Can the PS5 output Dolby Atmos to the Arc?

According to this article, the PS5 can output Dolby Atmos audio from Blu-ray discs: https://www.ign.com/wikis/playstation-5/How_to_Enable_Surround_Sound

This is a great question.  I dont know the answer but I'd def like to know the same answer as it pertains to the Sonos Amp which I'm currently installing. 

@Info ear The Sonos Amp doesn’t support Dolby Atmos audio. It doesn’t even support lossless Dolby TrueHD which is how Dolby Atmos audio is carried on UHD and Blu-ray discs.

Hey thanks for your reply. I have tried all that and still no atmos, perhaps it is a pairing issue with the arc and ps5?

@SteveColl Can you send your TV’s current HDMI and audio settings? What specific Blu-ray discs are you testing?

Yeah sure, hdmi 1 is set to bitstream and sound out is hdmi eArc.

Film I was trying it on is a UHD bluray of tenet. 

@SteveColl Tenet does not have Dolby Atmos audio on Blu-ray or UHD. It is encoded with a DTS-HD Master Audio track. The best audio you can get from the Tenet disc on the Sonos Arc is 5.1 PCM which still sounds really great.

So it does, how strange. I just automatically assumed a film like that on a uhd disc would be atmos. Still saying it's coming out in 2.0 stereo in the app tho. 

I'm going to put on uhd avengers endgame and see if that works.

@GuitarSuperstar wait a min- are you telling me that even with the hdmi connected to the ARC-HDMI of my TV ( LG OLED) which does support Dolby atmosphere that my Sonos Amp will not pass that signal along unaltered?  If that's the case what is the point of them even making it?

@SteveColl When you play the Tenet disc again, try setting the Audio Format setting on the PS5 to Linear PCM. You want the PS5 to convert DTS to PCM so you can get Multichannel PCM 5.1 from all of your DTS-encoded Blu-rays.

Unfortunately the Sonos Amp doesn’t support Dolby Atmos audio. The best audio it supports is Dolby Digital 5.1. The only Sonos product that supports Dolby Atmos is the Sonos Arc.

@GuitarSuperstar Yes thanks- I may be returning some recent Sonos purchases based on your information. 

Hey SteveColl, I also happen to own a LG GX & a PS5, as well as an ever-growing 4K Blu-Ray disc collection which I wish to continue using & updating.

I’m contemplating buying the Sonos Arc because it is my understanding that LG chose to strip the DTS Decoding from its 2020 line of TVs (i.e. the CX, GX). To make matters even worse, as far as I know, the passthrough audio option (for some inexplicable reason) doesn’t work (at least on the CX).

With all that in mind, can you PLEASE confirm, beyond any shred of a doubt that you are truly able to play Dolby Atmos off of a DTS:X Blu-Ray disc when using the LG GX, the PS5 & the Sonos Arc?

P.S!! : I know you might have answered this already BUT I want to stress out that if you indeed used the Avengers: Endgame 4K Blu-Ray to check this, then the audio result was always going to be Dolby Atmos, simply because that is the default audio source of that particular disc. You need a DTS:X 4K Blu-Ray in order to test if this truly works.

Here is a comprehensive list of DTS:X Blu-Ray Movies which I hope will be of some help in order to find a movie that you already own: https://www.nextgenhometheater.com/dtsx-blu-ray-movies/

I hope you see this because you are almost quite literally my last hope, seeing as we both have the same 2 pieces of equipment (LG GX & PS5).

“With all that in mind, can you PLEASE confirm, beyond any shred of a doubt that you are truly able to play Dolby Atmos off of a DTS:X Blu-Ray disc when using the LG GX, the PS5 & the Sonos Arc?”

The only way this could possibly occur is if one of these devices converts DTS:X to Dolby Atmos before it reaches the Sonos Arc. Not sure that is possible with those particular devices but I’ll let someone else confirm. My general understanding is a direct conversion from DTS:X to Dolby Atmos isn't an option in most players and tvs. Typically, the player or tv will convert it to Multichannel PCM, which the Sonos Arc can now process with its last firmware update.

With my setup, a Sony UBP-X800M2 4k player, Sony A8H tv and Sonos Arc (w/ two Ones and a sub) when I play any Blu-Ray disc with DTS:X, it is received by my Sonos Arc as Multichannel PCM 7.1. And it sounds great.

@MasterGiouras77 The PS5 supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio from Blu-ray and UHD discs, but the Sonos Arc doesn’t support DTS audio. And the PS5 doesn’t convert Dolby Atmos to DTS:X either. Even if it did, it wouldn’t be true Dolby Atmos.

So to answer your question… you cannot play Dolby Atmos audio from a DTS:X encoded disc using the LG GX, PS5, and Sonos Arc. Your best option would be doing what @Jimmy C mentioned above and have the PS5 convert the DTS:X audio to PCM so it will play as multichannel PCM out of the Arc.

I thank you for the quick responses.

As I am not familiar with what Multichannel PCM really is, I’m left with a question lingering in my mind. Will I at least be experiencing an almost Atmos-like feeling when listening to the 7.1 channel PCM? In layman’s terms, will I have a sense of immersion with sounds coming from multiple directions of the room?

Apologies if my questions sound ridiculous, 2 days ago I had no idea about most of this stuff 

P.S. Do you believe the Samsung HW-Q90T is a worthy alternative? I keep reading about disconnection issues and other peculiar issues/bugs.

I’m not sure what you mean exactly by “an Atmos-like feeling”, but multichannel PCM from a Blu-ray or UHD disc sounds great playing out of the Sonos Arc. You won’t experience any height effects like you would from a Dolby Atmos track, but a DTS converted to multichannel PCM track can be just as immersive as a Dolby Atmos track. How it sounds depends more on the source and the audio mix more so than whether or not it is “Dolby Atmos” or “DTS” or “PCM”.

If you want that “sense of immersion with sounds coming from multiple directions of the room”, your best option would be to add the Sonos Sub and a pair of One SLs as surrounds to your Arc. This setup would give you an immersive experience even with a standard Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track.

If DTS or DTS:X audio is important to you, then another sound bar that actually supports DTS audio, like the Samsung, might be a better option for you.

Yes, that’s the immersion I want to experience, hence the upgrade. And yes, I will be adding a pair of One SLs & a sub. So I guess it’s either the unreliable Samsung or the Sonos with the downfall of experiencing 3D surround sound only from digital sources. This will definitely require more thinking,… and coffee! Thanks for your responses, you’ve been a tremendous help!

@MasterGiouras77 If you are watching Blu-ray and UHD discs with a Sonos Arc, Sub, One SLs home theater setup, I’m confident you will be VERY pleased with your movie-watching experience. I pretty much have the same setup (with a different TV) and I love it.