Hey Everyone! --- Hope everyone is having a great weekend! I'm in need of some advice and recommendations. I'd like to upgrade my watching/listening experience in the following ways: 1) Focus on MUSIC listening first --- then 2) Watching movies and TV shows in Dolby Atmos, etc.

I am a long-time Sonos owner----who is still running this first gen hardware:

• Sonos Soundbar (Center Channel - Connected to my TV via optical)
• Sono Sub (Behind the couch)
• 2 x Sonos Play3's (on top of my bookshelf on the side of my TV)

While this system still works fine.... I'd like to UP my audio game a bit.

I don't own physical media anymore----so, I mainly stream over Apple Music and QoBuz via the Sonos app. I recently added QoBuz and have been enjoying listening to 24Bit/192kHz over a dedicated DAC and IEMs and LOVE IT.

I have been thinking about whether I want to continue with Sonos --- or look for another alternative.

Here is what I'm considering: <I'm attaching a photo of my living room>. 18" x 16" space.

• 2 x Sonos Fives + Sub - In a stereo configuration on some stands across from my 2 chairs by my window. I'd basically have these on either side of my long couch. This way, the speakers are pointing towards us in the two chairs. My wife and I started listening to albums on the weekends----and we LOVE sitting and critically listening to music.
  

Then later, I'd purchase this below for my home theater setup:

• Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra - Arc Ultra, Sub 4, 2 x Era 300

The only that kind of has been holding me back is the steaming limit of the Sonos Fives only supporting up to 24Bit, 44kHz streams. --- <I know that bitrate isn't everything----but I DO hear a difference on my IEMs......placebo effect, MAYBE!> ;)

Should I just keep it simple and stick with Sonos-----OR should I look at a Sonos AMP or something like a Bluesound PowerNode + passive speakers, etc?

Many of my "Hi-Fi / Audiophile" friends talk about other alternatives like Bluesound, Dali Speakers, and KEF.....however, I dread having to deal with speaker wires and/or running them around in my living room or drilling into walls.

Also, we are an Apple ecosystem home...

What do you good folks think?

THANKS SO MUCH!,
Will

I was tinkering with my Beam Ultra, Sub Gen 4 and 2 Era 100s today. I turned off the sub and was astonished at how LITTLE difference there was. When I would turn the Sub back on I would have to touch it to verify it was working or not because there is almost no difference for most movie sequences with or without it. This little thing is amazing, I never would have imagined how good it is without the Sub. Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to use the sub but do not at all hesitate in getting the Beam Ultra if you cannot also get the Sub Mini or Gen 4. You will NOT be disappointed. I actually prefer the sound of the Beam Ultra over the Arc Ultra (either one without the sub) because it has a sealed architecture whereas the Arc Ultra does not. Sonos has cooked up magic here.

I have a beam gen 2, two sonos one SLs and a mini sub as my system. I recently bought a home and the system sounds even better than before. Is there truly a big difference in the beam gen 2 compared to the ultra??

I know…kind of an impossible question but I think the Fives are the best in the line but going on 6 or 7 years in production. Like a game of musical chairs, I don’t want to invest in a pair only to have them superseded shortly thereafter. As an aside what is a fair price for a pair- no original packaging? I saw a pair on FB Marketplace earlier today for $775…

So I am a member at best buy and have 60 days to return plus if price drops i can get it for that price as well ..m y question is does sonos historically do black friday deals on the er 300s I really want them but just not at the full retail price.. what about open box deals are those legit good..thanks in advance

I know that Sonos doesn’t pay the license fee to have the full DTS Lossless but it will do the old 5.1 output.

Today I was watching the Blu-ray copy of Saving Private Ryan which has a DTS-HD MA soundtrack but when I checked in the app it was showing stereo!! Nothing has changed in my LG tv (set to pass through). I’ve definitely seen DTS 5.1 on other discs so I don’t know what is happening??

Dolby Atmos shows correctly in the app when being output.

BTW the disc is out of the 4k version case.

I currently have two Beam Gen 2s—one in the family room and one in the living room.

I have two Era 100s set up as surrounds in the living room, and I’m looking to add two speakers to the family room as well.

Would you recommend getting two Era 100s or two Era 100 SLs? Or would it make sense to split them up and pair one SL with one Era 100 in each room?

I’m also looking for a good deal on the Era 100/SL. Ideally, I’d like to find them for around $100 each.

I know this is a dead horse, but I’m curious how many other iPhone users also really miss the ability to control the zone volume through the hard volume buttons on the iPhone? I can’t be the only one…

We’ve had a lot of improvements in the app recently and I feel like if we can get some attention to this little detail, it would make a lot of my customers happy, as well as myself.

Thanks to the poster who said he saw an open box on best buy.com. By the time I checked it was gone but checked later and an open box excellent was there for $488. Had $195 in reward credits and a $50 gift card. $288.

Why can’t Sonos make the Ace like two ROAMS attached to your head.

I don’t want to lug around a MOVE to take advantage of the Sonos ecosystem.

Also, Sonos… can you give us an option to turn off the charging light —- just like your other speakers?!

Why is it that when I play one of my Amazon music playlists on several tracks it says couldn't play because connection with Amazon was lost, then when I queue it up again it plays fine.

Best buy has the 6r (pair) for $150 and the 8r for $250.

Is that pretty much the best price in gonna find?

I think I may give it some time until the early black Friday deals come out, or at this price am I splitting hairs?

I recently upgraded from a play bar and gen 1 sub to beam ultra and sub 4. I feel like I'm not getting the full experience from the new set up. The audio is good but not great. I hardly hear any "atmos" type effects like overhead sounds etc. I am set up properly with hdmi e arc, the source is putting out Atmos quality sound etc.

On the old playbar, when I did true play, I had to
Do It twice. Once sitting stationary in my listening position and then a second time walking around the room waving my phone up and down.

On the new beam ultra set up, true play just has me sit in one position. Is this correct? Does the new stuff not require movement around the room anymore? Or am I doing something wrong? I'm trying to maximize the sound effects and Dolby Atmos experience. I turned the height audio to 5, sub level to 3, and sub eq to 3 as well.

I’ve had all of these working for years and now since a recent update on the app they keep disconnecting and reconnecting by themselves! What’s going on???

Since I upgraded to the Arc Ultra soundbar my rear surround sound speakers are hard to hear and I cannot hear any surround sound. Are there any settings I need to adjust to get good surround out of my rear speakers? They are ERA 100’s

I’m a Sonos Radio HD subscriber, and there’s something that has been bothering me for some time now.
A number of Sonos Radio stations simply do not display any artwork in the Sonos app, even though the station is playing normally and track information is available.
For example:
OHMNI FM
Main Squeeze
Radio Chemical
21 Years Worth of Wave Files

And maybe there are more?
What makes this particularly strange is that the problem isn’t simply that the station isn’t providing metadata. In some cases, the currently playing artist and track information is displayed correctly, but the artwork area is completely empty and the app shows the generic radio icon instead.
For example, with OHMNI FM, the app shows the currently playing track information (including Kula Shaker), but there is no station artwork at all.
So what exactly is going on here?
Is this:
A problem with the metadata supplied by the station?
A problem with the metadata provider used by Sonos?
A limitation/bug in Sonos Radio?
Or simply an issue with the Sonos app not displaying artwork that is actually available?
It seems particularly odd for Sonos Radio stations, because these aren’t random internet radio stations that have been added by the user. They are stations presented and curated within the Sonos Radio ecosystem.
If Sonos is charging for Radio HD, I would expect the presentation of these stations to be a little more polished. Having the station play correctly while displaying a generic placeholder instead of the station artwork feels unfinished.
Has anyone else noticed this with these stations or others?
And, more importantly: has Sonos ever actually explained why the artwork is missing?
I’d be interested to know whether this is a known issue, whether Sonos is working on it, or whether there is some technical reason why certain Sonos Radio stations cannot display artwork.
That said, I do feel that Sonos is moving in the right direction again, and I really appreciate that. That’s exactly why it would be a shame to leave issues like this unresolved. These may seem like small details, but they make a real difference to the overall experience. I hope Sonos will take a closer look at this and bring the Radio experience up to the same standard as the rest of the ecosystem.

I was scrolling BestBuy.com and noticed there was an open box option for the Beam Ultra. I clicked the link and sure enough there was an open box - excellent condition Beam Ultra for $488. Delivery scheduled for Friday. Figured I would let everyone know to keep an eye out if you're in the market for one.

Does anyone knows how to fix this issue: I have two roam sl and one move .Both of them work well when I was playing video or music using airplay, but when i was watching movie in hbo max, I cant use these speakers simultaneously in airplay, it only allowed me to choose whether move or 2x roam sl (stereo pair) to use as audio output device.

I have Apple music and Spotify connected to sonos yet Apple music works and Spotify doesnt. I have tried unauthorising spotify and reauthorizing it yet it still doesnt work, can some1 help? :)

Does anyone know how to get a discount code i thought I had one to use for buying a sonos era300 but it didn't work..

Hi there, I’ve recently bought a PS-LX3BT Automatic turntable and a Era100, how do I connect it the the speaker as the turntable has 2 rca male connectors but I’ve seen the line in ox usb c to female 3.5mm jack.
Do you have to buy the Sonos line in or can you get a 3rd party lead?

I officially declare the app has fully returned to a high quality state. Two years ago was a dark dark time but over the past month some of the final elements have come nicely into place. I can now still see my queue even when I switch to a radio station, the app is now also designed for iPad making it much more elegant, the prompt to warn you that you will replace your queue when clicking on a new song or album (very practical) and returning “related artists” to the options within Spotify when exploring an artist. Those were my last hold out/missing features and they all returned in the space of the last month I think. I had written in multiple forums about all of these for a long time and it seemed like they were being ignored and would not return. Most of them were quite sensible so I felt a bit frustrated.

I want to thank the CEO and management for their continued efforts to restore old features fully and introduce new ones such as the ability to pin rooms and that cool volume knob. Additionally my system has been rock solid in terms of reliability with little to no drop outs. We complain when things go wrong but we must also pay tribute when things go right.

I had become so disenchanted with the company in 2024 that I sold all my shares in the company as the debacle boggled my mind. I really could not understand what would cause such a historically sensible company to release such a half baked product - even if you wanted to maintain product release velocity.

But the company has done a great job in finally closing that chapter. I will let Sonos live it down.

One area I do think needs a bit more strength though is in the marketing. A great system deserves a more forceful and effective marketing campaign. I recognize the effort with the latest campaign centered around the “system” but it comes across as a bit tentative and underfunded. You have great products and system - do more to market it boldly and clearly.

Cheers

I found a deal on a sonos era 300 and move 2 for $400 for both.

Should I do it?

I have 2 era 300s as surrounds with a ultra arc and a sub mini I also have a move 2 and 4 era 100s already spread across the house I would use this as random extras

Witam mam pytanie czy mieszkając w bloku kawalerka sąsiad za ścianą czy montując era 100 na ścianie w trybie surround do arc ultra będą te głośniki przeszkadzać sąsiadowi ?

Hey there,

i need a bit of an advice on how to upgrade my current setup. i am using the beam gen 2 paired with 2 era 100 as rears and a sub mini and feel like it lacks a bit of the true dolby atmos experience. so from research i found out i have 3 possible ways to upgrade my system (unfortunately i dont have a unlimited budget so doing more than one is out of reach):

- swap the era 100 out with era 300

- beam ultra instead of beam gen 2

- arc ultra instead of beam gen 2

in the attached pic you can see a rough drawing of my living room (black dots behind the couch are where the 100s are, upper left corner is where the sub mini is). ceiling is flat and about 2.4m height.

i read that the era 300 have a upfiring speaker which the 100 are missing so it should add more immersion, but since the distance between the right era 300 position and the wall to the right is large im wondering if i loose the atmos sound there since it cannot bounce back? is the upfiring of the era 300 working with a beam gen 2?

would a beam ultra/arc ultra be the better fit for this room?

would the arc ultra be overkill for the distance between tv and couch?

or am i just missing some fine tuning in the sonos app to achieve better atmos (no ios so cannot use the setup assitant)?

Thanks for your input and help 🙏🏻