Airplay 2: DD 5.1 format supported by Sonos 5.1 system?

Hello there :-)

So just to be clear after reading some posts. If you have Apple TV and Sonos set up for 5.1 (Beam/Playbar, 2x Plays 1 and Sub) you have to connect directly the Apple TV through optical cable to the Sonos directly or through an A/V Receptor? Why would you need the receptor(splitter) if you can connect the Apple TV directly to the Sonos with the optical?

Right now, I had the Apple TV through AirPlay 2 and Sonos receives the signal as if it was stereo music. I can’t use the features for better dialogues or reduce high noises because Sonos understands that the audio coming from Apple TV is music instead of TV.  This sucks, cause what is the point of all the WiFi advantages if you need to connect the Apple TV trough optical cable.

So my question is, Can you have 5.1 and all the best cinema sound settings in Sonos by connecting the Apple TV straight to the Sonos system through optical cable? Then, if you play music, will be in regular stereo and Sonos automatically recognizes it?

thanks a lot guys  

If you have an Apple TV, you should connect it to your TV with an HDMI cable. You would then connect your Sonos soundbar to your TV with the necessary connector, be it HDMI-ARC or optical.

The third gen Apple TV has an optical out (I think it was third gen) but the current gen does not, only an HDMI connection.

My understanding of AirPlay 2 signals is that they’re 5.1 when possible between Apple devices, but when sent to other devices, such as Sonos speakers, the AirPlay 2 signal is stereo only. So you could send a 5.1 signal to your Apple TV, which would send it to your TV, which would then send the 5.1 signal to your Sonos system. However, if you stream your AirPlay 2 signal straight to the Sonos system, you’d get only stereo.

So, the only way to answer your question is to ask what your source is.

If it’s the Apple TV itself, then there’s no need whatsoever for AirPlay 2, the audio signal is carried by HDMI to your TV, which would then send it to your Sonos. Or, if you have an older Apple TV with an optical output, you could connect that directly to your Sonos and get a 5.1 signal from the Apple TV. But then anything else you connect to your TV, like game consoles, DVD players, cable boxes won’t send any sound to the Sonos. That’s really why Sonos designed their system for the TV set to be the switch box. Any sounds that go in to the TV, assuming they’re the right codec (Dolby Digital or Stereo) will be sent out to the Sonos via the digital connection.

If that’s not clear, feel free to ask more questions.  I have the feeling I’m not really understanding what you’re trying to do.

Hi Bruce, thanks for your reply. I’m going to try to explain it well :-)

I have a video projector (Optoma HD27e) so I think I can’t use it as a switch box.

So this is my set up:

For music: I use Spotify from any device (Iphone, iPad, etc..) to my Sonos 5.1 system using Airplay 2. It sounds Stereo and great.

For watching films: Apple TV to Optoma Projector through HDMI. Apple TV to Sonos via AirPlay 2. It sounds bad. (Just Stereo, hard to understand dialogues, high noises when music and FX, etc… ) After reading this post I understand why.

Solution I’m looking for:

Be able to have best film sounds when playing movies (Using 5.1 channels) and the Sonos features to have clear dialogues and low noise at night when having Music or FX.

Be able to have best Stereo sound when playing music through AirPlay 2.

I don’t know if I could just put sound from the projector to the Sonos system with optical cable form the projector or I need an actual A/V receptor splitter in between the Apple TV and the Projector so I can distribute sound to Sonos and image to the projector.. In that case, which device would I need to buy?

Thanks a lot!

Unfortunately, while I’m aware that these kind of devices will work, I don’t use one myself, so I’m unable to recommend any particular device. There are many threads in this very area of the forum from people who do own them, however. 

Ok, I’ll search around here. But do you think that if I connect the Apple TV to the projector with HDMI and the projector straight to the Sonos Playbar using optical Cable the 5.1 would work? (Without any other device)

Thanks

If your Apple TV has an optical output, yes, I’d think so. I’d think there were settings on the Apple TV to direct the appropriate output to the optical out. Unfortunately, neither of my Apple TV’s have optical, so I’m unable to check this. 

I connect my video devices to my projector with a single HDMI (via a switch) and then use the optical audio out to the Playbar and it works fine.

I did look at the specs of your projector and did NOT see an optical out so do check that!