Answered

Help with Home audio setup with ceiling speakers and soundbar

  • 6 November 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 542 views
U

Hi there, I’m trying to figure out the best setup for my new home audio set up. I have

  • 13 Bestbuy Sonance ceiling speakers (4,5 zones). Most zones have 2 pairs. Some have 3.
  • Sonos arc sb below TV. 
  • Will buy the Sonos sub behind the TV
  • 2 of the ceiling speakers are in the tv room but they are front and back of the sofa 
    • 4 other ceiling speakers in the same zone in the kitchen open space to the living room
  • Considering if I need the Sonos Ones for the TV
  • All speakers wires, TV HDMI (arc) cables are ran in a media room.

what do you guys recommend for the amplifier setup where I can

  • control all zone or each zone with Apple music independently
  • Use the ceiling speakers in the kitchen + living room zone with the arc and sub for the best TV audio experience.
  • Easy to control with Siri, Alexa etc

I’m pretty noob in home audio. From my early research, seems like getting a Sonos amp per zone should work for what I want? Can I connect 3 pairs of ceiling speakers into 1 amp? How does the Arc, amp, sub and TV all work together?

What is the best way for my audio setup? Thanks

icon

Best answer by Corry P 8 November 2022, 13:23

View original
This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

3 replies

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @UnifiOOS 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

My initial thought is “can you move the in-ceiling speakers?” You will want to have both of your surround speakers behind you as you watch the TV. If you can’t move them, I’d recommend getting a pair of One SLs to use as surrounds instead (or move the sofa/TV). If you were to use an Amp for surrounds, it will need to be kept within 5GHz WiFi range of the Arc so locating it in a media room may not work as intended unless you connect both the Amp and Arc to ethernet.

As for your zones, yes - an Amp for each zone is what you’d need. Please note, however, that the only type of speakers you can connect 6 of to a Sonos Amp is Sonance Architectural speakers. For other 8 Ohm speakers, Amp only supports 2 pairs of speakers.

Please also note that 5.1 audio is meant to be presented in that exactly that way - I don’t recommend connecting more than 2 speakers to an Amp being used for surround sound duties, though it would work. Perhaps not as intended, however - it’s the rear channels that would be duplicated, so you’re not necessarily going to be able to follow dialogue in the Kitchen if you do this. You can group other rooms (separate devices) in with your Arc for playing TV audio, but it is delayed slightly and if you can hear the original sound coming from the Arc at the same time, it’s just going to sound like an echo. 

Music playback will not be a problem - listen in one room or many, to one stream or many.

As for how all the devices work together, Arc receives the stream from the TV via HDMI-ARC or eARC and decodes it. The Arc will play 3.0.2 (L, R, Centre and 2x Height), will distribute the rear channels to a pair of One SLs (for example) or an Amp via a direct, low-latency 5GHz link, and will send the remaining .1 channel to the Sub in a similar fashion. The low-latency links mean that the sound stays in sync with the picture on the screen. When sharing the TV audio to other rooms, however, the signal must pass via the router over a slower 2.4GHz connection and therefore a delay is typically introduced. Music playback, on the other hand, is prebuffered and the system can coordinate playback so that all rooms are in perfect sync with each other.

I can’t really comment on Siri integration (there’s nothing official), but Alexa can be installed on Arc, as can our own Sonos Voice Control (and both can be installed at the same time on the same device).

I hope this helps, and is clear - if you need any clarification, please ask.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
U

Thank you. That is a very helpful answer. Do you know if the Sonance Mag Bestbuy the same as the Sonos Sonance?

 

I cannot move the Tv (on a fireplace) or the speakers (already wired). Silly me didnt do research where to put the speakers but listened to the GC.

 

i think I’ll get the Sonos one pair and the sub for the TV and use the ceiling speakers for music and podcast

is there any amp/receiver that I can have up to 5,6 zones in 1 machine? 5 sonos amp can cost quite a lot and take up space in the small media room. Thanks

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @UnifiOOS 

Do you know if the Sonance Mag Bestbuy the same as the Sonos Sonance?

They will not be. The Sonance Architectural speakers available on our website were designed in conjunction with Sonos. That’s not to say that they will not work, however. As to how the compare with one another, I do not know.

i think I’ll get the Sonos one pair and the sub for the TV and use the ceiling speakers for music and podcast

I think that’s a good idea - I have separate speakers for music too, and it’s handy to be able to keep them separate. 

is there any amp/receiver that I can have up to 5,6 zones in 1 machine? 5 sonos amp can cost quite a lot and take up space in the small media room. Thanks

I’ll have to leave that to the community to answer - I can’t recommend any products that aren’t on our website. I’m sure there are, however.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Terms & ConditionsCookie settings