Feature Request - Sonos IKEA "Invisible" Atmos Ceiling Light/Speaker

  • 9 August 2023
  • 6 replies
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  • Dean_H
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Right. I’m going to stop after this as brain is getting carried away.

Any chance of there being an IKEA collaboration, similar to the Sympfonisk, to create a ceiling light with built in Sonos speakers to work as either dedicated down-firing Atmos speakers or “invisible” music speakers?

Context: I’m a “tech-on-show minimalist” and would rather hide/ghost it all as much of it as possible. The Symfonisk lamp speakers are okay and all but better for surrounds or discrete ground level music (not a great fan of the look personally). Upfiring speakers in the Arc and Era 300s are great and all but definitely doesn't have the power/presence/directionality of a dedicated in-ceiling speaker. 

Given most rooms have a ceiling light via ceiling rose in the centre of the room, I would LOVE Sonos Atmos speakers built discretely into a ceiling light where either music or dedicated Atmos down firing speakers would live. That way, even if you don’t have any other speakers, you get the benefit of music in a room that’s not on show or without the distraction and would have people wondering where it’s coming from (which would be cool)

It’s a bit of a crude (non-structural) diagram but in my head it would look something like this or this:

…..but there are SO many design possibilities when you start thinking shapes, sizes, LEDs and strips at the what not.

Come on Ikea and Sonos. Hopefully it would happen before I make a trip to IKEA and tear down some old Play:1s and try going full Macguyver :-)

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6 replies

buzz

If you want truly invisible speakers, look at Amina or similar. Note that these are high quality. Beware that there are products at 1/10 or less the cost that are nonsense products.

ratty

A few observations:

These days modern homes often no longer fit ceiling roses, particularly in living spaces.

If the speaker was integral, as in the sketches, the light would have to be switched on any time the speaker needed to operate.

There are quite probably regulations that say you shouldn’t power active speakers off a light switch.

controlav
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If you are in the UK: https://zuma.ai/

Author of the leading independent Sonos app for Windows, the only Sonos app for Xbox, and a Sonos app for iOS
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Appreciate the suggestion @controlav. Shame they’re so expensive per unit

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A few observations:

These days modern homes often no longer fit ceiling roses, particularly in living spaces.

If the speaker was integral, as in the sketches, the light would have to be switched on any time the speaker needed to operate.

There are quite probably regulations that say you shouldn’t power active speakers off a light switch.

I’m sure there are @ratty . Having the lights on to use the speaker I would be the same principle as most smart lightbulb systems like Philips hue I would imagine.
 

No doubt regulations would be required for the active speakers, but if it can be done for the Symfonisk (albeit plugged vs. Wired), I would imagine it’s about creating and certify it first.

Maybe in time

 

melvimbe

I get the appeal, but I just don’t think it’s a great idea in reality.

For one, many would argue that upfiring speakers are actually better for atmos than ceiling speakers in a typical home space. The reason being that with ceiling speakers, you are closer to the speaker and your brain will often recognize the audio is coming from the speaker.  With upfiring, the distance is further between speaker and you, and bounced, so you get the sensation that audio is coming from above more generally rather than a pinpoint location. I’m not sure I agree with that, but it’s a common thought.  But I think it definitely would come into play if you have both atmos ceiling speakers coming from your light fixture at the center of the room.

As already mentioned, power would be an issue. You don’t want the power going on and off with the corresponding light, so you would not only need a special lighting fixture, but also a specific light switch.  Unless your using a smart bulb, and your light switch is permanently on, but that is not ideal for a lot of people.  

Which brings up the point that you’re going to have significant costs for this setup. The ikea lamp is $250.  How much more do you think it’s going to cost for a similar ceiling fixture with additional tweeters and woofers, switch, etc?  That doesn’t even consider the cost to install if you don’t want to do it yourself.  

How many different styles would you need to create for this.  Wall art and lamps are fairly generatic and modular, but ceiling lights are much more varied.  And since they are right in the middle of your room, they definitely need to meet spouse approval factor.  For me personally, my light is a ceiling fan, so that would need to be an available option.  

And Sonos would need to redesign their home theatre setup to allow for separate atmos speakers as well as rear surround and subs.  I don’t know, but I doubt that this is a small task, particularly considering the trueplay tuning involved.  I would think they have a lot better development projects that appeal to a wider audience to look at.

Lastly, I looked around a little bit to see if something similar existed.  There does seem to be a bit of a market for lights with built in bluetooth speakers, mostly flush mount with LED lights, often waterproof so it can be used over a shower.  This seems like a much easier to develop with a broader market to get to if ikea/Sonos wanted to get into lighting fixtures.

Danny
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