Kitchen/Living Room Renovation

  • 28 August 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 44 views

Newbie here!

We are renovating our kitchen/living room and I never had any pre-wiring experience and do not own any Sonos products. So far most of house is automated by Alexa and I would like to keep it that way. 

Red area marks the couch/viewing space.

Potential areas for rack set-up

  • Blue X - Under the stairs closet
  • Green X - Garage 

I definitely want to pre-wire for a home theater but also want to start the journey of automating the whole house speaker system. Need recommendations on what kind of system I should look at, what the main considerations for a pre-wiring any suggestions on articles, videos?  

Thanks in advance! 


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3 replies

If you will excuse my saying so, a Sonos forum seems a strange choice for advice on pre-wiring?  Perhaps you need professional advice?

I wanted to go with Sonos since that is the system people are recommending hence the post. I wanted to see if there are any specific instructions for Sonos. 

Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Lots of questions to answer before we can give good advice.

Where do you want music speakers, what type - in-wall or stand-alone?

Soundbar or stand-alone for the TV?

For surround do you want stand-alone or are you willing to compromise sound by going to built-in?

 

Not waiting for your answers… :-)

Bar: For the TV an ARC for the R/C/L channels, Era 300s for the rear surrounds, on stands behind the couch and a Gen 3 Sub.

Passive: For the TV an Amp and your choice of passive speakers for the R/L channels, Era 300s for the rear surrounds, on stands behind the couch and a Gen 3 Sub.

For either substitute the 300s with an Amp and Sonance (Sonos versions) built in speakers. In wall might be a possibility if there is room in the framing in the walls by the couch. Ceiling speakers are possible but the surround sound won’t be great.

Given that kitchen size and layout I’d really lean to an Amp in mono mode driving six Sonance (Sonos versions) mounted in the ceiling. Two rows of three, one over the counters and one over the walkway area, between the counter and couch.

You’d not need any special wiring for any of these setups. I’d use a standard speaker wire size calculator to find the recommended wire size, then step up one more size. You buy and run wire once but listen to the sound every day so a cushion is a good bet.

 

Other rooms, depending on size 100s or Fives, paired if you wanbt full Stereo sound.

Smaller rooms with a TV, a Beam and 100s, maybe a mini Sub.

 

That gives you a place to look but do give us more information on just what you want and folks can make good Sonos recommendations. If you have some special cases we can probably get you started (finish with a pro) on fancy wiring.