Tiny House Audio Systems
Tiny house audio systems by nature need to be …tiny. Usually that means compromising on sound quality but not this time.
Some people love the immersive experience of surround sound when they watch a movie. Others, like my wife, could care less about TV audio but she really loves to listen to music. Downsizing to a smaller home didn’t impact our listening quality but we did need to change the equipment we used to produce the sound.
In the larger house we downsized from I had a huge surround sound system similar to the one shown on the right. Because I had a home electronics business for twenty years my system was a collection of equipment I had replaced. It was actually really good stuff but the Aspen home owners always wanted the newest stuff. Not only did I have a VHS VCR, I also had a Sony, Betamax and a Hi-8 digital VCR. And lets not forget the DVD player, satellite receiver, and subwoofer amp. We were rockin!
As technology progressed I began installing Sonos audio equipment almost exclusively.
Sonos far out-shined all other audio brands in quality and their intuitive app was a pleasure to use.
Their customer service was really good. They patiently helped me figure out how to get the settings correct and implement some work-arounds when wiring just wasn’t there. In addition, the Sonos equipment will send operation parameter reports back to the home office automatically. They would email me to say “your device is overheating” or other malfunction.
I could use the Sonos speakers as a complete wireless surround sound system and a whole house audio system. Their equipment easily melded into the remains of older systems, like built-in speakers, to bring all the music in the world into a simple app on an iPad, smart phone, or computer.
Another real plus was the fact that the Sonos devices connected via WiFi which is a lot more stable and usable connection that Bluetooth. They can use Bluetooth if a network is not available, however, which is great when using their portable speakers.
When I needed to downsize the choice was easy.
Everything had to go but the TV. I drew a line at the TV. It’s a big one but there’s always a place for a TV. Visit this page to see some ideas: Adding TVs to Your Tiny House
All the audio equipment was replace by a Sonos soundbar called a Playbar. I’ve installed a lot of other brands over the years at the behest of homeowners but they always seemed like toys compared to the Sonos, Playbar. There are nine speakers and nine separate amps packed in there for a complete 3.1 surround sound system. The sound, even the bass is impressive. You can add wireless rear speakers and subwoofer at anytime to make a true 5.1 surround sound system that would rival any stereo receiver connected to an array of space hogging speakers.
Of course it doesn’t compare to a 1000 watt theater system but it’ll rock a tiny house nicely. We have a Sonos wireless speaker tucked away in the bedroom which can seamlessly sync to the Playbar to fill the whole house without any echo effects that plague the wannabe equipment. The Sonos, Playbar is still available on EBay.
Sonos hasn’t rested on their laurels either. They’ve been developing new speaker models and refining their app to stay far ahead of the competition. Now Sonos includes voice control and melds with Amazon, Alexa, and Google Assistant.
The Playbar has been replace by the Sonos ARC
While smaller (shown at the top of this page) the Sonos, ARC features eleven precisely engineered speakers including two new dedicated “height” channels to serve Dolby®, Atmos®. The ARC fires in all directions rendering every whisper, explosion, and beat with dramatic clarity, depth, and detail.
Go deeper into every scene with spacial audio as the Dolby, Atmos and upward firing speakers work in concert to immerse you in a multi-dimensional soundstage. Our dog will actually bark if someone knocks on a door in a movie. She thinks someone is at our door. More than once I’ve looked out the window to check for storm clouds after a clap of thunder on TV. And Top Gun is just wow.
You can add a wireless subwoofer at any time. It’s fairly good size (see image on the right) but you can put it anywhere you have room. We have not felt the need to invest in that yet as the quality of the Playbar is so good all by itself.
Speech Enhancement is perfect for us geezers.
The older we get the more we appreciate the speech enhancement feature. It makes the dialog crystal clear even when the actions noises intensify. With music we hear more than ever before. Lyrics are easy to hear.
There’s a smaller version called the Sonos Beam
The Sonos, Beam delivers all the sound but is sized right for smaller TV’s. It’s 25.65″ wide and has 5 speakers instead of nine. The sound is still remarkable and the price of just $499.00.* I have seen it on Amazon for just $299.00.*
Sonos speakers automatically tune themselves for the room.
Using the microphone in your iOS device Trueplay technology analyzes the unique acoustics of the room and furniture to optimize the EQ and calibrating the height channels for precise localization. This insures that the reflected sounds reach your ears at the exact right moment to deliver that amazing surround sound from just one speakerbar.
More very cool Sonos Speakers for tiny house audio systems
Sonos has really been keeping up with the competition. Actually they’re blowing them away. The Sonos, Roam is tiny, just a bit taller than a soda can, but wow that sound. Your friends will be wondering where you are hiding giant speakers.
Even better, it’s portable and rechargeable. You can even take it in the shower. Play it upright or lay it down. The speaker adapts to the orientation for the best listening experience.
Just like the other Sonos speakers you can play it separately or meld it into your whole home Sonos constellation filling every corner of your abode. Because it’s WiFi you can take it out on the deck, even into the yard, wherever you network signal reaches. You can use it on the go without WiFi by using Bluetooth or Apple AirPlay 2. When you return home it automatically jumps back on your network.
The speaker measures 6.61″ long, and 2.44″ wide. It can be submerged in 3′ deep water for up to 30 minutes. The battery lasts 10 hours per charge. It’s available in six colors. $159.00.
The Sonos, Move is very similar in features to the Roam but larger.
The extra size allows for an ultra wide soundstage of deep bass and clear highs. The Sonos, Move is equipped with Trueplay so it adjusts itself to it’s surrounding and music content for the best sound possible.
Dimensions are 6.29″ wide, 9.44″ high, and 4.96″ deep. It weighs 6.6 lbs and can withstand being dropped and immersed in water.
If you have two they can be set for left and right stereo. They have touch controls and also voice activation. $399.00.
Any of their speakers can be couples with a subwoofer or mini subwoofer to add that mind blowing bass.
Visit the Sonos Amazon store
There are a lot more speakers in the Sonos line. All remarkable. They are a bit pricey but as the old saying goes, “You might flinch once when you buy them but you’ll be super satisfied every time you use them.”
Sonos makes the best tiny house audio systems you can find.
More pages of the Tiny Life Consulting website you’ll be interested in:
Wiring Your Tiny Home for TV and Network
TV Reception for a Tiny House or RV
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