I’m happy with the performance of our recently required Sonos Arc--a much welcomed upgrade to our Sonos home theater system, originally built around the optical-audio-input-dependent and disappointing Sonos Playbase. I gave the new Arc, sub, and rear One speakers a workout yesterday, playing Hollywood’s 2019 iteration of “Midway” on our 11-year-old 55-inch Samsung. Planes roared overhead; when somebody crashed into the drink and sank below the surface, I heard bubbles above me, even without Dolby Atmos. The upgraded system’s performance was pretty much on a par with the infinitely more complex (don’t ask), and ultimately failed Bose 5.1 wireless surround system that preceded my initial Sonos surround setup. The Playbase-centered solution had never come close to the Bose system’s performance, when said Bose system--long-since discontinued--was working. So, to paraphrase the Beatles, I was glad to get our surround sound back to where it once belonged.
But with our vintage-2009 Samsung unable to take full advantage of the Arc’s features (no Atmos passthrough for one), and the TV being technologically long in the tooth to boot, I feel justified in replacing it, even though it still works fine. (Unplanned obsolescence?) After a reasonable amount of online research, I’ve settled on a 55-inch Sony X950H with HDMI eARC support. This chart from rtings.com helped me decide between the X950H and Sony’s slightly less-expensive X900H. Per the chart, the X950H can pass Dolby Atmos, DTS, TrueHD, etc.--basically every format they tested--through its HDMI (eArc) port to the Sonos Arc. The rtings.com chart is exhaustive, listing TVs from every major manufacturer, starting with the 2017 model year. So, if you have any questions about your existing TV’s or prospective future TV’s audio passthrough capabilities, you’ll find definitive answers here.