Arc doesn't work with Samsung TV Q95T : If you want Dolby Atmos avoid Samsung Flagship TV's


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I bought a New Samsung TV and Sonos ARC Soundbar last week: 

Samsung TV Model QE65Q95TATXXU

Software Version : 1115.5

Connected Sonos Arc to the eARC port 3 on the TV and the Arc only delivers any sound when the eARC is switched off (no Sound on Automatic). The Sound output on the TV is only recognising the ARC as connected to HDMI when it should recognise it as connected to the eARC HDMI port. The Dolby ATMOS compatibility button makes no difference when on or off. Pass through setting makes no difference. Dolby Atmos (DD+) is recognised by the SONOS App when playing directly from Netfix App on TV, this means the TV and SONOS ARC are not talking to each other and not recognising the eARC signal (it should say DOLBY Atmos not DOLBY Atmos DD+). Checked all connections and have rebooted both TV and Soundbar with no success

Not ideal when the TV and Sound Bar cost over £3500, I just want it to work and thats what should be delivered by SONOS.

Spoke to SONOS Support (Xander P) and these are the quotes from him:

It does look like there may be some issues arising when the eARC function on the TV is enabled. DD+ is capable of carrying a compressed ATMOS signal, so you should still be able to experience ATMOS from your Arc. In the mean time however there's no fix for this.

I'm not able to give you a solid answer right now unfortunately, however the Arc is known to work with other TVs so my inclination would be that this is a Samsung issue. We are certainly aware of this however and we are reaching out to Samsung in order to get this resolved.

I would expect this to be fixable via a Firmware update, however I can't guarantee this unfortunately.

We are reaching out to Samsung in order to get this issue resolved. Due to the huge number of TV models and manufacturers, issues such as this do sometimes arise - in any case we are looking in to getting it resolved and we are happy to assist any customers which are affected by this issue.

So basically SONOS are blaming Samsung because the ARC works with other TV's. No firm promise of a fix, not very impressed with SONOS at this point as Samsung could be classed as a major supplier of global premium TV's and you would have thought that SONOS would have ensured their premium soundbar would work with the new Samsung Flagship range, but apparently not.

Suggest SONOS and Samsung get their act together and sort out the issue.


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My setup is a Samsung Q95T and the Sonos Arc. For some reason my Q95T is only picking up the Arc as a HDMI Receiver despite the fact that the supplied HDMI cable that came with the Arc is plugged directly into my TV's HDMI3 eARC port. 

 

As my TV is unable to pick up the fact that I have the Arc plugged in as an eARC Receiver I cannot enable the option to allow audio pass through, which I believe is causing audio delay.

 

Samsung have told me that the problem does not lie on their end and have advised that there is nothing they could do to fix it themselves, they've just sent me to Sonos

 

I purchased the TV and the Arc together because I was excited about the fact that they would work well via the New HDMI eARC input, experiencing such terrible audio delay isn't really what I expected after spending so much money. If I'm unable to get this fixed I'd rather return the Arc and get my money back.

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You’re not alone. Here a LG C9 OLED with Sonos ARC with audio delay. I think it has more to with the tv then the Sonos as the audio is delayed which I think is caused by the tv rather then by processing the audio in the Sonos ARC. 

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Hi Daryl,

 

I have the same set up and brought both together for eARC functionality. Unfortunately I have the same issues as you.

 

I really hope Sonos can find a fix for this.. 

Moderators, this belongs in the Home Theater area of the forum.

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Netflix only streams DD+ Dolby Atmos. 

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@ekwok Are you saying that it all works as it is supposed to for the topic starter as he does have Atmos via DD+ on Netflix - the only way it is possible to get Atmos you are not using a 4k Blu ray?

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Is there any firmware update needed for the TV?Have you also asked Samsung for help? What did they say?

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@ekwok Are you saying that it all works as it is supposed to for the topic starter as he does have Atmos via DD+ on Netflix - the only way it is possible to get Atmos you are not using a 4k Blu ray?

@106rallye Yes, that’s right.

I read that streaming services stream lossy DD+ Dolby Atmos only.

To get lossless Dolby Atmos, we need bluray and eARC or Arcana.

Having said that, it seems the new Samsung has some bugs there. The need to turn off eARC for any sound to come through is not right.

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Hi, I've got the same TV as you and I'm having the exact same problems - It's all well and good that Sonos is saying the difference we are missing out on is negligible however when I use my Arc with my Xbox One X I have a horrible audio delay, which i believe i could fix if i set the TV audio to Pass Through mode - Unfortunately this is only a feature available through eARC mode which we're unable to use! I've been in touch with Samsung a few times about this issue and they just keep sending me back to Sonos claiming that as far as they can tell there are no issues on their end.

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Hi Edm

I have raised also as follows:

https://en.community.sonos.com/ask-a-question-228987/sonos-and-samsung-earc-compatibility-issues-6844762

 

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Netflix only streams DD+ Dolby Atmos. 

Thats not the problem - you get NO sound on enabling eARC on the tv. I have the same issue. I like EDM have spent a lot of money for future proof around eArc for it not to work, when uncompressed atmos arrives, we want to take advantage of it so this is a big deal. 

Please see my link

https://en.community.sonos.com/ask-a-question-228987/sonos-and-samsung-earc-compatibility-issues-6844762

This expands on the issue

 

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Hi Mikelev

Your link doesn’t seem to be working?

Just a quick further comment, I may be accused of being cynical but its amazing that the Samsung Soundbars seem to work okay on eARC but the Sonos ones don’t, wonder why that is?

The issue we are describing is widespread on the Samsung Forums ( Re: eARC issue on new Q95T with SONOS ARC) as well as Sonos, I think we are just going to suffer from one company blaming the other. Lets hope someone pulls their finger out.

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Hi Mikelev

Your link doesn’t seem to be working?

Just a quick further comment, I may be accused of being cynical but its amazing that the Samsung Soundbars seem to work okay on eARC but the Sonos ones don’t, wonder why that is?

The issue we are describing is widespread on the Samsung Forums ( Re: eARC issue on new Q95T with SONOS ARC) as well as Sonos, I think we are just going to suffer from one company blaming the other. Lets hope someone pulls their finger out.

Yes - agree, also its looking like Q80T does work with eARC - and so the theory is that this is a one connect box issue as TV's without appear to work.

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Hi,

I read through the posts and other forums online to see a lot of people with this issue.

I just purchased the 65 inch Q95T (in Europe) which has the “one-connect” box. I paired this with a Sonos 5.1 setup (1x playbar, 1x sub(gen 2), 2x Sonon One (for surround)). Currently have the Sonos Arc waiting for me at the store for pick-up to exchange the Playbar (within the return period). Reading this now, I am heavily doubting to get the Sonos Arc and replace the playbar, which works perfectly now with the tv and PS4 Pro. I wanted the Sonos Arc because it has HDMI eARC and supports more codecs than the playbar. 

 

In your experience, after installation, do you at the minimum get the same level of sound as with the Playbar and is the problem only an issue with Dolby Atmos? Or do the 2 products not work at all together( Sonos Arc & Samsung Q95T)?

 

I read one user had the issue disappear after a restart, but that seems very strange if so many other users face the same problem. 

I am not too fussed if the Atmos part is the only thing that does not yet function 100%, but i want to make 100% sure it will still work and sound amazing on anything not Atmos.


Thanks for any advice and opinions. 

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Hi,

I read through the posts and other forums online to see a lot of people with this issue.

I just purchased the 65 inch Q95T (in Europe) which has the “one-connect” box. I paired this with a Sonos 5.1 setup (1x playbar, 1x sub(gen 2), 2x Sonon One (for surround)). Currently have the Sonos Arc waiting for me at the store for pick-up to exchange the Playbar (within the return period). Reading this now, I am heavily doubting to get the Sonos Arc and replace the playbar, which works perfectly now with the tv and PS4 Pro. I wanted the Sonos Arc because it has HDMI eARC and supports more codecs than the playbar. 

 

In your experience, after installation, do you at the minimum get the same level of sound as with the Playbar and is the problem only an issue with Dolby Atmos? Or do the 2 products not work at all together( Sonos Arc & Samsung Q95T)?

 

I read one user had the issue disappear after a restart, but that seems very strange if so many other users face the same problem. 

I am not too fussed if the Atmos part is the only thing that does not yet function 100%, but i want to make 100% sure it will still work and sound amazing on anything not Atmos.


Thanks for any advice and opinions. 

Hi CvH7

Its a bit more complicated than that i'm afraid. So HDMI ARC works with Sonos ARC, and you are able to get DD5.1 and Compressed Atmos via this route where the source allows it (Netflix for example). When you enable eARC on the Q95T, you get no sound from any source, even uncompressed versions such as from ultra 4k blu.

So this is an issue on eARC working at all, and it should when connected to an eARC device. Both Samsung Q95T and Sonos ARC are eARC devices so they should be able to talk to one another, and currently for myself and other users, thats not happening.

Its not down to codecs or content either, with eARC enabled as auto, it should play sound from all sources, and have the ability to play uncompressed sound. 

That being said, the ARC is very impressive when coupled with a Sub and rears - if anything too impressive. This issue is around the investment in eARC and I firmly believe is an issue with the one connect box.

Hope this helps.

Thank you folks for contributing to this issue. Just buying a 75” Samsung 95T and a new sound system to go with my Beam and Sonos Ones, so its worrying the HDMI-ARC doesn’t work with the Sonos ARC. But could I route it through a Sonos AMP then to the ARC? Does the Samsung HDMI-ARC outlput work with the Sonos AMP?

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HDMI ARC does work with the Sonos Arc. It's the Enhanced ARC or eARC that currently doesn't. I don't think Amp is eARC capable so better off direct connecting to arc and hoping this gets resolved or looking at a different set?

Thank you for your help. Mikelev. I think I’ll downgrade to a Samsung Frame - which has eARC - and just hope that works. Do I go straight to the ARC, not the AMP, and if so, how does that impact my Sonos wired ceiling speakers which are direct from the AMP?

Appreciated…. 

 

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Thank you for your help. Mikelev. I think I’ll downgrade to a Samsung Frame - which has eARC - and just hope that works. Do I go straight to the ARC, not the AMP, and if so, how does that impact my Sonos wired ceiling speakers which are direct from the AMP?

Appreciated…. 

 

No - I wouldn’t downgrade to a frame (not necessarily a downgrade btw, more a design choice but picture not as snappy), as the issue appears to be the e-arc via one connect which is not confirmed but being investigated. So you may have the issues as well with the frame as other users appear to have on the forums. I may be wrong regards the AMP, but I believe it is not eARC capable, so if you want the ability for uncompressed sound then you need to connect eARC to eARC so that would be a direct to Sonos Arc connection (apparently there is a device called the Arcane Fury that can turn Arc to eARC and is coming soon). Regards the Amp and ceiling speakers, i can’t comment as no experience of a multispeaker surround system using amp. I have the ARC, Sub and 2 One’s at the rear. I think it lacks the height for Atmos, so really intrigued if there is a way to combine ceiling speakers and get the a more realistic Atmos experience. Don’t get me wrong, the Arc and sub is an amazing combo, and you can tell the difference with Atmos content and it maybe that the upwards firing speakers play their part, its just not that apparent.

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Thank you for your help. Mikelev. I think I’ll downgrade to a Samsung Frame - which has eARC - and just hope that works. Do I go straight to the ARC, not the AMP, and if so, how does that impact my Sonos wired ceiling speakers which are direct from the AMP?

Appreciated…. 

 

No - I wouldn’t downgrade to a frame (not necessarily a downgrade btw, more a design choice but picture not as snappy), as the issue appears to be the e-arc via one connect which is not confirmed but being investigated. So you may have the issues as well with the frame as other users appear to have on the forums. I may be wrong regards the AMP, but I believe it is not eARC capable, so if you want the ability for uncompressed sound then you need to connect eARC to eARC so that would be a direct to Sonos Arc connection (apparently there is a device called the Arcane Fury that can turn Arc to eARC and is coming soon). Regards the Amp and ceiling speakers, i can’t comment as no experience of a multispeaker surround system using amp. I have the ARC, Sub and 2 One’s at the rear. I think it lacks the height for Atmos, so really intrigued if there is a way to combine ceiling speakers and get the a more realistic Atmos experience. Don’t get me wrong, the Arc and sub is an amazing combo, and you can tell the difference with Atmos content and it maybe that the upwards firing speakers play their part, its just not that apparent.

Need to add you would not need the Arcane Fury if connecting eARC to eARC with Sonos ARC, however it may be an option if using amp, however as mentioned not sure how amp functions as part of an Atmos or multi channel set up?

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Unfortunately, although the Frame has eARC, it has the same problem as the Q95T. The best theory to date is that all Samsung 2020 models with the one connect box (which includes the Frame)are effected.

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It’s amazing that when you spare no costs and buy both brands “flagship”/”top of the line” products because you want the best quality of these two brands, that it does not work together…. hell of a way to spend over 4 grand just to be stuck with customer service teams on both sides.

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maybe a little off-topic, but my google search has failed me. I have the one-connect box at approx. 3 meter distance from my tv (out of sight) but want to get a proper 2.1 (ultra high speed) eARC compatible HDMI cable, however I can’t find any which are longer than 2 meters….

 

Anybody any tips on a good quality brand that will support the eARC function (when it does work) and has that length cable? (not sure if the HDMI cable in the Sonos ARC is long enough or good enough?)

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It’s amazing that when you spare no costs and buy both brands “flagship”/”top of the line” products because you want the best quality of these two brands, that it does not work together…. hell of a way to spend over 4 grand just to be stuck with customer service teams on both sides.

Yes - agree. TBH the tv may be getting returned for one that does work but that's really a last resort. Very disappointed with this experience.

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It’s amazing that when you spare no costs and buy both brands “flagship”/”top of the line” products because you want the best quality of these two brands, that it does not work together…. hell of a way to spend over 4 grand just to be stuck with customer service teams on both sides.

It would appear the Samsung/ Sonos comparability issues relate to geography. I have a new 2020 Samsung Q80t, ARC, Sub Gen 2 and two One SL’s and am using eArc and receiving Atmos sound. I live in Canada and we do not get the One Connect box here. 


 

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