Question

Distorted audio from Beam with HDMI audio input. Streaming audio is okay.

  • 9 August 2020
  • 1 reply
  • 1126 views

I have been running into intermittent distorted/choppy audio issues with my Sonos Beam only when using the HDMI audio input from smart TV. Wireless streaming is okay. 

The choppiness/distortion goes up and down when I adjust the Sonos volume and only happens when there is some audio input. When the audio source is changed to streaming music, the issue goes away. However, reverting to HDMI audio causes the distortion to re-appear. Power cycling the Beam seems to help temporarily but issue returns after a couple of days.

  1. My system includes a Beam and two Play:Ones in surround configuration. Distortion was only noticed in the Beam and not the surround Play:Ones.
  2. The Beam has a wired internet connection.
  3. I’ve tried switching the wireless channel between 11/6/1 but issue still persists. 
  4. The distorted sound only shows up when using the Sonos Beam. Audio is okay when using the TV speaker. 
  5. I have tried swapping the HDMI cable but issue still persists.
  6. I’ve disconnected all other HDMI inputs to the TV but the issue still shows up. 

I have gotten in touch with customer service 3 times already and even provided a video showing the issue but haven’t found a resolution. My system is less than a year old - please help! 

 


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1 reply

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @Beam_PlayOneSystem.

Thanks for reaching out and welcome to the community!

I appreciate your detailed post outlining the issue and all the troubleshooting steps that you did, let me help and try to figure this out.

To set your expectation, this would still be best resolved with our phone support team, as we can perform more advanced troubleshooting in real-time.

 

Let’s start to isolate first the issue, and the more information we can gather will help us resolve the problem. 

It doesn’t look like it’s a network connection issue since it’s only happening on TV audio playback.

  • Is the HDMI cable connected to the TV’s HDMI-ARC port? 
  • Does it happen on all TV programs? What is the audio source, is it a cable box, Apple TV, Blu-ray player, or built-in TV apps for streaming services?
  • Ensure that the TV’s software is updated.
  • Try to adjust the TV settings to output a different audio format. I recommend testing Stereo/PCM to see if the issue improves. 
  • If the TV has a port for optical connection, try to use 

 

If that doesn’t help, please submit a diagnostic report through the Sonos app, and reply with the confirmation number.

It can help us identify what is causing your issue.

You may also check this article that provides common fixes for TV audio interruptions while using Sonos home theater speakers.

 

I’m looking forward to assisting you further from here.