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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.

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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

Moderator note:  This article was updated in December 2024. Looking for information on Sonos home theater setups? Find answers about surroun...
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6758 Topics
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DocHalseyContributor I
posted in Home theater
Sonos Arc w/ surround - TruePlay nerfs the surrounds

I have an Arc plus two Ones and a Sub to form a surround system.  I’ve noticed that TruePlay completely reduces the surround levels making way too quiet. Even turning them up +5 or so doesn’t sounds right. It’s a small room but it sort of defeats the purpose of having surround if you can barely hear it.  Turning off TruePlay and manually setting the surround distance to “2 to 10 feet” adds all the ambience back.  Anyone else experience this?

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2 years ago
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ibwanContributor I
asked in Home theater
Option in settings to choose what to do with PCM 2.0 Audio

Theres a ton of questions on this and other forums about surround speakers not working well when PCM (Stereo) feed is detected and it seems there is a setting missing from the “Surround Audio” page of the controller.This is especially the case in my set up, where my speakers are used primarily to fill the space in a large area so that music primarily fills the room, this set up works really well with stereo audio sources and really comes to life when we use surround sound (and apple spatial audio does this well).However every time we come across a video source where stereo (PCM) audio is present, the ambient rear speakers just are not powerful enough to fill the room. We have the option for Audio sources in the “Surround Audio” settings that allow for Ambient or Full Music Playback which is great for audio, but we need the exact same option for Stereo PCM (Video Equivalent) - Maybe this could even be solved by a tick box that just says “apply these settings to PCM Audio”Obviously I rea

2151
Ken_Griffiths
2 years ago
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HoytoppeContributor I
asked in Home theater
TV-sound through Sonos for stereo speakers

I have a set of Dali Rubicon 2 stereo speakers that I was planning to be run by a Sonos Amp. I have been told (not tried yet), that the Amp will not have sufficient power. The setup is primarly to be used as a stereo for music, but I also wanted to be able to connect TV sound.  Any recommendations how to setup my stereo speakers?Can I use a Beam connected to the TV and stream audio to a Port connected to external amplifier for the speakers? Will the be a delay?

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2 years ago
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julienContributor I
asked in Home theater
sonos amp home cinema 4.1

Bonjour J'ai actuellement un système sonos 5.0 composé d'une playbar et de 2 sonos play:1 en surround pour le home cinéma et une chaîne denon df107 pour la musique. J'ai pour projet de remplacer tout ça par le sonos amp nouvelle génération associé à deux enceintes bibliothèques qui restent à définir connecté en HDMI à la tv. J'ai plusieurs questions à ce sujet :- est-il pertinent de remplacer une playbar, pour laquelle je suis déçu de la spatialisation stéréo, par un sonos amp ?- que penser de l'effet surround généré par les 2 play:1 associé à l’amp? Les effets sont ils bien gérés? Existe-t-il une dégradation à ce niveau là par rapport à la playbar?

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Ken_Griffiths
2 years ago
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Andre3000Contributor I
posted in Home theater
sound quality

If I watch tv I cant hear the people’s voices clearly as they speak. Can it maby be my optic cable?

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buzz
2 years ago
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tomwhitakerAvid Contributor I
posted in Home theater
Arc, HDFury Arcana, Apple TV - no picture/audio after waking ATV

I have an ATV connected to a projector. it goes through an Arcana before the split HDMI feed gets to the projector and Arc  When I finish using the ATV, I leave it at the Home Screen. It is set to sleep after an hour’s inactivity currently, and I’ve previously tried it with sleep disabled. There is no HDMI-CEC on my Sony projector so the only thing that controls my ATV is me, with the remote, and the sleep function. Fairly regularly (maybe 1/5 of the time) when I turn on the projector then try to wake my ATV I get no picture or sound. I can successfully ask my iPhone to Screen Mirror to it. This makes me think the ATV is functioning and waking up, so I’m assuming the Arcana isn’t noticing it waking.  Does anyone else have this setup or this issue?

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2 years ago
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reilly44Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Sonos ARC disconnects from LG C8 OLED

I have an ARC and LG C8 connected via the HDMI ARC port. About 6 months ago, the sound started not to come out of the ARC and when I tried to turn up the volume, I received this volume bar at the bottom of the tv with a green music note merged with the bluetooth symbol. I disconnected and rebooted everything, some times the problem would fix itself, sometimes nothing would change. I can’t figure out why it’s doing this… I’m in the process of purchasing a new cable to see if that’s the issue. I have ran a diagnostic - 740537237Has this come up before? Is there any solution beside someone blowing me off and telling me it’s the TV or something else?  

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Corry P
2 years ago
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Benkri1992Contributor I
asked in Home theater
multiple rays

Hi, i am restoring my living room and i am getting a steel beam in the roof behind the sofa.Inside the steel beam its room for one sonos ray on each side.  can multiple sonos rays Play music together?  also in the future, if i get an sonos arc for example, can the sonos ray work as a back speaker ? regards Benjamin 

94511
buzz
2 years ago
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tomwhitakerAvid Contributor I
posted in Home theater
Sonos Arc, Apple TV 4k, Arcana - is volume control possible?

Hello Sonos community! I have a Sonos arc and I’m using an arcana to get audio to it from my Apple TV 4K. As I currently have it set up I am unable to control the volume from the Apple TV remote, either the physical version or the iOS widget. Before I start tinkering around I would really appreciate it if somebody could confirm whether or not they have volume control working with a similar set up? If you do then it will either be my Sony projector or my HDMI switch that is to blame. Could these be the problem?

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Airgetlam
2 years ago
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RLWContributor I
asked in Home theater
Settings

Best settings for each device for this setup:  LG C1, Series X, Arc?

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G
2 years ago
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michael.durajContributor I
posted in Home theater
Surround Audio -> Music Playback = Full + Apple Music

OMG playing a song and toggling the setting on and off in the Sonos App; What an amazing difference!!!I can’t find the words to express what an amazing difference (actually I can but they might not be appropriate in a public forum)Take a bow Sonos well done (Soundbar, Sub and 2x Play 5)

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Corry P
2 years ago
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Db24448Contributor II
posted in Home theater
Suggestion

When using a soundbar plus Fives as Surround, but no Sub. Could the LFE Chanel be downmixed to the Fives, to take advantage of their excellent low frequency response.

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Corry P
2 years ago
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robkozContributor I
posted in Home theater
Where did my volume indicators go?!

I just bought the Sonos Beam 2, installed it via the tedious phone app, and now all the volume indicators for my LG CX55 are gone! Just a plus or minus sign! Oh and when I use my Verizon box one doesn’t exist at all! So I’m supposed to guess what volume I’m at?!Sonos should be giving me better sound! Not changing my control settings!So in short, if I don’t get my original indicators back when I use the Verizon box AND when I use the remote for my LG tv, this gets returned.

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106rallye
2 years ago
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incarContributor I
asked in Home theater
True 5.0 or 5.1 with soundbar as center only.

I'm struggling to understand home cinema setup for true 5.0 or 5.1.It appears that it is not possible! I wanted to use two play1 , ONE sl or simfonisk as front L-R and Ray or Beam as center and two play1 surrounds. Later adding sub.Why soundbars is designed as 3 channel only? Especially Ray, it is using single tweeter for 3 channels.Ray front stage is so narrow it is hard to hear stereo unless you are listening 1m from it,not even mentioning 3 channels. TV 55inch speakers are doing much better (wider) stage!To use it with 100inch projector screen sound stage must be wider! Ideally it should be around 3m wide but I think even ARC will struggle with that...I would even preferred two speakers as stereo but that is not possible as well. So how to go around it, is it possible to setup group with stereo pair and soundbar? 

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jgatie
2 years ago
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CardwizardTrending Lyricist I
posted in Home theater
seperate equalizer settings for music and tv input

Hi all, why is it that in 2022 there is still no separate equalizer for the music and tv input? when watching a movie i have too much bass, when listening to music there should be more for me.It can’t be that hard too ad?  please….. pretty please make this happen, next week would be ok for me… thanks in advance The world

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I
2 years ago
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Gman317Contributor I
posted in Home theater
arc after new update

 I own the arc,sub and  sl1s downloaded the  lasted updated and the volume is at least 20% less then before.. I have a big room and before 60% was loud and now it’s at 100%  with the same movie.. I bought the arc because of my room size and now I’m very disappointed in its performance..  can i downgrade to old software version? 

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K
2 years ago
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Perrotte andréContributor I
asked in Home theater
probleme Beam + TV Philips

Bonjour, J’ai le problème de ma TV qui s’allume toute seule d’une manière aléatoire depuis changement box Bouygues installé avec fibre. Leur SAV n’a pas encore résolu le souci, ceci depuis 5 semaines. Cable HDMI et décodeur changés. Tout fonctionnait bien avant le changement de la box Ultym.Auriez-vous connaissance de ce problème?Merci de votre aide

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P
2 years ago
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Trine75Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Arc driller

Vi har 2 Arc i huset, som hver er koblet sammen med en sub og 2 stk. one. Pludselig virker surround og sub lyd ikke længere. Vi kan sagtes koble sub’en sammen med andre enheder og så virker det fint. Vi har forsøgt at nulstille både arc og sub, men lige meget hjælper det. Er der andre der har oplevet dette og fået det fikset?

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Ken_Griffiths
2 years ago
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ElliotStContributor I
asked in Home theater
Sony A80J not passing Atmos via inbuilt app?

So the sonos sounds really good but I'm having one problem. I can't get Atmos to come through from the Sony A80J.I seem to be only getting DD+ 5.1 which sounds great but obviously I really want to be getting Atmos.I'm streaming direct from Disney + via the in built app. I've got eARC switched to Auto along with pass through.I definitely got atmos with my previous LG SP9Ya with the same tv so I'm not sure what the issue is?I've unplugged the tv for a few minutes and plugged it back in to force a eARC handshake but still nothing...Checked for sonos updates and that's all good.I'm using the provided Sonos HDMI cable.Running out of ideas.

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2 years ago
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RottenMuttTrending Lyricist II
posted in Home theater
Works with Sonos - Pioneer SC-LX904

Sonos Port and Pioneer LX904Set up the Port on the Pioneer, when i start playing on the music on the Port zones 2 and 3 turn on and play music.  problem is the zones do not turn off, so the amp stays on.  I have the auto power off enabled on the pioneer.  seems like the port doesn’t tell the receiver to shut down the zones that where turned on.  thoughts?edit: i feel that the port should have been designed with hdmi port, which has native power management…  would be nice to have video as well.

21711
buzz
2 years ago
C
cnymikeContributor II
posted in Home theater
How would I attach a Sonos Beam underneath an HDTV mounted to a Murphy bed?

We are installing a Murphy bed in our house. Because of the lack of wall space I want to attach the HDTV to the Murphy bed and ideally I would like to have the Sonos Beam attached to the HDTV mount so that it is below the HDTV and would be secure when the Murphy bed is in use. In other words the bracket would be have to be able to hold the Sonos beam even when the bed is open. Any ideas? I also need some suggestions for an appropriate HDTV mount for the Murphy Bed. 

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buzz
2 years ago
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Marsha514Avid Contributor I
posted in Home theater
Sonos Beam and surround sound volume

I recently upgraded to a Sonos Beam and surround speakers. I have a problem when watching tv I have the volume on 45-48. When I’m steaming Prime or Netflix I’m down to about 27. Is there any way to even out the volume between tv and streaming?  Any help?

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106rallye
2 years ago
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Frank378Contributor I
posted in Home theater
Height of Arc soundbar

Recently remodeled my living room and my TV is now mounted above my fireplace. I currently have the playbar but want to upgrade to the Arc. i am concerned that if i mount the Arc below the TV and above the mantle that it would be too high and i will lose some of its benefits. If i mount where i want to, it will be approx 5 feet above from the floor. At this height, will I lose some of the quality from the Arc?Also, the couch will be about 13 feet from the Arc. is that too far as well?Thanks!PS - i have already tested the fireplace and there are no concerns for too much heat above the mantle...so not concerned about Arc “cooking”.

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F
2 years ago
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cklim55Enthusiast I
asked in Home theater
netflix and no atmos

Just checking to see if anyone else is having issues with Netflix not showing atmos logo (just 5.1) so no atmos playing. This occurs when using Appletv and Firestick. The Sony a90j oled apps shows the atmos logo on Netflix. What is strange is that no atmos on Netflix but HBO max and Apple TV+ have atmos via Apple TV and Firestick. This may be another reason to drop Netflix since I am paying for the enhanced level of Netflix and not getting what I pay for.  Does anyone have a fix?

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C
2 years ago
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Dafto75Contributor I
posted in Home theater
improve the TV audio

Good morning everyone. I have a set of two Play 5s that I use to listen to music. Now I would like to improve the TV audio a lot (especially the speech), do you think I improve a lot by purchasing and connecting a Beam soundbar? Or do I just connect the two Play 5s to the TV? Thank you

321
controlav
2 years ago
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