Quality Music in our New Home

Hi @OnlyMusicatHome 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

I would recommend the following for each room you mention:

• Living room - A Sonos Arc or Beam (Gen 2) under the TV, with a pair of Sonos One SLs as surrounds. In-Ceiling speakers aren’t recommended for surround sound as they should be at head height while you are sitting. Personally, I would consider them overkill too. Add a Sub to Arc or a Sub/Sub Mini to Beam, if you want more bass impact for your movies. This setup would appear as one room in the Sonos app, and can play music when the TV is off. As you’ll have contractors in, I recommend you request them to wire in some power sockets if you want One SLs to be wall mounted. You can also buy short power cords from the Sonos Store. Wall mounts, power cords and In-Wall cabling kits are available in the Sonos Store’s Accessories section.
• Kitchen - A pair of Sonance In-Ceiling speakers paired with an Amp would do well here. I recommend having them fairly central, though you may want to situate them somewhere still in the Kitchen but closer to the dining room for coverage there (though you don’t want them directly above the table, obviously). Another option (because voice assistants are so handy in the Kitchen) would be to get a Sonos One, or a Sonos One and a One SL to pair together. They can sit on a countertop, a shelf, or on mounts.
• Terrace - A Sonos Amp paired with a set of Sonance Outdoor speakers will do well here, though the Amp should be installed indoors with speaker wire running outside to the speakers. However, you may find a Sonos Move (or a pair) will do fine, again with the added advantage of voice assistants but also Bluetooth support and battery power. When going back inside, you can just pick up the Move and return it to it’s charge station so it’s ready for the next time - and to serve as an indoor speaker, if needed.
• Master Bedroom - You could put just about anything in here, including the Move you might get for the terrace. In-Ceiling speakers and an Amp, a pair of Ones or 1 or 2 Sonos Fives - it really depends on what you expect/want from the setup. If you have a TV here, a Beam might be enough.

Some points worth remembering:

• Although more than one pair of speakers can be connected to an Amp (3 pairs in the case of Sonance Architecturals like the outdoor or in-ceiling speakers), you’ll need a separate Amp for each zone that you want individual control over.
• Stand-alone speakers will always be cheaper - not just the initial purchase, but the installation too. There are wall mounts and stands available in the Sonos Store.
• Please use this guide to choosing the appropriate speaker wire for your runs.
• If you expect the whole system to be installed for you, I recommend finding a local installer familiar with Sonos products. If you’re just looking to get in-ceiling speakers installed when you already have the contractors in, they’ll probably manage. It might be prudent for them to practice with the speaker on a sacrificial piece of plasterboard first, and don’t forget to get the wires installed and running to the Amp’s location at the same time!
• Each time I mention a pair of stand-alone speakers, I’m referring to being able to link two identical (usually - a One and a One SL can be paired) speakers so that one only plays the left channel and the other the right. The pair will show as one room in the app.
• I mention adding voice-assistant capable speakers a few times, but all Sonos devices can be controlled via a voice command delivered to another device - just specify the room name in the command. For example, if you had an Arc in the Living Room and an Amp in the Kitchen, you could tell the Arc to play something “in the Kitchen”.
• You can save money by buying sets - the Arc can be bought, for example, in a set along with a pair of One SLs and a Sub. Amp can be bought along with a pair of Sonance speakers. Most of the suggestions I have made above come as a kit for each room and the links I provided are to single products to keep things clear. I recommend you purchase from the sets page first, then add anything you’ve decided on that you don’t find there after.
• When you have a party, group all the rooms together and enjoy - they’ll all play music in perfect sync.

Once things are set up, you’ll find an introduction to the Sonos app here, should you need it:

I hope this helps, and please don’t hesitate if you have any further questions.