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tuhulaxe
Contributor I
June 18, 2023

Is there an official reason why Sonos doesn’t support DTS:X / DTS-HD?

I was looking into a new soundbar recently and had pretty much decided on a Sonos Arc.  On the tail end of my research I came across a post either on this site or on reddit that was talking about how Sonos didn’t support DTS:X or DTS-HD, and while a lot of new BluRay’s are coming with Atmos tracks now, many BluRays still only have a DTS:X or DTS-HD track.  I am in the same boat as I still play a lot of physical media, and just assumed at the Sonos price points they would support every codec under the sun to make it easy on the end user, it just plays everything.

 

As I further researched this I read a lot of comments about how it’s because of a DTS licensing issue?  Is this the official answer?  There was an article on The Verge that said, “Sonos finally adds DTS audio support to its home theater lineup”.  However, when you read the article it says, “Sonos only seems to support standard DTS Digital Surround, so you won’t be able to get the most out of sources that use the higher specced DTS-HD and DTS:X formats”.  If you are licensing DTS, you don’t get all of them?  Are DTS and DTS:X separate licenses?

 

The reason I’m wondering if licensing is really the issue is because there are soundbars at Best Buy for $149.99 (SKU: 6507854) that support DTS:X.  How can a $150 soundbar support it but a $700 soundbar can’t?  There are like 8 systems on Best Buy that support DTS:X that are $500 or less, and several on Crutchfield as well.

 

Is it really just licensing costs or are there other limitations?  Has DTS:X ever been mentioned as a possible future update or will this never happen?  I assume Sonos can support it, but doesn’t want to, and the only reason anyone ever seems to mention is the cost of licensing.  Has Sonos themselves ever given an official reason?

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    Silverthorn
    Prodigy II
    April 19, 2024

    I think Imax enhanced would need to make much more traction to make a difference. If Imax enhanced 4k disc became a thing I might eventually replace my Playbase. I like my Playbase though so would be the case of a complete upgrade to my system that hopefully Sonos could provide.

    "I saw the Stooges and the MC5"
    JohnAbile
    Contributor II
    May 18, 2024

    Considering Atmos over DD+ and DTS:X are both compressed formats, I wounded if there is a major difference in audio quality.  Still if more streaming services offered DTS, I would really hope Sonos offers this as a firmware update.  I’m about $3600 invested in my 7.2.4 system with them and would hate to have to upgrade my bar.  

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