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Question

Looking for help with Sonos System for Great Room.

  • 14 September 2020
  • 6 replies
  • 127 views
J

My wife and I just bought a house 1 month ago.  I’m looking for help with a setup for my Great Room.  I currently have a Play:5(Gen 1), and One.  The One is used in my kitchen.  

 

The Great Room is a pretty large open space.  The room that is going to house the TV has a large vaulted ceiling, and the living room and dining room have normal height ceilings.

I use Sonos mostly for music at the present time, but we are open to expanding our setup to use it for Home Theater as well.  

In addition, I’d like to add a turntable onto the system at some point.  

 

The Dining Room will be towards the back of the house (side of the kitchen), and Living Room will be mostly a kids play area.  The couch is the Yellow box, and the TV is the other box.  

Let me know if you need any additional details to help with my setup.

 

Thanks in advance!  

 

6 replies

melvimbe

I’m leaning toward getting a Sonos Amp, with passive speakers on both sides of the TV.  Because of the size of the room, seating location and the vaulted ceilings, I don’t know that the Arc is the best choice.  The Beam may work better, but it’s not really designed for this large of space either.  Using the Amp would allow you to use ‘bigger’ speakers, and would also connect to the TV and has an aux input for your eventual turntable.  You can add a sub and surround speakers at a later date if you wish.

You could also get a pair of Fives, which has the aux input, but it won’t work with your TV.

It may feeling like its not quite enough for that space, but you can add a pair of ones in the dining room or living room as need for music (not for TV).

As a side note, I would trade in the play:5 as it will get you a 30% discount when you buy no speakers. You’ll still be able to use the play:5, but it may not need to be it’s own separate system in the garage or one of the bedrooms.

Danny
J

I’m leaning toward getting a Sonos Amp, with passive speakers on both sides of the TV.  Because of the size of the room, seating location and the vaulted ceilings, I don’t know that the Arc is the best choice.  The Beam may work better, but it’s not really designed for this large of space either.  Using the Amp would allow you to use ‘bigger’ speakers, and would also connect to the TV and has an aux input for your eventual turntable.  You can add a sub and surround speakers at a later date if you wish.

You could also get a pair of Fives, which has the aux input, but it won’t work with your TV.

It may feeling like its not quite enough for that space, but you can add a pair of ones in the dining room or living room as need for music (not for TV).

As a side note, I would trade in the play:5 as it will get you a 30% discount when you buy no speakers. You’ll still be able to use the play:5, but it may not need to be it’s own separate system in the garage or one of the bedrooms.

What exactly are Passive speakers?  Any suggestions on specific speakers?  I was initially leaning Beam, but that’s why I came here.  

Were you saying you would trade in the Play 5 for a newer gen one?  

D
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Passive speakers are unpowered, so they have to be driven by an external amplifier like the Sonos Amp. I agree with melvimbe that the Sonos Amp with a good pair of passive speakers is the way to go. Your room is not ideal for the Arc and, in my opinion, passive speakers sound much better for music than a sound bar. I use the Amp with passive speakers for both of my TVs. As far as brands go, I like SVS (svsound.com). They have a good return policy if you don’t like them.

J

Passive speakers are unpowered, so they have to be driven by an external amplifier like the Sonos Amp. I agree with melvimbe that the Sonos Amp with a good pair of passive speakers is the way to go. Your room is not ideal for the Arc and, in my opinion, passive speakers sound much better for music than a sound bar. I use the Amp with passive speakers for both of my TVs. As far as brands go, I like SVS (svsound.com). They have a good return policy if you don’t like them.

@dan8558 Part of the reason I like the Arc was for aesthetics.  I don’t know how much my wife is going to like the look of a set of Tower speakers on both sides of the TV.  Can you give me an idea of what your current setup specs are/look like?  

melvimbe

What exactly are Passive speakers?  Any suggestions on specific speakers?  I was initially leaning Beam, but that’s why I came here.  

Were you saying you would trade in the Play 5 for a newer gen one?  

 

I haven’t bought of pair of passive speakers for indoor use in years.  I only use them outdoors these days.  I tend to go with JBL, but that’s just personal preference as there plenty of good brands out there.  Best thing to do is try and get to a shop that will let you listen to a speaker before you buy if tat all possible.

 

As far as aesthetics go, I get why you would want a soundbar, but I just don’t think you’re going to be happy with audio for that size space.  You don’t have to get floor speakers.  You could get larger bookshelf speakers, or in wall or in ceiling speakers if you wish.  Although I would not get in ceiling for use with TV.

 

With the Sonos trade in program, your legacy speaker, the Play:5 Gen 1 can be used to get trade in credit for 30% off of currently sold Sonos gear.  No, you can’t buy a newer Gen 1 as Sonos doesn’t sell Gen 1 or Gen 2 play:5s anymore.   When you trade in though, you can still use your play:5 Gen 1 in your home, or sell it used as you wish.  

 

Whether you trade it in or not, the play:5 Gen 1 can only be used in a Sonos S1 system.  The three newest Sonos speakers, Arc, Five, and Sub Gen 3, can only be used in the new Sonos S2 system.

Danny
J

What exactly are Passive speakers?  Any suggestions on specific speakers?  I was initially leaning Beam, but that’s why I came here.  

Were you saying you would trade in the Play 5 for a newer gen one?  

 

I haven’t bought of pair of passive speakers for indoor use in years.  I only use them outdoors these days.  I tend to go with JBL, but that’s just personal preference as there plenty of good brands out there.  Best thing to do is try and get to a shop that will let you listen to a speaker before you buy if tat all possible.

 

As far as aesthetics go, I get why you would want a soundbar, but I just don’t think you’re going to be happy with audio for that size space.  You don’t have to get floor speakers.  You could get larger bookshelf speakers, or in wall or in ceiling speakers if you wish.  Although I would not get in ceiling for use with TV.

 

With the Sonos trade in program, your legacy speaker, the Play:5 Gen 1 can be used to get trade in credit for 30% off of currently sold Sonos gear.  No, you can’t buy a newer Gen 1 as Sonos doesn’t sell Gen 1 or Gen 2 play:5s anymore.   When you trade in though, you can still use your play:5 Gen 1 in your home, or sell it used as you wish.  

 

Whether you trade it in or not, the play:5 Gen 1 can only be used in a Sonos S1 system.  The three newest Sonos speakers, Arc, Five, and Sub Gen 3, can only be used in the new Sonos S2 system.

What about the Sonance in wall speakers?  

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