Sonos Playbar sound issue? Dialogues in movies/shows are not easy to understand fully.

Keith - two points. a) it''s via Netflix, and b) how do I change the email address associated with my log-in profile here ie AdrianSyd (I have tried but can't seem to see how....)? Thanks.

Understood. Is Netflix an app on your TV or is this from an AppleTV/Roku? Is the PLAYBAR connected to the TV directly or does it go through another device like an optical switcher?

I can handle the email log in situation. send me a PM with the email address you want it changed to and I'll get you sorted.

It's from AppleTV and the PLAYBAR connected to the TV directly. Thanks.

That is certainly odd. Is it possible that the TV is processing the audio before sending the audio to the PLAYBAR? Are there any audio settings on the TV that could delay the signal? At this point, it may be easier and a better use of your time to give our support technicians a call to troubleshoot this in real time.

Hi, I just want to add my issues to this thread. I am having the same problems and to be specific. I have to watch every movie with my remote in my hand. During normal scenes with actors talking I need to turn the volume up to hear them. As soon as there is an action scene I am blown off the coach. There is no way to regulate this. I have tried all the tips in this thread such as night mode and speech enhancement nothing works. No real difference at all. Watching a movie used to be one of my most relaxing moments of the day or week but it has become a sheer frustration for the last 8 months. I cannot enjoy my setup anymore because of the sonos playbar.

My setup is as follows : TV is lg65sj8500. The media whether Netflix Amazon or plex is streamed from a roku ultra 2017. I believe the latest model. The TV is connected to the playbar via optical cable all the audio settings on the TV are turned off. I am currently only using the playbar. I have 2 extra play 1s that I intend to hook up behind the couch to create a more surround sound but have not done so yet as I also saw a lot of folks on this thread that already have that but still have that issue

Please help resolve this as I am really ready to sell my 2 playbars and 5 other sonos speakers in the house. I am so frustrated with this. I ran a diagnostics report just now while watching transformers. Same frustration but here is the number. 2087474887

Please help resolve this as I am really ready to sell my 2 playbars and 5 other sonos speakers in the house. I am so frustrated with this. I ran a diagnostics report just now while watching transformers. Same frustration but here is the number. 2087474887

Hi Asaweli

Sorry to hear that you are having issues with your Playbar or Playbars; as you say you have two. Typically I don’t mention an ISP but since you seem to be streaming a lot of your video I have a couple of questions:

Is streaming over Wi-Fi or via Ethernet to your Roku?

If over Wi-Fi you could be experiencing interference internally and/or externally. The primary Wi-Fi channels are 1, 6, and 11. You can download a Wi-Fi analyzer to see if the channel you are currently using (which is probably 6) has a lot of traffic and select one of the others.

Also, if using Wi-Fi Direct for your Playbar be sure you are using the 2.4Ghz frequency

Last if you haven’t done so already I suggest a Dual Band router (2.4 Ghz and 5Ghz). It will allow you to move traffic to the 5Ghz frequency such as cell phones, baby monitors, security cameras, and products like Amazon Echo or Google Home which can improve Wi-Fi throughput on the 2.4 Ghz frequency

If streaming via Ethernet to your Roku here are some tips:

Obviously, make sure you have sufficient band width provided by your ISP which means being on a suitable tier.
If you have a lot of products connected via Ethernet (typically 4 or 5 if using all LAN ports) to your router you may have a prioritization issue. Most of today’s routers will allow you to prioritize LAN ports to give priority to game consoles and streaming devices this is known as QoS (Quality of Service).

If your router does not provide that level of tweaking you can connect a Managed Switch (with 5 or more ports) to a LAN port (via Ethernet) on your router. Doing so will give you the same flexibility to prioritize ports for gaming and streaming devices.

As Final suggestion…I suggest setting your Sonos in Boost mode via a speaker or the Sonos dedicated Boost component. Actually, Boost mode is my first suggestion as it is the recommended setup by Sonos. Click the link: https://www.sonos.com/en-us/support/setting-up-sonos

Hopefully, you get relief via the diagnostic you submitted…however the above is worth considering.

Cheers!

Hi AJtrek1 Thanks for getting back to me. The streaming should not be the issue in my case as everything i stream whether plex from my home Nas or Netflix via the internet is through ethernet and a switch. I have a fiber connection to my home so blazing fast internet. With well meant respect and a degree of humility I want to point out that in a thread of 2 years. Sonos representatives (which I presume you are one?) should no longer primarily point to external factors here. The setup is fine. The speaker sounds terrible with movies. It seems it's really great for music but less suited to produce high quality sound with great variances between speech and action sounds. I will try that boost mode once i find it. I just want some recognition in this thread for me and others who posted that this is an issue and most possibly with the speaker settings. If it is not. It is evidently an easy to recreate issue out of the box for many users. Don't get me wrong I am a fan of your brand but would be disappointed if sonos playbars only work well in a very specific setup. How will I actually hear back from that diagnostics report. It seemed a one sided action. I sent it from the app and got a number but did not get an email confirmation or something like that.? Who will get back to me?

Hi just wanted to get back on that boost setting. I already have that setting but didn't realize that it is called that. Actually that playbar is directly connected via ethernet so not via wifi. Please as said help me resolve this as currently I am lost and frustrated. It's just not working for me as a TV speaker when watching movies. Thanks.

Hi just wanted to get back on that boost setting. I already have that setting but didn't realize that it is called that. Actually that playbar is directly connected via ethernet so not via wifi. Please as said help me resolve this as currently I am lost and frustrated. It's just not working for me as a TV speaker when watching movies. Thanks.

Hi Asaweli

First, I'm not employed by Sonos. I'm just a user of the Sonos product just as you. As you have most likely surmised from my signature tag I own several pieces of Sonos equipment. I have no problem with audio on either of my Playbars one of which is in a HT setup with sub and surrounds.

Reference a reply from Sonos….It’s not uncommon that you may have to call Sonos and provide the reference number you posted. The reference number tells the Sonos engineers where to look for the information specific to your system in order to facilitate trouble shooting and advice.

As a suggestion…before you call verify that on your LG the Simplink is set to ON and Digital Out is set to Auto. You can also check the audio settings for your Roku by following the instructions in the link below:

https://support.roku.com/article/208755518-what-to-do-if-you-do-not-hear-the-audio-from-your-roku-streaming-player

Having said the above is not to say that your Playbar isn’t defective. However, it would be unusual that both would behave in the same manner. Not impossible…just unusual.

Full disclosure….I work in the IT industry. It’s been my experience that when dealing with networking issues the root cause of the problem(s) can typically be traced back to a configuration error. That’s not to say that the hardware isn’t faulty on occasion. Therefore, as a user/participant in this forum my advice is always going to start with trouble shooting the network setup (i.e. configuration) and other user oriented settings. As I’m not a Sonos representative/engineer I don’t have the benefit of viewing a diagnostic to determine if the issue is actually hardware related as opposed to being network and/or product configuration caused.

Also, on issues such as the one you and others have been experiencing…the end-user (i.e. the person having the issue) doesn’t always post back to say that a particular suggestion resolved the issue. Therefore, the thread remains open.

One last piece of advice…make sure that the firmware on all devices related to your issue is up-to-date. The same applies to any Apps that may be involved.

I truly, hope you can resolve your issues and not be forced to return your Sonos.

Cheers!

Hi just wanted to get back on that boost setting. I already have that setting but didn't realize that it is called that. Actually that playbar is directly connected via ethernet so not via wifi. Please as said help me resolve this as currently I am lost and frustrated. It's just not working for me as a TV speaker when watching movies. Thanks.

Hi Asaweli

First, I'm not employed by Sonos. I'm just a user of the Sonos product just as you. As you have most likely surmised from my signature tag I own several pieces of Sonos equipment. I have no problem with audio on either of my Playbars one of which is in a HT setup with sub and surrounds.

Reference a reply from Sonos….It’s not uncommon that you may have to call Sonos and provide the reference number you posted. The reference number tells the Sonos engineers where to look for the information specific to your system in order to facilitate trouble shooting and advice.


Cheers!

thanks for your reply and I stand corrected.. thought you worked for sonos. in both cases thank you for your patience and detailed replies.

I did look at some of your tips and although the optical output was set as auto the simplink function is off on my lg so turned that on. Not sure if that would help though.. not sure what the effect would be but will report back.

Als have been playing around more with night mode on an off to see whether that helps .. it did not in the past but willing to try again.

Agree with you that most people don't report back. I will break that trend once this is resolved :-)

Not sure what you mean though with reference a reply from sonos. And that I need to mention the reference number .. How do I get them to get in touch with me then? It seems I need to call them?