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Sonos Arc Atmos Sound with 20ft ceiling

  • 8 September 2020
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Can Arc deliver Atmos sound in an open room with 20 feet high ceiling? 

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Best answer by melvimbe 10 September 2020, 15:51

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Hi @Kamal Upreti.

Thanks for reaching out, and I’d be glad to help.

First off, Arc has 2 up-firing speakers within it that create vertical channels to bring the immersive, 3D audio experience of Dolby Atmos to Sonos.

You may see our article for more information on playing Dolby Atmos on Sonos and on product features and specs on Arc's product page.

When I did research, I learned that Sonos Arc’s recommended maximum ceiling height is 14’ (feet), therefore, beyond that will impact the Arc’s up-firing speakers.

It’s best to get this verified, and I recommend reaching out to our Sales Team for they may have the specific details to your inquiry and perhaps suggestions as well.

We can also wait for some of the community members that might provide their own opinion about this anytime.

 

Let us know if you have any other questions or concerns, we are always here to help.

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Thanks Annazel. I understand that Dolby recommends maximum ht of 14 ft of Atmos sound but I’ll wait for Sonos community to use it and comment on it. May be one of us has a room similar to mine… :)  

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Hi @Kamal Upreti.

Thanks for your response.

All the best and I am looking forward to hearing from someone in the community too.

Cheers!

You aren’t going to get a good atmos effect with 20’ ceilings, for multiple reasons.  First since the audio will bounce off the ceiling, the audio is traveling over 40’, well more than what the Arc is designed for.  The volume will be reduced and the timing will be off to a point that I’m sure trueplay can’t fix.  It’s really unlikely to even reach the seating area though, as the angles will all be off….unless you’re sitting about 50’ back, which will only make the volume and timing issues that much worse.  Most likely, the atmos signal will end up bounce off the walls a few times before it reaches the seating area, if at all.

It’s going to be difficult to make any atmos setup sound right with that sort of setup.  You would really need to ceiling speakers for atmos at a minimum.

That said, the Arc is a good soundbar even without atmos.

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Thanks Danny, for your honest answer….

Hi,

 

i have a Sonos arc set up with two play gen 2 play 5s and sub. I am trying to figure out if it is possible to get Dolby atmos music to play. I have a subscription to amazon music hd but on the Sonos app, there is no indication of the quality that is streaming. The standalone amazon app shows if it is hd, etc. I would also be happy to get tidal but before I subscribe, I want to make sure that Dolby atmos can be streamed through the Sonos app. 
 

i also read that Sonos may stream Dolby atmos Music if it is done through Apple TV or another streaming device that supports Dolby atmos. I have Apple TV 4K, but I don’t want to play music through that, but rather just through the Sonos app on my iPhone.

 

my question is: Is it possible to get Dolby atmos music through one or another streaming service (amazon, tidal, etc.) THROUGH the Sonos app on the phone? Or is it only possible through a streaming device (like Apple tv 4k)?

 

Thanks,

eugene 

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Hi @team114.

Thanks for reaching out, let me check it for you.

No, you cannot get Dolby Amos audio signal by directly streaming from music services, Arc must be connected through the HDMI port of the TV. You can get Doly Atmos audio when using an app from a smart TV or streaming device.

For reference, here is an article about Sonos Supported audio formats.

 

If you have any other questions or run into any issues,  please do not hesitate to reach out, we’re always here to help.