From Sonos reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/h7z9gv/hd_fury_is_working_on_an_earc_solution_for_sonos/
HD Fury is working on an eARC solution for Sonos Arc - Full Audio & Atmos from any HDMI sources
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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.
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+.
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.
Hi
Yes you are correct, what i was suggesting was it would be nice if you could leave everything connected to your (Arc capable) Tv and just plug the hdmi into the Arcana and then the Arcana into the Sonos ARC
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 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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
It would be nice if by the time they are delivered they have got it to the point where you just plug it between the TV and the ARC without the need for a switcher.
Not sure I understand what you mean here. Arcana has one HDMI input for sources. If you need more to pass more than one source through Arcana to send audio to the Arc, then you will need an HDMI switch. If you only have one source, then you do not need a switch.
I think I understand what
If that’s what you’re asking
If that’s not what you meant, you’ll have to clarify your statement because I don’t get it, either. ;-)
You are correct on the above, but….what if your sources are a cable/sat box, fireTV, and a blueray player with an ARC capable TV? Your TV should be able to process the audio from the cable box and firetv and send it to Arcana through the ARC port. As you stated, your limited by the TV’s capabilities, but the two sources directly connected aren’t beyond the TV’s capabilities. The Blueray would connect to the Arcana directly, because it is beyond TVs capabilities. Basically, something like the diagram below.
I am not 100% sure this work, since I can’t test it obviously and have not see a demo setup this way. It should work in theory though. I showed the same diagram on the discord channel, so perhaps I can get an answer on that. They may not want to talk about it though, as it’s a somewhat complicated setup and much of what could go wrong is out of HDFury’s ability to address...if an issue is between source and TV for example.
Hi
Yes you are correct, what i was suggesting was it would be nice if you could leave everything connected to your (Arc capable) Tv and just plug the hdmi into the Arcana and then the Arcana into the Sonos ARC
Arcana + splitter should work for you. If you connect Arcana to the TV’s ARC output, you should be able to get sound from the TV.
I can’t help you with the tax estimate.
Hoping someone might be able to help confirm if the Arcana might be the right solution for me.
Reading all the posts and the FAQs on the HDFury site it feels like it should work, but I’m not that technical so after a bit of extra help to confirm before pre-ordering.
I’m in the UK and have recently purchased a Sonos Arc, but my 2015 Sony Bravia android TV only has HDMI Arc so looking at options to get Dolby Atmos without having to buy a new TV.
I have the following connected sources:
- XBox One S (for Bluray/UHD content, plus Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ apps)
- Sky Q satellite TV (with some UHD content)
- Apple TV (may soon be upgrading to Apple TV 4K)
As I understand it, if I couple the Arcana up witha an appropriate HDMI splitter then it should allow me to get Dolby Atmos (form the relevant sources) as it effectively takes the limitations of the TV (no eArc or DD+ passthrough) out of the question?
Also, a more minor point, but with the Arcana + splitter set-up would I still get sound from integrated apps on the TV or anything connected to the TV (like a Amazon Fire stick)? I know I wouldn’t get Dolby Atmos from these integrated apps and they wouldn’t be my primary source (as would use the Apps on the Xbox one/Apple TV 4K), but just keen to understand if I’d still get sound through the Sonos Arc this way.
Finally does anyone know what sort of import tax there would likely be for pre-ordering the unit for delivery to the UK? Looks like it could push the price up a fair bit, but still looks like it might be worth it.
Many thanks in advance.
Mark
You’re old enough to know that phrase… cottoned on, as in understood? I suspect it’s probably a corruption of ‘caught on’, but who knows. I suppose I could look it up, or contact the folks at ‘A way with words’.
My issues are my damn TV from Vizio. I have been told, and confirmed by experimentation, that it will not pass anything beyond DD when the input is an HDMI port. Since I choose not to use the internal apps which report watching habits back to Vizio, that leaves me with the two, and possibly three inputs I want to run through the Arcana device. And this is a 2019 Vizio model. Had I but known that a Sonos was going to go eARC, that might have been something I’d paid more attention to.
That being said, this isn’t Sonos’ fault. I made my bed, I need to lie in it. Which means I’ve preordered the Arcana, and will shop for a switch as soon as the Arcana ships. I’m interested in hearing what Atmos does for me, but I’m also aware of how limited the amount of Atmos encoded stuff there is out there. Trying to be realistic about the whole thing. Not expecting that suddenly everything I watch on DirecTV will be Atmos encoded, even F1 and Baseball/Football.
Edit:
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/cotton-on
Gotcha. And wanted to emphasize that point for others who may not have cottoned on to that issue. As I said, it’s a non starter for me, because my TV will only pass DD through an HDMI input.
cottoned?
Bruce, what are your sources? I know ATV4k, and that would need to directly connect to Arcanna, not sure what else you use.
Gotcha. And wanted to emphasize that point for others who may not have cottoned on to that issue. As I said, it’s a non starter for me, because my TV will only pass DD through an HDMI input.
I’d question the TV’s ability to pass eARC, not just ARC, as implied in the graphic. If it only passes DD ARC, and not DD+ or eARC, then there’s no point for the Arcana to be in the equation.
Since my Vizio TV won’t pass any DD+ from an HDMI input, it would not work for me.
No, in this scenario (the graphic), the TV is still the limiting factor. You would only get the max of what the TV is capable of from whatever device(s) are connected to it. So if the TV could only do DD+ (sans Atmos) from the Fire Stick, that’s all that would be passed to the Arcana and on to the Arc.
The TV would basically become a switcher for devices that you are either happy with the current level of audio from and/or for devices that can’t do more than a certain amount (like a cable or satellite box that probably maxes out at DD5.1).
I’d question the TV’s ability to pass eARC, not just ARC, as implied in the graphic. If it only passes DD ARC, and not DD+ or eARC, then there’s no point for the Arcana to be in the equation.
Since my Vizio TV won’t pass any DD+ from an HDMI input, it would not work for me.
Hrm….. that’s an interesting thought,
With “super powers” I knew that Arcana could now send audio from the built-in tuner / built-in apps back through Arcana to the Arc, but hadn’t thought about adding additional HDMI devices directly to the TV to then send audio the Arc via the TV’s HDMI-ARC port.
I guess it depends on whether the tv (or HDMI-ARC) would support that. I mean, by default that’s how HDMI-ARC works, so… it should? Maybe? Possibly?
Will be interesting to see what HDFury has to say about it.
EDIT: Actually, I see their response now on Discord. Looks like this WILL work. Not my use case scenario, but a major plus for flexibility and functionality for those that do!
So,
It would be nice if by the time they are delivered they have got it to the point where you just plug it between the TV and the ARC without the need for a switcher.
Not sure I understand what you mean here. Arcana has one HDMI input for sources. If you need more to pass more than one source through Arcana to send audio to the Arc, then you will need an HDMI switch. If you only have one source, then you do not need a switch.
I think I understand what
If that’s what you’re asking
If that’s not what you meant, you’ll have to clarify your statement because I don’t get it, either. ;-)
You are correct on the above, but….what if your sources are a cable/sat box, fireTV, and a blueray player with an ARC capable TV? Your TV should be able to process the audio from the cable box and firetv and send it to Arcana through the ARC port. As you stated, your limited by the TV’s capabilities, but the two sources directly connected aren’t beyond the TV’s capabilities. The Blueray would connect to the Arcana directly, because it is beyond TVs capabilities. Basically, something like the diagram below.
I am not 100% sure this work, since I can’t test it obviously and have not see a demo setup this way. It should work in theory though. I showed the same diagram on the discord channel, so perhaps I can get an answer on that. They may not want to talk about it though, as it’s a somewhat complicated setup and much of what could go wrong is out of HDFury’s ability to address...if an issue is between source and TV for example.
It would be nice if by the time they are delivered they have got it to the point where you just plug it between the TV and the ARC without the need for a switcher.
Not sure I understand what you mean here. Arcana has one HDMI input for sources. If you need more to pass more than one source through Arcana to send audio to the Arc, then you will need an HDMI switch. If you only have one source, then you do not need a switch.
I think I understand what
If that’s what you’re asking
If that’s not what you meant, you’ll have to clarify your statement because I don’t get it, either. ;-)
It would be nice if by the time they are delivered they have got it to the point where you just plug it between the TV and the ARC without the need for a switcher.
Not sure I understand what you mean here. Arcana has one HDMI input for sources. If you need more to pass more than one source through Arcana to send audio to the Arc, then you will need an HDMI switch. If you only have one source, then you do not need a switch.
It would be nice if by the time they are delivered they have got it to the point where you just plug it between the TV and the ARC without the need for a switcher.
yeah, they seem to have been a little surprised at the demand for Arcana. From their Discord channel:
Yes, it is rather interesting to see how demand can spread rather fast without any sort of formal advertising. Part of that is because Arcana is a unique item that fits a need that can’t be filled by anyone else, but it definitely seems as though to power of user communities (here, AVS, reddit, discord, etc) is rather strong. I’m guessing that there original sales estimates were based on sales from previous devices, that although unique and fit needs, not as necessary as Arcana is.
So HD Fury is now saying the following.
Shipping of the first 1000 pre-ordered units is expected before October 1, 2020.
Shipping of pre-ordered units above 1000 is expected before November 1, 2020.
This section will be updated on a daily basis to keep you informed on the delivery date and the total number of pre-orders:
The pre-ordered unit count is now at 837, so there is now another reason, besides price, to consider ordering now rather than waiting. I had assumed that sometime in October/November, or at least before Christmas, that the device would be shipped out to resellers in fairly large quantities, and would be available on Amazon like other HD Fury products. Not so sure on that.
yeah, they seem to have been a little surprised at the demand for Arcana. From their Discord channel:
when we started this we though it would be hard to get 400pc, now we prolly won't have enough if pre orders exceed 1000, all that is cause of people like you and others who kept posting around to make it a reality. so all credits go to such "behind the scene" work
[8:15 PM]
you guys, the SONOS Arc owners community, did very well.
[8:15 PM]
Without any official statement from SONOS, without any major news article, etc... you did very well.
So HD Fury is now saying the following.
Shipping of the first 1000 pre-ordered units is expected before October 1, 2020.
Shipping of pre-ordered units above 1000 is expected before November 1, 2020.
This section will be updated on a daily basis to keep you informed on the delivery date and the total number of pre-orders:
The pre-ordered unit count is now at 837, so there is now another reason, besides price, to consider ordering now rather than waiting. I had assumed that sometime in October/November, or at least before Christmas, that the device would be shipped out to resellers in fairly large quantities, and would be available on Amazon like other HD Fury products. Not so sure on that.
- Price is now $165.
They’re up to 795 pre-orders which, as
So… now just begins the waiting game to receive it. They said that they’ll announce a shipping update by mid-August. I’m hoping that they’ll be announcing shipping units at that point given how quickly they’ve been moving.
Fun times!
The announcement was that the stretch goal functionality has been implemented.
– Ability to forward CEC volume control from source to SONOS Arc
– Ability to forward CEC volume control from TV to SONOS Arc
– Ability to retrieve ARC from TV ARC input and forward it to SONOS Arc
Video below is a demo of these features in action.
I asked the following additional questions:
1 - Do CEC power on/off commands from source to TV get passed through? 2 - Do CEC power on/off commands from Arc to TV work? (Done via Arc voice control) 3 - Do CEC switch input commands from Arc to TV work? (Done via Arc voice control)
Awaiting answer.
And the count is 787. All that means now is the price jumps to $165.
Userlevel 7
Hdfury is going to make announcement soon on discord just need to press the 
on one of his post should be in the next 15 mins.
Only five more clicks on to go before the big announcement for Sonos Arc owners! Surely there are five people on this community forum that can help!
https://discordapp.com/channels/314050739771146241/724421828701061161/736726289402036276
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