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Talvish
Enthusiast II
June 21, 2020

Sonos Arc + Samsung Q90T | Sound Cutting Out | Anyone else?

So I recently picked up the Sonos Arc + Sub and a Samsung Q90T TV (which has HDMI 2.1/eArc) and I am experiencing the sound cutting out periodically. Some details:

  • Only devices I can test with are an Xbox One S, Xbox One X and the built-in Samsung TV Apps

  • Sonos, Xboxes and Saumsung are properly set to have Dolby Atmos

  • I have experienced sound cutting out on both Atmos and 5.1 

  • I have experienced sound cutting out from both the Xboxes as well as the built-in Samsung TV Apps (only tested the Netflix app) . . . so I know the Xboxes aren't the issue

  • At times the sound cuts out very infrequently (minutes apart) and other times about every 10 to 20 seconds and there is no discernible pattern on what changes this.

  • There is a sound setting on the TV showing ‘sound output’ that should should normally say ‘Receiver(HDMI-eARC)’ when you have the ‘HDMI eARC Mode’ set to ‘auto’ but sometimes shows ‘Receiver(HDMI)’ instead (as if it lost the eARC signal).

  • The most stable I have seen the sound (though it did cut out once during a 30 to 40 minute session, so perhaps it is just much less likely) is if I go to the Samsung TV settings and set ‘HDMI eARC Mode’ to ‘off’ (only other option is ‘auto’). When doing this Dolby Atmos still works (at least it says so in the Sonos app).

I don't know if this is a Samsung issue, a Sonos issue, or just the two of them working together. Curious if this is some form of eARC / HDMI signaling issue.

Perhaps related side-note: the Samsung settings do say when playing with the settings it may cause temporary muting, which is kind of what this is, so wondering if when in 'auto eArc' mode, there is a problem. Unfortunately there is no way to force on, just 'off' and 'auto'.

On reddit, someone with a Samsung Q80T also said they had this issue. They also mentioned that toggling ‘Dolby Atmos compatibility’ fixed it (though obviously no Atmos). My experience was more temperamental. Sometimes it got better and sometimes it didn’t.

Anyone else experiencing anything like this?

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    98 replies

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    TalvishAuthor
    Enthusiast II
    July 2, 2020

    Of late things have been a bit more stable (meaning between uses it seems to not do the frequent drop-outs) BUT I do commonly get a single drop out during one watching session, usually after 30ish minutes of watching (just estimating).

    Daryl97
    Contributor I
    July 3, 2020

    I have the q95t and I have my Arc wired straight into hdmi 3 (eARC) the Arc only shows the Arc as a HDMI Receiver as opposed to Receiver eARC - I have a horrible audio delay when using Atmos on my Xbox One X and I think a possible fix could be to enable audio pass through on the TV but this is only possible on eARC devices, which for some reason it doesn't seem to think the Arc is.

      danimal442
      Lyricist I
      July 3, 2020

      2020 LG-75NANO90UNALG + Sonos ARC here. I’m experiencing similar behavior. When I have eARC enabled in the sound settings, I get the audio dropout randomly. I’ve got a really simple setup and am only using the TV->ARC for audio, no sub yet (back-ordered). I have a 3’ HDMI 2.2 cable connecting the two. If I disable the eARC function in the TV sound settings, I don’t experience the issue (* or at least I haven’t yet). Given this forum seems to showing it’s happening with both Samsung and LG TV’s can we safely say this is a Sonos issue?

      Tomnd
      Contributor I
      July 4, 2020

      I am getting this on the LG CX, with arc (+surrounds and sub). I notice with Dolby digital plus it cuts out a few times at start of a tv show and then is fine till the end. Then when another ep starts, it happens all over again. 
       

      i was just watching a Dolby atmos film and it cuts out every 20 seconds or so. 
       

      When watching something with Dolby pcm 2.0 it’s fine, no issues. 
       

      i previously had a Beam with the same setup and no issues at all. 

      DonkeyKong15
      Lyricist I
      July 5, 2020

      Samsung Q90T with Arc connected via eARC HDMI connection. Same issue here as well. Very random, usually when TV is first turned on. Sometimes it’s fine, sometimes it cuts out on and off for random periods of time. I’ve tried changing inputs, settings, HDMI cords, apps, used Samsung TV and Apple TV 4K and when the issue is occurring, it occurs no matter what I’m using or doing. As random as it starts, it just randomly ends as well. I have not unplugged the Arc power cord and plugged it back in but will try that if it happens again. Very annoying issue to say the least. Once it starts working, it’ll be fine for hours and hours for me and will only happen again once I turn the TV off and then turn it back on later on or the next morning (or sometimes is fine). 

      Tomnd
      Contributor I
      July 5, 2020

      So I have found with my LG Cx there is a digital sound out option where you can choose from PCM, Passthrough and Auto.
       

      Choosing Auto seems to pass Dolby multi-channel pcm 5.1 for most tv and movies on Netflix, prime etc and Atmos when the show/movie supports that.

       

      Been using that all day and not had any cut outs. I am not a sound buff, so no idea if pcm is better or worse...

      Realtonytones
      Lyricist I
      July 8, 2020

      We seem to be having the same issue with our Samsung Q800T and Sonos Arc. Diagnostic sent 55511649. Can anybody help?

      TalvishAuthor
      Enthusiast II
      July 8, 2020

      @Realtonytones, I’ve been communicating in another thread with a Sonos rep. See here:  https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/intermittent-audio-from-sonos-arc-to-samsung-qe65q95t-6843249?postid=16452439#post16452439

       

      At this point, for me, I can generally confirm nearly every 30 minutes I will get a quick drop out. I sent in diagnostics for the latest two. Not sure why it is so regular. Others seem to have more random issues (which is what I had before, though I have not forced a power cycle on the Arc since it get into this state, so perhaps if I did it would be behave differently upon restart).

      David_367
      Contributor I
      July 9, 2020

      Same issue here with Arc and a Samsung QN65Q80T.  Very frustrating and hope there is a resolution possible.  Will submit diagnostics to Sonos next time it happens.

      10CentVincent
      Lyricist III
      July 9, 2020

      I just got my Samsung Q90T and Sonos Arc up and running two days ago.  I am also experiencing the audio drop out.  Like others have said, going into Sound Expert Settings and changing the eArc from Auto to Off then back to Auto gets the sound going again.  It has mainly been noticed when the TV is turned on, but I also noticed it when trying to tweak the sound settings to get Dolby Atmos from the Netflix (4K subscription) and Amazon Prime Apps installed on the TV.  That is another issue but I feel like venting…. 

       

      I have found through the Sonos App that I can only get Dolby PCM 5.1 with the installed TV apps even if the content is delivered with the Atmos signal.  I found this in the Samsung Q90T manual:  “Dolby Atmos - You can set the TV to allow Dolby Digital+ with Atmos streams that are input from external devices.”  The key words being EXTERNAL DEVICES.  Therefore it is my assumption that I must purchase an External Device to get the full Atmos experience from my 2020 Samsung Q90T and Sonos Arc.  I am getting a 4K Apple TV to validate this tomorrow, but I would love to hear if anyone else can validate this on the Samsung (or LG so if it works on the LG I can hate myself even more for buying Samsung)...

       

      And the sound cutting out is just absurd.  Something has to give. Since we are seeing this with multiple TV models I’m starting the think this particular issue is with the Sonos Arc and not the TV...

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