No audio from surround when playing PCM stereo

F

Hi All,

When I first purchased my Sonos system, I remember I could hear a simulated surround sound coming from my rear speakers when playing PCM Stereo on my TV.

I realized a few months ago that now, when I play PCM Stereo content, my surround speakers stay completely silent. The sound only comes from the Beam and the Sub mini.

When I play music or Dolby Digital 5.1 content on my Apple TV, the surrounds work perfectly.

I recently read a thread on reddit and this article made me realize that this situation is not normal. I should hear a simulated surround sound for ambient audio. I’ve tried to chat with a support representative and the person I had told me, to my great surprise, that surrounds speakers only works when playing 5.1 content.

Any Ideas ?

Many thanks for your help !

 

My setup : Sony Bravia TV, Apple TV 4K, Beam Gen 1, One SL*2, Sub mini.

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10 replies

Airgetlam

Without reading the links, I’d have to concur with the statement made by the support representative. In a stereo signal, there is no channel carrying data for the surrounds to be playing, so they won’t be active. Gone are the days of Dolby Pro logic that tried to interpolate data to send to extra speakers.

 

Bruce
F

Thank you for your answer. I was referring to this from my second link :

What should be playing out of those channels?

Audio that is already mixed into 5.1 channels will play from each channel as intended. Most audio comes out of the front channels, especially dialogue and the audio for what action is happening on screen.

If the source you’re playing isn’t in 5.1 already, your Sonos home theater speakers will perform an audio up-mix of the stereo signal to create a simulated surround sound. This means you’ll still hear most audio out of the front channels, but the rear left and right speakers will play what we determine to be ambient audio. This is most obvious in action scenes and with movies that have intense soundtracks.

 

I should get this simulated surround sound for ambient audio no ? I remember having it a few months ago.

G
Userlevel 7

@Foxdie8 Yes, you should be hearing ambient audio from the surround speakers when playing most Stereo PCM content. But some low quality stereo content will produce no audio from the surrounds. What specific stereo content are you testing?

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
F

After further testing :

No surround with PCM on my Apple TV 4K when using Youtube or MyCanal (french TV app).

No surround with PCM on the TV box from my internet provider (Orange).

However I do get surround with PCM Stereo when I play videos from the YouTube app on Android TV which I completely stopped using since I bought the Apple TV.

 

Could it be a setting problem ?

G
Userlevel 7

After further testing :

No surround with PCM on my Apple TV 4K when using Youtube or MyCanal (french TV app).

No surround with PCM on the TV box from my internet provider (Orange).

However I do get surround with PCM Stereo when I play videos from the YouTube app on Android TV which I completely stopped using since I bought the Apple TV.

 

Could it be a setting problem ?

Are you saying that playing a YouTube video on the Apple TV 4K doesn’t produce any surround audio, but if you play the exact same video from the native YouTube app on your TV, it does produce surround audio?

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
F

That exactly it !

Same Youtube video : surround audio on the native Android App and nothing on the Apple TV.

 

G
Userlevel 7

That exactly it !

Same Youtube video : surround audio on the native Android App and nothing on the Apple TV.

 

Very strange. It could be related to a setting. Try these settings:

TV:

Digital Audio Out: Auto 1

Dolby Digital Plus Output: Dolby Digital

Pass Through Mode: Auto

 

Apple TV 4K:

Change Format: ON

Audio Format: Dolby Digital

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
F

That’s exactly my settings for the Apple TV.

 

My TV is set up like this also with Auto 1, DD+ Output : Dolby Digital. Can’t seem to locate the pass through mode though.

 

F

If someone from Sonos see this thread, I would love to get some help!

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

You could try tagging one of them. @Corry P 

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