Skip to main content
Collaborator II
Jul 21, 2018 9:15 PM UTC

Sonos Beam DD5.1 problem

Have just the beam, no other speakers butwatching 5.1 sources isn’t so good. Stereo is great. But 5.1 seems to have ridiculously low volume for some frequencies or channels.

The example I give is watching Dunkirk in 4K HDR via Rakuten. In 5.1 the start of the movie is silent until you put your ear right next to the beam. You can’t hear the paper rustling in the wind at all. Or the background music a bit later. It’s in the mix but so low you can’t hear without turning the volume way too high.

Same with amazing Spider-Man via UHD player and some films on sky hd. Some parts of the mix are so loud but others so quiet they essentially aren’t even there.

Stereo seems ok generally. But obviously I’d far prefer DD 5.1 even though it is downmixed. My old soundbar had no issue with dd5.1 from these sources.

By the way I should add that the sound is awesome when the loud channels kick in but too quiet the rest of the time. General TV and music both superb, so I think this is a software issue more than anything, but I’m no expert.
This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

25 replies

Trending Lyricist I
Aug 6, 2018 11:48 AM UTC
is the old sound a sonos? which?
did you trie optical? with ARC i have no good experience.

i recommend you to get in touch with sonos support by phone / mail as i did.
its very hard with sonos support to show the proof, since Version 9 i have this volume issue.
last comment, its normal that action movies have this balance fo volume in action / music scene, yes but not this extreme it is now with version 9. and maybe its wanted...

to be honest, i give up for an solution and it was my last product, will sell it.
its also a shame there is no fallback to older version in case new version causes such a big issue.

my ticket will be forwared to devs with a movie where you can hear the volume fluctuation and also the audio source so they can compare in the lab between version 8.6 and 9.

but i have no good feeling for the feedback, but lets see.
Translate
iwb100Author
Collaborator II
Aug 6, 2018 2:32 PM UTC
is the old sound a sonos? which?
did you trie optical? with ARC i have no good experience.

i recommend you to get in touch with sonos support by phone / mail as i did.
its very hard with sonos support to show the proof, since Version 9 i have this volume issue.
last comment, its normal that action movies have this balance fo volume in action / music scene, yes but not this extreme it is now with version 9. and maybe its wanted...

to be honest, i give up for an solution and it was my last product, will sell it.
its also a shame there is no fallback to older version in case new version causes such a big issue.

my ticket will be forwared to devs with a movie where you can hear the volume fluctuation and also the audio source so they can compare in the lab between version 8.6 and 9.

but i have no good feeling for the feedback, but lets see.


My old soundbar was a Samsung. I guess it hard processing options on it like DRC that I used that perhaps mitigated the issue. But like you say we know that producers nowadays deliberately mix movies to have loud sound effects. It is a common complaint. BUT the Beam is in a new league in this regard, the difference is so crazy. I can't but help feel it is something the beam is doing itself.

My reason is that some stuff sounds fine on it in DD5.1. Other content however, parts of the sound are virtually inaudible and parts are so loud it hurts. I don't know a lot about it and did wonder if my TV was somehow sending a stereo signal even though it passes DD 5.1 via ARC, but seems that isn't the case.

I'm happy with my beam, I love it and using stereo isn't a huge issue, however, I would like Sonos just to look at it, as it seems many people have the same issue. I have a 2 year old so I cannot risk the volume being too loud when she is asleep. Night mode is fine for casual viewing but for movies it is no good. And I'd be happy listening at low volume if only that meant I could still hear dialogue!
Translate
Trending Lyricist I
Oct 13, 2018 9:37 PM UTC
Hi iwb100 - I'm unsure if you continued to diagnose you're issue, but I seem to have the same one. I have been documenting my investigations in a separate thread here:

https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/quiet-muddy-sound-dd5-1-through-beam-6813950/index1.html#post16275356

It's possible I'm just going to switch the TV output to PCM and live with it, but that just doesn't seem 'right'. I am getting close to declaring it a TV issue, but we have different TV's, which points me back at Sonos and the Beam processing the DD5.1 signal. Would love to know your thoughts
Translate
iwb100Author
Collaborator II
Oct 15, 2018 8:39 AM UTC
Hi iwb100 - I'm unsure if you continued to diagnose you're issue, but I seem to have the same one. I have been documenting my investigations in a separate thread here:

https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/quiet-muddy-sound-dd5-1-through-beam-6813950/index1.html#post16275356

It's possible I'm just going to switch the TV output to PCM and live with it, but that just doesn't seem 'right'. I am getting close to declaring it a TV issue, but we have different TV's, which points me back at Sonos and the Beam processing the DD5.1 signal. Would love to know your thoughts


Hi Benjmang - I've not got any further other than being 100% sure it is my TV and not the sonos. I can easily confirm this as if I watch the same content using apps through my xbox as opposed to the internal apps, the sound is absolutely fine in 5.1.

It is only DD5.1 signals from TV internal apps that are the issue - and not always. And the issue is that the voices are too quiet - way too quiet in fact the centre channel is impossible to hear at normal volume. And everything else like the bass and effects are too loud. Nothing is distorted it is just the volumes are awful. Not sure if our issues are exactly the same or not but they sound at least similar.

We both have OLED TV's so I'm wondering if there is a chip in the sets in common that encodes the DD5.1. But given they are using different OS' (LG/Panasonic) I find it hard to believe. Sure the screens themselves are both manufactured by LG but presumably everything else is separate.If there is a link I'm at a loss. Unless of course it is to do with the Beam itself but then given I can get perfect 5.1 sound simply by changing the encoding source I very much doubt that is the case.

My workaround btw is to select dolby digitial 2.0 for the apps internal to the TV (though Amazon video doesn't let you do this) and that produces perfect sound.
Translate
Trending Lyricist I
Nov 29, 2018 2:07 PM UTC
Has anyone managed to sort this? Everything sounds great expect voice volume level in dolby digital 5.1. It's very poor. So much so I'm thinking of returning.
Translate
Trending Lyricist I
Nov 29, 2018 7:05 PM UTC
You have the same issue andrew89? What TV do you have? I simply haven’t been able to find time to call SONOS during office hours, or run a last test. I was thinking of grabbing an optical cable and connecting it to an Apple TV, then watch exactly the same show from Netflix through Apple TV as I have from Netflix straight from the TV. This will properly rule out the actual TV being the source of the problem.... then I’ll still have to contact SONOS during office hours somehow 😞
Translate
Trending Lyricist I
Nov 29, 2018 7:46 PM UTC
You have the same issue andrew89? What TV do you have? I simply haven’t been able to find time to call SONOS during office hours, or run a last test. I was thinking of grabbing an optical cable and connecting it to an Apple TV, then watch exactly the same show from Netflix through Apple TV as I have from Netflix straight from the TV. This will properly rule out the actual TV being the source of the problem.... then I’ll still have to contact SONOS during office hours somehow :(

Hi yes I am I'm in contact with them now. More people who speak to them about it they may do something. Its only low dialogue in dolby digital 5.1. It's definitely not the TV. It's the Sonos and how they are doing 5.1. Certain of it. I have a Panasonic TX55FZ802B
Translate
Trending Lyricist I
Nov 30, 2018 11:01 PM UTC
I have the same TV (I think, but Australian model). I am still suspicious that some shows are streaming with a DD+ signal, which the Beam doesn’t support, so the TV actually downsamples to DD5.1 through HDMI ARC and might not be doing a great job. I have no idea how to know what audio format shows are on Netflix though...

Check out this thread:
https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/sonos-beam-how-to-get-netflix-5-1-6809086
Translate
Contributor I
Dec 1, 2018 12:54 AM UTC
Hi, I've just bought a beam, 2xplay 1's and a sub. Watching a movie and have the same issue with dialogue being so low then action loud as hell !! I dont have a tv so im using a projector with the optical straight from sky Q box. I read some of the threads so don't think its your tv's !! Has anyone found out an answer ?? Also cant even tune speakers with trueplay, downloaded app to ipod, both updates are the latest. Any ideas ?? So disappointed with my sonos purchase !! Any help would be much appreciated, cheers !
Translate
Contributor I
Dec 1, 2018 12:55 AM UTC
Also not using Arc as no tv
Translate