Skip to main content

Hello Everyone,

We’re building our basement and adding a family/theatre room.  The space is fairly large (~35x20) and I’ve had them wire the ceiling for two in ceiling speakers where the sofa will sit.  I’m trying to decide what route to take for the best Sonos surround sound setup.  

Does the Sonos Arc support a setup that includes both  In-Ceiling (Sonos by Sonance) and Side Rear (2 One SL’s) speakers?  Said differently will it feed Dolby (Atmos, Dolby Digital, etc.) and other surround formats to all 4 rear (both the side and in-ceiling) surround speakers?  For example if rain is falling will the ceiling speakers kick in with that effect while sounds coming from the side would be driven through one or both of the side speakers and not the ceiling?  

I’ve noticed in the Sonos Home Theater Speaker Comparison chart it shows the Sonos Amp (required to drive the In-Ceiling speakers) doesn’t support Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus and some other formats, which I assume means anything playing any of those formats wouldn’t use the In-Ceiling speakers at all, is that correct?

 

No. Sonos sound bars will support either a pair of Sonos speakers of the same type as surrounds, or a Sonos Amp, bonded wirelessly, driving a pair of speakers of your own choosing.

Sonos has no solution that provides for both “side” and “rear” speakers. If that is your intention, your best bet would be to look at a wired solution, using an A/V receiver that can drive all of those speakers. 

It’s unfortunate, to be sure, but Sonos isn’t a full home theater company. They tend to focus on middle of the road usage. They don’t pretend to be a high end purveyor of solutions. 


Thanks for the reply.  I’m surprised that’s the case but glad that I know this now.  I’ll look at other options.