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Discuss Ray, Beam, Arc, Arc Ultra, Playbar, Playbase, and the entire Sonos home theater experience. Should you get a Sub Mini or a Sub? Maybe two Subs? Which Sonos work with your TV? Talk about your Sonos Home Theater experience here.

  • 6,696 Topics
  • 54,736 Replies
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Omerpwnz
started this topic

Where should I place Sonos Era 300?

I got Sonos Arc and Sub under my TV, but I lack a rear/surround sound. So I consider buying Sonos Era 300. What do you think is the best pla...
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Tips & Tricks

Understanding Surround Sound and Sonos

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Ryan S
Ryan S
started this topic

Home Theater and Television Recommendation Megathread

Looking for information on Sonos home theater setups? Find answers about surround sound, Dolby Digital, TV recommendations, and all the rest...
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6696 Topics
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GwoodsterContributor I
posted in Home theater
Dolby Atmos

Why did the new Playbase not integrate Dolby Atmos?

4451662
Airgetlam
5 years ago
Hoogie
HoogieAvid Contributor I
posted in Home theater
TV's cannot passthrough Dolby Digital from external sources - common problem?

Hi All, I have been researching soundbars for the first time ever the past couple of weeks and had come to the decision to purchase a Sonos Playbase or Beam. However, during my research today I red about TV's being unable to output Dolby Digital from any external sources, so they will output DD on any TV broadcast but not from any source plugged in via HDMI (Apple TV, Fire TV, DVD player etc). Is this a known and common problem? And does this apply to optical out only or does it also apply to HDMI ARC? I have a Panasonic TX-40CX680B TV and I spoke to Panosonic customer support today who could not confirm if the TV would output DD from the optical output for external sources. I primarily use a Fire TV Stick to stream content, which outputs DD to my TV, but if my TV cannot pass the DD signal to the Playbase or Beam then obviously there is no point in me making the investment. Does anyone have experience/expertise on this subject, and if so please can you advise?

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K
5 years ago
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michis0806Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Sonos Beam as center with four additional Zone Players

Hi Sonos, I'd like to setup a home theater with the Sonos Beam as a center speaker, two Play:3 as front and two Play:1 as rear channels. Is this possible? Thanks Michael

12017
melvimbe
5 years ago
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markbakergmTrending Lyricist I
posted in Home theater
Sonos Playbase 5.1 with Nvidia shield and Netflix

Some titles not sending 5.1. I have an issue where I have Playbase, sub and 2 Play 1's all working fine as music set up and my set top box when receiving an HD signal gives me 5.1, but when I switch to the shield, only Amazon prime 5.1 gives me 5.1all the time, I tried suites in Netflix and I see 5.1 in Sonos app, but went to Luther which says 5.1 and I see stereo ... Other shows in Netflix that state 5.1 also come as stereo... Not sure why as everything else works fine.

7735
E
5 years ago
W
Wysi WygContributor III
posted in Home theater
Beam can’t set up TV remote

I’ve connected the Beam to a Samsung PS51D550C1R via optical. However I am unable to get the Beam to recognize the TV’s remote control presses correctly. During the start of the setup, most times the Beam immediately thinks that there is a Volume + button press even when I haven’t touched anything. Sometimes it just sits there waiting for a button press and so I will press the Volume +, it says it’s recognised and then goes on to the next step (3 presses of the Volume +). No matter what I do, it keeps telling me no buttons are pressed. So I’m now stuck with the Beam + TV set up but no way to control the volume remotely save for touching the Beam itself or using the Sonos app. Could someone please help?

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Airgetlam
5 years ago
8
87R10Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Amazon audio playback from amazon prime video is absolutely terrible. Loud background noise and you can not hear what the actors are saying.

I have a playbar, sub and x2 play ones. I stream as well as have directv. I wish i would have done more research before biting off the expense of sonos. I could have bought a system designed specifically for surround sound. Sonos is designed for music but just happens to function, terribly, as a surround sound system. That being said Im looking for some help with settings or something. Audio play back is fine for everything but Amazon video. The background noise is far too lpud and you cant hear what any of the actors are saying..... any advice other than sell my complete sonos system for pennies on the dollar and invest in an actual surrpund spund system?

1969611
Airgetlam
5 years ago
G
GSTERKContributor I
posted in Home theater
Chromecast + Beam + Arcaydan HMB2260 + TV w/o Arc HDMI

So I have a old television which has two HDMI ports. They do not have Arc sadly. To make the television smarter I have a Chromecast hooked up on 1 of the HDMI ports. The second HDMI port is attached to the Arcaydan, which is the "decoder" for the tv channels and offers only Netflix and the channels provided by the ISP xs4all. On the Arcaydan, the optical port is used to connect to the Sonos Beam. The Beam works fine with the Arcaydan. Ofourse the Beam does not connect to the Chromecast because the Beam is in no way connected to the television and only plays the sound from the Arcaydan. Is there a way that I can connect the Chromecast in some way with the Sonos Beam with this setup? With regards, Gertjan

6963
Jeff S
5 years ago
F
Fuzzy DunlopContributor I
posted in Home theater
Upgrading to Sonos 5.0 setup for older Samsung TV - advice needed

I have the opportunity to get a pair of Sonos Ones at wholesale, to add to my current HT Sonos setup: a Playbase. My setup is as follows: Samsung UN40D6000 => Playbase via optical/TOSLink TV => Apple TV 4 via HDMI TV => Blu-Ray Player via HDMI TV => Mac Mini/Kodi via HDMI TV => STB via HDMI The issue I'm concerned about is audio passthrough. Namely, will the Sonos play DD 5.1/DTS audio from any of the sources I have connected to the TV? As I understand it, many Samsung TVs will not pass DD 5.1 through optical, or even HDMI. They support PCM, but that mixes down to stereo. My TV is from 2012 and I can't find any definitive info whether I will be able to pass through 5.1 DD or not. Is there an easy way to test whether my TV will pass 5.1 DD/DTS to Sonos? TIA

7855
controlav
5 years ago
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paoloassantosContributor I
posted in Home theater
Third Party Dolby Atmos Soundbar with Sonos Speakers

I have seen a separate thread on a 3rd party soundbar being used to integrate with Sonos Play:1's under https://en.community.sonos.com/what-to-get-228989/sonos-play-1s-in-stereo-and-third-party-klipsch-soundbar-and-wireless-subwoofer-6798309 I am planning to buy a Sony HT-ST5000 (Dolby Atmos Soundbar + Sub) and I was wondering if this can be connected to my current Sonos Play:1's. My proposed set-up would be to use the Sonos Play:1's as my Rear Surround Speakers. Would this be possible via a Sonos Connect? Pardon the newbie questions, but can you let me know if I have envisioned the set-up properly? - TV is connected to Sony HT-ST5000 via HDMI IN - Sony HT-ST5000 Optical to be connected to Sonos:Connect Optical - Sonos:Connect will be able to see the Sonos Play:1's - Configure Sonos Play:1's as Rear Surround Is this correct? I've also include a picture of Sony's HT-ST5000's rear and Sonos:Connect rear. Sony HT-ST5000 Rear Sonos:Connect Appreciate the help of

19491
Airgetlam
5 years ago
MandGJH
MandGJHContributor III
posted in Home theater
Panasonic TVs

I've been looking through this very helpful guide but can find no reference to using Panasonic TVs with the Sonos Playbase as a home theatre. Can Panasonic TVs be used with Dolby 5.1 sound?

11317
Flare
5 years ago
Flare
FlareProminent Collaborator I
asked in Home theater
5.1 Setup but Sonos receiving in "Stereo"

Hi, I have recently added an Apple TV4K and 2 One's to my living room setup which now has a Playbar, Sub and the 2 new One's. My Television is a pretty dated Panasonic Plasma P50U30A. If I set my ATV4K to Dolby Digital I am not getting any audio and in Sonos > About the Audio is showing as "Silence". If I switch my ATV4K back to Best Available I get Audio and Sonos > About shows the Audio as Stereo and not Dolby Digital . Pretty certain the Netflix content I am testing with is DD content. Any ideas how I can get Dolby Digital output on my 5.1 setup or is the limitation due to my TV not being able to pass through the signal?

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Flare
5 years ago
D
DibergioContributor I
asked in Home theater
Playbar stopped working with IR remotes

I've had a Playbar for the past 18 months, with the volume controlled by my Virgin Media Tivo remote. On Sunday the remote control stopped controlling the volume on the playbar, but works fine with the Tivo box. I changed the batteries and got no improvement. I tried to re-pair the remote, and am unable to finish the process. The first stage of the pairing process where it asks me to press Vol+ will often say 'no input detected' after a split second, and I've not even done anything. Other times it will move forward to the 2nd stage after me hammering the Vol+ from 2 inches away. On the 2nd stage, it's hit and miss whether I can press the Vol+ button 3 times and get the white IR light to respond. HOWEVER, when I have successfully done that (and the light has flashed with each of the 3 presses), the next screen says "No input detected", even though it has to have detected something to switch to that screen!?!? I have tried my Panasonic TV remote as well to no effect. Turning the TV

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B
5 years ago
G
griznjContributor I
asked in Home theater
Sonos AMP - 5.1 Setup with Connect:AMP

When connecting two rear speakers via Connect:AMP for 5.1 with a Sonos AMP for the from two channels do you have to connect an ethernet cable between the Sonos AMP and the Connect:AMP and then a second ethernet cable from the Sonos AMP to the router or switch? You can't setup a 5.1 setting with Connect AMP during the initial Sonos AMP setup for a TV setup but it does give you the option in Room Settings - Surround setup and it suggests this cabling but it words it like you are connecting to an AV receive so I just want to confirm that this is the correct setup and you need cabling between the two amps and from the Sonos AMP to the router/switch. Thanks.

14062
G
5 years ago
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PhilG1968Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Beam keeps turning on the TV

Hi, we have a Sonos Beam hooked up to a Samsung TV, have it connected with Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC). However, the TV keeps being turned on for no reason. Is there a setting I'm missing or something we have set up incorrectly? Cheers, Phil.

9092
P
5 years ago
P
paulage77Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Group Subwoofer to multiple rooms

I have 2 physical rooms very close to each other. My TV room has 2 Sonos Ones. The other room has 2 other sonos ones that are paired and stereod and connected to a sub. I would like to be able to have 5.1 in the TV room after getting the sound bar in the TV room when watching TV. But also have the sub paired to the speaks in the other room when watching TV. What are options for doing this? I would rather not buy 2 subs as the rooms are essentially almost 1 big room. I think my options in most desirable order -- ) Have the sub in two different groups simultaneously ) Use the app and remake the groups Everytime I go from listening music to watching TV ) Create group of 1 with the subwoofer and enable it along with the other ones I want depending on watching TV or listening to music Any help appreciated

23191
Stuart_W
5 years ago
B
briancooper6Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Controlling Playbar with Firestick Remote

Anyone know if you can control a Sonos Playbar and Fire Stick 4k remote? I want the remote to control the sound through Playbar only and not the TV speakers. I have a brand new 75" Samsung TV (bought and connected same day as Fire Stick) and I cannot figure out how to make it work. I have the app and can control through that, but that is inconvenient and leaves the rest of my family without the option. The PlayBar is connected with an Audio Optical cable to the TV....the same way it was to my last Vizio TV (only two years old). Thanks for any help!

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H
5 years ago
B
BirgerContributor I
posted in Home theater
I want to install the playbar behind my TV, good idea?

My television setup (design wise) does not accept a playbar in front of it. Now I use the Play 5 for TV sound but want to replace it with a playbar, since I cannot place it in front of my TV I was wondering if it would work (well enough) behind my screen? I've read you can place it upright so I'd like to do that. Would my TV block to much of the sound?

20632
F
5 years ago
M
Marc_51Enthusiast II
asked in Home theater
Question regarding Beam optical to HDMI adapter

I think I know the answer but I want to double check before spending more money. I am having some lip sync issues when connecting my sources via my Panasonic 902B TV to the ARC input of the beam. I have tried to connect my sources via optical directly to the Beam and that seams to sort some of the problems I am experiencing. I have been looking at a toslink switch to connect the my optical TV out and the optical outputs of my xbox, PS4, etc directly to the Beam. Am I right to assume that I can connect the optical to hdmi adapter directly to the switch output just like I would with the optical out from my TV ? I assume that I can but I'd rather double check.

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M
5 years ago
T
tomnsuzeContributor I
asked in Home theater
Adding two sonos 1's to a beam

I would like to add two Sonos play1's for additional TV sound and a 2.1 effect. I do not want to use them for rear surround. Is this possible?

10022
jgatie
5 years ago
M
mzapateroContributor II
posted in Home theater
PS4 Pro sound delay (Panasonic Viera TV)

Hi all! I eventually went for the Beam + 2 One's and I'm super excited, loving it so much. I had some issues when connecting it to my TV, as it did not work with DD 5.0 at the beginning, but after some hard treatment (connecting & reconnecting, switching on and off several times), it did work. My TV is a 2016 Panasonic Viera 50DX730 (4K). After that first struggle I've had no issues when watching TV and movies/series via the Netflix native Panasonic app, and also when streaming movies from my Synology NAS. The Dolby Digital sounds great (I've checked with the app and the input is DD 5.1 all the time). However, when I use my PS4 Pro (currently playing Red Dead Redemption 2), I experience a lag with the sound, which is specially noticeable in shooter games, as the sound of the guns shooting do sound slightly delayed and it's very annoying. I've read that more people had this issues when setting up the Beam, specially with a PS4. Does anyone have a solution after all this time?

40769
M
5 years ago
J
Jay MackayContributor I
posted in Home theater
Apple TV 4th Gen and Playbar

Hello, I recently bought a 4th Gen apple TV after having the 3rd Gen for years. I did not know at the time that they dropped the optical from the new model and now I am not able to connect my playbar to my new Apple TV. I have the playbar, sub and 2 x play 1's for Netflix movies etc but I am not now able to use, I can only use for TV sound. I currently have the Apple TV connected to my TV (an old pioneer plasma) via HDMI and then my TV connected to my playbar via optical. Can someone please assists in the best advice to get sound from my new Apple TV to my sonos system?

538217
R
5 years ago
U
UsconceptsContributor I
posted in Home theater
Too Many Sonos Speakers. Now what?

Kitchen—1 Sonos One Speaker. Living Room – (Set up as Surround Sound for TV) 1 Sonos Beam under the TV 2 Sonos One speakers at the back of the room. 1 Sonos Sub at the back of the room. Everything is working peachy. Well, they do drop from time to time. I have changed the wireless router channel, but no better. But…… I just saw an amazing deal for a Play 5 Gen 2 and I purchased it and will have it in two weeks. How in the world should I use this Play 5 Gen 2? My living room setup above is set up for Surround Sound for TV, even though I watch less than 1 hour a month. My main focus is just listening to music through Alexa using Pandora or Amazon music. I'm pretty vanilla. What should I do with this new extra Play 5? Can it be grouped into the living room for watching movies with the two play ones, sub, and beam? When I play music in the living room, would it sound better with all that together, if it works? Or should I move a play one from the kitchen to an empty

12774
AjTrek1
5 years ago
D
douglasmsContributor I
posted in Home theater
Sonos Beam+Samsung Anynet+ not working

need to setup Sonos Beam to work with my Samsung smart TV to allow Beam to control my TV. I went to my Samsung Smart TV, connected Sonos Beam, Chose Anynet+ and asked to discover new devices. The TV found Sonos Beam, but when open the device list to choose one to be enabled by Anynet+, Sonos Beam is not in the device list. I did the same with Fire tv and I selected fire tv in the device list. I unplugged Sonos beam, turned off the TV and started from the beginning. Same result - Sonos beam is not in the device list of Anynet+ after it discovered devices. Any help?

36632
B
5 years ago
D
drebornContributor II
posted in Home theater
Sonos Beam as computer speaker: switching between sources

Hi there! so i have my beam (and two Sonos One) setup as my computer speaker and sounds AWESOME. I used the included hdmi to optical right into the optical out on the mobo. Switched sourced to digital out on my computer and bam, works great. HOWEVER, I also have a gaming headset where I want to switch audio to every now and then. 1) if i want computer audio to come out of the beam, I have to go into sonos desktop app, choose TV, and then play TV. Kind of annoying and no way to "automate" it or make a macro since isn't a hotkey to make that switch 2) then for some reason, it has issues ever switching back to my headset. even when i stop audio through digital output and choose my headset, sometimes it keeps playing! anyone have Beam and computer experience and how to switch between scenarios? 1) Beam playing computer audio 2) Computer outputting to my headset (no beam involvement) 3) beam streaming from my sonos

45001
UKMedia
5 years ago
U
User658446Contributor I
asked in Home theater
SONOS 5.1 setup stopped working

I have the following setup: playbar, sub, and 2 Sonos ones. The system was working fine and then stopped working completely. The playbar stopped working and would not reconnect. Worked with Crutchfiled tech support, but still could not fix. The system is brand new and thus they are sending me a new playbar. I unplugged the playbar for a day and then today tried to set it up again. I was successful setting it up and adding the sub and the surrounds, but the only thing generating sound is the playbar. I have a bridge connected to my router. It doesn’t matter whether I am playing music or the TV - only sound is the playbar.

16276
Airgetlam
5 years ago
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