup. But be aware that front and rear highs channels and also rear side channels just are virtual. 
A 7.1.4 setup without any virtualization would be an Arc with Sub and a pair of Era300. 
But if you use some Atmos sources and content the „small“ upgrade will be a big step forward.

Ralf
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5 replies

nik9669a
Senior Virtuoso
August 13, 2024

Hi everyone,

I currently have a 3.1 system: a gen 1 Beam, gen 3 subwoofer and 2-One SL’s for the rear speakers.  I am thinking of upgrading to a 5.1 system by replacing my Beam with a gen 2, and adding 2-Era 100’s.  I would love to get 2-Era 300’s instead, but not in the budget.  My question:  If I upgrade I will have 2-One SL’s and 2-Era 100’s.  Which set should be front speakers and which should be the rear? Or does it matter?

Thanks,

D

If you have the Beam with 2xOne SL’s as rear surrounds, plus the Sub, you already have a 5.1 system. The Beam is your front 3 channels. Add in the One SL’s and that takes you to 5. 

    Schlumpf
    SchlumpfAnswer
    Virtuoso
    August 13, 2024

    @dfisher64

    Hi… it‘s not like you think about Sonos home theater setups. Your current system already IS a 5.1 Setup. Any Sonos soundbar itself is a 3.0 setup as it combines a center and the left and right front channel speakers in one chassis. 
    So it‘s NOT possible to add further speakers as frontspeakers to any Sonos soundbar. 
    What you can do to improve your setup is replacing the Beam with a Beam2 and the Ones with two Era100. That will push your setup to be Atmos ready and it will be called a 7.1.4 Atmos setup. But be aware that front and rear highs channels and also rear side channels just are virtual. 
    A 7.1.4 setup without any virtualization would be an Arc with Sub and a pair of Era300. 
    But if you use some Atmos sources and content the „small“ upgrade will be a big step forward.

    Ralf
      dfisher64Author
      Contributor I
      August 13, 2024

      Thank you both!  I bought the original system 4 years ago and forgot that the Beam is 3.0 on its own.  I think I will upgrade the Beam and buy 2-Era 100’s.  Then I will be able to sell the old system as a 5.0 (gen 1 Beam and 2-One SL’s).

      dfisher
        Schlumpf
        Schlumpf
        Virtuoso
        August 13, 2024

        @dfisher64 

        Sounds like a good plan to me. 
        But just to add another idea/option… I would first try just to upgrade the Beam and test it with the existing Ones as a 5.1.2 Atmos setup. I‘m saying that, because I compared both setups with Atmos signals… a Beam 2 plus Sub Mini with two Ones and with two Era100. In my case the difference imo was not worth the costs of buying two Era100 to replace the Ones. 
        But that imo definitely also depends on the individual room situation. If your room has good requirements for virtual audio, it could be a bigger difference. For me it wasn’t. 
        No question, if you wouldn’t already have the Ones, I always would recommend buying the Era100. 
        But just buy and try… on the Sonos online store you get a cash back option. So try both setups and decide if you keep or leave the Era100. 😎

        Ralf
        dfisher64Author
        Contributor I
        August 13, 2024

        That’s a good idea, thanks @Schlumpf. I will take that approach. 🙂 

        dfisher
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