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Hi there,

I have recently discovered Amazon Music Unlimited’s Atmos music offerings (as well as its Ultra HD). In my living room, I have a Beam Gen 2 + Connect Amp (S2) connected to some ceiling speakers acting as surrounds. If I play Atmos content to just this setup via Amazon Music on the Sonos App, “Atmos” is clearly displayed in the app showing that the content is, indeed, playing in Atmos. However, if I “group” our kitchen speakers (Play 1s) with the ones in the living room, the display changes to HD. Now I know that Play 1s max out at HD quality, but does this mean that the entire stream has downgraded to HD as a result of grouping? Or will the Living Room speakers continue to play in Atmos quality (despite what the display says)?

I guess part of this answer depends on how the speakers and stream interfaces, and it’s beyond my understanding. I suspect the whole stream does indeed get downgraded to HD, which is a shame for those of us with open plan configurations, but would be great to know if anyone knows for sure?

Thanks in advance!

Only the Arc and Beam (Gen 2) are compatible with Dolby Atmos music. So if you group any non-compatible speaker with the Arc or Beam while playing Dolby Atmos music, the audio will change from Dolby Atmos to the highest quality audio the grouped speaker supports which is HD for the Play:1. If you grouped a One with your Beam, the audio would have changed to Ultra HD (if available for that particular song).

Does this matter?  To gain the benefit of Atmos you really have to be stationary in the best listening position.  If you are wandering round your home as you listen it might as well be just in stereo.  i would argue that stereo is actually better, in fact.

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