When my wife and I are watching TV, we are noticing that we are having some difficulty fully understanding what the people in the show are saying. It's as if it's not fully clear or as my wife would describe it, it's a volume issue where the dialogue is being overwhelmed by other sounds perhaps.
It's gotten to the point that we need to turn on sub-titles at times. We don't notice this issue with other TV's/watching TV on a computer, so I think this is isolated to the Sonos playbar.
Also, I've noticed when watching movies that the sound fluctuates a lot, in which in an entire movie I have to hold the remote to adjust the sound up and down. It's like the explosion scenes are way too loud but the speaking scenes are not loud enough so we turn it up to try to hear what they are saying and then something loud happens and it's somewhat jarring to us when we are watching the show.
Is this an acoustics issue? Calibration issue?
We have 1 Playbar, 2 Play 1's as surrounds, the Playbar is wall mounted right beneath our Samsung 55" LED Smart TV.
Sonos Playbar sound issue? Dialogues in movies/shows are not easy to understand fully.
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Samsung TVs should have a PCM setting which outputs 24mbps that will send a clear signal to the SONOS Playbar. Look to see also if the Samsung has a Dolby Digital output. The transmission rate is lower, but should still be nice. If you have the TV outputting "Clear Voice" then the Playbar is processing an oversampled signal which it will then distort and create a problem in your final product. If you are outputting from the TV to the Sonos, you want the TV to be doing zero processing. Another alternative is to hook your source directly to the Sonos. This is ideal if you only have one source (Like an AppleTV or such.) If you have multiple sources, then try to make sure that the TV is sending a pure unprocessed digital signal for the Sonos to equalize. Best of luck. Let me know if you need any further help!
Thanks for the detailed info, TonyDancer! This Samsung TV doesn't have a Dolby Digital output. But your second thought might be just the ticket: I think I could connect my AppleTV directly to the PlayBar (HDMI) — that's 95% of our viewing. And for the occasional DVD I could go from the DVD player straight to the TV and not use the PlayBar.
Hey BradleyK.... (and others)
Samsung TVs should have a PCM setting which outputs 24mbps that will send a clear signal to the SONOS Playbar. Look to see also if the Samsung has a Dolby Digital output. The transmission rate is lower, but should still be nice. If you have the TV outputting "Clear Voice" then the Playbar is processing an oversampled signal which it will then distort and create a problem in your final product. If you are outputting from the TV to the Sonos, you want the TV to be doing zero processing. Another alternative is to hook your source directly to the Sonos. This is ideal if you only have one source (Like an AppleTV or such.) If you have multiple sources, then try to make sure that the TV is sending a pure unprocessed digital signal for the Sonos to equalize. Best of luck. Let me know if you need any further help!
Samsung TVs should have a PCM setting which outputs 24mbps that will send a clear signal to the SONOS Playbar. Look to see also if the Samsung has a Dolby Digital output. The transmission rate is lower, but should still be nice. If you have the TV outputting "Clear Voice" then the Playbar is processing an oversampled signal which it will then distort and create a problem in your final product. If you are outputting from the TV to the Sonos, you want the TV to be doing zero processing. Another alternative is to hook your source directly to the Sonos. This is ideal if you only have one source (Like an AppleTV or such.) If you have multiple sources, then try to make sure that the TV is sending a pure unprocessed digital signal for the Sonos to equalize. Best of luck. Let me know if you need any further help!
Wait!? Does TonyDancer's solution (to change the EQ settings on the TV) work? I'm just about to buy a PlayBar, mostly to improve dialogue clarity for streaming (Netflix, HBO Now, etc.). My Samsung TV offers a "Clear Voice" EQ preset, which I just tried and it does, indeed, clear up the mid-ranges while sacrificing some bass. However, I do not see an option to set the Digital Audio output to RAW, so I am uncertain if the Samsung TV is going to output "Clear Voice." Here's a question: in a TV+PlayBar setup, what is processing the sound — the TV? The PlayBar? Both?
Ok, friends, I have an answer!!! I own an RCA 55" Digital Television. I went in to my TV menu and adjusted the sound settings. I turned Surround Sound to OFF. I turned the Equalizer settings to USER. I adjusted EQ Settings so that the lowest bass is lower, midrange higher and high treble slightly lower. (Basically making a sound wave that I like) Then I set the Digital Audio Output to RAW. The result is CRYSTAL CLEAR SOUND in movies and music from my Sonos system. Use this idea and check the settings in everything that feeds the SONOS so that nothing else but the SONOS is processing the audio signal. THAT, my friends will improve your movie watching experience. Happy viewing!
Plenty of folks are reporting the same problem with voices being unclear. For Sonos to respond with saying there is no reported issue is a little derogatory to the people reporting these issues. Dialog/Voice Enhancements work a little bit to improve the situation, but this setting makes the voices sound thin and artificial, unworthy of a $700 playbar in combination with a $700 sub and $400 worth of Play 1 speakers as surrounds. For the $1800 people spend, adding a simple software setting to raise the volume of the speaker dedicated voices, shouldn't be too much to ask,
I was also unpleasantly surprised that when I hooked up the optical audio from the TV to the playbar, and then the Xbox One to the HDMI input on the TV, this didn't work and after some Googling found that my Sharp Aquos TV is not supported by Sonos. As a workaround, I plugged in the optical audio from the Xbox and changed the Xbox sound output setting to bitstream.
Perhaps this is a reason why the voices are unclear and the volume during 5.1 surround movies seems to get louder, softer, then to muffled...?
I was also unpleasantly surprised that when I hooked up the optical audio from the TV to the playbar, and then the Xbox One to the HDMI input on the TV, this didn't work and after some Googling found that my Sharp Aquos TV is not supported by Sonos. As a workaround, I plugged in the optical audio from the Xbox and changed the Xbox sound output setting to bitstream.
Perhaps this is a reason why the voices are unclear and the volume during 5.1 surround movies seems to get louder, softer, then to muffled...?
Hello, I found a setting in the sonos app today that has solved all of my problems with the ambient sound being too loud.
I went into settings, then room settings then picked my room, then advanced audio, then surround settings. The tv level adjustment was set to max. I reduced that to around the middle and the sound levels are so much better.
This has made a huge difference to me, I hope it helps you guys out m
I went into settings, then room settings then picked my room, then advanced audio, then surround settings. The tv level adjustment was set to max. I reduced that to around the middle and the sound levels are so much better.
This has made a huge difference to me, I hope it helps you guys out m
Like the firat comment said. Speech enhancement worked for me. Had this thing for 6 months before i finally got fed up and googled it haha
Having the exact same issue with dialogue being very difficult to understand. I have tried the aforementioned modes of voice and night mode. No luck. I am thinking I made a bad choice in this system. I have had it about two weeks, may just have to return to Bestbuy. I am running through my Xbox One with the included optical. I was using the optical through my 65 inch Samsung but due to voice delay and at numerous times no voice track and... the Sonos not being able to fix it through the voice setting, I hooked up directly to Xboxone. Now there is voice with sometimes a slight delay, but mostly the poor clarity in the dialogue. It just sounds too low with the background tracks too high. Please update and fix Sonos.
Userlevel 7
+26
HI Marco and Miggs, there isn't a specific "issue" that's identified here. From what we've seen and experienced TV and movie audio usually sounds awesome through the various Sonos configurations possible. We're constantly trying to tweak things to get them even better, but no known issue exists right now that's being looked into with the need for a solution.
As first recommended, if you have trouble separating the audio with the vocals for programs the "Speech Enhancement" mode works wonders usually. If you have a specific problem which comes up a lot we'd love to take a closer look. There may be an issue with a specific type of device or broadcast that hasn't been identified yet, and if that's the case we'd love to find and resolve it.
If you do have trouble that keeps coming up can you please give us a call on our support line and work with a technician to get a closer look into things?
As first recommended, if you have trouble separating the audio with the vocals for programs the "Speech Enhancement" mode works wonders usually. If you have a specific problem which comes up a lot we'd love to take a closer look. There may be an issue with a specific type of device or broadcast that hasn't been identified yet, and if that's the case we'd love to find and resolve it.
If you do have trouble that keeps coming up can you please give us a call on our support line and work with a technician to get a closer look into things?
Userlevel 2
Dear Sonos,
Please work on the improvement of the Playbar Voice quality.
Thanks,
Marco
Please work on the improvement of the Playbar Voice quality.
Thanks,
Marco
Good suggestion Stuart.
Q1 : Do you plan to update Sonos app to fix that ? equalizer, presets ....
Q2 : Is there any other 3rd-party app that would allow more configuration ?
Q3 : Any tricks to disable/workaround the 2nd issue ?
We're constantly trying to improve audio, so yes, you can expect to see changes in the future. We don't share timelines or a roadmap so unfortunately that's about the best information I can offer right now.
On your third question, you could try plugging a headphone jack into the TV and see if that mutes the TV speakers.
Ryan,
His this sound issue with playbar been resolved?
My wife is complaining to me every day about the sound issues and we have to watch tv constantly putting volume up and down.
Userlevel 7
+26
Good suggestion Stuart.
Q1 : Do you plan to update Sonos app to fix that ? equalizer, presets ....
Q2 : Is there any other 3rd-party app that would allow more configuration ?
Q3 : Any tricks to disable/workaround the 2nd issue ?
We're constantly trying to improve audio, so yes, you can expect to see changes in the future. We don't share timelines or a roadmap so unfortunately that's about the best information I can offer right now.
On your third question, you could try plugging a headphone jack into the TV and see if that mutes the TV speakers.
Userlevel 7
+22
I take the opprtunity to emphasize previous posts.
So, two months ago, I replaced my JVC amp (very good job for more than 15 years:P) + 2 classic speakers + chromecast by Sonos playbar.
Unfortunately, I'm facing two important problems :
1.
Exact same sound issue as previous people with TV / movies
Even though sound is quite good for music, it's very painful to get good balance between voices and other sounds for HD TV or movies read from Blueray or PC or PS4...
It seems that no equalizer exists that would workaround the problem.
I tried "night mode" or clear voice options but, as already said in previous posts, it does not solve anything.:(
2.
I cannot disable TV speakers (Panasonic TXP50VT20), it leads to overlapping sounds from TV and playbar with a tiny delay between them
I found a workaround that consists in muting (or decreasing sound until 0) TV sound , BUT when I use TV remote controller to increase playbar sound, TV sound is increased as well, it leads to previous overlapping sound issue :@
So , I still need to have my phone/tablet close to me to adjust playbar sound, very painful again.
Finally,
Q1 : Do you plan to update Sonos app to fix that ? equalizer, presets ....
Q2 : Is there any other 3rd-party app that would allow more configuration ?
Q3 : Any tricks to disable/workaround the 2nd issue ?
Waiting for your feedbacks soon.
Regards,
Alex (missing his amp...)
I highly suggest you give support a call and talk through your specific issues with them
Hello Sonos team,
I take the opprtunity to emphasize previous posts.
So, two months ago, I replaced my JVC amp (very good job for more than 15 years:P) + 2 classic speakers + chromecast by Sonos playbar.
Unfortunately, I'm facing two important problems :
1.
Exact same sound issue as previous people with TV / movies
Even though sound is quite good for music, it's very painful to get good balance between voices and other sounds for HD TV or movies read from Blueray or PC or PS4...
It seems that no equalizer exists that would workaround the problem.
I tried "night mode" or clear voice options but, as already said in previous posts, it does not solve anything.:(
2.
I cannot disable TV speakers (Panasonic TXP50VT20), it leads to overlapping sounds from TV and playbar with a tiny delay between them
I found a workaround that consists in muting (or decreasing sound until 0) TV sound , BUT when I use TV remote controller to increase playbar sound, TV sound is increased as well, it leads to previous overlapping sound issue :@
So , I still need to have my phone/tablet close to me to adjust playbar sound, very painful again.
Finally,
Q1 : Do you plan to update Sonos app to fix that ? equalizer, presets ....
Q2 : Is there any other 3rd-party app that would allow more configuration ?
Q3 : Any tricks to disable/workaround the 2nd issue ?
Waiting for your feedbacks soon.
Regards,
Alex (missing his amp...)
I take the opprtunity to emphasize previous posts.
So, two months ago, I replaced my JVC amp (very good job for more than 15 years:P) + 2 classic speakers + chromecast by Sonos playbar.
Unfortunately, I'm facing two important problems :
1.
Exact same sound issue as previous people with TV / movies
Even though sound is quite good for music, it's very painful to get good balance between voices and other sounds for HD TV or movies read from Blueray or PC or PS4...
It seems that no equalizer exists that would workaround the problem.
I tried "night mode" or clear voice options but, as already said in previous posts, it does not solve anything.:(
2.
I cannot disable TV speakers (Panasonic TXP50VT20), it leads to overlapping sounds from TV and playbar with a tiny delay between them
I found a workaround that consists in muting (or decreasing sound until 0) TV sound , BUT when I use TV remote controller to increase playbar sound, TV sound is increased as well, it leads to previous overlapping sound issue :@
So , I still need to have my phone/tablet close to me to adjust playbar sound, very painful again.
Finally,
Q1 : Do you plan to update Sonos app to fix that ? equalizer, presets ....
Q2 : Is there any other 3rd-party app that would allow more configuration ?
Q3 : Any tricks to disable/workaround the 2nd issue ?
Waiting for your feedbacks soon.
Regards,
Alex (missing his amp...)
Submit a diagnostic to Sonos and report it here.
Sonos Team,
I am a new customer to Sonos. I love the way the music sounds, but as everyone else on this thread has already said, including my wife who complains to me every night about this issue, the TV/Netflix/Movie dialogue is terrible. This issue needs to be resolved. I am surprised that it's been 5 months since the first post and there still isn't a solution in place?
This particular issue is making one of our favorite past times a pain. One of the main reasons we purchased Sonos was to enhance our movie/TV audio experience, not make it worse. I expected more out of a $700 speaker to say the least.
Regards,
Andrew - TX
I am a new customer to Sonos. I love the way the music sounds, but as everyone else on this thread has already said, including my wife who complains to me every night about this issue, the TV/Netflix/Movie dialogue is terrible. This issue needs to be resolved. I am surprised that it's been 5 months since the first post and there still isn't a solution in place?
This particular issue is making one of our favorite past times a pain. One of the main reasons we purchased Sonos was to enhance our movie/TV audio experience, not make it worse. I expected more out of a $700 speaker to say the least.
Regards,
Andrew - TX
Userlevel 7
+20
Hi Jfs,
Thanks for the suggestion of adding a center channel volume control to the PLAYBAR setup. We'll submit a feature request for you.
I still think Sonos should have a SW update that lets you adjust the center channel volume just like a conventional 5.1 system. Sonos please reply to this. This would make the sound bar so much more adaptable for your users!
Userlevel 7
+20
Hi Seanfoy, we'd be happy to help. Can you send us a diagnostic and reply with the confirmation number? Here's an article explaining how: How to Submit Diagnostic
Hi there, thanks for your reply. Here is the confirmation number for the diagnostic 6076467
Hi Seanfoy,
It would be best to continue troubleshooting over the phone. Here's a support ticket: 160411-001431. Please give us a call and we'll help out. You can find our phone number and hours here.
Userlevel 1
Hi Seanfoy, we'd be happy to help. Can you send us a diagnostic and reply with the confirmation number? Here's an article explaining how: How to Submit Diagnostic
Hi there, thanks for your reply. Here is the confirmation number for the diagnostic 6076467
I am not sure if this will help, and I don't have experience with either Android or Chromecast. I do know that when you select a video with multiple tracks on other Plex versions, including AppleTV, FireTV, iOS and web browser, that there is an ability to change the audio track. I assume it is there for Android as well. And of course, that assumes that the video in question actually contains multiple audio tracks.
Userlevel 1
Thanks jdag!
Running the same video via Plex off a laptop is a good way to narrow this down. This is likely a better question for the Plex forums, but do you know how to determine which audio track/encoding is being used while running Plex? I control movies via the Android Plex app, and see under Settings>Video: Device Supports Dolby Digital, Device Support Dolby Digital Plus, and Device support DTS. By default, all are unchecked.
Is "Device" in this case the SmartTV or Playbar?
I'm reading that Sonos/DTS issues are an entirely different, and I assume unrelated, headache.
Running the same video via Plex off a laptop is a good way to narrow this down. This is likely a better question for the Plex forums, but do you know how to determine which audio track/encoding is being used while running Plex? I control movies via the Android Plex app, and see under Settings>Video: Device Supports Dolby Digital, Device Support Dolby Digital Plus, and Device support DTS. By default, all are unchecked.
Is "Device" in this case the SmartTV or Playbar?
I'm reading that Sonos/DTS issues are an entirely different, and I assume unrelated, headache.
Ever0095 - A handful of troubleshooting ideas, some of which may be difficult to set up or at least be time consuming:
1) Connect your computer directly to the TV and run Plex without having to stream.
2) Confirm that you are playing the same audio track when you compare Chromecast vs SmartTV. For example, is 1 defaulting to a stereo track and the other to a Dolby 5.1 track?
3) Connect a laptop (or tablet) with an HDMI cable directly to the TV and stream from your Plex server.
4) Get a hold of an alternate streaming device, such as an AppleTV 4, Roku, and/or FireTV, and stream Plex using that box.
5) Unplug the player and try your Chromecast with the built in TV speakers.
6) Move your Playbar and Chromecast to a different TV and try it there.
Just some thoughts to help you narrow down the issue. Good luck.
1) Connect your computer directly to the TV and run Plex without having to stream.
2) Confirm that you are playing the same audio track when you compare Chromecast vs SmartTV. For example, is 1 defaulting to a stereo track and the other to a Dolby 5.1 track?
3) Connect a laptop (or tablet) with an HDMI cable directly to the TV and stream from your Plex server.
4) Get a hold of an alternate streaming device, such as an AppleTV 4, Roku, and/or FireTV, and stream Plex using that box.
5) Unplug the player and try your Chromecast with the built in TV speakers.
6) Move your Playbar and Chromecast to a different TV and try it there.
Just some thoughts to help you narrow down the issue. Good luck.
Userlevel 1
Hi Seanfoy,
I struck out with Sonos support. I directed them to this thread, they shot me a number of questions that were already answered in this thread, I directed them back to this thread, then dead air. I got the feeling they were running through a script or canned support process.
I've been working to troubleshoot this myself. While I still think Sonos should offer more granular audio adjustments (an advanced mode or similar) to EQ settings, and while I do believe those adjustments could fix our issues, I no longer think my root cause is Sonos-related. I run Plex on a PC in another room, and I connect into that wirelessly via Chromecast. When I access movies via Plex in that way, dialogue is always drowned out. When I access/play those same movies wirelessly via my TV’s built in network file browser (using my Playbar/Sub for audio), the dialogue is clear. Plus my TV’s video player has more helpful/granular audio settings than Sonos (how?!), so I can fine tune it if I’d like.
I haven’t yet determined why PC>Plex>ChromeCast>TV>Sonos sounds like crap and PC>TV>Sonos sounds great. I think it’s unlikely to be ChromeCast, so I’m chasing after a Plex-related solution. Given the large number of Plex/Sonos users out there, perhaps someone else will chime in with an idea.
I struck out with Sonos support. I directed them to this thread, they shot me a number of questions that were already answered in this thread, I directed them back to this thread, then dead air. I got the feeling they were running through a script or canned support process.
I've been working to troubleshoot this myself. While I still think Sonos should offer more granular audio adjustments (an advanced mode or similar) to EQ settings, and while I do believe those adjustments could fix our issues, I no longer think my root cause is Sonos-related. I run Plex on a PC in another room, and I connect into that wirelessly via Chromecast. When I access movies via Plex in that way, dialogue is always drowned out. When I access/play those same movies wirelessly via my TV’s built in network file browser (using my Playbar/Sub for audio), the dialogue is clear. Plus my TV’s video player has more helpful/granular audio settings than Sonos (how?!), so I can fine tune it if I’d like.
I haven’t yet determined why PC>Plex>ChromeCast>TV>Sonos sounds like crap and PC>TV>Sonos sounds great. I think it’s unlikely to be ChromeCast, so I’m chasing after a Plex-related solution. Given the large number of Plex/Sonos users out there, perhaps someone else will chime in with an idea.
Userlevel 6
+3
Hi Seanfoy, we'd be happy to help. Can you send us a diagnostic and reply with the confirmation number? Here's an article explaining how: How to Submit Diagnostic
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