Skip to main content

Home theater

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.

  • 6,760 Topics
  • 55,076 Replies
Tips & Tricks

Understanding Surround Sound and Sonos

  • 11
  • 17
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...
  • 16
  • 254
6760 Topics
B
BirdgasContributor I
asked in Home theater
Samsung UN75J6500 and Sonos Arc stereo only?

So, I’m moderately savvy enough to be able to figure a lot of this stuff out, but sometimes I simply miss things and wanted to see if I could figure out some help with a handful of things.  I have a Samsung TV with regular arc, just had my Sonos Arc delivered and with a little trouble initially, got it set up. Everything now looks and sounds great, but when I went to snag some of the One SL speakers to optimize my living room, I’ve run into some snags.  Originally I was getting Stereo only, but with a lot of messing around, got a semblance of surround which I’m not sure is actual surround, but just a mirrored signal from  the surround speakers. I’m using an HDMI switcher to try to keep a slew of systems and units set up, which I have bypassed as a troublesome middleman and have, at this point, tried connecting my Xbox Series X directly to the TV, with the arc in HDMI port 3 going to the Sonos bar itself. With music, speakers work just fine, no delay, but the rear speakers certainly pro

823
B
2 years ago
SarahN
SarahNHeadliner I
posted in Home theater
New update has given Beam Gen 2 owners height volume control.................

Do you think we will notice a difference?

616618
S
2 years ago
K
KeithFMAvid Contributor I
posted in Home theater
Yet another Sonos own goal conundrum; SYMFONISK Stereo or Surrounds!

OK. I just bought a pair of SYMFONISK bookshelf speakers, great price, nice looking, Sonos electronics, what could be better? Basically these are to be used as stereo and surrounds in the lounge in our holiday home in Spain. Smallish lounge etc. Perfect behind the settee facing the Beam under the TV. One thing I didn't check, & why would I as my HomePod Minis do this automatically, was when not used via the TV & Beam they’d perform instantly as ordinary stereo speakers. After all, who’d want a pair of good looking decent speakers sitting there all day doing nothing? Sigh. So after creating a stereo pair I join them as surrounds with the Beam, easy peasy. Then play my music. They're silent, gulp.Then I think, oh no Sonos strikes again! Yep. It’s all or nothing. Just like the ‘not being able to join two different speakers as a pair’ even though the kit inside is identical etc’, and all the other can’t do’s in the Sonos range. And despite ‘updating’ technology. So I eventually nav

118620
J
2 years ago
P
PurplegoldContributor I
asked in Home theater
One surround speaker started stuttering with Atmos

Hello. I have a beam 2nd gen, sub 1, a pair of play 3s. It has been working fine until I noticed stuttering on just one of the play 3s. Regular music seems fine. I tried reboots, unplugging tv cables, arc. The fact that it used to work this morning and doesn't makes me worry it is an issue with the unit itself? I tried different output modes on the tv.  Had the issue with auto and direct. Dolby and dolby plus didn't seem to output through my surrounds properly so couldn't hear stutter. Everything is hard wired. Seems like the recommendations are to reboot routers and factory reset? But why just an issue with one speaker and not the others? Also if it is just atmos but music seems fine, maybe software?  

962
P
2 years ago
A
Adam 12Contributor I
asked in Home theater
adding a Five to Sonos home theater?

I’ve got the Arc, the Sub, and the Amp working with my TV. I’ve got a Five in my kitchen I’d line to add in so I can hear the TV when I’m cooking. Is this possible? 

931
Mr. T
2 years ago
N
NickFelContributor I
asked in Home theater
Gap in audio after pausing — Beam 2 / LG BX / Xbox Series S

I’ve got a Beam Gen 2 connected to an LG BX via eARC and an Xbox Series S, and I’m struggling to find a configuration that works well for both TV and Xbox content.If I set Digital Sound Out to “Auto”, TV content is great, but the Xbox will claim my setup doesn’t support Uncompressed 5.1 or 7.1. Dolby Digital can be selected but this unfortunately has a bad delay that seems to be either a widely known issue with the Xbox or a widely known issue with LGs depending on who you ask, so I can’t do much about this.If I set Digital Sound Out to “Passthrough”, I can use 5.1/7.1 on the Xbox with no delays, but then I have a problem with TV content where if I pause and resume anything, it takes a second or two for the sound to come back. No delay is introduced, just a break in the audio so I miss a few words and end up having to rewind a bit.Other settings: eARC = On, DTV Audio Setting = Auto, HDMI Input Audio Format = Bitstream.Any ideas where the problem is here and if there’s a combination of

4066
N
2 years ago
thatJohann
thatJohannContributor II
asked in Home theater
Does adding surrounds to Sonos Beam 2 offload / redirect sound to improve audio?

I’m debating adding two One SLs as surrounds to my Sonos Beam 2.After I add the two surrounds, does this improve the audio of the Sonos Beam 2 by redirecting some of the previous channels the Beam was outputting to the new surrounds and therefore widening the soundscape of the Beam 2?Or does the Beam 2 continue outputting the same audio as before the surrounds and the surrounds simply get extra sounds not present before?Just wondering if adding the surrounds further improves the audio quality coming out of the Beam 2 basically.

15527
M
2 years ago
K
Killer Systems ComputersAvid Contributor I
posted in Home theater
Sonos needs updating to 7.2 Surround sound at least

I really wish sonos would release a 7.2 Surround sound package I would prefer 11.2 But I guess that's pushing it And I wish I could hook up more subs for underneath the couch

262219
S
2 years ago
C
coffeeluvrContributor I
asked in Home theater
ON Beam gen 2 I often can't increase volume via IR

Wondering if this is a known issue or if I have a defective Beam gen 2 that I just bought. With TV on volume up works and volume down always seems to work. Worked fine with my Beam gen 1..

1323
C
2 years ago
A
AsSiMiLaTeDContributor I
asked in Home theater
Stereo PCM only?

I’ve got a brand new surround system consisting of the Arc, Sub 3, and two One SL for rears.  I’m using an LG C1 OLED and a Sony UBP-X800M2 blu ray player.I have the blu ray player set to PCM for audio, downmix is set to surround and but rate is set to 192.  On the TV I have the HMDI audio set to PCM and eARC is enabled.I am running hdmi from player to the tv, from TV to soundbar.When i fire up Interstellar which has a DTS soundtrack I’m only getting Stereo PCM displayed.  I understand that the Arc has limited DTS support, but shouldn’t I be getting multichannel PCM feed into the Adonis?Do I have something set up incorrectly?

48173
G
2 years ago
D
Dawn_LContributor I
asked in Home theater
How to access my greyed out Samsung "Optical Out" option from Samsung settings to play with my Sonos Soundbar

Hello:  While my sound bar usually works great with my older Samsung TV using the optical out cable, it recently stopped working with my TV.  It does however work with my Sonos app when playing my steaming services, just not on TV.  When I try to deploy “TV” sound from the Sonos app now, nothing in the sound realm changes on my TV and I am stuck using my tv standard sound.  When I go into my TV settings to choose “Optical output” or “Optical sound” it is not an option now as this menu item is greyed out and I cannot access it.  I can also not do a “reset” sound because I do not have a tv remote and am using the TV navigation on the side of the screen and it won’t allow me to access the “reset sound” selection using the manual navigation.   Any thoughts or tips on how to get it working once again?  Thanks!

12581
Airgetlam
2 years ago
controlav
controlavMaestro
posted in Home theater
Is DTS dead now?

Interesting article positing that the Dolby vs DTS battle is over, and Dolby are the winner.https://www.whathifi.com/features/is-the-dts-vs-dolby-war-effectively-overThere is a new soundbar that has no DTS support at all, and the quote from the maker (not Sonos) is:“The reason for this is that DTS is not used by any of the streaming service companies and therefore is limited to people watching DVD/Blu-ray connected to the TV with the audio passed through the ARC/eARC. However the vast majority of TV companies do not support this on the ARC/eARC.”(By “vast majority” I assume they mean Samsung and LG, so they have a point)Thoughts?

199713
Ken_Griffiths
2 years ago
A
amarti2038Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Setup sonos + B&O speakers for TV and Music

Hello everyone,thanks for reading the post.I need your help and opinion for our new setup. I am setting up the TV (LG G1 55) and an audio system. I would like to mount a sonos system and add two B&O beolab 8000 speakers. I would like to use all sonos + B&O speakers both for watching TV and listening to music.An initial idea of the setup that I think could work is as follows: Assumptions:- The sonos elements on the TV side will be connected via RJ45 network cable, the rear ones via WLAN.There are points that are not clear to me:In TV mode, can I have problems with sound delay? The sonos Port will automatically turn on the beolab 8000? or will I need to turn them on with a remote control? Will the sonos Port automatically regulate the volume of the beolab 8000? Wich cables I would need? There are specific Almando preamplifiers for B&O that are usually connected to the Sonos Port, do you recommend to use one? or you don't see it necessary?Do you think the setup is correct? do

7713
A
2 years ago
V
Vulture79Contributor I
posted in Home theater
Which TV will work FOR SURE with Sonos Arc or Beam (2nd)

Hi guys, I’m going to get a Sonos soundbar and I also have to change my old tv. The matter is that it looks like Sonos soundbars can’t work with any tv, as allo the models I’m considering (above all LG C1 and Samsung QN90A) have many compatibility issues with Sonos.So I would like to understand.. which tv will work for sure with Sonos sonundbars? Any suggestions?

1628330
F
2 years ago
M
MandraxContributor I
posted in Home theater
Sonos Arc - first impressions - different sound from S2 and TV

Hi,  I want to ask you, yesterday connected Sonos ARC to my Philips Oled, very easily achieved Dolby Atmos from TV to Soundbar. At this moment ARC is standalone (without Surround and sub).  And What i noticed:  Movie - very good quality - everything is fine - bass more then enough for my needs, surrounds effects quite well. (it this situation i plan to add only Sonos One as a surround speakers without sub)   Youtube music from TV - the same as above - bass is very good for me and sound quality more then good. At evening sound volume - ~25% is enough.  Music from S2 app with TV off - very disappointing -- no bass - flat sound, I’m not sure is it better then my Sonos One sound . I need to increase volume to 50% to fill the room (from youtube i need only 25%)I little better when playing form local media then from Spotify but still have some doubts.    So Hardware is ok - plays very good but why i notice this loss of bass and quality using Spotify or playing from S2 - and why i need to inc

1432
G
2 years ago
toyboy
toyboyChromatic Producer II
asked in Home theater
Can not connect Sonos Arc with Sony TV XBR-55X900E

First of all I have an Arcana in this loop. But everything was working fine until it quit working fine. So today I unplugged Sonos Arc HDMI cable from the TV and the Sonos Arc, unplugged power cables from the wall for the TV & the Sonos Arc. Waited like 5 minutes. Plugged the HDMI back into the Sony Arc port and then the Sonos Arc. Powered up the tv and the Sonos Arc. Sound from TV to Sonos ARC worked. Unplugged the Sonos Arc HDMI  from the Sony TV arc port and plugged it back into the Arcana. Went to the Sonos iPhone App, System, Arc + the surround sounds, including Sub, TV Setup, Let’s get your Sonos Arc SL connected to your TV, Connected cable to Sony Arc and sometimes it will go to the next screen but only to give me a failure something like not connected. I’m befuddled. Everything was working and now it’s not. 

9494
toyboy
2 years ago
lancem631
lancem631Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Add Sonos One SL's for better dialog audio

We have the PlayBar, Sub (gen 2) and two architectural ceiling speakers driven by Sonos Amp.  These makeup the living room.  Bedroom we have two Sonos One SL’s configured for stereo.  Wondering if we can move those One SL’s into the living room to potentially improve dialog when watching movies.  Our default movie streaming is Apple TV+ 4K connected through LG 55SK9000.   Have tried setting Apple TV+ audio format both to 5.1 and then Dolby Atmos.  Most movie dialog comes through muffled or low volume.  Cranking up to hear dialog then blasts us out with action scene audio.

3408
lancem631
2 years ago
S
Speirsy11Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Using Sonos Port with Bose SoundTouch 130?

HiThe only non-Sonos speakers I have is a Bose SoundTouch 130 sound bar & Sub in my basement. I’m wondering if the Sonos Port will allow me to add the Bose system to my Sonos app. The Bose has a co-ax port, is it as simple as buying a port, running a line from the digital out into that port on my Bose then setting it up? Or am I way off and oversimplifying this whole thing? I’d like to avoid buying an ARC and Sub for the basement simply because we don’t use it that often. Thanks. Bose Unit for reference: https://www.bose.ca/en_ca/support/products/bose_home_theater_support/bose_soundbar_and_1_speaker_home_theater_support/soundtouch-130-home-theater-system.html#v=soundtouch_130_black

6011
G
2 years ago
T
timetorockContributor I
asked in Home theater
BenQ HT3550I and Sonos Arc with Sub and Surround

I have Sonos Arc with Sub and 2 Speakers configured using Sonos App as one room. For projector, I have BenQ HT3550i. It has 2 HDMI outputs. I have connected it to the Arc and I have audio on the Arc alone. However, no sound on the Sub and Surrounds. I was expecting the sound to be across Sub and Speakers through the Sonos Magic. Has anyone had this setup? How would I be able to configure?

3004
G
2 years ago
M
Mb QuartContributor I
posted in Home theater
3rd party subs working fine

Well, I'm not sure if I'm just lucky, or not. I got a Sonos arc, + a pair of one sl's. Grouped them together. Added the amp, and connected my subs to the RCA output. Working just lovely. No delays, no lip sync issues, nothing. Yes, I do need to adjust the level periodically, depending on content and hardware. I get full atmos thru my panasonic JZ 2000 OLED. I must say, the sound is simply stunning. I see why Sonos has the following that it does. Thanks! 

1082
M
2 years ago
A
AcgszaboContributor I
asked in Home theater
Only getting stereo PCM through Apple TV 4K + Arc + Sony x900F

Hi - I’m only getting Stereo PCM when I open the Sonos app and view ‘About My System’ Current setup:Sonos Arc, Sonos Sub Gen3, Sonos/ Sonance Architectural Speakers connected to Connect:Amp Gen2 (rear surround), Apple TV 4K, Sony X900F.The TV does not have eARC but does have ARC with Dolby Digital Plus pass through enabled. So I realize I wouldn’t get TrueHD (which streaming services don’t provide anyways) but I do expect to get better than Stereo PCM.Any settings I can modify to get a compressed version of Dolby Atmos/Dolby Digital Plus? I can’t even get multichannel PCM right now.When using the native android TV apps it does show Dolby Atmos but I would prefer to not to use that horrible interface.Super disappointed right now to spend this much on a Sonos setup and only get Stereo.

44531
G
2 years ago
J
JimmyaceContributor I
posted in Home theater
Home Theater with a hybrid configuration

Hi, I got a MOVE speaker last summer and I am very happy for it. Now I would like to implement a home theather system with my new LG smart TV OLED and I would like to know if I can connect the MOVE speaker with a sound bar together with a second different model speaker. Could somebody give me a suggestion? Thanks.

703
J
2 years ago
T
timtimContributor I
asked in Home theater
Play 5 Gen2 L+R+Sub(Gen3) - line-in via TV music heard but no voice

Before I separated my wifi mesh to stop band steering, I could use my Play 5 Gen2 L+R stereo and Gen3 sub to watch movies from line-in via the tv and listen to music although, the sub would usually appear as a “?”. When I used trueplay, the music would play for about 5 seconds, then the sub would stop working, followed by the right speaker and the sub would disappear from the network.After 3~4 hours on the phone with Sonos, I arrived at separating the wifi to 2.4 and 5 Ghz and placing the speakers all on 2.4GHz. The speakers now can trueplay, but now the line-in from the tv will only play the music track with no voice track.Does anyone have any insight into resolving this or should I just factory reset all the speakers and start again?

463
Airgetlam
2 years ago
Jeffrey_35
Jeffrey_35Headliner III
asked in Home theater
Dolby Multichannel PCM X.C?

2.0, 5.1, 7.1 iterations. Can someone explain to me what this means and what it doesn’t mean? Confused if it’s good or right. I wish Sonos would do some kind of spreadsheet with explanations and whether it’s right or not for setup. 

15208
melvimbe
2 years ago
L
LewismanContributor I
posted in Home theater
Beefing my TV sound, when using YouTube.

I have a 50” Samsung TV, with Sonos Beam linked to it. It’s in a large room, wall-mounted. When watching TV, the Beam is adequate. But sometimes in the evening, I end up using the room for entertaining, and playing music videos via YouTube.When watching/listening to music on the TV, the sound isn’t really up to it. I have a high-end hi-if in the same room, but it’s not situated in a convenient spot to link the TV to it.I’ve been researching some different Sonos add-ons, and the obvious move seemed to be to add a couple of SL’s. Thing is, I’m not really looking for a surround sound effect, moreso just a generally boosted sound quality & volume. I trialled the SL in a local shop, and found the sound quality a bit underwhelming. The Five however, sounded great. So the obvious (to me) move seems to be to add a pair of Fives into the room, to link wirelessly to the Beam, to boost the sound in the room.Anyone using this combo in this way ? Any reason why it won’t do what I’m looking for

13766
Ken_Griffiths
2 years ago
Terms & ConditionsCookie settings