We recently designed and specified a kitchen ceiling speaker system with a television connection.
This case study will walk you through the customers goals, the kit that we specified and then onto the end result.
The Goal
The goal was to create a seamless audio and TV watching experience within the kitchen and dining space.
Sound quality with good bass is of the utmost importance so we’re looking at a 2.1 ceiling speaker system consisting of a pair of ceiling speakers and an active subwoofer mounted on top of the kitchen units.
The TV remote control should turn on the amplifier and adjust the volume and everything should work automatically without having to press any buttons or change any inputs on the amplifier manually.
Music should be easy to stream using Spotify Connect, an app and some basic voice control using Amazon Alexa was required.
The kitchen leads onto the patio / garden where a future zone will be added so both areas must be able to play the same music in sync.
The System
Amplifier
The best choice for this system was the Sonos.
Here’s why…
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It Is Powerful: It’s got 125W per channel of power which is more then enough to fill this relatively small kitchen with high-quality sound.
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It Has A TV Connection: It’s got a HDMI input with CEC control and ARC (audio return channel) allowing for a plug & play connection to the TV with full control from the TV’s remote control.
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Easy WiFI Streaming: It’s a WiFi multiroom amplifier so it can easily be grouped with the future garden zone and streaming is seamless and easy from iOS and Alexa voice control.
- It Has A Subwoofer Output: It’s got a subwoofer output for the all important additional bass required.
The amplifier is installed within the top cupboard above the microwave and wired out to the ceiling speakers using QED 2 core speaker cables.
Ceiling Speakers
Whilst you can connect any ceiling speakers to the Sonos AMP we opted to go for the official Sonos in ceiling speakers made by Sonance.
These are high-end speakers with great sound quality and power handling, but also enable the “True Play” tuning feature allowing us to “tune” the speakers to suit the room offering the best possible sound quality.
The speakers are 6.5” and as the kitchen is only around 20 square metres a pair was chosen for best coverage and stereo performance.
Subwoofer
You can get wireless subwoofers from Sonos which are great, but here we’ve gone for a Q Acoustics 7060S slimline subwoofer.
It’s a compact but powerful active subwoofer that can lay flat on top of the tall oven / microwave unit.
The amplifier is hidden in the cupboard underneath it so it’s a simple case of connecting the subwoofer with the amplifier using a short subwoofer cable and we’re up and running.
It has a fully adjustable crossover too so we can dial the subwoofer in allowing us to add some depth to the sound without risking annoying the neighbours too much.
TOP TIP: You can also turn off or adjust the subwoofer from within the Sonos app so if you want some late night listening you can easily turn the subwoofer off temporarily without having to unplug anything.
You'll note in the picture above that an Amazon Echo dot is hiding on top of the kitchen units and can be used to start / stop playback as well as adjusting volume and skipping tracks etc by asking Alexa.
TV
Despite being a small kitchen it’s still a multipurpose space with a dining table, island and patio doors onto the garden.
The television needed to be discreet and blend in seamlessly with the decor…
Introducing the Samsung 43” Frame TV.
It’s about as slim as you’ll possibly get and displays art work when you’re not watching TV.
The challenge here is the One Connect box which comes with a pre-made 5M fibre optic connection cable with large connectors.
The cable was run up the wall, behind the coving (which was newly fitted after first fix cabling) and then down the wall to the left hand corner where the One Connect box will be hidden within a corner cabinet.
The One Connect box is then connected to the Sonos AMP using a 15 metre fibre optic HDMI cable from Antiference following the same route up the wall and around behind the coving to the amplifier position.
Wall Panel
The subtle addition of a Rithum wall switch allows for some basic control of the Sonos system.
A double tap plays music and within the Sonos integration screen you can see the now playing, play, pause, skip track and playback favourites.
It’s not a primary method of control but it’s a great addition to the system.
The Result
Sound Quality
The overall sound quality is amazing.
The Sonos AMP is more than powerful enough for the room size, so much so that the volume has been limited within the Sonos AMP to prevent annoying the neighbours too much.
Whilst the Sonos 6.5” ceiling speakers offer a surprising amount of bass, the addition of the Q Acoustics 7060s subwoofer completely transforms the system and fills in the low end - amazing for music as well as television.
Ease Of Use
One of the key requirements was to be easy to use and this system couldn’t possibly be any easier to use.
Turning the TV on with the standard TV remote fires up the amplifier and you can adjust volume with the remote control as normal.
Music is most commonly streamed using Spotify Connect or the Sonos app.
Reliability
The system gets day to day use and has not missed a beat.
The Sonos AMP is connected to the WiFi network, control is fast, efficient and problem free.
Value For Money
When specifying this system we knew it was at the higher-end of the systems we currently sell, but we also knew that this fits the customer requirements the best, ticks all the right boxes and will overdeliver in performance.
The system costs were as follows;
1 x Sonos AMP - £699
1 x Sonos Ceiling Speakers - £539.99
1 x 15M Optical HDMI Cable - £109.99
1 x Q Acoustics 7060S - £299
1 x QED 3M Subwoofer Cable - £17.95
Total = £1665.93
Additional kit:
1 x Samsung 2023 Frame 43” TV - £999
1 x Rithum Switch - £249
Total = £1248
Customer Comment
“The system is used every single day, whether the kids are watching Youtube, we’re listening to music whilst washing up or streaming podcasts whilst cooking.
The fact it can also be grouped with the adjacent garden for a seamless ground-floor audio experience just tops it off.
It’s used a lot by the whole family so we expect the lifetime value to be worthwhile and we know that when we move out we can simply swap the system for a cheaper Bluetooth only system and take the Sonos kit with us to the next house.”
