What to get

Our living room is a similar layout to what you have there.

Given the location of the TV, I would say both Playbar or Beam would work well.

i think playbase would look a little awkward sat on the fireplace.

Playbar is louder than Beam at volume, but not an issue in day to day use, but could be relevant if you are wanting “Party” volume.

both are great, They have pros and cons to both.

Playbar is more expensive, only has optical input and lacks inbuilt voice control.

Beam is cheaper and smaller, supports HDMI ARC or Optical and has inbuilt voice control.

Playbar has a wider soundstage, but I only really noticed it at first when putting the Beam in its place... I got used to it quickly.

playbar has more bass, but I use a Sub, so not really an issue for me.

with Optical only, the TV needs to support HDMI optical passthrough if you want full 5.1 sound later on by adding rears and a sub.

both sound great and will work well... just depends on what you need and don’t need from the feature set up.

Thanks for your input. I think I'll get the beam with subwoofer and 2 ones. That should be enough for movies, fights and sports for my area.

No problem, that combination sounds great in our living room.

Thanks for your input. I think I'll get the beam with subwoofer and 2 ones. That should be enough for movies, fights and sports for my area.

Hi

Not sure if when you say you're going to get "2 Ones" to bond with the Beam if you are referring to Sonos One's or Play 1's. Either will work just fine. However, you should know that the Sonos One's when bonded with the Beam will mute the Alexa Voice assistant as the Beam will handle that.

On the other hand if you think you may repurpose the Sonos One's later on as stand-a-lone speakers or a stereo pair then go ahead and purchase them.

Here's a link to a comparison chart of the Sonos One (Gen 1&2) vs Play 1 that may help:

https://en.community.sonos.com/what-to-get-228989/sonos-one-gen2-gen1-and-play-1-product-comparison-chart-6821684

Cheers!

I honestly don't think I'd worry about surround sound, considering the room layout. It's not ideal placement, and won't really do much for you with sporting events anyway.

I'd actually consider getting an Amp + 4 ceiling speakers throughout the space instead, that way you get good coverage of the bar and dining area as well. There's an adjustment for the sound since it's not coming from the direction of the TV, but if the intent is that people are up and about the entire space, it might make sore sense.

I like the ceiling speaker idea but to run speaker wire back to the amp, I would have to rip down the ceiling to run the wire and I'm about done with projects this year. But the ceiling speakers would be awesome.

I honestly don't think I'd worry about surround sound, considering the room layout. It's not ideal placement, and won't really do much for you with sporting events anyway.

I'd actually consider getting an Amp + 4 ceiling speakers throughout the space instead, that way you get good coverage of the bar and dining area as well. There's an adjustment for the sound since it's not coming from the direction of the TV, but if the intent is that people are up and about the entire space, it might make sore sense.
So I have been looking into the ceiling speakers and I do like the idea. I had a question tho. If I do 4 in ceiling speakers so I also need 2 amps? It looks like the amp can only handle 2 speakers.

HI

So I see you've got the "Project" bug again 😂. The Sonos Amp can handle 4 speakers. Click here to learn more.

Cheers!

Some further thoughts...is that a TV in the bar area or a framed picture? Have you considered a second TV in the space? You can get an hdmi splitter so that both TVs play the same source. It adds a nice touch, I think, and if you're going back into project mode, it's an idea.

I have a similar setup, with a TV in the living room and one on the back patio. Works great for sporting events as people can walk in and out without missing a beat (particularly for the smokers).

The added bonus of such a setup is you could have your original beam+ 2 ones + sub setup for the sitting area, connected to that TV, and a Sonos Amp with 4 ceiling speakers connected to a bar TV. But I can't guarantee that this will work with the audio from both zones being 100% in sync for TV audio. Sonos will see it as two zones and make no attempt to make sure it's in sync. It works for my setup, but my two spaces are separated by a window, so a few milliseconds is hard to notice.