I’m not sure they publish the spec, but it’ll be a high speed cable, given that’s what the Arc Ultra needs for Dolby Atmos.

What has prompted the question?

The Sonos HDMI cable is a High Speed with ethernet, with the ethernet pins used by eARC.

The only real need to consider a different cable is if you need a longer length, otherwise the Sonos supplied cable is fit for purpose.

Thanks for the quick reply, appreciated. Forgive me if I’m wrong but from what I’ve read there can be a difference to the Atmos quality between, for example HDMI 1.4 and HDMI 2.0. As I’ve invested in this Sonos I don’t want to be compromising quality with the wrong cable. If the supplied cable is sufficient then I’m happy. 

There is no sound gain from replacing the supplied cable.

You could of course try a different cable, though Sonos does not deem it necessary, probably because the extra bandwidth on higher end cables is only need for pictures, not sound. But if you would buy one and you hear a difference, report it here! 

Thanks for the swift reply, appreciated

​@isthatmysandwich 

1.4 is generally fine for streaming services’ Atmos.

2.0 is needed for TrueHD Atmos via Blu-ray for example.

Thanks for the reply, appreciated . If the supplied cable is sufficient to get the Atmos effect that’ll do for me. 

Thanks Rhonny. I have a lot of 4k/atmos Blu-rays which I suppose is the main reason for my query as I don’t know which cable I have. I’m kinda new to this atmos lark and I’m not entirely sure that I’m getting the full benefit. 

Thanks for the advice, appreciated

I’m pretty sure Sonos wouldn’t provide a legacy spec cable for their flagship. BUT if you don’t get what you need in terms of audio delivery, replace with a better one. Just don’t spend a fortune on gold-embellished or diamond-encrusted cables etc! A £10/$10 (at most) cable would be fine. 

The Sonos supplied hdmi cable can carry all supported audio formats.

Thanks

Cheers for that. I wouldn’t need to ask if only sonos would verify which cable is provided. I might just go ahead and buy a 2. cable for no other reason that I would know which cable I had. Whether or not I could tell the difference is another matter

If you want a previous response to Sonos on this, then you can find one here.

Same applies to the supplied cable for the Arc Ultra.

Thanks again Mr T. I’m probably creating an issue where there isn’t one but just to appease my curiosity I’ll probably get an HDMI 2.0 or HDMI 2.1. If I can’t tell the difference, which I suspect to be the case, there’s no harm done. 

I’d be more worried about what audio format you can send to the Arc Ultra, rather than the supplied cable.

Well, I do stream content but I also have a small collection of film and music Atmos Blu-rays. On the Blu-ray screen I select Dolby Atmos. When the Blu-ray is playing I check the display on screen and it says True Dolby 7.1. According to the Sonos app I am receiving Dolby Atmos. Does that sound right. The fact that the display on the Blu-ray says True Dolby 7.1 instead of Atmos bothers me. Or is this what I should be seeing ????

It seems reasonable to me, but stand to be corrected by anyone more familiar.

Previously, the Sonos app would indicate the exact type of Dolby Atmos being played, but now any atmos is just shown by the Dolby Atmos label.

From what I understand, the Blu-ray showing True Dolby 7.1 is just how some players show the audio info, rather than stating Atmos specifically.

Thanks Mr T. That’s resolved my concerns. Cheers

Hi ​@isthatmysandwich 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

In direct answer to your question, Sonos supplies HDMI 2.0 cables.

The following response from ​@Rhonny is correct:

We used to supply HDMI 1.4 cables with the Beam, for example, but with Beam 2, Arc and Arc Ultra, we now supply HDMI 2.0 cables for use with eARC.

I hope this helps.

Technically, HDMI 2.0 refers to the HDMI port specification, not the cable type.

Hi ​@Mr. T 

That’s not entirely accurate - 2.0 cables have a wire present that 1.4 cables do not have. It’s not always a question of shielding and bandwidth.

You’re missing the point. Read the Sonos reply in the link I posted earlier.

Hi ​@Mr. T 

I have - the post clearly states that only HDMI cables with HEAC support eARC. Not all HDMI cables support HEAC, therefore cables do have specifications.