Recommended setup for music (60%) and home theater(40%)?

  • 8 January 2024
  • 8 replies
  • 122 views
R

Hi community,

 

I’m looking for a sonos setup for my living room. The room is rather large (15x20 feet) with 10 feet high ceilings. I would mainly stream Spotify and watch Netflix/Apple tv, most of the usage will probably be music. I’m not looking for immersive surround that will come from rear speakers, rather an esthetic setup for daily use that will support watching movies as well.

I was thinking about:

  • 2x Era 100 
  • 1x Sub Mini or 1x Sub (Gen3) 

My concerns are:

  1. Will this setup fill the room?
  2. How will the connection to the TV work? Is it via Bluetooth? Will I have lips sync issues between the TV and the speakers of this setup?
  3. Should I consider replacing the 2x Era 100 with a soundbar? which one?

 

Thanks!

 

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8 replies

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

You really need a soundbar for the tv sound. Arc will best fill large rooms with sound. 
For music, a pair of Fives are Sonos’ recommendation. 

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

You’ve not said what your budget is, but a Sub will add to the sound of both Arc and paired Fives, but a single Sub can only be bonded to one or the other. Buy one and see how much it improves the sound. Get a second if your ears can justify it; I’d probably just leave it connected to the Fives. 

R

Thanks Nik!

That’s the thing, I need to choose which 1 setup will satisfy the 2 use cases I described, and in the best way (or the least worst) .

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Thanks Nik!

That’s the thing, I need to choose which 1 setup will satisfy the 2 use cases I described, and in the best way (or the least worst) .

A soundbar minimises lip sync issues. But, the way Sonos achieves synchronised multi-room audio is to create a buffer at the start of streaming an input. Bluetooth or line-in to the Era will have a 75msec delay. Some find that ok; others say the lip-sync is too far off. 
 

When will tv manufacturers introduce video delay options…

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

15x20 room, a Beam, Sub mini and a pair of 100s should fill that well.

For music consider setting the surround mode to Full for more sound.

R

Thanks Stanley. If I’m not interested in separate surround speakers, will a an Arc and Sub mini do the trick while also be decent solution for music listening? 

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Like all soundbars I’ve experienced, the stereo separation/soundstage isn’t very wide, but the Arc is pretty good for music. 

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Arc is far better (to my ears) for music than the Beam in a larger space.

An Arc and the mini Sub should be good.

 

In a smaller space the Beam is pretty good but you need to be pretty close to it to get a really good stereo image. I have two, one for TV and music (split about 10% -90%) and at four feet away it is pretty good. The other is on a cabinet in the bath (music only) and in that small room proper stereo imaging isn’t really possible. 

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