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Discuss Ray, Beam, Arc, Arc Ultra, Playbar, Playbase, and the entire Sonos home theater experience. Should you get a Sub Mini or a Sub? Maybe two Subs? Which Sonos work with your TV? Talk about your Sonos Home Theater experience here.

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Understanding Surround Sound and Sonos

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Ryan S
Ryan S
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Home Theater and Television Recommendation Megathread

Moderator note:  This article was updated in December 2024. Looking for information on Sonos home theater setups? Find answers about surroun...
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Stubbsy747Contributor II
posted in Home theater
How to fix Apple 4K TV remote not controlling Sonos soundbar

This topic is older and might not have the most up to date information. Please click here to see a list of more topics around the same subject. This issue has been driving me INSANE for weeks and finally I found the answer on YouTube: Simply hold the input and volume down button on your Apple TV 4K remote for about 5 seconds and 🪄🧙‍♂️ …issue fixed!!!! Your Apple Remote will now control your Sonos sound bar volume again. 

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ukncdcContributor I
posted in Home theater
List of TV’s that will pass 5.1 from HDMI Sources to Playbar

All, Would you mind listing your TV and mode/year in this thread if you have tested it and confirmed it will pass DD 5.1 to the Playbar and from what source. This will help those of us in the market for a new TV and playbar. Thanks MikeB.

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Ryan S
Ryan SRetired Sonos Staff
posted in Home theater
Home Theater and Television Recommendation Megathread

Moderator note:  This article was updated in December 2024. Looking for information on Sonos home theater setups? Find answers about surround sound, Dolby Digital, TV recommendations, and all the rest to get the best possible theater experience on Sonos here. We’ll keep this thread up to date with your recommendations for TVs and other devices as well. How to get the most out of this thread:Read through the starter posts to get caught up on the basics including what to get and how to get set up. If you’re looking for something specific, check out all of the content below. If you have a question not covered in the starting posts or covered in one of our FAQs feel free to ask. Please see the posting guidelines below for getting the best help.This thread isn’t intended for troubleshooting problems so those posts may be moved to a new thread if posted here. Posting guidelinesWhat are you looking for? Describe your question the best you can.Include all the details you can about your current

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ProdanAvid Contributor I
posted in Home theater
If you're experiencing audio delay issues, read this

I've been living with lip sync issues (audio behind the video) since I got my Playbar about a year ago but I finally decided to do something about it. After multiple conversations with Sonos support and the LG's support people (they kept blaming each other for the audio delay), I decided to email Sonos' CEO about the issue. After a few hours, I got a reply back from him, CCing a team manager who was going to look into the issue. We scheduled a call and he had me send various diagnostics to him. He said that the engineering team was going to investigate and get back to me. A week later, I got an update. He told that they are still working on the issue. He also said that only one other person had reported the same issue (I assume that means that only one other person with an LG TV). So, if you're having audio delay issues and you've tried all other troubleshooting, reach out to Sonos support and have them look into it. If it helps you might mention my reference number, which has already

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ggmogollonEnthusiast II
asked in Home theater
Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

Beyond thrilled to receive the new Sonos Arc. True played my room and I have loudness on as well connected to LG B8 using Tidal and Spotify. Most of the sound range is phenomenal, aside from the bass. At even half volume the woofers are extremely muddy and sound terrible. Not sure if this is because I have under two hours of use but I wasn’t expecting to have to break-in the speaker. I own set of speakers next to it in the same room (KEF LS50W) and the difference is night and day. There have also been posts on Reddit regarding this issue. It is interesting given no reviewers have mentioned this issue but more than a few recipients have. Has anyone else experienced similar issues? Turning loudness off helps but it is disappointing for such a highly anticipated product. 

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Racin929Avid Contributor I
posted in Home theater
Solving the 5.1, DTS issues with the Playbar

This thread is specifically for those who are trying to understand the Playbars 5.1 and DTS issues. As most of you know the Playbar does not convert DTS signal. It also will only convert 2.0 to SIMULATED PCM 5.1 signal. If you can live with the simulated signal, then you are ahead of the game. IF you want PURE unadulterated 5.1 from your DirecTV or Cable, you WILL most likely have to buy a switch like this one. http://www.monoprice.com/products/7974 Or a Bluray converter like this one. http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-103/ MOST tvs will not convert true 5.1. There are some on this thread that say they do, but most dont. I found this out the hard way by buying one of Samsungs highest end tv's, only to find out that 2.0 is all im ever gunna get. A $75 switch is a bargain IMO to have such sound to the Playbar the way it is intended. IF you want 1080p up convert video and and 5.1 audio, then a simular Bluray like the Oppo is for you. Concerning movies that are only on

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Matt_28Contributor I
posted in Home theater
Samsung TV won't pass through 5.1 on optical out if input is HDMI, need suggestions

I have a Playbar, and a Samsung TV that won't pass through 5.1 from its optical out if the input is HDMI. Our Motorola cable box is connected to our TV using HDMI, and I want to get the 5.1 when I watch TV. I've looked through the questions and answers posted here and elsewhere, and it seems like some people have used an HDMI switch from Monoprice with an optical out to get around this problem.  The suggestion is to connect the HDMI source to the HDMI switch, and the HDMI switch sends out the full 5.1 audio through the optical out and into the Playbar.  (I'll call this the "HDMI switch" approach.)   The other approach is to connect the cable box's optical out directly to the Playbar.  (I'll call this the "cable box direct" approach.)  This works, but I don't like this approach because we leave our cable box on at all times, and when we turn off the TV, the Playbar still plays audio from the cable box, as the Playbar has no idea that the TV's been turned off.

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arpatil1Enthusiast II
asked in Home theater
Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

Hi All. It’s a relief that Sonos has identified the bug that’s causing the bass distortion in Sonos Arc. Thank you @Ryan S for working with the Sonos Communty to identify the problem quickly. Having said this, I believe that Sonos still needs more work to make the Arc sound as it was advertised. Currently, multiple people on Reddit including myself are reporting the highs being too high which sort of feels “harsh”. This improve the speech clarity and brings out details in the movies, but the warmth in speech is lost because the voices sound thin and metallic (for eg. actors I know having heavy voices don’t sound heavy). I was expecting the mid-range to be a lot better considering the Arc has 8 woofers.  I have tried TruPlaying twice without success (Turning TruPlay off produces muffled sound). Adjusting the treble also did not help much. Loudness turned on and off does not make a big difference either. May be, this is how the Arc is tuned?!  Anyone else feels that Arc is over-empha

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IBGMiGuyContributor I
posted in Home theater
Convince me to buy Sonos Playbar over Bose 300

Hi All, My wife likes the Sonos Playbar, while I like the Bose 300. I have owned Bose products in the past. Listening to the demo at Best Buy, the Bose sounds better. The sales people say the Sonos demo is not very good. Being a professional nerd, I research everything. I have been monitoring both user support sites and I am having second thoughts about the Bose. There sure SEEMS to be a lot of basic issues with software updates on the Bose side. Slow or no responses. Both are the same price so nothing to go on there. As we get "older" it is more important to have clear dialog and not knock pictures off the wall when a car explodes. We mostly watch movies, sports and TV. Some music but not the priority. Harmony remote and Alexa. My main question is, from the communities perspective, would you buy it again and any comments of why Sonos is better than Bose? How has the support been? Are they listening to you? Do updates break more than they fix? Anothe

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jinjroContributor I
asked in Home theater
Sonos Arc Samsung Frame TV eARC not working

So I just set up the Sonos Arc soundbar that supports eARC. It works with my 2020 65" Frame TV until I change the eARC setting on the Frame TV to Auto. The sound mutes and I can't get it to play until I turn eARC off. Anyone else have this issue? I’ve messed around with this for a few hours to no avail. 

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Evander
EvanderTrending Lyricist II
posted in Home theater
DTS, Dolby 5.1 on Playbar, 2015 edition!

Hi all I am writing this post in the hope it may help those struggling with the above issue(s). The first topic which appears on this in Google is the post at https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/solving-the-51-dts-issues-with-the-playbar-34523, which is now out of date. For my part I wanted to set out what I did to "resolve" this issue (or more accurately, work around it). Since the above post, Sonos have written a few useful notes. The most helpful is: https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1945/~/maximizing-playbar-sound-from-your-television. A further note deals with the XBOX work around (https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2490/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNDQxMjA4NzE0L3NpZC9JdER6cXR2bQ%3D%3D) and another provides the details for PS4 (https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3075/related/1). The Issue Playbar with 2 Play:1s and a Sub is a 5.1 Surround system. However, because the Playbar connects through a Digitial Out/T

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MikeInMaineContributor I
asked in Home theater
Arc TV sound cuts in and out.

Just got the Arc and have it paired with 2 Play:1’s and a gen 3 sub. Samsung Q80R tv.  The sound from the tv will play for around 5 seconds and then cut out for around 1 second, play for 5, out for 1, on and on.  I’ve swapped out the hdmi cable twice, tried unplugging the tv, switched between PCM and DD+ and switched between different apps on the tv. The sonos app shows that I am getting an atmos signal  Was running a beam with the Play:1’s (but no sub) before just fine. Not sure what I should try next. Thank you,mike

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DTSAvid Contributor I
posted in Home theater
Recommendations on Optical Audio Switcher for Playbar?

Someone recommended an automatic 2 input optical audio switcher in one of the original playbar threads. It was from monoprice and the link is dead, and a search on monoprice makes it look like it's discontinued with nothing else up in its place. I'm buying a new TV soon but based on what research I've done, it's impossible to be certain any TV I buy will have proper 5.1 optical switching. 99% chance it will not have it in spite of what people casually report on the internet. So, I'll need to buy an optical audio switcher. I need to route at least three inputs, ideally four to help future proof me. And it needs to support 5.1. It does me no good if it downgrades the signal to 2.x. I'm also debating over whether I should just buy another A/V receiver. I sold my old A/V receiver with my old 5.1 speaker set when I bought my playbar. As ridiculous as it sounds (and actually is), my best bet may be to buy a cheap $100 to $200 A/V receiver and use that for all my audio routing to the

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famaashContributor I
asked in Home theater
Building a 7.1 setup for Home Theater with Sonos

Hi,I am trying to build a 7.1 Home Theater system for my basement.Following is the kind of system I am trying to build (Link at Dolby site). Also see the picture below: I was wondering, if we have an Arc as mid, can we setup a 7.1 through Sonos? Any idea? Moderator note: We updated this article in October 2023 with new information below. With the introduction of the Sonos Arc and the Era 300 we now support Dolby Atmos surround sound. If you want to know more please check out this article on our community or The Ultimate Guide to a Sonos Home Theater on our blog.  

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Lizard07Contributor I
asked in Home theater
Beam : How to return to TV sound after streaming music?

Have my Beam set up with my Sony Bravia tv via Arc, sounding great. If I then stream some music, I then can’t find how I revert back to the TV sound once the music is stopped, I’m having to turn the TV on and off to get the sound back. I bet I’m missing something obvious!

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joe_5Contributor III
asked in Home theater
how do I connect my own subwoofer?

ok so I have a playbar and i have a tanoy subwoofer. this one http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-3875-discontinued-tannoy-sfx-subwoofer-black.aspx what do i need to do to connect this subwoofer with the playbar?

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tboyaciContributor I
posted in Home theater
how to connect a projector and sonos wireless

Hello, I would like to do a new audio-visual setup in my place but I am not sure if this would be feasible and if so how. I am not purchasing the individual sonos nor the projector before I figure out how to do this. Basically 1. I want to use a projector mounted on the ceiling as opposed to a tv to see games, movies etc. 2. I would like to connect my cable box (already connected to a router) and possible an appletv to this projector, but wirelessly 3. I would like to use a sonos system (one with/without playbar) for sound for these (plus for playing music as well) Is this feasible and if so what would be the appropriate setup? In particular, what kind of projector do I need to get? I get confused over projetors that claim to have wireless mirroring versus those that you can connect a hd wireless connection kits. These kits have a base which you can input other devices. And on the sonos part what should be the best combination? Basically, I cannot have long wires connecti

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David_149Contributor I
asked in Home theater
How do I connect my iphone via bluetooth to the playbar?

I want to connect my iphone six to the playbar so I can play music from youtube through my sonos system? Moderator note: We updated this article in October 2023 with new information below.No, the Sonos Playbar cannot be used as a Bluetooth speaker. If the device providing the source material is Airplay 2 compatible, this may be a solution for you. A tutorial for this can be found here: Using Airplay 2 on Sonos.If you want to use Bluetooth on Sonos, we have the Sonos Move, Move 2, Era 100, Era 300 and the smaller, more portable Sonos Roam. Please see here for more details on the Sonos Move. And here for more details on Sonos Roam.We have a guide that talks you through the  different uses of our products and describes which products have which functionalities. Click here to read that topic: “Which Sonos speakers are right for me?”A complete list of products can be found here: Use Bluetooth on Sonos 

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topiloufContributor I
posted in Home theater
Lost surround and sub ( after update ?)

Hi I don’t know if my issue is related to the 14.6 update but I noticed today that I had no sound from my surround (play 3) and my sub (Gen 2), only the Arc is working They are still present in the app under the my System view but now sound which every sourcesWhen I reboot each of them, the sound comes back temporary, but when I switch to another source or audio format, thé Sound disappears again. Tried several times, same behaviorThanks for your help 

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frodesContributor I
asked in Home theater
How to connect my TV to the Sonos system?

I have two Play 1's and one Play 5. I am wondering, how can I connect my existing TV to my Sonos system so that I can play sound from Netflix through my Sonos speakers? My TV is not a SmartTV. Is this possible or do I need to buy something else to connect them?

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Ryan S
Ryan SRetired Sonos Staff
posted in Home theater
Enabling CEC on your TV for Beam

Sonos Beam, the smart, compact soundbar for your TV is now available. We've collected some of the best resources for Beam in the thread here so that it'll help you find the answers you might be looking for. You can also find good information about Sonos home theater on our Home Theater Megathread. Learn more about Beam on our announcement post here and on the shop at Sonos.com. This thread will help clear up most issues you might see with CEC and HDMI, which Beam uses to send commands to your TV such as “Turn on the TV” and “Turn off the TV.” Beam also follows commands such as “Turn it up” and “Mute,” applying them to the TV volume. See our Beam setup and basics page here or our article on setting up the Beam for more information. To use these commands, Beam must be connected to your TV’s HDMI-ARC input, and your TV needs to have HDMI-CEC enabled. HDMI-CEC is sometimes referred to as: Samsung: Anynet+ LG: SimpLink Sony: Bravia Link Phillips: EasyLink Panasonic: Vie

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DarinContributor I
posted in Home theater
how do i get rid of not available message that pops up on my samsung when pressing the volume button

how do i get rid of not available message that pops up on my samsung when pressing the volume button

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ceborgenContributor I
asked in Home theater
Beam as a computer speaker

Is it possible to use Beam as a computer speaker with the use of hdmi port?

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greyes96Contributor I
asked in Home theater
3rd party SubWoofer

Hello gang. I am a long time SONOS user and love the system. i am up to 4 Play 1 speakers now and recently got the play base. I connected the base up to the TV and it's working perfectly - thank you SONOS. I am turning 2 of the speakers into rear surround sound for the playbase but my question is regarding my existing sub. I already have an amplifier with a nice sub. How can i link my existing sub to the system? i don't want to shell out $700 on a sub when i already have one. I was looking at the connect but some posts i read say it's NOT possible. Since the posts i found are a bit dated i rather ask and see if there some new updates to solving this issue. Thank you in advance.

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ShantanuContributor I
asked in Home theater
How can I configure LG Magic remote with Sonos playbar. TV Model: 55LM7600

Tried all options but it doesn't work. Suggestions given on this thread are not applicable as those options don't show up on my TV: http://forums.sonos.com/showthread.php?t=37555.. Very frustrating 😞

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