Prospective Sonos Playbase + Play 1 buyer looking for opinions (with crudely drawn diagrams!)

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Hello all,

I've been looking to upgrade my home sound system as I currently have a cheap 2.1 soundbar/sub from Monoprice that I got for ~$40. After doing more research, I'm considering going for a 5.0 (5.1?) setup, with a Playbase + 2 x rear speakers, of which I'm gravitating towards the Play 1s. That said, I had a few questions I was hoping to get opinions on.

For context, I primarily use my TV for gaming, but it would be nice to be able to play music/podcasts in my dining/kitchen area (it's an open floor plan style great room) too. I had a few concerns I was hoping to get opinions on

Below is a poorly drawn diagram of my living room/dining room/kitchen layout. I should also mention that, since its an A-Frame style house, I have very high ceilings, 20-25 ft .

My concerns:

1.) Would the Playbase + 2 x rear speakers be enough, given the space of the room? Again, I also have very high ceilings, 20-25 feet high. Right now buying the sub would be out of my price range as the base + 2 x Play 1s put me at the top of my budget, but I know that I could always invest in a sub later on down the road if necessary.

2.) I'm concerned about the placement and distance of the rear speakers. My plan is to wall mount them since I don't really have any other place to put them, but I realize they will be slightly off center to the base/couch and a good 10-12 feet back from the couch. On the plus side, having a couple of speakers nearish the kitchen would be great for podcasts/music while cooking.

Thanks again!

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fuzzypickles06Author

Contributor I

This has all been very insightful, and the personal testimonials helps quite a bit!

For the record, what I was asking (should have clarified better), is would soundbase only potentially sound better than soundbase + 2 x rear speakers at ~10ft back in surround mode. Some of this comes purely from my unfamiliarity/ignorance, but my worry is that by adding the rear speakers at a distance I would somehow get an inferior mix that sounded overall worse than if the playbase was by itself.

Judging by the testimonials it sounds like that's not the case, so I feel as though I will add a couple rear speakers, and just need to decide between Play 1s or Play 3s

AjTrek1

Hi fuzzypickles06

Just to be clear and I think melvimbe would agree...adding surround speakers (or rears if you prefer) would never degrade the sound of the Playbase. All I'm saying is that the further in the rear surrounds are located at some point you'll have diminishing returns reference the surround material. Be that as it may if it came to the aforementioned you could remove the speakers as surrounds and use them as full on speakers that can be grouped with the Playbase to extend the fidelity of music which is another use for the Play 1 and/or Play 3 (in stereo pair or as separates). Of course the Play 1 and Play 3 make excellent speakers all by themselves.

One last tid-bit of info:

_When speakers are used as surrounds with a Playbase/Playbar it's called Bonding.
_When speakers are used in conjunction with a Playbase/Playbar or any other Sonos speaker not of the same room name it's called Grouping.
_There is a difference between a Play 1 and Sonos One_ although almost identical in form and sound the latter comes with a variant of Alexa voice asssitant. I use the term variant because not all Alexa skills are enabled on the Sonos One.

Cheers!

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

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fuzzypickles06Author

Contributor I

Hi again guys -- after your terrific insights (and a trip to a Best Buy to demo), I've ultimately decided on the Playbase + 2 x Play:3s mounted on my dining area wall per my original diagram. Seeing how I was most of the way there already, I decided to go all in and pickup the Sub too. Needless to say, I'm very excited to start getting things set up.

I did have one final question though -- do either of you have any recommendation on how I orient my Play:3s on the wall (vertical or horizontal)? After some reading I'm leaning towards vertical, but was curious if anyone has any opinions given my layout and super high ceilings (20-25ft)?

I actually made a new topic for this, but haven't gotten any responses yet: https://en.community.sonos.com/ask-a-question-228987/wall-mounted-play-3s-vertical-or-horizontal-layout-diagram-included-6803260

AjTrek1

Hello Again.

Great to hear that you are going all in (i.e. Playbase/Sub/Play 3's)!

The Play 3's can be mounted in Vertical or Horizontal position as surrounds. I use a vertical positioning for compactness. As yours will be up and on a wall the choice for you is more aesthetic They will auto-convert to stereo pair when music is the source. Know that when in surround configuration you cannot isolate surrounds from the Playbase to just play a podcast or music on their own (meaning you cannot select them as a named room) Here's a link on surround setup.

https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2938/kw/surround

Cheers!

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

melvimbe

Agreed that it's a matter of aesthetics. I think it's more important to make sure the speakers are pointed at the primary listening area. Given your diagram and assuming you plan on mounting these high up on the wall, the speakers should be pointed slightly inward and downward...towards the couch. It would probably sound better if the speakers were placed 5-6 ft from the floor, but that may not look good to you, and the sound difference probably isn't worth it. But it's up to you...

Danny

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Wabiloo

Contributor I

Hi again guys -- after your terrific insights (and a trip to a Best Buy to demo), I've ultimately decided on the Playbase + 2 x Play:3s mounted on my dining area wall per my original diagram. Seeing how I was most of the way there already, I decided to go all in and pickup the Sub too. Needless to say, I'm very excited to start getting things set up

Hi @fuzzypicles06 - it's been a year now, how did you get on with your setup? I'm sure you've tried a few things with bonding and grouping of your speakers. How would you answer your own questions now? I'm interested to hear as I have a very similar room...

Airgetlam

Just as a note, the PLAY:3s are no longer in production (at least, you can't buy them anywhere, including Sonos' website, unless that have stock left over).

Bruce

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