Sonos sound system vs traditional AVR stereo speaker system for music and movies (in small room)

  • 13 December 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 376 views
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I’m planning to get a sound system for my 65” Samsung S90C TV. Torn between an AVR setup with Elac DBR62, Denon X2800H, P10-150-GEM Subwoofer from BK Electronics, and a Sonos Beam 2/Sub mini/Era 100s set.

 

 My room is cubic 2.5x2.5m and 9 feet high. I did some research and found that the Denon X2800H has an integrated room correction feature so it can still sound good in my room.

 

I listen mostly to DJ Sets on YouTube and EDM, Psytrance, Techno, so bass is important to me (without compromising on clarity).

 

I’d also be using the speakers with my phone and TV. Can’t have rears due to the layout of my room.

 

If I went with Sonos, I’d like to use the beam 2 and sub mini for movies, and era 100s with sub mini for music. Is there an easy way to switch between the two?


I’d like some help deciding between the two sound systems. I’m also not an audiophile, but looking for the sound system that would deliver the best experience for the music I listen to.


Thanks for reading.

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3 replies

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

I scrapped my very nice and fantastic AVR setups in favor of Sonos. The Sonos sound is good enough for me but far less than I got from a good AVR setup. The convenience and lack of aggravation made it an easy choice.

You didn’t provide links and I’m not searching for your suggestions so I can’t comment on them specifically.

With your music choices you might be much happier with the Arc than the much smaller Beam on the TV.

Again with the music set, larger is likely going to better suit your music. I could recommend a pair of Fives and if you feel it is needed later a Sub. I haven’t heard the Era 300s in a good space but a pair of them and a Sub should get you the bass you want.

I can’t recommend a Sub-mini as I haven’t heard one but I can tell you my Sub rocks a 2x2 meter room so the smaller one may do for you too.

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Hey thanks for the detailed response :)

Here are the links:

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.

(shortened links)

I’m going for the best sound I can possibly get since it will be a long term investment. Though keep in mind I’ve never had a sound system before (only used TV speakers and high end headphones with amp/dac), so Sonos may be enough for me.

With the AVR, once I get it all setup with the wiring and connections, is there anything I’d have to worry about or would it just work flawlessly once everything is setup?

 

Do you recommend the arc + pair of fives/300s and + a sub? I can’t use the 300s/fives as rears due to the layout of my room so they’ll have to be beside either end of the soundbar.

Do you suggest I use the soundbar (+sub) AND fives/300s for music, or separately with soundbar and sub being used for movies and fives/300s with sub for music?

 

New to Sonos hence all the questions.

 

Thanks!

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Long term I don’t like Denon very much, had one and they stopped supporting it fairly quickly. Their suggestion to buy a newer one wasn’t the solution to the bug I reported that I wanted to hear. That said it looks to be a fairly decent AVR. (but see the last bit here)

Neither the speakers or subs you linked to are going to sound better than a similar Sonos setup.

Your AVR may or may not need updates over time, bugs or new connection standards can cause issues. You can see all the problems Sonos (and others) face when a TV gets an update that causes an issue, if your AVR is abandoned you have no recourse.

You’d be better off with no surrounds than ones positioned at the front of the room.

A pair of Fives is likely going to sound better than the Arc for music, not much less if you have a Sub on the Arc. What will suffer a bit, assuming you properly position the Fives is the stereo image, how much depends on your seating location in relation to the Arc.

For critical listening a stereo pair is usually going to give a better stereo image than the other options. But for background music or when you aren’t properly positioned Grouping the Fives and Arc might give you a sound you’d prefer.

Since you aren’t going to be doing surround audio a Sonos Amp and your speakers/sub would also be a possibility.

Again, given the no surrounds issue you’d be served better by a Denon or other brand that stereo receiver didn’t put all that expense into channels you wouldn’t be using.

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