Upfiring speakers after adding surrounds

When you play the test tones file, does the Sonos app say you are getting Dolby Atmos audio?

When you play the test tones file, does the Sonos app say you are getting Dolby Atmos audio?

Yes, I can see one the apps screen that shows TV Dolby Atmos and (DD+) Dolby Atmos on About My System in the apps.

Some people from reddit also reported the same issues before.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/hc21uu/dolby_atmos_512_test_video_file_download_link/

Do you hear audio coming from the upward firing speakers when streaming Dolby Atmos content? How far are you seated from the Arc? How high are your ceilings? Are they flat? How far is the Arc from your ceiling?

Do you hear audio coming from the upward firing speakers when streaming Dolby Atmos content? No while playing the test file.

How far are you seated from the Arc? around 12 feet

How high are your ceilings? 10 feet

Are they flat? Yes

How far is the Arc from your ceiling? 8 feet

Do you hear audio coming from the upward firing speakers when streaming Atmos content from Netflix and Disney+? If so, I would ignore the test tones file.

12 feet is too far to hear the height channels. Find a scene in a movie with clear height effects and move within 5-7 feet of the Arc and adjust the height audio level from 0 to +10 and see if you can hear a difference.

I suspect what you mention above, is something to do with this… and that the TV, which itself doesn’t handle height Audio channels is perhaps (causing) down-mixing of the height channels to the surrounds as it passes from the Shield and through the TV ports. One way around this is to bypass the TV altogether by using an HDFury Arcana audio extractor/splitter as widely mentioned in other threads on the forum. See this link:

https://www.hdfury.uk/product/hdfury-arcana/

I set height adjust to 10+ and I tested the upward speakers Avenger Endgame where Captain America casts lighting down on Thano (2:13:35), I can't hear upward speakers from the ARC and I can tell it was transferred to the SLs. Interestingly, when I turned off surrounds on the apps, I can hear upward speakers from the ARC on the same video. 

So it is something to do with the surrounds I guess, unless I am not really getting the "Ture” DD+ Dolby Atmos from my Shield TV through my Samsun TV 2017 model. 

I will also try to move my couch closer to the TV and redo the Trueplay calibration.

Yes I was suspecting the same thing and I was thinking about ordering one. 

Very strange. If the Sonos app is showing “Dolby Atmos (DD+)” then the Arc is receiving Atmos audio and it should be able to send each audio channel to the proper speaker/driver.

I would try removing the surrounds from the Arc in the Sonos app and unplugging the One SLs from power for a couple of minutes and re-adding them as surrounds. Then test again.

Another good height channel scene to test is from The Wandering Earth on Netflix. At about the 1:23:25 mark, there are clear electric spark sound effects playing out of the upward firing speakers for the next 30-40 seconds. Just be sure you are listening to the Dolby Atmos Chinese track.

I have re-added the SLs in the apps and still the same while testing Avenger Endgame. 

However, when I tested The Wandering Earth scene, I can clearly hear the electric spark sound effected above my head. I am so confused now LOL

If your speakers are playing the Dolby Atmos channels correctly, it should sound like this:

1. You will clearly hear the sustained electric sparks above you and when you place your ear right next to either upward firing driver on top of the Arc.

2. You should NOT be able to hear the same sustained electric sparks when you place your ear next to either rear surround speaker. You should only hear a few sparks every now and then.

Okay. It tested it again and both 1 & 2 don't apply on my setup.

Now, I am starting to think my TV actually does not pass-through DD+ Dolby Atmos even tho it said so on the SONOS apps. Do you think investing in HDfury Arcana would allow me to hear "True” DD+ Dolby Atmos from the Shield TV?

Thanks for your help btw

No problem.

Yes, the HDFury Arcana works great. I have an older plasma TV from 2013 that can only pass through stereo audio to the Arc. With the Arcana, I can get Dolby Atmos (DD+) from streaming apps on my Roku Ultra and uncompressed Dolby Atmos (TrueHD) from Blu-ray discs. I know many Nvidia Shield owners have had success with the Arcana too.

Okay. I have ordered HDFury Arcana and hope it will resolve my upfiring speakers issue. I will keep the updates posted here. 

Problem solved with the HD Fury Arcana that i just received today 

Okay. After testing it for a night with Dolby Atmos Test file (Lossless and lossy), Atmos Dolby movies from Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV as well as Dolby Atmos/Master Quality music from Tidal from my Shield TV 2019. Here are my thoughts:

Pro:

• Impressive directional sounds from the Sonos system, not only the two upfiring speakers but overall experience is much better. Especially listening to Dolby Atmos music (e.g. Post Malone songs).

• Easy setup - plugging the HDMI cable to the correct input. That's it without any adjustment needed from the device itself.

• Lip sync issues are solved while watching movies from Netflix or any other streaming platform.

• No issues using my shield and TV remote to adjust the volume through CEC.

Con:

• There are one or two seconds of black screen while changing contents (e.g. playing different video files on VLC player on Shield TV. This is a known issue that the few seconds delay for the sync is going to be there because of arcana in the middle of Shield TV and TV.

• I experienced some stuttering issues while watching 6 Underground opening scene from Netflix. I am not sure if it has something to do with my HDMI cable from the device to my TV.

• Dialogue from movies seems a bit down-tuned with lower volume. Not sure why.

• It is a very sensitive device which any physical touching or movement on the device will cause a black screen for one or two seconds.