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Playbar 2.0 PCM input processing to surrounds

  • January 5, 2026
  • 10 replies
  • 91 views
S
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I have a Playbar, Sub, and 2 Play:1s combination.  The TV I have is old and specifically restricts devices input directly to the TV via HDMI as only being output via optical in 2.0 PCM. Not very unusual with older TVs.  I’m getting sound from the Play:1s.  What exactly is the Playbar outputting to the surrounds?  Stereo?  Some kind of matrixed surround similar to Prologic II?  

I’m not dissatisfied with the sound.  I’m just curious what’s going on with this configuration.  

If I got a TV that passed through Dolby Digital 5.1 via optical what would the Playbar do with that?  Is it going to sound markedly better than whatever it’s doing with 2.0?  

I’m not really all that amped up about Atmos or anything like that yet.  5.1 and 1080p are just fine for now.

This room is pretty much exclusively for streaming.  Most surround programming is DD+.  Something tells me that since my Roku senses what my playback device will process, that it will only send 2.0 PCM out anyway since it doesn’t transcode down to regular DD. 

HDMI has certainly become a default standard.  Just as intended.  The Playbar was kind of handicapped right from the start.  Too bad.  It’s an otherwise splendid device.  

Best answer by Mr. T

​@Scott Of The Sahara - See the previous reply from Sonos in the linked thread:

“We do, in fact, already “up-mix” all TV stereo sources to surround sound.”

 

Clearly, DD5.1 audio will sound much better than any TV stereo source that has been up-mixed.

10 replies

AjTrek1
  • AjTrek1
  • January 5, 2026

The Playbar will process DD5.1 over optical. Check your TV sound menu to see if there is a “passthrough” setting. If so enable it.

Most sources today send at minimum DD5.1 audio (which includes OTA broadcasts). If your TV is only capable of outputting stereo 2.0 you are probably getting a stereo up-mix to the surrounds in some instances. 

It appears you are at a crossroads of sorts meaning:

  1. Do you upgrade your TV and Sonos soundbar or just your TV that will send DD5.1 over optical (which will most likely include HDMI as well).

Be careful as there are Samsung low-end TV’s (and possibly others) that have HDMI but no optical.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
S
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So what is the Playbar doing with the 2.0 pcm it’s getting now?  Something’s coming out of the Play:1s.

AjTrek1
  • AjTrek1
  • January 5, 2026

So what is the Playbar doing with the 2.0 pcm it’s getting now?  Something’s coming out of the Play:1s.

If you want a deeper dive into your question/issue I suggest you contact Sonos Tech support. I’m just a user like yourself not a sound engineer. Maybe a more knowledgeable community member may read your post and offer an explanation to your liking. BTW Sonos engineers do not monitor this forum per se. Questions like yours may get pushed up by the Moderators on occasion. 

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
S
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We’ll see.  Like I say, I’m not unhappy with what I’ve got.  Mostly just curious.  Thanks

controlav
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  • controlav
  • Lead Maestro
  • January 6, 2026

We’ll see.  Like I say, I’m not unhappy with what I’ve got.  Mostly just curious.  Thanks

Its Dolby Pro Logic, where the PB can decode surround channels from a stereo source. I hear this only when using the F1TV app on my Apple TV / Playbar: the app only sends stereo, but I get engine noise in the rears.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Pro_Logic

Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
jgatie
  • jgatie
  • January 6, 2026

We’ll see.  Like I say, I’m not unhappy with what I’ve got.  Mostly just curious.  Thanks

Its Dolby Pro Logic, where the PB can decode surround channels from a stereo source. I hear this only when using the F1TV app on my Apple TV / Playbar: the app only sends stereo, but I get engine noise in the rears.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Pro_Logic

 

Yep.  Some old 2.0 mixes have matrixed mono rears that when put through a Pro Logic decoder, extract rear info for surrounds.  It was the original analog surround sound format from Dolby.   

Mr. T
  • Mr. T
  • Answer
  • January 6, 2026

​@Scott Of The Sahara - See the previous reply from Sonos in the linked thread:

“We do, in fact, already “up-mix” all TV stereo sources to surround sound.”

 

Clearly, DD5.1 audio will sound much better than any TV stereo source that has been up-mixed.

    S
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    Original Pro Logic?  Oh brother.  Given the limitations of optical output from TVs in those days it would have made a lot more sense to have used Prologic II.  I use Prologic II a lot for 2 channel sources with the AVRs I have in other installations and it is quite enjoyable and way more convincing than old Prologic.  It was not new technology by any means when they designed the Playbar and was generally included in virtually any AVR by 2013. The TV manufacturers were largely responsible for this mess by not providing a simple 5.1 passthrough for their optical output.  The Playbar and Playbase (another pretty splendid device) supposedly do a pretty good job when they get a DD signal to work with.

    I know that Sonos home theater was never really meant to be a substitute for separate components but simply putting Prologic II in it would have made it a much more viable alternative.  The Playbar/Sub/Play:1 combination went for a pretty penny at the time.

    I hope I eventually get a chance to hear the actual capability of my equipment.  Plug a DVD player into it?  Oh well.  Like I said, none of this is going to make me move on from what I’ve got but I wanted clarity on what was going on here and I think I got it.  Thanks to all.

    controlav
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    • controlav
    • Lead Maestro
    • January 7, 2026

    Original Pro Logic?  Oh brother.  Given the limitations of optical output from TVs in those days it would have made a lot more sense to have used Prologic II.  I use Prologic II a lot for 2 channel sources with the AVRs I have in other installations and it is quite enjoyable and way more convincing than old Prologic.  It was not new technology by any means when they designed the Playbar and was generally included in virtually any AVR by 2013. The TV manufacturers were largely responsible for this mess by not providing a simple 5.1 passthrough for their optical output.  The Playbar and Playbase (another pretty splendid device) supposedly do a pretty good job when they get a DD signal to work with.

    I know that Sonos home theater was never really meant to be a substitute for separate components but simply putting Prologic II in it would have made it a much more viable alternative.  The Playbar/Sub/Play:1 combination went for a pretty penny at the time.

    I hope I eventually get a chance to hear the actual capability of my equipment.  Plug a DVD player into it?  Oh well.  Like I said, none of this is going to make me move on from what I’ve got but I wanted clarity on what was going on here and I think I got it.  Thanks to all.

    This isn’t a Playbar problem, it’s the ancient TV that is the problem. The Playbar can happily decode every format that an s/pdif connection can carry. Many TVs of the era incorrectly interpreted the HDCP spec and crippled optical to 2.0, though I fixed two of my own TVs that did this: one via the service menu, the other via an EDID Manager.

    FYI it might be ProLogic II, who knows, that’s up to the source device and your TV.

    Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
      S
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      As far as I know, standard DD is the best you’re going to get through optical or coaxial digital and that would have been mostly fine. I’m under the impression that optical COULD handle DD+ but that nobody really allows that to happen for some reason.  I agree that the problem was what most TVs were outputting when the Playbar came out. The original reviews for the Playbar acknowledged that this conflict existed and that it was a significant limitation.  

      I like my Playbar in any case.  I’m just trying to satisfy my curiosity as to how the Playbar is processing the two channel optical input.  If it actually was Prologic II then that would have been a lot better than original Prologic.  Prologic II is matrixed sound but I find it generally pretty satisfactory when discrete sound isn’t available and was light years better than the original. If it was Prologic II I would think Sonos would have said so.  Especially if they were paying the licensing fees. It was a selling point in those days.  It turned any 2 channel source into pretty good matrixed surround.    

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