Dissapointing Atmos on Arc

Are you specifically talking about the height channel effects or the overall 3D object-based sound? I agree that the upward firing speakers and height effects are pretty subtle from the Arc, but I personally think a Dolby TrueHD/Dolby Atmos-encoded Blu-ray disc sounds fantastic.

Which specific Dolby Atmos movies have you tested? Do you have high or vaulted ceilings?

Hi. I guess both. It is a great sound and I don’t necessarily regret my purchase but I’m not thrilled by either the height or 3D effect. It just sounds like a good 5.1 soundbar to me. The ceiling is about 2m from the upward firing speakers. I’ve tried it with and without Trueplay and it has lots of space around it. I guess my reference Blu-ray is Blade Runner 2049.

Blade Runner 2049 is definitely a good reference disc. Another good one is Gravity on Blu-ray in Dolby Atmos. It’s a rare and expensive disc, but it’s definitely one of the best Atmos soundtracks available. I think Apple TV+ has it available in Atmos to stream.

If it helps, my Arc is about 6 ft away from my 8 ft ceiling. My Atmos “sweet spot” for the best audio experience is sitting about 7-8 ft from the Arc.

Yeah I agree with this post, 5.1 on the ARC sounds good, Atmos doesn’t seem to add anything more for me. I think the ARC could do with some rear upfiring speakers to give it some help, maybe some sort of level control for the upfiring speakers on the ARC also. I had a Samsung Q90r soundbar before the ARC and you could really feel the wrap around effect with that soundbar.

Where is your arc positioned and wall mounted or not? Are you using rear speakers or just the arc?

I've found that having the rear speakers exactly 12 inches above your head from your seating position and having the arc 20 inches from the ground produces the best effects. 

My ARC  is wall mounted and I have Sonos ones on flexson speaker stands, this give a good 5.1 sound for me not atmos tho

Yeah I had the same setup and would agree it gave good 5.1 but not so much directional sound. Couldn't really find any videos or stuff on different placements, so spent hours myself testing different heights etc. Due to changing furniture, I ended up putting the TV and Arc on a unit instead and it's now much lower. The unit is 20 inches tall and the Arc sits on that. I also found the rears need to be 12 inches above your head, so that someone elses head doesn't get in the way rather than being ear height. 

It's completely transformed the set though. Really fills the room now with sound and while it looks so much cleaner and nicer wall mounted, I'd rather have the better sound for the price of the setup with a LG oled TV. 

Unless your TV is sitting ultra flush against the wall, I think Sonos should have made the mount so it comes away from the wall more. You really need it so absolutely nothing is restricting the upfiring speakers and ideally the ceiling being about 6/7 feet max above the arc for the best sound. 

Hi - thanks all for your comments. I don’t have rears with the Arc, I was hoping a ‘one box’ solution would do it. I must admit I thought it was a big ask, I don’t really see how it can bounce sound off a ceiling at least 6ft away. I’m stuck with where it’s positioned and where I sit though, All the rave reviews though..what’s happening there! I’ve just exasperated the situation by putting the Beam upstairs (which I replaced with Arc downstairs) and hooking up some Symfonisk from IKEA for rears and it sounds fantastic to my ears and makes me want to watch more movies upstairs in my ‘man cave/home office’ now than in the lounge! (First world problem I know!) I’m new to the surround thing and doing it properly downstairs isn’t an option, hence the Arc. I suppose I just wanted to check I wasn’t missing something but I think Atmos on the Arc is a bit of a red herring. Pity cos I had to but an HD Fury Arcana too! Still love it though!

It's never gonna sound full cinema style, it's just meant to be a bit more immersive and to get true Atmos you would need ceiling speakers. 

Try the first scene from Toy story 4. Listen to it on the beam first, then try the arc. Usually my go to scene where it feels like it is raining above your head and works quite well. 

Ha, yeah I’ve done the Toy Story 4 thing too! On Disney+ though, not Blu-ray. I don’t actually know good the steaming services Atmos offering is. Maybe it’s heavily compressed which won’t help. I think you’re right though, ‘a bit more immersive’ is about it….it’s not stunning by any stretch. Toy Story 4 does sound great, just not getting the directional thing to any significant degree. Massive improvement on the Beam without a doubt.