Is anyone running a setup with dual Sonos subs?

I am because I got a second sub very cheap.

My living room where I live is a bit on the small side, so I’m rocking them on either side of my couch behind my side tables.

I’ve used my subs both in front next to the TV and behind the couch, and generally prefer them behind because of the bass-y rumble adds to the experience for me when watching movies.

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My living room where I live is a bit on the small side, so I’m rocking them on either side of my couch behind my side tables.

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Do you have the opening of the subs facing your couch or the wall?

Subs on the same wall is not a good idea. The theory on two subs is that you place them on different walls to reduce standing waves and avoid places in the room where the bass is either too boomy or non-existent. Do a little research and do it right if you want to use two subs. There's a lot to using multiple subs.

The idea is to get clean, even response in the room. Putting two on the same wall will not accomplish that goal.

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Subs on the same wall is not a good idea. The theory on two subs is that you place them on different walls to reduce standing waves and avoid places in the room where the bass is either too boomy or non-existent. Do a little research and do it right if you want to use two subs. There's a lot to using multiple subs.

The idea is to get clean, even response in the room. Putting two on the same wall will not accomplish that goal.

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Thank you! Unfortunately, I only really have three walls in that setup (the wall behind the couch and the walls on either side of the couch), since the 120'' screen is sort of in the middle of the room. The Peter Pee video I linked to said it's not good to put them on opposite walls facing each other because they may cancel each other out, so that option is off the table.

I went ahead and ordered two since Sonos has a somewhat forgiving return policy, so once the screen is installed next week I'll do a "sub crawl" to see if I can make two subs work in that space. The Peter Pee video mentioned that a good configuration for two subs is to put them diagonal from each other, but that means once sub will be sitting in the middle of the room next to the screen, so without a wall to bounce sound off of, it may not work well.

I guess we'll see!

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That is patently false as far as a blanket recommendation.

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It's kind of wild because as I did more research after posting, I saw that one of Harman Kardon's recommended placement for dual subs is at the mid-points of sidewalls, facing each other (there's even a whitepaper they did several years ago with all their findings that show this is generally a good placement). After seeing the Harman paper, I did some more research and it seems like other people also state that the mid-points of sidewalls, with the subs facing each other, generally works pretty well. So I guess the Peter Pee video wasn't as helpful as I thought

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you will need to do the work to do it right or you can just buy it, throw it down and hope for the best.

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I went ahead and ordered 2 subs so I can play around with them and see if I can make everything sound good.

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What is the longest wall in your entire space? This will help determine where room gain starts having greatest impact.

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The wall behind the green "couch" in my little drawing is 28' wide. The distance to the blue "pillars" is about 13' (the screen is going in front of them). The walls running along the sides don't have much usable space for subs since the wall to the North has sliding glass doors and the wall to the South has a hallway to the garage and then an open area leading to stairs going up. However, there is enough space on the North and South walls to place the subs facing each other, slightly in front of the green "couch."

ETA: Based on the configuration of the room, and from what I've read online, it seems like starting with mid-wall configuration is best and then going from there.

Mid-wall only works well for rectangular rooms.

I wasn't asking about wall lengths for usable space. I was asking about it due to room gain. Room gain is where the room structure itself starts amplifying base frequencies. Small rooms get more room gain which means you get more bass amplification at a higher frequency starting point. This usually means you need less sub to get satisfactory results. Larger rooms with longer walls have room gain starting at lower frequencies. My room for example, I dont start seeing room gain until about 18Hz. I needed (2) 18" 3kW low-tuned ported subs to see acceptable output down to 12Hz (I like to feel it and I have concrete floors so it took a lot).

But anyway, wherever your room gain starting frequency is can impact what kind of spacings you want to maintain between subs.

Also, due to SBIR, the most likely orientation for side-firing subs being optimal and easiest to integrate will result in the subs facing the wall. You want to leave about 2" minimum gap between front of sub and the wall for air flow. But this helps eliminate SBIR which can create a lot of sharp cancellations at different frequencies.

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Okay, that's good to know. I can appreciate the need to give the sub some space from walls to adjust for SBIR, but is it too extreme to put a sub in the middle of a room, far from any walls?

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As usual, it all depends. Many enthusiasts will end up with smaller subs located next to seating positions in the middle of the room to help fill in nulls created by the room that they just couldn't otherwise tame. For example, maybe there is a null at 45Hz they can't eliminate with multiple subs around the walls. Sometimes, they will take a smaller sub and put it next to seating and set it up to specifically provide extra output at 45Hz.

The biggest reason to avoid middle room placement is because you dont get corner loading which increases output. So you get more performance keeping it near walls but not everyone needs that.

I'll add an old school trick to what Obtuse stated.

One way to place a sub is to install it temporarily in your listening position. Move around your potential sub locations noting which location has the smoothest and best response. i.e., the bass isn't boomy or non-existent. This method is tougher with two subs but as noted those Sonos subs are missing an octave or two on the bottom end which is generally what causes the most trouble with placement.

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Honestly, calling them “subs” should be considered A/V malpractice.

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Good ole Anton Hoffman's Iron Law. You can have it low, you can have it small or you can have it efficient. Pick any two. The problem is that the Iron Law constrains engineers but does not constrain the marketing department. I like to think of it as you need big stuff to make big waves.

There is nothing inherently wrong with small what I would refer to as mid-bass-modules, especially for music. If you can reproduce an open E on a standard tuned electric bass (41.2hz) you aren't going to be missing much in music unless you are a pipe organ fan or into a lot of synthetic music with deep bass drops and the like. The BBC engineered a hump into upper bass of some of their monitors like the LS3/5a. That extra weight there gave the illusion of a deeper extension. This is similar to what the Bose bass module and the Sonos Subs do for you.

It is hard to imagine they are tuned any lower than 45-50hz since there is so little volume in the cabinet and they only have a pair of 6" drivers. Their allure is the ease of connection (like all Sonos) and with onboard wireless capability they provide out of the box flexibility. Compared to a conventional setup for the price you could have 2 SVS PB-1000s with enough extra change (with the buy 2 discount) to make 1 of them wireless. The difference in extension and output would be massive. Keep in mind the Sonos has only about .75 cu ft of EXTERIOR volume not counting the hole in the middle, the drivers, amps, ports and bracing. Looking at the exploded view they might have .3 cu ft of internal volume which is less than most 5 1/4" mid-woofer bookshelf speakers. They do excel in form factor, WAF and ease of connectivity which is where Sonos excels in general.