Best for TV and Music

@Geebee at the moment, going to Passive Speakers and an Amp is out of my price range (unless I literally do Amp + Passive Speakers + Sub and skip the Arc)

What if I start with a Port with the A5s, the Arc and the Sub? That way I can use my current gear and see how it sounds. Can always expand and add One SL (or Fives), or if I really want, I can expand to Passive Speakers and sell the Port. Luckily Sonos gear doesn’t decrease much in value over time :)

@zsamuels28 I indeed meant to buy an AMP instead of the ARC, corrected that in my previous post, sorry.

Remember, you can not bond the Port with the Sub. So you would only use the Sub for TV sound, right? That's a bit expensive. I like that I can use the Sub with TV and with music via the AMP, 2-in-1 :-). Offcourse you can always sell the Port. But this sounds like you already know that you think it will not be enough :-). I understand that you maybe want to hang on to your A5’s. It took me a bit of time to get rid of my Arcam amp. But hey, change is good, it's only electronics in a nice housing :-). 

@Geebee you are the man. Thank you so much! 
 

I thought I could group the Port + A5 + Arc + Sub, is that incorrect?

So you think AMP + Passive Speakers + Sub will sound better than the Arc + Sub for both TV Audio and Music? Can I use the Sonos Sub in this scenario? How well does the phantom center work?

Also, is this even worth it to go the Sonos route or get an AVR + Speakers. What prompted you to get rid of your Arcam amp? I don’t even know anymore
 

What Passive Speakers do you recommend?

Yes, as @AjTrek1 already says, you can group the Port + A5 + Arc + Sub, for music. If you group them for tv sound the Port and A5s would experience a 70ms delay. So that I would not recommend.

In my opinion the best setting for listening music is a stereo setup, e.g. the AMP with 2 passive speakers, setup in a good room. Add (bond) the Sub with the AMP to complement the speakers. Listening to music via home theater soundbars, e.g. the ARC, is not my thing. But that is my personal opinion. Music is to be heard in front of you, just like a live performance on stage. Music should not be around you like a 5.1 home theater setup.

For me, AMP + passive speakers + Sub is the best sounding setup for music, better than any soundbar.

The same AMP + passive speakers + Sub + surrounds (One SLs) are perfect for my TV audio, better than the Playbar + Sub + surrounds that I had. 

So with this scenario you make double use of the bonded AMP + Sub, namely for music and for TV audio.

About the center speaker: you can read about what the AMP does on the Sonos site. The Sonos AMP drives left and right speakers, and it will create a phantom center channel when sent discrete audio for that channel. AMP plays Dolby Digital 5.1 or PCM stereo sound over HDMI-ARC, for TV audio.

I cannot really recommend passive speakers. I only can say that my white floor standing Monitor Audio Radius 270 speakers are great sounding and they look beautiful in my livingroom! 

@Geebee Will the TV sound be good and clear if I don’t have surrounds like the One SLs and just the 2.1 setup? I’ve been reading a lot of forums and most people say AMP + Passive + Sub will almost always beat out a Soundbar, so looks like I have to rethink my setup… and the ARC looked so nice! Do you recommend the Sonos Sub for this setup?

Also, What made you sell your Arcam and switch to a Sonos setup? What benefits are there over an AVR + Speakers other than playing all over the house (because at the moment I have 0 Sonos speakers)
 

Also, Those are some impressive speakers! I don’t have that kind of money to spend though at the moment ☺️ Oh the possibilities...

I already had surrounds. So I only listened without surrounds for maybe 10 minutes :-). You can always start without surrounds, the sound is also good then. I do not know what country you are, but the least expensive option for new surrounds are the Ikea Symfonisk speakers, they do well in tests for that purpose. Also secondhand Play:1's will do fine as surrounds.

In my case I liked that I could sell the Arcam, Connect and Playbar and put 1 AMP in place of those 3, I could buy the AMP and still have money left after I sold the 3. Minimalism :-). I already have 4 other Sonos zones, so 5 zones with music all around the house is one of our weekend pleasures :-).

About the Radius 270: I see them on Ebay for reasonable prices. 

@Geebee 5 zones around the house!? Sounds like a great time! Do you use the Sonos sub?

This will be my first entry into the Sonos realm so I want to make sure I do it right (given the amount). Other than being able to use the Sonos sub and eventually expand to other rooms (I’m in an apartment), What’s my benefit of this vs doing an AVR + Speakers?

In my first post in this thread you can read what I use, yes I use the Sub :-).

For me, since Sonos came to the market, the multi-room features is what makes Sonos great. If you do not need or want that, there are tons of other options.

The Sonos stuff is easy to setup, mostly. Also important. And I like the design. For smaller rooms nowadays the One (SL) is a perfect fit, the sound is great. And even better when 2 are a stereo pair. You can start with 1 and expand if budget allows :-). And sonos has a lot of integrations nowadays with online services, e.g. Spotify. And recently Sonos Radio!

From 2006 till now all my Sonos stuff has been very reliable. Offcourse setting up the network, cabled or wifi/sonosnet, can be troubling sometimes. Hey, it is all computer-stuff now and that can break or not work as well. But the Sonos Support is good, I recommend the chat option to be helped directly.

Let us know what you choose in the end!

@Geebee I’m so torn, especially since I can’t listen to speakers in the store. I also can’t read reviews on the ARC since no one except Sonos has heard it. I spoke with someone at Sonos, and they wanted to push me toward the Arc + Sub and basically get rid of my A5s, but it didn’t sound like they were very versed (no offense Sonos <3). I hear the playbar is great for theater but then again, for music, it likely won’t beat out two passive speakers + amp + sub as many people have said.

So either I bite the bullet and try out Port + A5 + Arc + Sub (and group them all together) or go Amp + Passive + Sub. I guess I could always add an Arc in that scenario which is kind of nice? I also, have no idea about anything with regards to passive speakers, wattage, ohms, etc. So I’m a bit lost there, especially if I’m going to order them online… I know I am way overthinking this, but for $1000+ I want to ensure everything is right :)

Well, first of all it is good that you think about it for $1000+!

You have to try to be honest with yourself: do you care enough about hifi quality music to have seperate equipment for that, next to a home cinema setup? How big is your living/listening room?

I for myself am convinced I do. I love hearing the music I like coming from 2 stereo speakers and a sub, just like when I go to a concert. I don't want that music coming from all directions, like home cinema. Same in car-audio: speakers all around seems like a good idea, but actually the sound is always better if you keep it at front-speakers and a sub in the car. 

Port and A5's will probably sound good for music. But no Sub here. 
The Arc bonded with the Sub will sound good for movies, even better with added surrounds. 
If you would have both I would never see a good reason to group these 2 rooms when you want to listen to music. That is what the Port/A5's are for, on their own!

With the Amp you combine both worlds, the Sub is used for music and for movies. And instead of 2 devices, Port & (big) Arc, you only have 1 device to put somewhere in your room. But I already explained that earlier in this thread :-).

Will you expand Sonos to other rooms in the future, e.g. with Sonos One speakers? It would be logical to group those with your music zone, e.g. the Port/A5 combo or the Amp/passives combo, depending on your choices.

Choices, it's hard. Make a list of the costs for the scenario's (don’t forget to add up the dollars for selling old stuff :-)), maybe that helps :-).