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FlybyNight
Contributor I
Jul 13, 2023 10:40 PM UTC
Answered

Playing Music through Sonos app vs TV

I have a 5.2 set up with the arc, two subs (gen 3), and two era 300s as surrounds. When I play music (Spotify) through my TV, I am hearing a lot more sound from the Arc and subs, but not as much from the surrounds. When I play music (Spotify) through the sonos app, the surrounds are much more pronounced and the subs/arc is less pronounced. It seems that my EQ and Surround settings are the same… Is their something I am missing?

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GuitarSuperstarAnswer
Lead Maestro
Jul 14, 2023 2:19 AM UTC

@FlybyNight With a Sonos home theater setup, there is a TV mode and a music mode. When playing audio from the TV or a device connected to the TV, the Arc is in TV mode. When streaming music from the Sonos app or other music app from your phone, tablet, or computer, the Arc is in music mode.

You likely have the Music Playback setting under Surround Audio in the Sonos app set to FULL which means you will get full stereo playback from the surrounds when streaming in music mode. This option isn’t available for TV audio since most users don’t want stereo playback from the surrounds. So when in TV mode, if you stream music through your TV, you will only get ambient audio from the surrounds.

FYI… an Arc + two Subs + two Era 300s setup is a 7.2.4 (or 7.1.4 depending on who you ask) setup.

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

Stanley_4
Stanley_4
Grand Maestro
Jul 14, 2023 12:40 AM UTC

Likely a difference in your TV’s settings and surround decoder and the Sonos Arc settings for TV mode when playing through the TV and the Arc’s music mode settings.

I’d look at the Full/Ambient settings for Music Mode, that adds a good bit to what the surrounds are sent to play.

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    GuitarSuperstarAnswer
    Lead Maestro
    Jul 14, 2023 2:19 AM UTC

    @FlybyNight With a Sonos home theater setup, there is a TV mode and a music mode. When playing audio from the TV or a device connected to the TV, the Arc is in TV mode. When streaming music from the Sonos app or other music app from your phone, tablet, or computer, the Arc is in music mode.

    You likely have the Music Playback setting under Surround Audio in the Sonos app set to FULL which means you will get full stereo playback from the surrounds when streaming in music mode. This option isn’t available for TV audio since most users don’t want stereo playback from the surrounds. So when in TV mode, if you stream music through your TV, you will only get ambient audio from the surrounds.

    FYI… an Arc + two Subs + two Era 300s setup is a 7.2.4 (or 7.1.4 depending on who you ask) setup.

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    "Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
      FlybyNightAuthor
      Contributor I
      Jul 14, 2023 2:23 AM UTC

      @GuitarSuperstar Thanks for that info. Is there a way to boost the arc output in music mode? It feels watered down compared to when I play music in tv mode.

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      GuitarSuperstar
      Lead Maestro
      Jul 14, 2023 2:28 AM UTC

      @GuitarSuperstar Thanks for that info. Is there a way to boost the arc output in music mode? It feels watered down compared to when I play music in tv mode.

      It sounds like the surrounds are just overpowering the Arc. In the Sonos app under Surround Audio, you need to lower the Music Level setting so the surrounds sound more balanced with the Arc.

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