HD Fury is working on an eARC solution for Sonos Arc - Full Audio & Atmos from any HDMI sources

I was coming from the point of view really of having spent  in the region of 1k on ARC, Sub and 2 play one’s and then $189 plus possible import tax on the Arcana the idea of a large sum for a working switch( Vertex) it would be nice to use the set up as drawn by melvimbe so the money pit would end.

i am happy with the Tv giving DD+ from Netflix and Disney etc so if i can just plug in my OPPO and get full Atmos from that i would be delighted.

The other reason i ask is having looked there are hundreds of switches out there but finding one that will agree with the Arcana could be a nightmare!  

The only reason Arcana exists because TVs limit what audio can be sent to the Sonos Arc.  If your still passing everything through the TV, then Arcana adds no value in the setup.

I did speak with an HDFury rep, showed him that same diagram, and he said it would work, just didn’t want to talk too about it and confuse people.

Yea, I think the trick of it is to know the video and audio capabilities of your sources, display, and Arc , and then just make sure whatever switches, splitters, and matrices you have in between meets the requirement and does limit what your source/display/Arc can do.  For example, my FireTV is capable of 4k 60Hz HDR and DD+ w/atmos  TV is capable of 4k 120 Hz HDF.  ARC can do DD+ w/atmos.  Therefore the switch needs to be at least 4k 60Hz HDR and DD+ w/atmos.  I’ve seen some that only handle 30Hz, so I don’t want that.  120 Hz would be better for future proofing, but not completely necessary since I don’t have a 120Hz source yet, and can replace the switch if I ever do.

Just a minor addition. ARC can, but does not have to, send DD+. It depends as much upon the source as anything else. 
 

For instance, my 2019 Vizio TV has ARC, yet it can’t pass DD+ through from an outside source, it’s only the TV’s internal apps that will pass DD+ out through ARC. 

I wanted to hear some experiences of how Arc has performed in terms of Atmos performance for streaming services which deliver Atmos through DD+. Is it considerable or is it hit or miss. How is the sound in comparison to when you play the same content on DD+. I have invested a lot in the Arc+Sub combo and on the fence for Arcana, would cost close to $300 in Canada. If the difference is considerable, for streaming services, I would cross that fence. If not, I would stay on the side of DD/DD+.

It’s somewhat of a tough question to answer, as there are several factors involved.  Obviously, the source may not use the atmos format very much or very well, so you may not hear much.  You also need to consider the room and how well audio reflects off the ceiling.  From my opinion it is worth it, but I can’t completely say it’s not more of a placebo effect than anything else.  I can’t identify a particular sound and say it came from the ceiling, but it does sound better/fuller to me. 

Do you have rear speakers?  If not, I think I would go for that before getting the Arcana if I was in your position.  That will provide more for for you. I’d think about Arcana later on, or perhaps you opt for a TV upgrade.

Thanks, I do have the rear speakers and I am not sure if Atmos over DD+ with Arc would be significantly better than just DD+. As you mentioned I have a rectangular room with 9 ft ceilings and open kitchen on one side. I have no plans to change the TV.

I had a Yamaha YSP2700 which i thought was great but does not do Atmos. i have a lot of Sonos gear and when i saw the ARC i had to try. I have no regrets what so ever (other than the money i have spent) if you like movies then you will love the ARC Dolby 5.1 sounds great, DD+ sounds even better so i would imagine full fat Atmos would be even more so. i find normal TV is also better if it is 5.1 when it is Dolby 2.0 some channels can be lower volume.

i have added a sub and play 1’s and i absolutely love it, i would watch movies every night if i could!

Not much in terms of new information to talk about regarding Arcana.  The current pre-order sales count is at 980, which means the price will jump from $165 to $175 when it reaches 1000 orders.

And although I don’t really have the best grasp of video processing, it looks like some of the features of Arcana can help improve picture quality as well.  Some of that is modifying the signal, and some of it seems to be more about properly communicating video capabilities between source and display.

Pre-order count broke 1000, so price is now $175.  Price won’t change again till 1500, or pre-order ends.  No official date for when preorder ends, other than ‘before October 1st’.  From what I’ve seen from watching HDFury, then much prefer to under promise and over deliver, so I imagine it will be a couple weeks sooner than that.

Should have mentioned this earlier, but they are only doing a 1000 devices in the first order batch, so purchases after this point will ship ‘before November 1st’.  They have also said that Arcana should start showing up in online retailers, like Amazon,  November 1st, but that will be at the after pre-order price of $199.

Looking forward to it’s arrival!