Wiring a SONOS surround sound system

@buzz how to “Add” Sonos Amplifier to sound bar? Wirelessly ?

Thanks.

Yes, both the rear amplifier for the surrounds, as well as the subwoofer in your drawing will connect to the Arc in the front via a 5Ghz (hidden) WiFi connection. As @buzz suggests, there should be a reason to connect the rear (surround) Amp with either an HDMI or Ethernet cable. 

Thanks, @Airgetlam  ! Would the following work?

We're currently remodeling the house, so I want to be 101% sure :) if any wires/cables need to be run, this is the perfect opportunity. I appreciate your feedback!

I’d think so, although I’d be semi concerned about two pairs of surround speakers. Not only is there the possibility that the Amp won’t be able to drive them both, but it will, from a surround standpoint, potentially muddy the soundstage for surround data. 

But I’m fairly particular, I suspect there are others who would suggest it’s fine. 
 

And on the flip side, there have been, although not recently in my memory, a lot of complaints about the ARC implementation on the Samsung Frame. I don’t know if that has been resolved by firmware updates from Samsung or not. It’s possible, given that I’ve not seen anything recently, but it’s also possible that it hasn’t. I don’t know, for sure. 

If you have the opportunity to wire, and you want rear and wide surrounds that actually do something different then Sonos is not your answer. You would be better driving the system from a more conventional AV amplifier with proper Atmos support with in wall speakers at the front too. 

Your diagram indicates that the electronics will be distributed at various locations. For best long term flexibility, I recommend installing enough wires that could allow all of the electronics to be housed at one location.

Placing SUB next to the couch is not optimal. It should be closer to the plane of the front speakers

I appreciate all feedbacks, I modified my system based on your feedbacks:

-- Yes I have freedom to choose any brand, and run any cable at this point. And in deed I will run spare cables just in case in the future I need to change out the brand. For now, I will stick with all SONOS products.

-- Move the two in-ceiling speakers in same plane with the Sub.

-- I will continue to purchase the Samsung Frame TV 75 in. I’ve found some feedback in other Sonos community thread but it looks like HDMI ARC works well with the Frame after some research.

Please let me know if you see any more issue, much appreciate your feedback!

Wire for left and right speakers in the front. There’s no need to pull them out now. They’ll be used at some point in the future.

I still don’t like the subwoofer location. Fortunately, it’s wireless and easy to move in the future if you agree.

@buzz all 4 in-wall speakers are wired to the Sonos Amp already. Agreed that the Sub is movable. Did I still miss anything?

I’m suggesting wiring for an additional, future pair of speakers near the plane of ARC. Actually, two pairs would be even better. One pair as L/R on the TV wall and another in the ceiling near the front wall.

Your latest plan for the rear is OK. If your ceilings are high, consider a pair of wall mount speakers behind the couch.

I have an 1960s home with 7’5’ ceiling height so in-ceiling speakers are reasonable choice I think.

My final point would be that if you think you will want to listen to music through just the Sonos Amp and not have the Arc involved, this isn't easily possible. Without undoing and re-doing the setup of the Amp as surrounds, there is no way to use the Amp (and it’s extra inputs) independently of the Arc. 

Hi @Ian_S — If I read it right, with this setup it is not possible to listen to music only (TV off) using the Amp. Correct ?

You can listen to music, but it will play through all the speakers (Arc and Amp), with the Amp speakers configured as Ambient (lesser volume) or Full (full volume).

Got it! Do you still have surround sound when TV is off in this case?

That depends if by TV off you mean Arc off as well. If you want to use the Amp on it’s own to listen to music, esp. through say the Amp’s line in, then that won’t be easily done. 

If as jgatie says, you’re happy to use the system with the Arc+Amp then streamed music will play across all speakers. However the Amp line in will be disabled. 

If you want surround music, which you may get through say a Blu-ray player attached to the TV, that would only work with the TV on… 

@Ian_S 

After talking with some guys, we came up with the following idea to have surround sound musics without TV. I think you can play the music in iPhone/iTune and stream it to the ARC. 

What do you think?

AirPlay 2 to any Sonos device is stereo, and does not contain surround channels. In order to get surround into the Arc, it requires something coming in on the ARC channel (usually a TV set generating this) to the Arc, via HDMI. 

Thanks @Airgetlam 

One more question, with regarding to the two in-ceiling speakers above, I am weighing in on Bowers & Wilkins - CI600 Series 6" In-Ceiling Speakers rather than Sonance - VX66R - Visual Experience Series 6" Medium Round 2-Way Speakers (Pair) - Paintable White. Would you agree?

For some more information: my living room area is 24ft by 12 ft, and ceiling high is 7.5ft. The setup is in the middle of the room with the couch facing the long wall where the TV is located right in the center closer to the ceiling. I think two surround speakers like above are sufficient and I don't need 4 (I think).

I am almost ready to purchase...

No knowledge, personal experience, or opinion on the speakers. 

In general four surrounds will sound worse than two for imaging, they may play louder but not without imaging impacts.

I’m no fan or expert on built-in speakers, but I’d likely go with the Sonos/Sonance 8” ones. Might be overkill but turning them down is a lot less pain than trying to swap in bigger ones or deal with imaging issues.