New home construction, new system advice needed

Question

Hi,I’m remodeling my house and most of it is down to the studs.  I’m looking to do Sonos for the house, I was planning on doing in ceiling speakers in family room, kitchen, mater bath.  The Sonos in ceilings are too expensive so I was going to do dumb in ceiling speakers to Sonos Amps.  We entertain a lot so I want to be able to have music on in the living room, kitchen, family room and backyard, but I want to be able to control which is on when and sound levels to each speaker set.Can you pls advise on what I’m thinking?Family room w large tv (this will be the “media room”: I was thinking sound bar and in ceiling dumb speakers.  Can I connect the Arc to dumb in ceiling speakers?  do I need an Amp for that?  will there be any audio lag?I think the Arc surround package might be a better way to go, esthetically, I’m not keen on having exposed speakers in the corners of the room.Living room w Samsung Frame 55”This will be the room I’m sure I’ll have to watch weekend sports while the kids are in the family room watching Disney+.  this will also be a room that will need music for entertaining.  Due to the ceiling structure, I can’t do in ceiling speakers.Was just thinking an arc for this, but If I’m just watching sports and music for parties is that overkill?Kitchen:2 in ceiling speakers to a Sonos Amp.  To save $ would you recommend I go with a Connect gen 2?Backyard:two speakers mounted off the kitchen.  Can I run these off the same amp as the kitchen and have the ability to turn them off, while still playing music in the kitchen?  Master Bath:dumb speakers with a Sonos Amp.  Do I really need two speakers for a bathroom?  Master Bedroom with TV:I was just going to use a non Sonos sound bar for the TV.  We’re not going to be playing music in the bedroom the bathroom speakers will work.

Corry P · Accepted Answer

Hi @jfeinsWelcome to the Sonos Community!Family room w large tv (this will be the “media room”:I was thinking sound bar and in ceiling dumb speakers. Can I connect the Arc to dumb in ceiling speakers? do I need an Amp for that? will there be any audio lag?Yes, yes and no. The Arc and Amp will communicate via a dedicated 5GHz link, so basically need to be located in the same room.I think the Arc surround package might be a better way to go, esthetically, I’m not keen on having exposed speakers in the corners of the room.Living room w Samsung Frame 55”This will be the room I’m sure I’llwatch weekend sports while the kids are in the family room watching Disney+. this will also be a room that will need music for entertaining. Due to the ceiling structure, I can’t do in ceiling speakers.Was just thinking an arc for this, but If I’m just watching sports and music for parties is that overkill?It really depends on the size of the room and your preference. If it’s a larger room, an Arc would be a good choice. For just sports, however, a Beam may do. When playing music, the surrounds can be told to play too, so filling the room won’t be a problem for either sound-bar. If you don’t want surrounds here, an Arc would sound better with music than a Beam would, but again, it depends on your preference; any Sonos speaker can play background music at a low volume.Kitchen:2 in ceiling speakers to a Sonos Amp. To save $ would you recommend I go with a Connect gen 2?You could, but an Amp has considerably more power than a Connect:AMPand has AirPlay compatibility too. If there’s TV in the Kitchen, Amp also has HDMI connectivity. If you do go for a Connect:AMP, make sure it was made in 2016 or later to ensure S2 compatibility.Backyard:two speakers mounted off the kitchen. Can I run these off the same amp as the kitchen and have the ability to turn them off, while still playing music in the kitchen?Not with the Amp alone - you’d need some kind of switch between the Amp and the speakers. If you want control to be in-software, you’ll need a separate Amp.Master Bath:dumb speakers with a Sonos Amp. Do I really need two speakers for a bathroom? No - though it depends on the size. You could connect one speaker and put the Amp into Dual Mono mode. Both channels would play to the one connected speaker.I hope this all helps. One final point - if you buy direct at sonos.com, you’ll get a returns policy that will give you plenty time to try things out and replace some items if that’s what you decide is needed. Try it and see!

106rallye · Answer

You state “The Sonos in ceilings are too expensive so I was going to do dumb in ceiling speakers to Sonos Amps.” The Sonos (by Sonance) in ceilings are also passive speakers, so would also need an Amp.

so even more expensive? wow!

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