I have two Sonos Five speakers (a stereo pair), and I'd like to improve the stereo sound in my large room (50 sq m). Which is better to add to the system: the Sonos ERA 300 (with Dolby Atmos) (a stereo pair) or the ERA 100 (a stereo pair), and what sound loss might there be? The main speakers will be the Sonos Five.
Hey! I actually have both. I moved the 100s into a smaller room that has a tv, and the 300s sound fantastic in the living/tv room. I also have a 5 in there as well. Your room is slightly bigger, but it should fill the room nicely. They are very nice and plenty loud. I have two subs as well in that room. I would make sure you have a little space behind your seating to accommodate the spacial atmos. That’s my only issue, my couch is close to the wall, but any space behind your seating should be enough. Hope this helps
The Fives Grouped with the 100s are going to sound very good, less maximum volume than the 300s but that is likely good enough for a secondary set of speakers in a room. If you don't need voice control the SL 100s will save money.
The 300s would be a bit louder but when Grouped with the Fives won't do Atmos, only stereo. The extra ecpense for two more Fives instead might be a better choice.
Edited to add:
Maybe an Amp and some big floor standing speakers if you really need the volume.
Also if it is just the low end that is weak consider a Sub as an option and stay with two Fives.
+2What does "improve" mean? Does it mean increasing the volume? Doubling one stereo pair with another doesn't seem like a good solution; there will be too many latency and phasis issues between the two systems. A subwoofer or a subwoofer plus a soundbar would be the best solutions.
Perhaps another solution would be to not broadcast in stereo and to pair the two Five speakers with ERA100 or ERA300 speakers. This would create a mono group.
Experiment with vertical and horizontal orientation of the FIVE’s. SONOS deliberately changes the imaging based on orientation.
In this case, is it possible to use ERA100 stereo pair speakers as rear speakers?
Accordingly, before that, by separating Sonos five stereo piar and Era 100 stereo pair speakers for different rooms using the app, and then place them in the same room. Will there be a loss of stereo sound?
+2In this case, is it possible to use ERA100 stereo pair speakers as rear speakers?
Accordingly, before that, by separating Sonos five stereo piar and Era 100 stereo pair speakers for different rooms using the app, and then place them in the same room. Will there be a loss of stereo sound?
A stereo system consists of two speakers only two, multiple sources are no longer stereo, but “home cinema”
In this case, is it possible to use ERA100 stereo pair speakers as rear speakers?
Accordingly, before that, by separating Sonos five stereo piar and Era 100 stereo pair speakers for different rooms using the app, and then place them in the same room. Will there be a loss of stereo sound?
A stereo system consists of two speakers only two, multiple sources are no longer stereo, but “home cinema”
Surely a “home cinema” system is one playing 5.1/7.1 or other cinematic audio signals, rather than multiple speakers playing a stereo source? A room with multiple speakers (single mono or speakers or stereo-pairs) playing the same audio source is simply a multi-speaker system - and not necessarily producing a good, cohesive sound.
In this case, is it possible to use ERA100 stereo pair speakers as rear speakers?
Accordingly, before that, by separating Sonos five stereo piar and Era 100 stereo pair speakers for different rooms using the app, and then place them in the same room. Will there be a loss of stereo sound?
A stereo system consists of two speakers only two, multiple sources are no longer stereo, but “home cinema”
Surely a “home cinema” system is one playing 5.1/7.1 or other cinematic audio signals, rather than multiple speakers playing a stereo source? A room with multiple speakers (single mono or speakers or stereo-pairs) playing the same audio source is simply a multi-speaker system - and not necessarily producing a good, cohesive sound.
Placing a pair of SONOS five speakers 2-2.5 meters apart will provide optimal stereo sound. Further distance will degrade the stereo effect. Since the room is large, the stereo effect will be weakened. To reduce the loss of stereo sound, I planned to add a stereo pair of ERA 100/300 speakers (as rear stereo speakers, 3-4 meters apart, positioned closer to the listening position and directions for the listener). These speakers would operate separately (configured as a separate room), but in the same room as the SONOS five.
Home theater systems operate in 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, but in my case, I wanted to preserve stereo sound rather than create surround sound. I'm looking for quality, not volume.
The question is, will the SONOS five and the ERA 100/300 stereo pair work in sync when listening to the same source, or will distortion (echo, latency, etc.)?
+18There's no such thing as "rear stereo speakers", but I understand what you are trying to do: have four speakers play music, so stereo sound from speakers in front and speakers front and behind you. Since you are planning on grouping two "rooms” in the Sonos app, why the insistence on Era 300's? An extra pair of Five's will fit sonically with the Five's you already own and the Era 300's USP (Atmos) will not work when they are grouped with the Fives..
What does "improve" mean? Does it mean increasing the volume? Doubling one stereo pair with another doesn't seem like a good solution; there will be too many latency and phasis issues between the two systems. A subwoofer or a subwoofer plus a soundbar would be the best solutions.
Perhaps another solution would be to not broadcast in stereo and to pair the two Five speakers with ERA100 or ERA300 speakers. This would create a mono group.
You can't Pair dissimilar speakers, only group them.
In this case, is it possible to use ERA100 stereo pair speakers as rear speakers?
Accordingly, before that, by separating Sonos five stereo piar and Era 100 stereo pair speakers for different rooms using the app, and then place them in the same room. Will there be a loss of stereo sound?
No, you can put them in the rear but they won't play the rear channels, only stereo.
In this case, is it possible to use ERA100 stereo pair speakers as rear speakers?
Accordingly, before that, by separating Sonos five stereo piar and Era 100 stereo pair speakers for different rooms using the app, and then place them in the same room. Will there be a loss of stereo sound?
A stereo system consists of two speakers only two, multiple sources are no longer stereo, but “home cinema”
Home cinema is multi-channel, you can't get that from Paired or Grouped single channel speakers.
In this case, is it possible to use ERA100 stereo pair speakers as rear speakers?
Accordingly, before that, by separating Sonos five stereo piar and Era 100 stereo pair speakers for different rooms using the app, and then place them in the same room. Will there be a loss of stereo sound?
A stereo system consists of two speakers only two, multiple sources are no longer stereo, but “home cinema”
Surely a “home cinema” system is one playing 5.1/7.1 or other cinematic audio signals, rather than multiple speakers playing a stereo source? A room with multiple speakers (single mono or speakers or stereo-pairs) playing the same audio source is simply a multi-speaker system - and not necessarily producing a good, cohesive sound.
Placing a pair of SONOS five speakers 2-2.5 meters apart will provide optimal stereo sound. Further distance will degrade the stereo effect. Since the room is large, the stereo effect will be weakened. To reduce the loss of stereo sound, I planned to add a stereo pair of ERA 100/300 speakers (as rear stereo speakers, 3-4 meters apart, positioned closer to the listening position and directions for the listener). These speakers would operate separately (configured as a separate room), but in the same room as the SONOS five.
Home theater systems operate in 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, but in my case, I wanted to preserve stereo sound rather than create surround sound. I'm looking for quality, not volume.
The question is, will the SONOS five and the ERA 100/300 stereo pair work in sync when listening to the same source, or will distortion (echo, latency, etc.)?
Complicated answer, yes they will play in perfect sync, but you will have varying delays based on distance from your ears. That is as designed for stereo listening with two front speakers properly placed. How much delay/echo you get depends on distance, how well you tolerate it is an individual issue. What aggravates me with four speakers in a room, or a soundbar and surrounds in Full Mode is how much the stereo image is disrupted.
As I read this I think you might be best served with a full sized Sub bonded to the Fives. The Fives are not weak at the bottom but you are filling a larger room and the additional sound from the Sub, plus lightening the load on the Fives by offloading the lowest frequencies should help.
There's no such thing as "rear stereo speakers", but I understand what you are trying to do: have four speakers play music, so stereo sound from speakers in front and speakers front and behind you. Since you are planning on grouping two "rooms” in the Sonos app, why the insistence on Era 300's? An extra pair of Five's will fit sonically with the Five's you already own and the Era 300's USP (Atmos) will not work when they are grouped with the Fives..
If I place the ERA300 in a separate room, it will work in Dolby Atmos, right? But if I move the ERA300 into a room with the FIVE, the FIVE won't allow the ERA300 to work in Dolby Atmos, am I right?
Then I'll have to try the ERA100...
The FIVE produces more than enough low frequencies.
Not yet. I'm looking for the best option...
+18There's no such thing as "rear stereo speakers", but I understand what you are trying to do: have four speakers play music, so stereo sound from speakers in front and speakers front and behind you. Since you are planning on grouping two "rooms” in the Sonos app, why the insistence on Era 300's? An extra pair of Five's will fit sonically with the Five's you already own and the Era 300's USP (Atmos) will not work when they are grouped with the Fives..
If I place the ERA300 in a separate room, it will work in Dolby Atmos, right? But if I move the ERA300 into a room with the FIVE, the FIVE won't allow the ERA300 to work in Dolby Atmos, am I right?
Then I'll have to try the ERA100...
The FIVE produces more than enough low frequencies.
A “room” is Sonos is different from a physical room. A Sonos “room” is a single speaker or a defined stereo or homecinema set up. You cannot put Era 300’s in a Sonos “room” with the Five’s. The Five’s and the Era 300’s will need to be set up in two separate “rooms”, while the speakers can of course be in the same physical room. For them to play the same music both “rooms” and have both “rooms” play in sync, they need to be grouped (see https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/group-and-ungroup-rooms). When you group Atmos speakers with non-Atmos speakers the Atmos speakers will not play Atmos.
There's no such thing as "rear stereo speakers", but I understand what you are trying to do: have four speakers play music, so stereo sound from speakers in front and speakers front and behind you. Since you are planning on grouping two "rooms” in the Sonos app, why the insistence on Era 300's? An extra pair of Five's will fit sonically with the Five's you already own and the Era 300's USP (Atmos) will not work when they are grouped with the Fives..
If I place the ERA300 in a separate room, it will work in Dolby Atmos, right? But if I move the ERA300 into a room with the FIVE, the FIVE won't allow the ERA300 to work in Dolby Atmos, am I right?
Then I'll have to try the ERA100...
The FIVE produces more than enough low frequencies.
A “room” is Sonos is different from a physical room. A Sonos “room” is a single speaker or a defined stereo or homecinema set up. You cannot put Era 300’s in a Sonos “room” with the Five’s. The Five’s and the Era 300’s will need to be set up in two separate “rooms”, while the speakers can of course be in the same physical room. For them to play the same music both “rooms” and have both “rooms” play in sync, they need to be grouped (see https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/group-and-ungroup-rooms). When you group Atmos speakers with non-Atmos speakers the Atmos speakers will not play Atmos.
Okay, now I get it. Thanks.
Then ERA300 makes no sense.
For stereo the Five is better but if you can get, and like Atmos the 300 is a really good choice. Just not Grouped if you want Atmos.
A Sub adds more to a 300 than a Five (I think, I have a Play 5) but isn't a necessity for them. I have two 300 Pairs, one with a full Sub and one without, both sound great but walking between the two rooms you do notice the Sub's contribution.
+19You could have 4 300s. Now there’s a room filling setup at least with Atmos. Never tried grouping two Atmos capable rooms, but I think 4 300s ( Two stereo pairs ) would group and still play Atmos music. Party time!!
For stereo the Five is better but if you can get, and like Atmos the 300 is a really good choice. Just not Grouped if you want Atmos.
A Sub adds more to a 300 than a Five (I think, I have a Play 5) but isn't a necessity for them. I have two 300 Pairs, one with a full Sub and one without, both sound great but walking between the two rooms you do notice the Sub's contribution.
“For stereo the Five is better but if you can get, and like Atmos the 300 is a really good choice. Just not Grouped if you want Atmos.”
That is, don't group them, but use them as separate ones, and then they will sound like separate stereo pairs, Five as stereo and 300 as Atmos Dolby. Right?
For stereo the Five is better but if you can get, and like Atmos the 300 is a really good choice. Just not Grouped if you want Atmos.
A Sub adds more to a 300 than a Five (I think, I have a Play 5) but isn't a necessity for them. I have two 300 Pairs, one with a full Sub and one without, both sound great but walking between the two rooms you do notice the Sub's contribution.
“For stereo the Five is better but if you can get, and like Atmos the 300 is a really good choice. Just not Grouped if you want Atmos.”
That is, don't group them, but use them as separate ones, and then they will sound like separate stereo pairs, Five as stereo and 300 as Atmos Dolby. Right?
If you don’t group them they can’t play in sync.
+19Ok. So it works when you group two or more Atmos capable rooms you get Atmos in both. Now I need another two ERA 300 speakers then have a party.
The way streaming works different streams usually don't stay in sync if you even get them to start together. They can even end up playing different tracks. Grouping overcomes that by using one speaker to fetch the stream and then share it to the others in the Group.
Two Atmos Pairs, Grouped will play Atmos and in sync. The Atmos effect may be a bit odd as you are sending out two sets of front channels and no rear channels.
I would love to see a 300 upgrade so you could Pair (or would it be bond?) four of them into a single Room for maximum Atmos effect.
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