I am torn what to buy. I am going to buy a Sonos system because I like the wireless option of it and Dolby Atmos. I have a medium size basement, my main priority for it is home theater for my 85 inch TV, but I also want it to be able to play good music the odd time. I want the best of the best. Do I go with the Arc, 2 subs, and 2 1's OR do I go with the Arc, 2 subs, and 2 fives? Home theater is the priority but music is important to me from time to time as well. What would you do and why? Will the fives take away from the home theater experience of it?
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If you want the “best of the best”, get the Arc, two Subs, and two Fives. Having the Fives instead of the Ones will not only give you a more immersive home theater surround experience, but it will sound great when playing music especially if you set your surround speakers to the FULL setting rather than AMBIENT.
Arc, Sub & two Fives works well. It’s what I have. But when listening to music, you have to get used to the bulk of the sound coming from behind you if your seating is arranged to face the TV.
It is different from listening to a traditional stereo sound stage with the speakers placed up front. I have adjusted to it now, but initially it was strange having come from a traditional hi-fi setup.
Personally, I don’t think the Fives make a lot of difference as surrounds when watching movies. The Ones I had previously did a good job of providing the rear output. But when listening to music, the Fives make a massive difference in my opinion.
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I don’t think any soundbar is really great for music, although Sonos soundbars are the best I have heard for this. I prefer a front stereo sound stage to having music from front and rear. That is a purely personal preference.
I find the Idea of two Subs rather mind-boggling, as i have to tone down the single Sub on my Arc HT setup. But we all have different tastes. To get the best of movie sound and music I would have a pair of Fives and one Sub purely for music listening. This will, IMO, be vastly superior to music on the Arc.
For movies I would have the Arc, the other Sub and 2 Sonos Ones. Or possibly Fives, but that might not be needed. If you initially buy the Arc, 2 Subs, a pair of Fives and a pair of Ones, you can try out all configurations in situ. For example: One or two Subs in the HT, Ones or Fives for the rear speakers, Stereo pair of Fives with and without Sub etc. If you buy direct from Sonos you have lots of time to test it out with the guarantee you can return some items if you wish, add or exchange speakers.
I did submit a request to Sonos some time ago to allow a single SUB to be shared across two Sonos rooms. If this became a possibility I think I would place my Fives up front for listening to music and buy a pair of Ones or even Ikea Symfonisks for my surround rears to go with the Arc. Then “share” the SUB across both setups. But I can’t justify buying a second SUB just to have a separate music only configuration.
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