Can people stop complaining about DTS?

I’ve got a 5.1 Sonos setup in my main living room which has worked great for years and I’m very happy with.

Never actually realised there were issues with DTS until I recently bought the Beam for the kids family room where the kids watch tv. We have lots of streaming services but also buy some blu rays for the kids and couldn’t actually work out why the blu Ray works fine on my main living room setup but not the family room setup.

now if the kids want to watch a blu Ray I’ve got to put it on the main living room or unplug the beam and listen through the tv speakers.

Is the lack of DTS support on Sonos a hardware issue or is it something they could fix with a firmware update? I don’t need the sound to be 7.1 and would be happy if they just downgraded the audio to 5.1 or stereo for the kids room.

if it’s a hardware issue then I think they should have added the hardware in the beam before releasing it but if it’s a software issue then they should seriously think about upgrading the software. I mean, why would they want to frustrate a portion of their loyal client base instead of update the software?

I gave my sonos 5.1 to my father-in-law and switched to a Denon AV receiver + 5.1 passive speaker set up. Better sound and support for all codecs for less money.

No more compromises. No more need for optical switches. No more transcoding. I still have 3 Sonos products for music listening but I will never be back for home theater applications. I mean whats the appeal of Sonos for home theater? Besides not having to install speaker cable, but use power cables instead, there is none. Every AV receiver now supports streaming music Spotify connect, airplay etc. It comes with serious drawbacks and like everyone here, I had to find out the hard way.

Forget about Atmos. Its TrueHD and DTS Master that you are truely missing. The lossless sound just blows you away and the detail creates such immersion.

Is the lack of DTS support on Sonos a hardware issue or is it something they could fix with a firmware update? I don’t need the sound to be 7.1 and would be happy if they just downgraded the audio to 5.1 or stereo for the kids room.

if it’s a hardware issue then I think they should have added the hardware in the beam before releasing it but if it’s a software issue then they should seriously think about upgrading the software. I mean, why would they want to frustrate a portion of their loyal client base instead of update the software?

For the Beam specifically, I seriously doubt there's a hardware limitation. There is surely a licensing cost and support/development costs to consider. What those are? I don't know. The resulting lost sales from lack of DTS support? I don't know.

I gave my sonos 5.1 to my father-in-law and switched to a Denon AV receiver + 5.1 passive speaker set up. Better sound and support for all codecs for less money.

No more compromises. No more need for optical switches. No more transcoding. I still have 3 Sonos products for music listening but I will never be back for home theater applications. I mean whats the appeal of Sonos for home theater? Besides not having to install speaker cable, but use power cables instead, there is none. Every AV receiver now supports streaming music Spotify connect, airplay etc. It comes with serious drawbacks and like everyone here, I had to find out the hard way.

Forget about Atmos. Its TrueHD and DTS Master that you are truely missing. The lossless sound just blows you away and the detail creates such immersion.

I like the idea but I’m already invested in Sonos and don’t want to have to sell it and buy anything else.

I love that I can have music playing throughout my house and when the outdoor area is finished I’d like Sonos outside too. But, if they don’t fix this issue then they’re just not appreciating their current customers and it may come back to bite them in the future.

I love that I can have music playing throughout my house and when the outdoor area is finished I’d like Sonos outside too. But, if they don’t fix this issue then they’re just not appreciating their current customers and it may come back to bite them in the future.

Whether or not one wants DTS support or not, I don't think you can say that the decision is going to come back and bite them in the future.. The statistics show that consumers spend more and more time streaming video (dolby) and less and less time watching blu-rays (DTS). Therefore consumer pressure to adopt DTS would be decreasing, not increasing. Whatever problem lack of DTS causes for Sonos, the worst of it should now be in the rear view window.

That's not to say that trends won't change, and Sonos needs to pay attention to what codecs people are using. Absolutely they do. It was leaked a while back that Sonos sent out a customer survey asking about interest in Dolby Atmos. I think that shows that they are at least looking at trends.

I love that I can have music playing throughout my house and when the outdoor area is finished I’d like Sonos outside too. But, if they don’t fix this issue then they’re just not appreciating their current customers and it may come back to bite them in the future.Whether or not one wants DTS support or not, I don't think you can say that the decision is going to come back and bite them in the future.. The statistics show that consumers spend more and more time streaming video (dolby) and less and less time watching blu-rays (DTS). Therefore consumer pressure to adopt DTS would be decreasing, not increasing. Whatever problem lack of DTS causes for Sonos, the worst of it should now be in the rear view window.

That's not to say that trends won't change, and Sonos needs to pay attention to what codecs people are using. Absolutely they do. It was leaked a while back that Sonos sent out a customer survey asking about interest in Dolby Atmos. I think that shows that they are at least looking at trends.


Netflix / streaming services for now only deliver compressed image and sound due to bandwith issues. If bandwith became less of a problem Netflix would move to HD sound. Why wouldn't they? They have done so in the past.

Then Sonos for home cinema will be truely obsolete.

Atmos is irrelevant since Sonos only does 5.1. I'm talking about higher quality sound with more detail.

Everybody would be enjoying higher definition sound, except Sonos users, who will be stuck on 30+ year old dolby digital or select the stereo track.

But thats the future. Currently, if you want uncompressed image and sound, UltraHD Bluray is your only option. The difference between physical and streaming in terms of quality is still immense. That means, that if you want the best quality you don't end up at Sonos. That is not something I knew when i bought Sonos, I only found out once I owned it.

IMHO, nobody concerned with having the "best quality" home theater sound would ever consider a soundbar in the first place.

I love that I can have music playing throughout my house and when the outdoor area is finished I’d like Sonos outside too. But, if they don’t fix this issue then they’re just not appreciating their current customers and it may come back to bite them in the future.Whether or not one wants DTS support or not, I don't think you can say that the decision is going to come back and bite them in the future.. The statistics show that consumers spend more and more time streaming video (dolby) and less and less time watching blu-rays (DTS). Therefore consumer pressure to adopt DTS would be decreasing, not increasing. Whatever problem lack of DTS causes for Sonos, the worst of it should now be in the rear view window.

That's not to say that trends won't change, and Sonos needs to pay attention to what codecs people are using. Absolutely they do. It was leaked a while back that Sonos sent out a customer survey asking about interest in Dolby Atmos. I think that shows that they are at least looking at trends.
Netflix / streaming services for now only deliver compressed image and sound due to bandwith issues. If bandwith became less of a problem Netflix would move to HD sound. Why wouldn't they? They have done so in the past.

Then Sonos for home cinema will be truely obsolete.

You're assuming that Sonos HT products don't have the ability to update firmware accordingly. I can't say that's true for the Beam and Amp, but the others are surely limited by the optical connection.

Atmos is irrelevant since Sonos only does 5.1. I'm talking about higher quality sound with more detail.

I brought up atmos to show that Sonos is looking at the market. Perhaps they will introduce new products or setup where atmos, or something approximating it, is supported.

Everybody would be enjoying higher definition sound, except Sonos users, who will be stuck on 30+ year old dolby digital or select the stereo track.

Right. Because everybody except Sonos users have AV equipment that supports whatever HD codec happens to be dominating the market in a few years?

But thats the future. Currently, if you want uncompressed image and sound, UltraHD Bluray is your only option. The difference between physical and streaming in terms of quality is still immense. That means, that if you want the best quality you don't end up at Sonos. That is not something I knew when i bought Sonos, I only found out once I owned it.

Correct, we're talking about the future.

Not all streaming services are doing the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1. Many, in the attempts to get and retain customers are starting with 4k broadcasting and adding DTS, Dolby HD, and even Dolby Atmos. That, and if one wants the best video with the best sound, Blu-Ray, 4kBlu-Ray with DTS and up is actually like being in the theater. To decode other than Dolby Digital there are licensing issues and while I am not an engineer I assume a chip issue also. The only solutions one can find is when pruchasing a new 4kHDTV, or UHDTV ask, research and make sure that one can choose what is output into the optical output. Many people don;'t know that the vast majority of manufacturers in the past basically 'dumbed down' the audio it was receiving for the optical output. You may have HDMI inputs to the TV and it can decode Dolby Digital 5.1 and up but the Optical Output is done in just stereo. It works fine with SONOS bit it is not 5.1 decoding. I have a Sony XBR-49X900e in the bedroom that gives me that choice. In the media room. I have a great picture Panasonic 60" ZT Plasma that was the last model anyone made in plasma so it only outputs in PCM/Stereo. Many Disc players have the option of choosing the audio output though and in my case I can choose Dolby Digital for that and I can input an item to it using and HDMI connection. Well to have a Ps4, AppleTV, DTV for inputs yo one place I had to add a simple HDMI switch box. It works and sounds fine but would be mush better if SONOS just decoded everything.

The SONOS Playbars don't have and HDMI(arc) input and bandwidth and chip issues make a firmware upgrade a virtual impossibility. The majority of the newer Soundbar manufacturers all are starting to decode pretty much everything better than Dolby Digital. Some may thing you are getting 5.1 in what you have set up but it is very possible you are not, You can simply open the Sonos controller app and check the Sonos in the upper left corner. Click on 'about my SONOS System' and your entire systems will appear. As you read down you can see what the audio input is. You may be surprised that what you think is 5.1 is just stereo. I did for. long l time until I listened closely, learned and figured a few things out. In my book, one should just be sure what one is paying for.

I think it’s really easy to understand WHY people complain about this. People who buy Sonos products aren’t audophiles or interested in home cinema at that level that they even know what the difference is between Dolby Digital or DTS. Yes they probably mostly watch streamed movies from Netflix, but sometimes they just want’s to play a bluray from their Playstation 4 and then they don’t understand why there is no sound. There is still a lot of movies that’s only released on bluray or even DVD.

I really don’t think that there is such a big difference between Dolby Digital or DTS (and I also know how to set up my Playstation 4 and what cable I need), but just for making it as easy as possible for people to use their technology, Sonos should just support as many formats as possible.