Sonos & Ceiling Speakers -haven't got a clue!

[bernieburger]

Hi,

Just about to start a kitchen extension (http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=207&t=1353909&i=40&mid=&nmt=) and would love to have a sonos/equivalent system throughout kitchen/dining/lounge area. I have a Sonos 1 in the kitchen currently, but would love to have something discreet (Ceiling speakers ) that I could integrate with Sonos. Where do I start? What do I need? I want to plan before the builder starts ripping things out and putting things back.

Cheers

Bernie

[paralla]

You need one of these to drive a pair of ceiling speakers
http://www.sonos.com/en-gb/sonos-shop/products/con...

I have a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze CPC BR 6.5" speakers in my kitchen (and another pair in the bathroom) and they sound good to me.

I got them from here but notice they have been replaced with much more expensive models.
http://www.ceiling-speakers.co.uk/

The ones I have feature an enclosed back which lessens noise leakage to the rooms above and negates any acoustic colouring from the different size and shape ceiling cavities. It also prevents dust from settling on top of the cone.

The Connect Amp is stable down to 4 ohms and most ceiling speakers seem to be 6 ohms so you should only run one pair of speakers from each Connect Amp. 4 speakers would present a 3 ohm load to the amp and shorten its life or cause it to shut down.

If I could start again I might have chosen 8" speakers for a minimal increase in cost to get some more bass.

The speaker wire runs from the speaker location in the ceiling into the top of a kitchen cabinet where the Amp is. Piece of cake to install.

Add a music streaming subscription like Spotify and you will never look back.

[Brian Trizers]

Well, your Sonos device will be the Connect Amp, with which you can team one or more ceiling-mountable speakers. Monitor Audio makes some, I'm sure others do too, and if you google 'Sonos ceiling bundle' you'll find the retailers that offer package deals.

But...

...you have a Play:1 in the kitchen now. I have one in mine, and all I want is another one to keep it company and make a pair. If you go ceiling-mount, not only will you have to put it somewhere (it's about the size of a Play:1 ) but you'll have to run and conceal cables from it to the speakers. Another Play:1 and a couple of wall brackets and all you need is a power connection for each one.

And then you'll know where your music is! Ceiling speakers are fine for shops, restaurants, gyms, where nobody much cares about presence or imaging or even what the music is, so long as it drowns out the echoing despair of their empty, meaningless lives. But at home I want something more personal, more believable. A pair of Play:1s can image superbly, and one on its own is loud enough to fill my 5x3m kitchen, even with the extractor on.
Not the answer to the question you asked, I know, but why not buy another Play:1, wall-mount them (not too high) and spend some of what you save by not needing the Connect Amp and the ceiling kit (and all that installation work) on a nice copper frying pan?

[FarmyardPants]

OP decide where you want your speakers and then run speaker cable from those locations to somewhere suitable to house the connect amp - eg a kitchen cupboard. The Sonos unit only needs mains power. You can run 2 pairs of speakers from one sonos unit if you wire them in series. This will halve the volume output for a given volume on the sonos, but should still be enough. Wiring in series increases the resistance so won't damage the amp. To to it this way you'll need to run the cables like this: +ve terminal of sonos to +ve of speaker 1, -ve of speaker 1 to +ve of speaker 2, -ve of speaker 2 back to -ve sonos terminal. And the same for the other (left or right) channel. Draw it on a piece of paper and you'll see how the wires will need to run. If the area is large enough that you need different things playing on each pair of speakers you'll need 2 sonos units.

I would recommend monitor audio or polk audio ceiling speakers. They are quite easy to fit and contrary to popular belief can sound half decent.

[bernieburger]

Thanks all. Was thinking of just adding another play 1 but want them out of the way of little people and didn't want the clutter of the power cable. Will look into ceiling bundles online, feel like its worth putting in the speakers whilst the extension is going on, don't want to regret it, and possibly then try and retrofit..

[bernieburger]

Just seen price of sonos amp, the idea of adding another play 1 now sounds appealing!!
Looking at Flexson wall mounts for play 1. Any idea how power cable routing works? Assume need to site directly next to socket?

[talkssense]

bernieburger said:

Just seen price of sonos amp, the idea of adding another play 1 now sounds appealing!!
Looking at Flexson wall mounts for play 1. Any idea how power cable routing works? Assume need to site directly next to socket?

Fused spur at normal socket level, then run the cable up the inside of the wall in conduit/cavity/behind plasterboard and out at the correct point. Done right you can't see any cable and turn them on and off from socket level.

The only downside to play 1s mounted up high is you loose the hands on control. Typically better sound than ceiling speakers though, and you can have four for the price of a connect amp and mediocre in ceilings