+4
I read a rumor somewhere that Sonos intends to issue a firmware update for the Arc that would allow for a volume slider in the S2 App to independently control the volume of the height channels (upfiring drivers) on the Arc. Can someone please confirm if they have knowledge of or have heard that is true. Thanks in advance
Best answer by Corry P
View original
+4
Does increasing the volume to the height channels apply more wattage to the upfiring drivers?
+4
And can you only increase the volume of the height channels when listening to Atmos? Do they only play with Atmos?
For example - Dolby aAtmos movies from Netflix , into arc and my Sonos 2 app status tv (in black and white) movie watching “ Dolby Atmos “ sound .
Faulty Tower, Black adder, vicar of Diby, etc… just to name a few
None of those listed were recorded in Dolby Atmos, or frankly any 5.1 signal, just stereo, at best, and possibly mono. It’s possible that they’re sending that mono/stereo signal encoded in a Dolby Atmos signal, but you’d still be receiving stereo channels, and nothing at all would be in the height or surround speakers.
Faulty Tower, Black adder, vicar of Diby, etc… just to name a few
None of these titles are available on Netflix for me to test.
Although I did test Monty Python’s Personal Best on Netflix which is in stereo, and I could hear the music in the introduction through my surround speakers.
That’s precisely the point
That is why a system the can make it sound like surround is called Virtual surround function by a device and by DTS/ DTS-X
I know The senhiser atmos unit can do this and also by LG and Samsung’s Dolby Atmos Soundbar where it plays non 5.1 including Mono transmission into virtual surround by thier units . So please understand I not asking fir the impossible
I cam see you have not taken the effort or to read and understand my thread history (on this post history here. Please take that effort and do some research too before answering
Please kindly only reply if you have professional and technical understanding and answers to the solution or recommendation for Sonos team.
Thank you
FYI… I watch YouTube videos in stereo all of the time. I always hear audio playing out of my surround speakers when watching YouTube videos.
I don’t know why you’re mentioning Monty Payton , never said any this about it, in fact Netflix has enhance its sound to HD 1.5 ( if had bothered to check this info if you looked careful on the top right of of the Netflix steen )
GuitatSuperstar please do don’t advice me / reply to any to me from now on with useless and unprofessional answers . I will not be reading any more of your post , you will be waiting your tome or any others who give any such
+18
Hi
Does increasing the volume to the height channels apply more wattage to the upfiring drivers?
Yes - Wattage is Voltage multiplied by Current (Amps), and as the voltage goes up (it’s the voltage variance that “draws” the sound waveform), so does the wattage (it’s not quite this simple, but close enough).
And can you only increase the volume of the height channels when listening to Atmos? Do they only play with Atmos?
Also yes - without an Atmos stream playing, there are no vertical channels.
Good point - will test it and revert back
Good point - will test it and revert back
Remember that vertical sound is like the rear speakers on a surround array. Sound designers on films use these channels sparingly and subtly. They don't want it to be obvious or distracting. Atmos is too rare still and a sound designer would never put a key sound effect in a channel that few people would hear. Atmos effects are the gargoyles on the cathedral.
Triple-A video games might ultimately be a better showpeice for Atmos technology because designers can attach a sound effect to an object within the 3D environment and then link the audio to the object's position, relative to your avatar. Allowing for instance a screeching vulture to circle above you on an audio track and fly into the distance when you shoot at it.
In terms of getting the most out of your Sonos Arc- the effect is somewhat dependent on your room.
One of the reasons I couldn't hear the Atmos effect very well is because I have a small living room in a multi-unit building and I have never been able to turn my Arc much above 20% volume. The up-firing speakers don't really come into their own until you get to 35-40%. In my space those soundwaves get overwhelmed by and lost within the other channels' soundwaves pinging around the room.
The new height volume control does seem to enhance the effect for me. Now I can keep my overall volume low whilst delivering more from the up-firing speakers so that they remain discreet sounds.
I also found that turning the loudness feature off improved the effect. The bass can drown out subtlety. (Noting that I also have a Sonos Sub- which again- is probably too much sound for my little urban flat).
Thanks for that advice and you have pointed out the true and logical the working factors of Dolby atoms. FYI - My room size is an average size dimensions (L4.5 x W3.5 X H 2.25) a dedicated TV room with a L shape cloth sofa + one side side manufactured wood shelf cabinet. No other clutters , So should enjoy all the should as transmitted. Sonos arc is on true play , TV is a Dolby atoms vision and Dolby atoms sound TV, Sonos arc + 1x latest sub 3, 2x Sonos one rear speakers .
FYI - when comparing with My neighbor with has a the same room and size TV room with similar furniture , however using a Nad T787 av system with 7 speakers , I.e 1x centre speaker, 1x sub , 2x front , 2x front dedicated upward firing speakers placed on top of the 2 front speakers ( both these upward firing speakers are in the same angled as the Sonos upward speakers as on the arc . 2x rear speaks (not upward firing ) hence the system is the same format as my Sonos theatre set up , however the neighbors upward firing speakers the sound out of it is very evident all the time and it’s volume is change to min and max can be heard all the time even when we both compared playing the same Dolby atoms movies . So this is puzzling indicates the arc up-firing does not work to gives the same technically . ( I am comparing like to like technically)
hope this will help the Sonos technical team to improve
Regards
Yes we all know that
We expect some intelligent feedback and discussion on the forum unlike “guitarsuperstar”
I am not sure any soundbar will ever be quite as good as dedicated speakers from a high-end amplifier. Soundbars are designed for convenience.
The NAD T787 amplifier alone is 3-4 times the price of the Sonos Arc (which is one of the most expense soundbars on the market).
I don’t know why you’re mentioning Monty Payton , never said any this about it, in fact Netflix has enhance its sound to HD 1.5 ( if had bothered to check this info if you looked careful on the top right of of the Netflix steen )
GuitatSuperstar please do don’t advice me / reply to any to me from now on with useless and unprofessional answers . I will not be reading any more of your post , you will be waiting your tome or any others who give any such
He explained why. I would have helped as well except for circumstances. Glad I didn't.
Yes I agree - Gals you don’t , ( it clearly states it is in HD 5.1, so logic to answer that to say it works )
( one (me) had checked all these these titles and hence mentioned tiles that don’t work, so need to reply to that if one can , and not to side track and waste everyone’s time shutting back and forth with pointless unrelated
Please kindly do not reply with unnecessarily
It won’t be replied or read
Kind Regards
When the volume slider for the height channels are increased to a +10 are they significantly louder than the other drivers in the Arc?
Yes! Up to about +5 the height channels blend in with the other channels, at +7 it becomes noticeable that height is louder than the rest and +10 the height channels overpower the other channels.
My question is what is correct? What does dolby reccomend, should height channels blend in, be louder or be overpowered??
And my ceiling is 9ft
Back to the original topic…
With the added ability to control the height audio levels on the Arc and how it has dramatically improved the height effect with Dolby Atmos audio, I decided to get a trial subscription on Tidal ($2 for two months). Listening to old songs with a new Dolby Atmos mix is a pretty great experience. You hear parts of the song you have never heard before. It reminds me of the first time I listened to Dark Side of the Moon in 5.1 and quad mixes on Blu-ray. It completely changed the way I listen to music. Now I wish all music was mixed in 5.1 and Dolby Atmos.
Ok I got the answer.
according to the official Dolby Atmos installation guide, the Height sound level should be at the same perceived sound pressure level at your seated position as the other channels are.
so that means the Height channel should not be so loud that it overpowers the others.
but it's hard to get the right level you need some specific Atmos content to do this and finding the right sound in a movie is hard.
luckily I came across this, it's a 5.1.2 Atmos system setup test file https://www.heimkino-atmos.de/.cm4all/uproc.php/0/Trailer/Dolby%20Atmos/dolby-test-tones_5_1_2.mp4?_=15dddc34420&cdp=a
you download and play it, it will make individual sounds slowly from each channel - it gives more than enough time to play with the volume sliders and the goal is to achieve the same or similar sound to your ears from each channel.
for me that ended up being +5 on the height channel volume slider, I also did -2 on the surround volume slider because it was louder than the other channels due to being closer to my ears than others
The principle of what is suppose to do must be the same ( and Sonos kit is not cheap , and by the tome you get the full kit as stated not fat off to the NAD + kit)
I’ve settled on +3 for height and -5 for surrounds for now.
+4 on my set made the vertical sounds more pronounced but artificially so in my perception. +3 is more balanced
Back to the original topic…
With the added ability to control the height audio levels on the Arc and how it has dramatically improved the height effect with Dolby Atmos audio, I decided to get a trial subscription on Tidal ($2 for two months). Listening to old songs with a new Dolby Atmos mix is a pretty great experience. You hear parts of the song you have never heard before. It reminds me of the first time I listened to Dark Side of the Moon in 5.1 and quad mixes on Blu-ray. It completely changed the way I listen to music. Now I wish all music was mixed in 5.1 and Dolby Atmos.
How did you get atmos music to the Arc? Phone app wouldn’t work since Airplay doesn’t support Atmos at present. Did you use a TV app or something?
https://support.tidal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360004255778-Dolby-Atmos-Music
With the help of GuitarSuperstar on another thread, I ‘found’ the night slider I didn’t know existed and had a play today. In the absence of any proper test files to hand I picked a source I know to be ATMOS (confirmed in the app) and went about a rather clumsy but ultimately fruitful way of setting up the upward sections (eventually).
Because you don’t actually completely know when the speakers are active, by playing demo media from the LG Dolby app on my CX55 whilst sliding the adjustment left to right repeatedly and fairly quickly you soon find sections with height in them. You can hear it relating to your finger movement quite distinctly when they occur and there is LMP difference when the signals aren’t present. By then nudging the media back (remember DVD loop functions? I miss them!) and repeating the section you can hear has it, you can get a feel for what it’s doing. By doing the same with various sources, I found that for a subtle effect rather than an overly dominant one, about +3 worked for me and I then tested with things I know more. Obviously, nobody’s settings will be the same as mine but the process works. I’ll probably repeat the slider approach again a few times this week and ensure I’m happy where I am with it. You look a bit daft sliding the feature back and forth, especially on an iPad, but it worked for me after pondering how I might be sure I was listening to actual upward intended media sections.
I’ll also try some of the test tone links shared too instead of my rather rudimentary approach above. Thanks for these.
Enter your username or e-mail address. We'll send you an e-mail with instructions to reset your password.
