Era 100 or 300 and speaker placement

​@ocramb 

Tell us about your room and speaker placements. Also, how have you set up your system?

We find that many will set up an Arc Ultra and incorrectly set up the Era 100’s (or any Sonos speakers capable of being used as surrounds) as a stereo pair. Then group them with the Arc Ultra thinking they have a surround setup…which they don’t. 

I have a Fantastic Dolby Atmos experience with my Arc Ultra, Era 300’s as surrounds and Dual Sub 4’s.

BTW...Era 100 Do Not process Dolby Atmos effects...only the Era 300’s will do that.

Also, what system allowed you to experience TRUE surround as you phrase it?

​@ocramb if I’m interpreting your image correctly, and your viewing position is central to the tv in your picture, the rear speakers are not ideally placed for optimal listening. You also seem to show three speakers: is one a Sub? If so, which one? 

​@nik9669a 

That’s not an image submitted by ​@ocramb which is why THEY need to provide more information to be taken seriously.

My mistake; thanks ​@AjTrek1. It’s been a while and I’d forgotten how this thread started, and misread ​@ocramb’s post. Let’s indeed see what ​@ocramb says. 

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to decide between the Era 100s and Era 300s for my theater room to pair with a Arc Ultra and likely a sub under my sectional, was hoping to get some feedback on my setup.

As the attached image shows, the TV is across from the longer side of the sectional, and there are two windows directly behind the couch. The picture doesn’t really show it, but the windows are recessed about 10 inches. The black boxes behind the sectional on the window sill at ear level are where I’d ideally like to place the speakers.

My thought was to use the window sills since there’s enough room for either setup. The speakers would have roughly 2–4 inches of space behind them, about 10 inches on each side if I went with the Era 300s (and even more space with the Era 100s), plus plenty of room above them. The sill height lines up almost perfectly with ear level, and the sectional sits directly against the wall.

Given this layout, do you think the Era 100s or Era 300s would work better? One thing I’m trying to avoid is having the speakers feel too overpowering for anyone sitting right next to them. I’m also curious whether either model would have issues performing properly while sitting in a recessed window sill like this.

The image shows the room dimensions.

Would really appreciate any thoughts or experiences with a similar setup. Thanks! site

 

 

Speaker placement can make a bigger difference than many people expect. Even in rooms with an unusual or asymmetric layout, careful positioning and room tuning can help achieve a balanced sound. The choice between the Era 100 and Era 300 really depends on whether you prioritize overall music performance, spatial audio, and the size of your listening space.