Need advice on a new setup for TV + music

1) Sonos playbar placed above the shelf (see pic) and a sonos sub. Is the suggested placement of the playbar any good? Unfortunately there isn't enough space to put the playbar anywhere else due to the size of the new TV. The playbase won't fit either.


The ideal position for the Playbar is either directly above or below the TV, so this should be fine.


2) Sonos connect amp + a pair of passive bookshelf speakers. I heard there could be a slight audio delay caused by this setup? Is that still a problem with new TV's?


The Playbar and Playbase are designed to be the Front (L), Centre and Front(R) speakers, so these front speakers aren't required. Also, the ideal is to have two rear Surround speakers to reduce an lip sync issues for TV play back, I would recommend that you go for another Play:5(Gen 2), if your budget can stretch enough, and then add them as Surround speakers and position them as Rear(L) and Rear(R)


3) A pair of active speakers (or a passive pair with a separate amp) + Sonos connect


Same comment as 2)


4) Get rid of the play5 and go for a Heos/Bluesound setup with their respectively "Connect amp" with optical input that will also fix any audio delay issue.(Damn Sonos for not adding an optical input to the Connect amp!). The play5 will in this scenario be replaced with a pulse2/Heos7.


This will introduce the risk of Lip Sync issues again, my recommendation is option 2. 🙂

1) Sonos playbar placed above the shelf (see pic) and a sonos sub. Is the suggested placement of the playbar any good? Unfortunately there isn't enough space to put the playbar anywhere else due to the size of the new TV. The playbase won't fit either.


The ideal position for the Playbar is either directly above or below the TV, so this should be fine.


2) Sonos connect amp + a pair of passive bookshelf speakers. I heard there could be a slight audio delay caused by this setup? Is that still a problem with new TV's?


The Playbar and Playbase are designed to be the Front (L), Centre and Front(R) speakers, so these front speakers aren't required. Also, the ideal is to have two rear Surround speakers to reduce an lip sync issues for TV play back, I would recommend that you go for another Play:5(Gen 2), if your budget can stretch enough, and then add them as Surround speakers and position them as Rear(L) and Rear(R)


3) A pair of active speakers (or a passive pair with a separate amp) + Sonos connect


Same comment as 2)


4) Get rid of the play5 and go for a Heos/Bluesound setup with their respectively "Connect amp" with optical input that will also fix any audio delay issue.(Damn Sonos for not adding an optical input to the Connect amp!). The play5 will in this scenario be replaced with a pulse2/Heos7.


This will introduce the risk of Lip Sync issues again, my recommendation is option 2. :)

Hi @ukmedia,
You suggest 2 play 5 for surround, isn't this too expensive for 2 speakers that will be used only for surround sound?

Please how would you use them?
Thank you

2) Sonos connect amp + a pair of passive bookshelf speakers. I heard there could be a slight audio delay caused by this setup? Is that still a problem with new TV's?


The Playbar and Playbase are designed to be the Front (L), Centre and Front(R) speakers, so these front speakers aren't required. Also, the ideal is to have two rear Surround speakers to reduce an lip sync issues for TV play back, I would recommend that you go for another Play:5(Gen 2), if your budget can stretch enough, and then add them as Surround speakers and position them as Rear(L) and Rear(R)


Thank you very much for your reply, I appreciate it!

The #2 option doesn't include the playbar, so It's either going to be 1 playbar as option 1 suggest, or the connect amp with a pair of passive bookshelf speakers as suggested in option 2.

Non of these alternatives include's any surround speakers (5.1), that´s way out of my budget at this point 🙂

So for option 2 we still have to deal with the lip sync problem ... 😕

Option 1 included a Sonos Playbar and Sub, correct? I'm suggesting that instead of the Sub, you go for another Play:5 (£200 cheaper) and pair with your current Play:5 - A stereo pair of Play:5's will give a better sound than the Playbar and Sub in my opinion.

The other option would be two Sonos Ones as Surround and use your Play:5 in another room (Saving an additional £150, if you buy a pair)

https://www.sonos.com/en-gb/shop/2-room-music-system-one.html

1) Sonos playbar placed above the shelf (see pic) and a sonos sub. Is the suggested placement of the playbar any good? Unfortunately there isn't enough space to put the playbar anywhere else due to the size of the new TV. The playbase won't fit either.


The ideal position for the Playbar is either directly above or below the TV, so this should be fine.


2) Sonos connect amp + a pair of passive bookshelf speakers. I heard there could be a slight audio delay caused by this setup? Is that still a problem with new TV's?


The Playbar and Playbase are designed to be the Front (L), Centre and Front(R) speakers, so these front speakers aren't required. Also, the ideal is to have two rear Surround speakers to reduce an lip sync issues for TV play back, I would recommend that you go for another Play:5(Gen 2), if your budget can stretch enough, and then add them as Surround speakers and position them as Rear(L) and Rear(R)


3) A pair of active speakers (or a passive pair with a separate amp) + Sonos connect


Same comment as 2)


4) Get rid of the play5 and go for a Heos/Bluesound setup with their respectively "Connect amp" with optical input that will also fix any audio delay issue.(Damn Sonos for not adding an optical input to the Connect amp!). The play5 will in this scenario be replaced with a pulse2/Heos7.


This will introduce the risk of Lip Sync issues again, my recommendation is option 2. :)

Hi @ukmedia,
You suggest 2 play 5 for surround, isn't this too expensive for 2 speakers that will be used only for surround sound?

Please how would you use them?
Thank you

Instead of the Sub 🙂

Option 1 included a Sonos Playbar and Sub, correct? I'm suggesting that instead of the Sub, you go for another Play:5 (£200 cheaper) and pair with your current Play:5 - A stereo pair of Play:5's will give a better sound than the Playbar and Sub in my opinion.

The other option would be two Sonos Ones as Surround and use your Play:5 in another room (Saving an additional £150, if you buy a pair)

https://www.sonos.com/en-gb/shop/2-room-music-system-one.html

Correct!

So you think I should go for the soundbar with either
1) another play5 (to pair with my current play5 I already have) or
2) A pair of one's as surround speakers.
Instead of the sub?

So many people recommend the sub, so why do you think its better to go for these instead of the sub for music and TV?

Regards, Jallejulius

In my view, as Sonos don't support DTS or Dolby Atmos then the Playbar and Surround speakers would provide a better audio experience across TV and Music for your budget but as with a lot of Audio set-ups this is my personal view. I have a separate AV Receiver and Mordaunt-Short speakers set-up to play TV and films, as I like to have the full 'theatre' surround sound but the cost of this set-up is significantly more than the cost of the option we are discussing.

Don't get me wrong the Sub would improve the sound quality but for a fixed budget I think you would get the best return on a Playbar and two surrounds. I wouldn't normally suggest a Play:5 for use as Surround speakers - even if you set them up as 'full' and not 'Ambient' support to the Playbar, but you already have a Play:5 and so I put that option on the table for you to consider.

The main deciding factor between the Play:5 and Play:1's would be the size and shape of the room that your TV is located in and also if you have another room that could utilise the Play:5 - not worth spending money on two Sonos Ones or Play:1's (We haven't discussed if you want to have Alexa control when geographically supported in Swedon?) and then having your Play:5 sat in a cupboard! If you can utilise the Play:5 elsewhere in your house, I personally would recommend two Play:1's or 2 Sonos One's and a Playbar for your TV & Music and then use the Play:5 in another room in your house. These two rooms can then be grouped tegether in the Sonos App to provide Multi-Room Audio, either TV or Music.

@UKMedia
Thank you very much for your help once again!

I have other rooms where I could put the play5 so that won't be any problem 🙂 However I think its a bit overkill and a little bit to expensive to put such a good speaker in a small bedrooms. I would rather buy sonos one for that purpose.

Here's my layout and where I was thinking about placing the bar, sub and my current play5,
https://snag.gy/2n0WRq.jpg

What do you think about that setup?

Another question, If I end up with this setup, can I pair the playbar and play5 so that the playbar act as my "Left" speaker and the play5 as my "Right" speaker, or will they be "bounded" and both play R/L at the same time? Like in party mode?

Thank you once again for your help!

This would work but your Play:5 can't be included as a stereo pair which is what you've described in effect. You would need to set-up the Play:5 as a separate Sonos Room, although you will be able to group the output of the Play:5 room and the Playbar for TV and Audio. I'm not sure if this set-up though will introduce Lip Sync issues, as the Sonos system will probably buffer the Audio when the Play:5 is grouped to ensure a smooth multi room experience, so you may want to just use the Play:5 for Music.

This would work but your Play:5 can't be included as a stereo pair which is what you've described in effect. You would need to set-up the Play:5 as a separate Sonos Room, although you will be able to group the output of the Play:5 room and the Playbar for TV and Audio. I'm not sure if this set-up though will introduce Lip Sync issues, as the Sonos system will probably buffer the Audio when the Play:5 is grouped to ensure a smooth multi room experience, so you may want to just use the Play:5 for Music.

Thank you very much once again!

The plan is to use the playbar and sub for TV/movies and only include the play5 when playing music 🙂

One option if you can afford the short term cost is to buy this set-up plus two Sonos Ones or Play:1's and then experiment with either surrounds or sub and determine which you prefer best then return the other item and get a refund.