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Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice on upgrading my Sonos setup. I have a Beam Gen 2 with my TV in a relatively large open-plan space that includes my living room, dining area, and kitchen. I’m considering adding either:

  • 2x Era 100
  • 1x or 2x Era 300

I’ve read that a pair of Era 300s might be overkill for my needs and that 2x Era 100s might be better for creating a home theater experience. However, I don’t watch movies that often, so home theater isn’t my primary goal. Instead, I’d like to create great overall sound for the space, as I will also use the system to listen to music, podcasts, etc. So I’m wondering if 1x 300 might be better than 2x 100.

Additionally, if I go for a pair of speakers (either 100 or 300), does their placement need to follow specific rules considering the home theater (e.g., opposite each other behind the sofa, or next to the TV, etc.)? Would it work if I placed one speaker behind the sofa and another in the kitchen? Or should they always be positioned symmetrically for optimal performance?

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions!

If you use the speakers as surrounds they need to be on opposite sides behind the viewer. Since your primary goal does not seem to be home cinema however, I would not go this route. If you want to fill the space with music I'd go for an extra Era 300 (if you play Atmos music) or Five for non-Atmos. You could also use one or two era 100';s for this. You can group the speakers with the Beam - remember that when grouped when watching TV the speakers will lag behind. With music they will be in sync. 

Thank you so much for your input! I primarily play music using Spotify, which I believe supports Atmos.

If I go with 1x Era 300, would I need to turn it off or not use it while watching TV to avoid an echo? That way, I’d only rely on the Beam for TV audio.

On the other hand, if I do want to take advantage of having multiple speakers and have a surround experience for TV/movies, 2x Era 100 might be the better option. From what I understand, they could also help fill the space with music. Would this be a good "best of both worlds" setup?

Or does the music listening experience suffer if the Era 100s are positioned opposite each other behind the sofa/viewer for surround sound? Would that placement be less than ideal for music playback? In that case, would a setup with 2x Era 100 for surrounds and an Era 300 for music throughout the room make sense—or is that just overkill?

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