Netflix UK has rolled out Spatial Audio. I have a Beam Gen 1 with sun so 3.1 Netflix set to 5.1. For spatial audio do I need to set Netflix audio to stereo? Using optical cable if that makes a difference.
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Spatial Audio is Apple’s version of Dolby Atmos, and is only available on Airpods, Beats headphones, and HomePod speakers. Your Beam is not Atmos capable, so even if Apple offered Spatial Audio for Sonos, it would more than likely not be available on the Beam Gen 1.
It is confusing, but Netflix Spatial Audio is different from Apple’s Spatial Audio
”Netflix spatial audio enhances stereo audio without the requirement for surround sound speakers or home theater equipment and is compatible with all devices. ”
from here…
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/126405
I just tried the YouTube demo on the link on a Beam (Gen 2) the Sonos App reported Stereo PCM, but you could certainly hear the difference in the demo.
I noticed a line in a news article about the Netflix launch , that did not really explain beyond the comment “not to be confused with Apple Spatial Audio”
I dug a little deeper and found the article above and tried the demo briefly.
Give the demo a try, see if you notice the difference
Looks like it uses Sennheiser’s Ambeo 2 technology, according to this…
Really confusing to give the same name to the feature
To maybe answer the OP’s original question, this is what Netflix say (see note at end of the extract below)…
Personally speaking, I would stick with DD 5.1 audio output on the Beam, but if you want to switch the audio to stereo to test out the ‘spatial audio’ feature, simply switch the connected TV sound-output to PCM stereo to the Beam.
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