Downstairs 2 room setup

itzme

Hi,

I am looking to have a 2 room setup downstairs that I'm likely to expand over time.

In the kitchen I'm looking for 4 ceiling speakers.
In the sitting room, I'm looking for a soundbar connected to the TV, 2 rear ceiling speakers for 5.0 surround sound. 
I want to have these as two separate zones with the ability to play the same audio in both. I would like this to integrate with IOT so Alexa and SmartThings/HomeAssistant are my preferences.
From my own research, I'm pushing towards sonos playbar + connect:amp to 2xrear speakers in sitting room and 1 sonos connect:amp connecting to 4xceiling speakers in the kitchen. Could you give me an idea of good quality ceiling speaker recommendations any flaws/improvements to what I'm thinking and some pricing?

Thanks.

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

itzme wrote: »

Hi,

I am looking to have a 2 room setup downstairs that I'm likely to expand over time.

In the kitchen I'm looking for 4 ceiling speakers.
In the sitting room, I'm looking for a soundbar connected to the TV, 2 rear ceiling speakers for 5.0 surround sound. 
I want to have these as two separate zones with the ability to play the same audio in both. I would like this to integrate with IOT so Alexa and SmartThings/HomeAssistant are my preferences.
From my own research, I'm pushing towards sonos playbar + connect:amp to 2xrear speakers in sitting room and 1 sonos connect:amp connecting to 4xceiling speakers in the kitchen. Could you give me an idea of good quality ceiling speaker recommendations any flaws/improvements to what I'm thinking and some pricing?

Thanks.

Hi itzme,

You've picked out a very good system. The Sonos playbar and Connect Amp would make a great 5.1 system. The Alexa control is only available for the Sonos One speaker at the moment and the service is currently unavailable for ROI. The Connect Amp only has outputs for 1 pair of speakers to run comfortably so to run a second set of speakers off one amp you might need a speaker switch or a second amp. You could go down the route of a larger stereo amp and a Sonos Connect for that room which would work out about the same price and would comfortably drive all four speakers.

For in ceiling speakers I would recommend the Monitor Audio C165 or C180. The C180 have larger drivers than the C165 (so have a larger diameter) but give much better depth to the sound. The C180s retail at £144.95 each and the C165s are £114.95 each.

Would you be looking to go down the one Connect Amp route for one room or would you be interested in spreading the load to a stereo amp and Connect?

Let me know and I can work out a package price for you for the whole lot.

Kind regards

David

itzme

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

itzme wrote: »

Hi,

I am looking to have a 2 room setup downstairs that I'm likely to expand over time.

In the kitchen I'm looking for 4 ceiling speakers.
In the sitting room, I'm looking for a soundbar connected to the TV, 2 rear ceiling speakers for 5.0 surround sound. 
I want to have these as two separate zones with the ability to play the same audio in both. I would like this to integrate with IOT so Alexa and SmartThings/HomeAssistant are my preferences.
From my own research, I'm pushing towards sonos playbar + connect:amp to 2xrear speakers in sitting room and 1 sonos connect:amp connecting to 4xceiling speakers in the kitchen. Could you give me an idea of good quality ceiling speaker recommendations any flaws/improvements to what I'm thinking and some pricing?

Thanks.

Hi itzme,

You've picked out a very good system. The Sonos playbar and Connect Amp would make a great 5.1 system. The Alexa control is only available for the Sonos One speaker at the moment and the service is currently unavailable for ROI. The Connect Amp only has outputs for 1 pair of speakers to run comfortably so to run a second set of speakers off one amp you might need a speaker switch or a second amp. You could go down the route of a larger stereo amp and a Sonos Connect for that room which would work out about the same price and would comfortably drive all four speakers.

For in ceiling speakers I would recommend the Monitor Audio C165 or C180. The C180 have larger drivers than the C165 (so have a larger diameter) but give much better depth to the sound. The C180s retail at £144.95 each and the C165s are £114.95 each.

Would you be looking to go down the one Connect Amp route for one room or would you be interested in spreading the load to a stereo amp and Connect?

Let me know and I can work out a package price for you for the whole lot.

Kind regards

David

Hi David, 

Thanks for the response. I already have 2 echo dots so no need for a Sonos One, I'll use them to control the speakers in the rooms. That is crazy that the skill is unavailable in Ireland, hopefully they fix that soon (that or it'll be one of those enjoyable hacks of changing my address in amazon to get access to the UK skill) but thanks for pointing that out.

With the 4 speaker setup, I was planning to connect all 4 to the same connect:amp just doubling up the left/right channels. Their documentation says this works fine so long as you have the right speaker impedence/watts, I see that the C165/180 are 6ohm though . Do you have any 8 ohm 110W ceiling speakrs?
Another alternative could be 2 ceiling speakers + connect:amp, in your experience would the sound from 2 C165/180 speakers "fill" a large kitchen? I'm asking as I'm trying to be as minimal as possible with equipment so I'm less inclined towards the larger stereo amp.

Thanks

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

itzme wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

itzme wrote: »

Hi,

I am looking to have a 2 room setup downstairs that I'm likely to expand over time.

In the kitchen I'm looking for 4 ceiling speakers.
In the sitting room, I'm looking for a soundbar connected to the TV, 2 rear ceiling speakers for 5.0 surround sound. 
I want to have these as two separate zones with the ability to play the same audio in both. I would like this to integrate with IOT so Alexa and SmartThings/HomeAssistant are my preferences.
From my own research, I'm pushing towards sonos playbar + connect:amp to 2xrear speakers in sitting room and 1 sonos connect:amp connecting to 4xceiling speakers in the kitchen. Could you give me an idea of good quality ceiling speaker recommendations any flaws/improvements to what I'm thinking and some pricing?

Thanks.

Hi itzme,

You've picked out a very good system. The Sonos playbar and Connect Amp would make a great 5.1 system. The Alexa control is only available for the Sonos One speaker at the moment and the service is currently unavailable for ROI. The Connect Amp only has outputs for 1 pair of speakers to run comfortably so to run a second set of speakers off one amp you might need a speaker switch or a second amp. You could go down the route of a larger stereo amp and a Sonos Connect for that room which would work out about the same price and would comfortably drive all four speakers.

For in ceiling speakers I would recommend the Monitor Audio C165 or C180. The C180 have larger drivers than the C165 (so have a larger diameter) but give much better depth to the sound. The C180s retail at £144.95 each and the C165s are £114.95 each.

Would you be looking to go down the one Connect Amp route for one room or would you be interested in spreading the load to a stereo amp and Connect?

Let me know and I can work out a package price for you for the whole lot.

Kind regards

David

Hi David, 

Thanks for the response. I already have 2 echo dots so no need for a Sonos One, I'll use them to control the speakers in the rooms. That is crazy that the skill is unavailable in Ireland, hopefully they fix that soon (that or it'll be one of those enjoyable hacks of changing my address in amazon to get access to the UK skill) but thanks for pointing that out.

With the 4 speaker setup, I was planning to connect all 4 to the same connect:amp just doubling up the left/right channels. Their documentation says this works fine so long as you have the right speaker impedence/watts, I see that the C165/180 are 6ohm though . Do you have any 8 ohm 110W ceiling speakrs?
Another alternative could be 2 ceiling speakers + connect:amp, in your experience would the sound from 2 C165/180 speakers "fill" a large kitchen? I'm asking as I'm trying to be as minimal as possible with equipment so I'm less inclined towards the larger stereo amp.

Thanks

Hi itzme,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you.

I would say C180s would be enough to fill a large room but to properly avoid having any areas without sound I would look at the Kef CI130ER speakers. These are £199 per pair and are 8 ohm speakers so would run with the amp and have a recommended drive rating of 10-80W.

I don't have these in stock in store but should be able to get them quickly.

Let me know what you think.

Kind regards

David

itzme

PM sent to look for a quote

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

itzme wrote: »

PM sent to look for a quote

Cheers Itzme.

itzme

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

itzme wrote: »

PM sent to look for a quote

Cheers Itzme.

PM sent looking for final price. Seems like recent PMs I sent were blank (I blame the responsive site layout).

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

itzme wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

itzme wrote: »

PM sent to look for a quote

Cheers Itzme.

PM sent looking for final price. Seems like recent PMs I sent were blank (I blame the responsive site layout).

Hey Itzme.

No problem.

David has been off on his holidays this week.

I'll log into his account and get the PM you have sent today.

itzme

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

itzme wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

itzme wrote: »

PM sent to look for a quote

Cheers Itzme.

PM sent looking for final price. Seems like recent PMs I sent were blank (I blame the responsive site layout).

Hey Itzme.

No problem.

David has been off on his holidays this week.

I'll log into his account and get the PM you have sent today.

Thanks guys, really happy with the price and advice I got from you and looking forward to the delivery. I'll at least be able to use the soundbar before the house is ready. 

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

itzme wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

itzme wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

itzme wrote: »

PM sent to look for a quote

Cheers Itzme.

PM sent looking for final price. Seems like recent PMs I sent were blank (I blame the responsive site layout).

Hey Itzme.

No problem.

David has been off on his holidays this week.

I'll log into his account and get the PM you have sent today.

Thanks guys, really happy with the price and advice I got from you and looking forward to the delivery. I'll at least be able to use the soundbar before the house is ready. 

Hi Itzme,

Glad you got sorted while I was away! Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any issues with the delivery! That soundbar sounds great on it's own as well.

Kind regards

David

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

itzme wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

itzme wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

itzme wrote: »

PM sent to look for a quote

Cheers Itzme.

PM sent looking for final price. Seems like recent PMs I sent were blank (I blame the responsive site layout).

Hey Itzme.

No problem.

David has been off on his holidays this week.

I'll log into his account and get the PM you have sent today.

Thanks guys, really happy with the price and advice I got from you and looking forward to the delivery. I'll at least be able to use the soundbar before the house is ready. 

Hi Itzme,

Glad you got sorted while I was away! Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any issues with the delivery! That soundbar sounds great on it's own as well.

Kind regards

David