Speaker reccomendation - kitchen area/family room

Hi joebootch

I would definitely go with Sonos One's for the following reasons:

1. Humidity resistant
2. Alexa voice assistant
3. Low profile
4. Easy to wipe off

I like C and D but you say you have no outlet conveniently placed. That said place them on B in stereo pair or mono. I only suggest mono as depending on where you are in the kitchen the stereo effect may be lost. Wall "A" IMO is too close to the range and may be in the way for placement of pots, plates and other cooking utensils.

BTW...I'm not well versed on the symphonics so mounting them under C and D may be a viable option assuming you have power. However, wall B affords more openness. Again my choice.😉

Lets us know what you decide. Cheers!

A couple points to add. Where is the refrigerator? Is it the X on wall C? If so, you have plug back there that can be used to power speakers above the cabinets. The wire should be pretty well hidden. Above the stove, you may have a power outlet in the top cabinet. A lot of homes do in order to power a built in microwave. If you do, that could be used for speakers as well.

If you do place the speakers on top of the cabinets, you can place them under wood blocks, books or something so that they are not blocked by molding. It would be even better if you could rig them to point down slightly, but still be stable. I agree that Sonos Ones are a good choice, but you aren't going to effectively use voice control with the speakers mounted high, so you could do play:1s if you want. Also, Echo shows make a lot of sense in a kitchen and you can 'pair' (Alexa groups) the echo with your sonos speakers so music requests automatically play through Sonos

One other thing to consider, if there is no second floor above the kitchen, is to use in ceiling speakers. They make sense for a kitchen as there often isn't always a convenient spot to place them and there isn't a clearly defined listening spot. It is going to cost a bit more though and may not be necessary.

My kitchen layout is a bit different than yours, but for reference, I have a play:3 on top of fridge in one corner with a second play:3 sitting in the opposite corner, where there is little traffic. It's not perfect since the speakers are at different heights, but trueplay tuning helps with that (I think)

All - attached is the layout of my kitchen area & family room (~42’x17’). In my family room, I have marked where my Playbar and sub are located. I have also labeled where I intend to put either one’s/symfonisk bookshelf speakers as rears. My question pertains to my kitchen area and what speakers/configuration would be recommended (to compliment family room for when entertaining with music). I have 9 foot ceilings and my cabinets are relatively high but am able to put speakers on-top of them which would slightly be blocked by the molding on the top cabinets. That said, I am looking for a recommendation on the following questions:

1. Should I place One’s above the top cabinets (essentially ceiling height) or mount symphonics underneath top cabinets (essentially counter height)?
2. Should I use 2, 3, or 4 speakers in kitchen; 3 seems ideal but then two would be pair and one would not … wondering what people think about this
3. Can I place them along wall where range is and sink (marked those walls as “A” and “B” respectively) or would placing them along some combination of “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D” make an incremental difference … I don’t currently have 110v above cabinets so easier along “A” and “B” but if the thought is “C” and “D” would be dramatically different, this could be option
4. Given these will be in kitchen and I plan on buying 2-4 speakers, do we think the Symfonisk would be fine or should I go with One’s?

If I did my kitchen again I would get symfonisk and plan to mount them horizontal under the cabinets up off the counter. I would put them on A and B (close to where you cook by the looks of it) but with the bookshelf speakers or 1 you can move them around to find the best config.

Also, Echo shows make a lot of sense in a kitchen and you can 'pair' (Alexa groups) the echo with your sonos speakers so music requests automatically play through Sonos

Hi joebootch

Just in case you didn't follow mevimbe's recommendation to use the Echo Show here's why IMO...

If you were to go with Play:1's above the cabinets you could command them via the Echo Show to play music via voice command (as well other Sonos speakers). I have the new Echo Show 5 in my kitchen (albeit not for the reason melvimbe is referring to) which is a smaller version of the original and 2nd_Gen full size Echo Shows.

As far as voice command on a Sonos One mounted high I don't find any issues. Heck, I have issues with Alexa responding (at times) on Sonos One's at ear (mouth) level.🤔. You can always experiment within the return period to see whether or not Sonos Ones mounted high pose a problem for Alexa.

However, (at the risk of expanding melvimbe's head size 😄) if you go with mounting speakers up high the Echo Show (full size or 5) is a good option to use with Play:1's.

Cheers!

Hi Again

One more concern I have about C & D is that placing under cabinets may negate the stereo effect even using TruePlay. 🤔 The same hold true for free standing speakers.

1. The combined expanse (L to R) appears to have an opening in the middle
2. C appears to be boxed in by a refrigerator or pantry
3. Both are blocked in by a wall at 90 degrees (although maybe less of a concern)
4. At best the listening experience may work better in Mono vs Stereo (separate zones)

JMO. Cheers!