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upinsmokes
Contributor I
July 12, 2018
Answered

Playing 5.1 mixed music on Sonos home theater

Hi all!

I was wondering if it was possible for the Sonos system (playbar, 2 x ONE , sub ) to properly process music mixed for 5.1 . Pink Floyd DSOTM 5.1 mix for example. Or does it down mix it and just give stereo sound to the front and rear channel (along with frequencies to the sub).
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ratty
rattyAnswer
July 12, 2018
Sonos can't decode 5.1 music files, only stereo. The DD5.1 decode performed by a PLAYBAR operates on a signal arriving via the S/PDIF optical.
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7 replies

Tom526
Tom526
Prominent Collaborator I
July 12, 2018
I'm curious about this too. I assume you have the SACD version?
ratty
rattyAnswer
July 12, 2018
Sonos can't decode 5.1 music files, only stereo. The DD5.1 decode performed by a PLAYBAR operates on a signal arriving via the S/PDIF optical.
Tom526
Tom526
Prominent Collaborator I
July 12, 2018
The DD5.1 decode performed by a PLAYBAR operates on a signal arriving via the S/PDIF optical.
But don't all SACD players have an optical out?
ratty
ratty
July 12, 2018
The DD5.1 decode performed by a PLAYBAR operates on a signal arriving via the S/PDIF optical.
But don't all SACD players have an optical out?
Sure. Plug that into a PLAYBAR and it ought to work.

The OP was about audio files and was tagged as such.
Tom526
Tom526
Prominent Collaborator I
July 12, 2018
The OP was about audio files and was tagged as such.
Ooops! Missed that! Sorry! 😃
inopinatus
inopinatus
Prominent Collaborator I
July 14, 2018
I've been sent 5.1 audio files and my solution was Plex via a Samsung TV -> Playbar. Basically using the Plex server & client + TV as a massively over-engineered audio format converter. Shitty but functioning.

Here's a thought: what happens if you group one Sonos 5.1 system with another? does the master downmix before streaming to the other group member, or do they both play the 5.1 content correctly?
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ratty
ratty
July 14, 2018
Here's a thought: what happens if you group one Sonos 5.1 system with another? does the master downmix before streaming to the other group member, or do they both play the 5.1 content correctly?
The 5.1 content is confined to the PLAYBAR which receives and decodes it. Grouped players receive downmixed stereo. Moreover it's been confirmed that the stream sent to the other players undergoes lossy compression.
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