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PS5/SONOS ARC/X900. lpcm not loud enough

  • 4 December 2020
  • 34 replies
  • 2005 views
F

Lpcm sound is considerably quieter than Dolby Digital plus 5.1 or other modes, annoying

 Is that normal or not?

Or maybe work in progress?

Is lpcm the best option for my setup , gaming on ps5?

Thanks everyone for helping in advance

Peace 

Dawid

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Best answer by Rowena B. 8 December 2020, 21:03

​Hi @Flaku, 

Welcome to the Sonos community and thanks for reaching out to us. Let me share some information to help you out. 

LCPM ​is an uncompressed audio format that provides high-quality audio to our eARC supported home theater devices. It supports up to 8 channels (5.1 and 7.1 surrounds are the most common). Getting audio depends on the physical source device playing the content and the format or output must be set to one of our supported home theater audio formats. Some players and game consoles use DTS audio format which is not supported by Sonos. Some have the ability to transcode DTS into a format that Sonos supports, such as Dolby Digital 5.1. You may also check this article about unsupported audio on home theater speakers for reference.

To take a look at your Sonos system, it would be great if you can submit a diagnostic and include the confirmation number in your response. I'd appreciate it too if you can provide us the make and model of your TV so that we can look up the information.

If you need help with any other information, please be sure to let us know. We’ll wait for your reply.

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34 replies

Rowena B.
Userlevel 5
Badge +16

​Hi @Flaku, 

Welcome to the Sonos community and thanks for reaching out to us. Let me share some information to help you out. 

LCPM ​is an uncompressed audio format that provides high-quality audio to our eARC supported home theater devices. It supports up to 8 channels (5.1 and 7.1 surrounds are the most common). Getting audio depends on the physical source device playing the content and the format or output must be set to one of our supported home theater audio formats. Some players and game consoles use DTS audio format which is not supported by Sonos. Some have the ability to transcode DTS into a format that Sonos supports, such as Dolby Digital 5.1. You may also check this article about unsupported audio on home theater speakers for reference.

To take a look at your Sonos system, it would be great if you can submit a diagnostic and include the confirmation number in your response. I'd appreciate it too if you can provide us the make and model of your TV so that we can look up the information.

If you need help with any other information, please be sure to let us know. We’ll wait for your reply.

Help others find useful content by clicking the like button and selecting the best answer to your question.
P
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Same here. Since day 1 after the LPCM update. LPCM audio is way lower than Dolby digital 5.1 or Atmos. I'm sure it's a bug , many people have the same issue. Just to let you know I'm using Sony A9G tv on ps5 and Xbox series X . Sonos team need to look into this. 

F

i can switch to dolby digital plus 5.1 -wgich works fine 

is that the sonos arc ? sony x9000h? or ps5?

which one is it 

and which setup is recomnded to get best possible quality audio?

hdmi 2.1 used , ps5 straight to hdmi 2.1 tv, then from earc to sonos arc.

 

F

is multichanel 7.1 best can i get on ps5?

arc+sub+ 2Xgen5

sony x9000h

ps5

?

please advise

P
Badge

You don't want to set to 7.1 as Sonos Arc with sub is a 5.1.2 set up

F

Plus 2 play 5 /ps5

Which audio is best i can get to ps5?

atmos on streaming services working Fine.

P
Badge

Use LPCM

F

7.1 ?

But the volume will be lower

J

I can confirm, LPCM does indeed come through softer, both through the arc, and any associated surrounds.

@Rowena B., along those lines, has there been any investigation into the arc down-mixing 7.1 sources to 5.1? I have seen this issue previously with Dolby TrueHD (7.1), but the same can be extended to LPCM. The result is no sound is being emitted when the source sends audio to the 6th and 7th channels (which don’t exist on the arc, and would require the aforementioned down-mixing).

It can be easily reproduced if you output audio to the 6th and 7th channels, respectively. This can be done via a traditional source (Blu-ray player, NVIDIA Shield, etc.), or via a program like REW (Room EQ Wizard).

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

This is an issue with The Arc I believe. Because the apple tv also treats the arc as a multichannel 7.1 and sends audio that way. Which results in low dialog and weird surround performance and even lipsync issues for me…

 

On the PS5, you can change your source to a AV reiceiver and force it to 5.1 multichannel which I believe fixes this.

But the Arc should tell the sources that it can only handle 5.1 not 7.1 not sure why we would ever get 7.1 onto the arc if it cant handle it and it doesnt seem to be downmixing it.

D
Userlevel 1

I can confirm that even if you change the PS5 settings to AV receiver and force it to 5.1 multichannel the low volume of LPCM is still there. The sounds are coming out of the right speakers. Just low volume. Change the PS5 setting to Dolby and there is a noticeable difference in volume.

Not sure what the solution is here. 

 

F

So for now is best to use DD+ 5.1 I assume(for playing)?

But who is at fault ,Sonos ,Sony ps5 or Sony tv, that is question?

Hmm 

Annoying ,will have to be patient now and just wait, I feel like a beta tester IMHO

 

D
Userlevel 1

I should clarify. My TV is a LG C9 with the latest updates. So it isn’t a TV issue. Unless it is a common issue amongst all TV’s which I doubt. 

T

Same here with a Sonos Beam soundbar, using optical out from TV (Samsung KS8000). LPCM is much softer than Bitstream (Dolby). 

 

For now I've just set the PS5 to audio format priority to Dolby but Sonos needs to fix LPCM. Doesn't make sense that it's quieter.

F

Sonos please fix it

T
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

While a Blu-ray is being played on the PS5 press the options button on the PS5 controller. Select the three dots. Select Dynamic range control - turn to Off.  Also try Audio Format - from LPCM to Bitstream.  

The PS5 cannot decode Dolby Atmos when playing back Blu-rays when LPCM is selected(it is the default), you will need to use Bitstream in the Blu-ray hidden menu like above to get Atmos. Also with Dynamic range set to auto (by default) it will act like “Night mode” similar to our Sonos systems. 

While you are in there turn off noise reduction if you like all the fine details / film grain the movie producers added in. 

 

I ask only users with PS5’s to try these settings. I do not own the x900 TV but a LG c9 with the full Arc surround set up. It is worth trying bitstream, see what it says in the Sonos app and how it sounds to your ears. 

A
Userlevel 1

You don't want to set to 7.1 as Sonos Arc with sub is a 5.1.2 set up

Even with 2 rears?

I have the arc and 2 rears (no sub) so technically a 7.0.2 setup. When I set the ps5 to lpcm 7.1, I still hear missing channels at the rear when panning the camera in a game and sound transitions from rear left to rear right. There is a gap of silence in between. 

G
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

The Arc and two surrounds is still a 5.0.2 setup. 

A 7.1 soundtrack is backwards compatible with a 5.1 system. The four surround channels are just mixed into the two rear surround channels.

 

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
R
Badge

Did Sonos ever acknowledge the muffledvolume for multi-channel PCM following the December 2020 update?

V

I can confirm that even if you change the PS5 settings to AV receiver and force it to 5.1 multichannel the low volume of LPCM is still there. The sounds are coming out of the right speakers. Just low volume. Change the PS5 setting to Dolby and there is a noticeable difference in volume.

Not sure what the solution is here. 

 

Same here. 

V

I have a Ps5/lgcx/Sonos arc/sub/2 sl ones with the ps5 connected to the tv and then the tv connected to the arc using hdmi 2.1. I am experiencing the same behavior where I have to change lpcm to Dolby bitstream otherwise I will get a muffled sound. Now what is interesting is that when I watch a Blu-ray on my PS five then I can use LPCM and I managed to get Dolby atmos with a movie like “mad max”. Granted I also have to set the audio to lpcm inside the movie app as well. Tbh the whole lack of support of the ps5 for Dolby vision and Dolby atmos in games is a mess but that is a topic for a different day. 

V

Did Sonos ever acknowledge the muffledvolume for multi-channel PCM following the December 2020 update?

Doesn’t seem like it. For now i am using the Dolby stream option. But agreed it needs to be fixed as this is embarrassing for a system that costs a fortune. 

V

I have a Ps5/lgcx/Sonos arc/sub/2 sl ones with the ps5 connected to the tv and then the tv connected to the arc using hdmi 2.1. I am experiencing the same behavior where I have to change lpcm to Dolby bitstream otherwise I will get a muffled sound. Now what is interesting is that when I watch a Blu-ray on my PS five then I can use LPCM and I managed to get Dolby atmos with a movie like “mad max”. Granted I also have to set the audio to lpcm inside the movie app as well. Tbh the whole lack of support of the ps5 for Dolby vision and Dolby atmos in games is a mess but that is a topic for a different day. 

Correction. I also have to choose bistream option under the blueray player to get Dolby atmos. 

Snorf
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Just adding a “me too” to the thread.

This is the same for me on Xbox Series X, that is - LPCM 5.1 uncompressed is noticeably quieter (and seems less dynamic/wide?) than converting to Bitstream Dolby Digital 5.1.  Either way, at least multichannel (5.1) signal is being passed, but it is strange.

G

I'm adding a me too as well. I would really like this issue fixed

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