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Looking to add ERA 300 speakers to my surround sound, would like to install them on the shelf in the picture where the red circles are.  The speakers would be 10’ high, 10’ from the back of the sofa and 25’ from the TV (if that matters).  As you can see its an open floor plan with no good place to put them on the wall or on floor stands.  Would they be effective on that top shelf or am I wasting my money?  
 

 

With so many Sonos owners having issues because of the new poorly designed app and many dealers seeing a big reduction in sales ..why would you even consider new Sonos at this time? Sonos has dug a deep hole they’re trying to crawl out of…


With so many Sonos owners having issues because of the new poorly designed app and many dealers seeing a big reduction in sales ..why would you even consider new Sonos at this time? Sonos has dug a deep hole they’re trying to crawl out of…

And Black Friday is just around the corner 😁


From Sonos’ web site:

Where should I place Era 300?

For optimal sound quality, Era 300 should be placed indoors and have approximately two feet of overhead clearance. Placement in an enclosed space such as a bookshelf is not recommended as this could impact dispersion and playback clarity.

 

How close to the ceiling will they be? 


For me this would be less than optimal, you’ll need to decide for yourself.


From Sonos’ web site:

Where should I place Era 300?

For optimal sound quality, Era 300 should be placed indoors and have approximately two feet of overhead clearance. Placement in an enclosed space such as a bookshelf is not recommended as this could impact dispersion and playback clarity.

 

How close to the ceiling will they be? 

It would be 2’ from the ceiling.  

 


For me this would be less than optimal, you’ll need to decide for yourself.

What would be optimal for you from what you see in the pics? 


IMO placing Era 300’s  at the position shown would not be efficient; for surround. Speakers used a surrounds (not just Sonos) perform better when there are walls on either side to reflect the sound.

Surround images leaving the Era 300’s in the proposed positions would IMO lose effectiveness due to the room opening up (so to speak) thus causing the sound to disperse before it reaches the listener. Era 300’s in the position shown would perform better as dedicated music speakers to wash-over the dining area and into other places of the space.

Optimum placement for Era 300’s as surrounds would be better placed on the ledge behind the sofa.


Optimum placement for Era 300’s as surrounds would be better placed on the ledge behind the sofa.


I agree, but even that will be a compromise:

  • When using Era 300 speakers as surrounds, leave at least 8" (20.32cm) clearance around the sides of each speaker.

The sofa is offset from the centre of the ledge so they can’t be placed ideally even there. Maybe wall mounts or one on shelf and one on floor stand? 
 

Buy and try seems a good option here. Use the home trial period for the speakers to test them in different locations and decide how it sounds. If you don’t like any, return them. 


@nik9669a 

I agree with your assessment as well. My use of the term optimum in my last statement was a little over the top.

In second analysis I think the better placement would be a wall mount on the vertical pillars behind the sofa. The shape of the space makes any placement less than ideal but compromises will have to be made/accepted.