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Best setup for large room

  • 7 July 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 1962 views

Hello sonos community, appreciate some help/advice with my setup.

We just moved into a new house that has an existing sonos system. Owners before us powered in ceiling systems throughout the house (bedroom, living room, kitchen, basement) using 3 connect:amps, all of which were left for us. I’m trying to figure out the best way to complete the living room setup to use for TV surround as well as music.

Right now in the living room is 2 in ceiling speakers connected to a connect:amp. I want to complete the setup. It is a large open room with vaulted ceilings so will need something with decent power. The TV will be mounted over a fireplace which is in the center back of the room, and seating will be arranged in front of the fireplace with a left and right couch and 2 chairs facing the fireplace/TV.

My thoughts were

Option 1:
Buy a playbar to connect to TV for front
use existing 2 ceiling speakers for rears powered by connect:amp

Option 2:
Buy a sonos amp to connect to TV and power 2 passive speakers for front
use existing 2 ceiling speakers for rears powered by connect:amp

Which option will give me the most power and versatility for the large room?

Also, could I use the amp to power 2 passive speakers AND a 3rd party sub?

Thanks so much!
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Best answer by AjTrek1 9 July 2019, 23:08

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2 replies

You could use AMP, passive speakers, and a 3rd party subwoofer in the front and another AMP or CONNECT:AMP for the surrounds. This would involve running some wires to the fireplace.

A very convenient scheme would be to use PLAYBAR and SUB in the front and AMP or CONNECT:AMP for surrounds. You'll need a wired network connection for CONNECT:AMP and I recommend a wired connection for PLAYBAR. This scheme will probably not require running any new wires, but you may need to separate the surround speaker wiring if they currently share a CONNECT:AMP with another room. While some people chafe at the price of SUB, in my opinion it is a high performance bargain.

I don't know the size of your room, but in an approximately 20' x 20' room I can run levels that match an IMAX theater with PLAYBAR, SUB and PLAY:1's.
Userlevel 7
Hi tburns387

Here's more options and something to think about 🤔

Since the room you are contemplating to use for HT has high vaulted ceilings the current in-ceiling speakers may not be suitable for use as surrounds. Has nothing to do with what is driving them (i.e. Connect AMP). Also, their current position in the room relative to your seating may not be suitable. In-ceiling speakers may be OK for music; but not always so for surround. Mind you...I'm only speculating as I have no idea of the room layout or speaker type.

Option 1
That said...If they (in-ceiling speakers) are adequate I'd bite the bullet and invest in a Sonos AMP; as it requires no wiring back to a Playbar. To this option you can add a Sonos sub.

If more than one set of speakers is wired to the existing Connect Amp you can repurpose it to drive the remaining two (2) speakers.

Option 2
Although more expensive would be to purchase a 2nd Sonos Amp to drive 3rd party speakers up-front in conjunction with Option 1. Here again no wires running to front to link up with the in-ceiling rears. You'd also have a choice to use either a Sonos sub; or a 3rd party sub.

Note: Using 3rd party speaker pairs upfront only provides a "phantom center" channel vs true
Left / Center / Right with a Playbar.

As you can see your options are many provided the in-ceiling speakers fit the bill.

Cheers!