Sonos speaker question

[F31Simon]

Hi,

Planning on building a new kitchen extension this year and trying to work out the best sonos configuration to go in it. I have a number of sp120 devices elsewhere in the house, so this is the starting point. Given a room size of 5m x 5m, what suggestions would you have for in-ceiling speakers, 2 or 4, wiring configs, etc.

First post here, but long time lurker.
Simon

[Rick Cutler]

For a room with dimensions of 5x5m it will depend on layout. Bowers and Wilkins do really good speakers and can be powered from a sonos amp. B&W also do a single stereo speaker.

Make sure when you design the kitchen you consider the speakers when agreeing joist positions and ceiling void.

If you need any help, give me a shout I am a pro audio installation guy and certified sonos engineer.

[belleair302]

I have B & W ceiling speakers in my bathroom and kitchen, not only do the look invisible but the sound is outstanding. Just make sure the amplifier is of a decent spec and you have high quality cabling.

[Salesy]

I personally would go for the trim less Monitor audio ct165r, i use these on most installs and every client comments on how good they are.

If using the sonos don't overspend on cable as its not audiophile quality. A good mid range cable will be ample.

Monitors are around £100 per speaker retail. Deals can be had if you know a CI (wink)

A 5m x 5m room would warrant 4 of these speakers for a fuller and even sound around the room.

P

[VEX]

I second everything Salesy has said.

In my opinion, it is not worth spending B&W money on something that is only playing streamed music. The Monitor Audio range is excellent, well worth the money and always used on our low to mid range install. Lots of PH have used them on recommendations here.

V.

[F31Simon]

Thanks, much appreciated, I shall take a look at the monitor audio speakers.

Do these speakers need any kind of fire protection above them in the ceiling voids, and I notice they are 6ohm impedance, can I run 4 of them off one zp120?

[Driller]

Another shout for MA (end user here). I don't see any problems with running 2 pairs of 6Ohm speakers in parallel, just don't run the amp flat out, not that your likely to anyway with background music.

Out of interest are the Sonos amps class B or D?

[sparkyhx]

D, I believe, but you run a Connect thru any amp. Mine is running thru my Class A Music Fidelity amp, and floor standers. I know its not a bathroom, and Connect + amp is not as 'sexy' as the connect:amp

[Driller]

I'd take the MF any day though What are the floorstanders you have?

If that connect is class D then should be ok for two pairs in parallel OP.

[sparkyhx]

Driller said:

I'd take the MF any day though What are the floorstanders you have?

If that connect is class D then should be ok for two pairs in parallel OP.

...............Mission 752's about 15 years old (maybe more). MF is +20 years old and still going strong, and still putting out immense amounts of heat . Amp has input selector, on/off button and volume - nothing else. Minimalist in the extreme.

Edited by sparkyhx on Saturday 4th January 22:57

[Driller]

I like the "giving out the heat" part and also the fact that it's class A by the look of it.

[VEX]

Yes, two pairs of MA ceiling speakers are absolutely fine, often do it on my installs.

As for fire hoods, yes you should fit them and I do on installs, but as a private home owner there is no legal requirement for you to do so.

Don't get suckered into spending to much on them though, there is usually quite a markup on them.

Hth

V.

[rat840771]

Can i hijack and ask a question about SONOS...i have set up my music library on MAC and imported some CD's and this music library updates on all devices ( iPad and iPhone) but i can only play these tracks when the MAC is up and running and if i was to close the mac then you loose the music library on Ipad/ipone which is bit of a pain if the family want to play music at home whilst i am out. As if they log into their accounts on the MAC they will not see the Sonos app ( unless i load on all profiles).

so does this mean that the best way is to install a NAS drive and set up a home network, if so which one should i get and how much do they cost.

[sparkyhx]

rat840771 said:

Can i hijack and ask a question about SONOS...i have set up my music library on MAC and imported some CD's and this music library updates on all devices ( iPad and iPhone) but i can only play these tracks when the MAC is up and running and if i was to close the mac then you loose the music library on Ipad/ipone which is bit of a pain if the family want to play music at home whilst i am out. As if they log into their accounts on the MAC they will not see the Sonos app ( unless i load on all profiles).

so does this mean that the best way is to install a NAS drive and set up a home network, if so which one should i get and how much do they cost.

Don't know about MAC's and itunes etc. where is the music physically stored? If its on the mac then it would make sense its not available. If its online and streamed - then I would have thought you need to use the online app, not the sonos app (if you know what I mean).

I've heard many 'horror' stories with apple and NAS's being more trouble than they are worth - but that may be old hat now, but you can always use the dedicated apple nas's

[Rick Cutler]

I have an Apple TV and iTunes Match will see if that works. We have had success with a NAS drive but it was a true pain to set up.

[rat840771]

The main bulk of my music is stored on my MAC, and i have also imported some CD's onto it.

i have since been informed that the MAC will need to be switched on for the other devices to access the music library, i guess this is not a major problem and a temp fix is for me to load the sonos app on all profiles so all members of family can access the music library on MAC.

if you go onto iPad you can only access music purchased from iTunes.

But at least i can still stream all radio ( which is brilliant)

i have looked into NAS and it is another expense that i am finding hard to justify! ( especially from rip off Apple)

thanks for replies.

[VEX]

Far more simple to buy a NAS drive, not that difficult to set up.

Alternatively, set up a Napster or Spotify account for a £5 a month and then you can have all the music you ever need without the need for a NAS at all. It works so well, I don't even sell NAS drives to my customers any more, it is that simple, even my 5 year old can use it.

I have a NAS here, but rarely use the music on it as everything is now streamed off our Napster account. I pay £10 a month and can stream music to three devices anywhere in the world if I want to.

HTH.

V.

[F31Simon]

Thanks for all the advice on speakers, interested on your opinion on the quality of the music streamed, currently I have all my music in lossless format on a nas, but thinking about subscribing to spotify.