Replace Arc with 2 or 3 Era 300

Hi Bruce, It would be possible though, if the Software allowed it? I can’t for the life of me figure out why they wouldn’t allow its users to do this? I can understand maybe not allowing Stereo equipment to be used as a home theatre or Atmos set up, but since the Era 300’s arrival, using these instead of the Arc would be awesome. 

As @Airgetlam has said the request for Sonos to allow 3 speakers across the front instead of a sound bar has been requested too many times to track. However, having had home theater setups before Sonos existed; I would say from a marketing viewpoint if would be a death knell for the Five or whatever they’ll be branded as in the future.

Back in my day the left and right speakers were full pledged speakers that were marked first as a stereo set. The center speaker and surrounds could be added for home theater. Those companies then (and even today) aligned themselves to have four revenue streams.

A set of speakers for stereo listening comprised the first revenue steam..then adding a center speaker, surrounds and sub comprised the second, third and fourth revenue streams respectively. I might add that the center and surround speakers typically were not autonomous. A wired fully integrated traditional home theater requires speakers designed/tuned each for a specific purpose.

Sonos has four revenue steams...the Arc or Beam as the first, Sub, Surrounds and Fives as the second, third and fourth respectively. Since the speakers used as surrounds can stand-alone either singularly or as pair one could argue there are an infinite number of revenue streams to drive Sonos business that possibly exceed those of traditional home theater manufacturers.

Having said all the above here’s my point…

If Sonos were to design Left/Right speakers that when not used in a home theater sounded just as good as a Five (or Five's in stereo pair) there would go a revenue stream. Possibly two or three (that being the Arc and/or Beam) if the center speaker used could also stand on its own. However, I doubt a center speaker could be autonomous as it would be tuned differently versus those used Left/Right. Then again Sonos could possibly design (at a cost) software that would allow the user to select home theater mode versus general use for a speaker designated as center. However, that a long shot; IMO.

Sonos has a unique business model that doesn’t align with traditional home theater manufacturers...and rightfully so. It offers products that align with the end-user specific use scenario. Unlike traditional speaker manufacturers Sonos products are cross-functional.

If you want a Sonos home theater you start with the Arc or Beam 2 and add components. If you want good, better, best stereo...you invest in (today) the Era 100’s, Era 300’s or Fives respectively. Each product uniquely can stand-alone. There is no one product in the Sonos speaker line that is a lame-duck if not used in a specific manner. I exclude the sub because regardless the manufacturer it can never be autonomously used.

In conclusion there are probably numerous ways of looking at and dissecting the subject matter put forth by the OP (and others of the same). This is JMHO.

I have the Arc + Sub + Era 300s setup and I think Dolby Atmos music sounds incredible. It sounds much better than just a pair of Era 300s alone. Why exactly do you think the Arc sounds bad? How far are you seated from the Arc? How tall is your ceiling? Is it flat and without obstructions?

If you think the Arc “sounds terrible”, why did you keep it? Why didn’t you just return it and purchase the Sennheiser AMBEO?

Why not an amp with a pair of high end stereo speakers? Maybe this can meet your needs better

I personally think the arc is plenty enough but your right it’s more meant for movies than music. I don’t say its bad for music, for me it’s great but i also feel that when playing music with the arc alone vs other sonos speakers and I don’t even have the fives or the eras! I am not sure but maybe it feel little lost because it’s more focused on creating sound objects everywhere and therefore lucking the  stereo effect of a pair of good speakers? Or maybe its just the difference between rooms? You can set up two amps and get also in ceilings for the rears but it’s a much more investment 

I wish Sonos would allow more customisation. I just watched a video on YouTube from a guy who seems to be on the same page. He has put together Era’s as a different room and messed with settings to get to a sound which Sonos should provide, but as a consumer clean set up. 

Ditch the Arc and just use the Era 300’s. I hate sound bars, now we have the Era 300’s give us the option for centre, left and right config in the Era’s rather than the Arc. I can't wait to hear the Era 500’s when they are released. 

I’m not too sure why you had to make such an obvious statement? Maybe until owning soundbars you figure out they aren't great, especially for music. However, what is real, is that the era 300’s are far better than an Arc; period! Also, they are far better than any other consumer Atmos speaker out there.

IMO It makes sense to allow users to use the Era 300’s as a conventional front, left and right speaker set up, unless a Sonos representative can explain why it wouldn't? This set up would be awesome, for for dolby atoms content in home theatre and music. Are you the type of person who doesn't like to see change or debate, look where that gets people? If you are happy with their arc and your set up, that's great. 

No, this isn’t possible.

I’d have to wonder about the cost of the extra chips in the devices that weren’t being used in home theater systems. It makes more sense to create specialized (or some subset of) devices. 

I get this totally and thanks for your clarification. I just hope as tech moves forward a more modular Sonos system could be assembled to the users needs and budget.