Trending Lyricist I

Multichannel PCM 5.1 dropping out since 14.10 update

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Anyone else experiencing the same issue? Multichannel PCM 5.1 blanks out for a second every 1-2 minutes. I don’t think it’s a bandwidth issue as it works flawlessly with Multichannel PCM 7.1 (thorough test) and Dolby TrueHD Atmos (quick test). And it may have been caused by the Sonos 14.10 update. Setup is PS5→ LG C1→ Beam 2 (via earc).

2 weeks ago before the 14.10 update, I watched a bluray film wherein I had my PS5 transcode the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio to Multichannel PCM 5.1 (as the C1 does not support DTS) and had no issues. Earlier today, I played a bluray film for the first time in 2 weeks and I encountered consistent audio dropouts every 1-2 minutes. It had the same setup where DTS-HD MA 5.1 → Multichannel PCM 5.1. I tested other bluray discs including the one I watched 2 weeks ago and they all now have the same issue.

Curiously, I’ve been gaming heavily on my PS5 the past two 2 weeks and haven’t had any audio issues. Then I realized that I’ve been using Multichannel PCM 7.1 when gaming on my PS5. So I made some changes under the PS5 sound settings to make it output Multichannel PCM 5.1 instead. Lo and behold, I am now getting the same consistent dropouts in games and even on the PS5 main menu.

I think it’s due to the Sonos 14.10 update as that’s the only firmware update I’ve done in the last 2 weeks. No PS5 update, no LG C1 update. Well actually while I was composing this post, I received and applied the latest LG C1 firmware update and I still have the same issue.

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Pinned Reply By Corry P

Hi @throwawaybeam2 et al

We now recommend you reach out to the TV manufacturer (LG) as this behaviour is also occurring with different soundbar manufacturers (so it’s not a Sonos-specific issue).

Alternatively, please utilize different audio formats from McLPCM 5.1 (e.g., McLPCM 7.1, DD+, etc).

I hope this helps.

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ste_ms

Enthusiast I

I just noticed that there is a new firmware for LG C1 and a new Sonos update, I won’t be home for a while so I can’t test, did it solve the dropouts by any chance ?

I don’t see a new update, was it 14.2?

Seems odd that power cycling the Beam reverts to the dropouts, but does power cycling the TV? Is there some sort of HDMI negotiation that happens only when the Beam powers up versus pulling the HDMI cable?

It’s also odd that I can hot swap another eARC device but only the Beam has the dropouts, as if the the buggy state is in the Beam, or the LG is remembering devices that have previously negotiated on power up (or the two devices are just using somehow different flavours of PCM 5.1 on the wire, hard to tell just by trusting the status labels of the vendor’s apps).

I’ve only noticed when power cycling the beam - basically whenever there is a software update. Power cycling the TV often fixes it actually.

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Eruvatar

Contributor I

I just noticed that there is a new firmware for LG C1 and a new Sonos update, I won’t be home for a while so I can’t test, did it solve the dropouts by any chance ?

I don’t see a new update, was it 14.2?

Sorry for my mistake, it was not a sonos update but just a new LG firmware (03.30.16).

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TDotDubz

Lyricist I

Okay so I recently bought myself a Sonos Beam Gen 2 and have only had it for a little over a week. I bought it specifically for my LG CX TV and my PS5 and did a lot of research on how to set it up and what settings to enable etc.

TV settings enabled: SIMPLINK, HDMI ARC, eARC, Pass Through, Bitstream

For a while in the PS5 settings I was running on the ‘Soundbar’ setting thinking that was the “correct” one until I realised that it was reporting Multichannel 7.1 PCM in the Sonos app, so I did a little digging.

After my digging I landed these settings (supposedly they’re better): AV Amplifier, 5.1, Linear PCM. I noticed this cutout issue pretty much immediately considering up until then I never had the problem and initially fiddled with settings to isolate the problem. Everything with any combo of settings works except for when I’m on 5.1 and when the app reports Multichannel 5.1 PCM. This is what lead me down the rabbit hole on researching the issue to find this thread which has helped me in at least the fact that I’m not the only one. I read through the thread and tried some things people said alongside my own testing, which is what I’ll explain below.

What I did first was turn off QuickStart+ as someone suggested earlier in this thread, which unfortunately on its own didn’t fix the issue, so I’ve kept it off anyways from hereon (so I’m not sure if this contributed to my final result 100% but it’s worth noting). After a lot of testing and fiddling with a lot of potential solutions people have proposed in this thread (like the new LG firmware/WebOS update through software update in settings) I was about ready to give up when I remembered that I had never turned off my PS5 *in* 5.1, only in 7.1. Thinking that *maybe* with QuickStart+ off and turning everything off and on again and allowing it all to start in 5.1 instead of switching it whilst it was already on might work and funnily enough it did, with the app also reporting the correct Multichannel 5.1 PCM. For extra insurance for it possibly being a fluke I gamed for hours with no cutouts and over the cause of a week or so it has been okay.

For extra measure what I do now is turn the PS5 on and allow it to fully start (the light going from orange/blue to white) before turning on the TV as what I noticed during my testing is when turning them on in a different order or whilst one is turning on at the same time would reproduce the issue of the cutouts. I’m not too technical as to why this may be the case but maybe it’s the ARC/eARC connection/handshake between the devices getting confused or something? For context I have my PS5 connected directly to the TV through HDMI4 and the TV to the soundbar through the HDMI2 port (ARC/eARC) port.

Hopefully this helps someone but if not maybe my post can push forward this issue to Sonos to eventually fix this for good.

TL;DR for my post: what fixed it for me is turning off QuickStart+, enabling AV Amplifier 5.1ch in the PS5 menu and turning the PS5 and TV off. When wanting to use your PS5, allow it to fully turn on before turning on the TV.

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ste_ms

Enthusiast I

TL;DR for my post: what fixed it for me is turning off QuickStart+, enabling AV Amplifier 5.1ch in the PS5 menu and turning the PS5 and TV off. When wanting to use your PS5, allow it to fully turn on before turning on the TV.

A lot of people have seen that this fixes it temporarily but it does eventually return, seemingly whenever the beam is restarted. You could maybe test this and confirm?

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xlcoolj

Contributor II

LG C2, Beam Gen 2 and two play1s.

Getting same drop outs with PS5 set to amplifier and 5.1. App read smultichannel pcm 5.1.

No dropouts on any other format.

When setting PS5 to soundbar, App reads multichannel pcm 7.1, no dropouts.

Should I just keep 7.1 Sounds OK to me?

Would be nice that after sending £1000,'s on a system it would work as intended.

M

mser

Lyricist II

I can also confirm this issue; LG C2 and Beam Gen 2, both with the latest firmware updates.

I experience this with my Nintendo Switch set to surround (reads as PCM 5.1) as well as the PS5 manually set to PCM 5.1 (same as the previous poster).

It’s not a huge problem for me personally yet as I am currently essentially stuck to stereo anyway (although I guess the Beam at least makes proper use of the center channel when downmixing 5.1). But I was planning to buy some One SL speakers later this year and set them up as surrounds, so it would be sad if this issue couldn’t be fixed.

Asides from the posts here, a quick search brings up many Reddit threads describing this bug with the LG TV + Beam combination and given how popular these choices are with consumers I am very surprised that neither LG nor Sonos seems to be looking into it properly on a larger scale (or if they do, they aren’t communicating it).

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s_blur23

Same exact issue here, PS4 + LG C1 + Beam 2 with Symfonisk Bookshelf surrounds. I've been following this topic for 2 months now hoping for a solution, but since Sonos is showing no sign of solving it I guess I'll add a comment too. I just don't get how this isn't a bigger priority for them? Playing a large portion of Blu-rays on one of the most common TVs is not possible because of this.

I'm just wondering what the most effective way is to let Sonos know how common this issue is. Should I make a separate support ticket for myself?

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schl0p

Lyricist I

I have the same issue. Experiencing audio dropouts repeatedly when playing back an LPCM 5.1 track. My setup consist of an LG C1 + Beam 2 with IKEA Symfonsik rear speakers. As a player I use an Nvidia Shield and a PS5. I’m affected when I play games or when watching a movie via Plex that has a DTS / DTS-HD MA soundtrack (which then gets transcoded to LPCM due to the C1s inability to pass through DTS).

The only thing that sometimes helps to resolve this is unplug the TV, wait for 2 minutes, and then start it again. It’s mind boggling to me that this issue has been reproduced by so many and is not getting fixed or at least acknowledged.

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ste_ms

Enthusiast I

It’s mind boggling to me that this issue has been reproduced by so many and is not getting fixed or at least acknowledged.

I had a playbar and then a Gen 1 beam for many years of faultless performance. I upgraded to the gen 2 beam to get the benefit of eArc and Atmos but Ive spent more time on these forums and elsewhere since then than I have actually enjoying it.

If a TV flashed on and off every minute who would tolerate it? perhaps there are hardware flaws that can’t be fixed? I hope I’m wrong but my next audio purchase is unlikely to be Sonos, a stereo pair of the new HomePods is looking tempting now.

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OmriP

Lyricist III

It’s mind boggling to me that this issue has been reproduced by so many and is not getting fixed or at least acknowledged.

I had a playbar and then a Gen 1 beam for many years of faultless performance. I upgraded to the gen 2 beam to get the benefit of eArc and Atmos but Ive spent more time on these forums and elsewhere since then than I have actually enjoying it.

If a TV flashed on and off every minute who would tolerate it? perhaps there are hardware flaws that can’t be fixed? I hope I’m wrong but my next audio purchase is unlikely to be Sonos, a stereo pair of the new HomePods is looking tempting now.

I wholeheartedly agree. The silence on Sonos’ side is deafening.

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