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ProUSAConstitution
Avid Contributor I
January 30, 2023

Sonos Arc value or lack of

I just hooked up and finally got the Arc working. 
in my opinion, unless I am missing something the Arc is in NO way worth $900!

My Arc only displays 5.1 in the S2 app NOT ATMOS!

One of the multiple seemingly all foreign( I mention foreign due to our language differences and therefore difficulties of communication) Sonos employees I tried to get the Arc working with , said ATMOS is just marketing and no different or better than Dolby Digital 5.1.

 I am seriously thinking of returning the Arc and buying some self powered Yamaha HS8 studio speakers for $800. 
In my opinion the the dynamics, sound quality, and overall enjoyment will be far superior with 2 quality self driven studio monitors. For less $.
Prove me wrong?

What do you think is a better way to go for the $900 usd.

 I’m just trying to be honest and factual. 

All productive comments are welcome!

No BS or propanda please. 
Thank you and best wishes to all. 

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Ken_Griffiths
Ken_Griffiths
January 30, 2023

@furacaopr, 

Dolby Digital Plus? I don’t see that codec mentioned in its spec. See my earlier post and attachment showing the codec pass-through from rtings.com. I still suspect an audio extractor will be required to get Atmos audio to the Arc, but more than happy to be proven wrong in this instance.

furacaopr
Prodigy III
January 30, 2023

Oh and I agree with @John B that adding two ‘Ones/One-SL’s’ as surrounds would enhance the setup greatly for both TV and music audio.

Totally agree with that as well. Another option to the Ones would be a pair of IKEA's Symfonisk.

    John B
    January 30, 2023

    I have spent A LOT of time on fixing the Sonos Arc 

    Then you have spent a lot of time on misdirected effort.  Your problem is that you are not getting Atmos to the Arc.  Nothing you can do to the Arc will resolve this.  Get Atmos to the Arc and it will play it.

      furacaopr
      Prodigy III
      January 30, 2023

      @furacaopr, 

      Dolby Digital Plus? I don’t see that codec mentioned in its spec. See my earlier post and attachment showing the codec pass-through from rtings.com. 

      https://www.avsforum.com/threads/dolby-digital-plus-dd-atmos-over-hdmi-arc.2378442/post-42675274

       

        AjTrek1
        AjTrek1
        January 30, 2023

        Just to add my two cents….

        1. The TV must have an eARC labeled input as opposed to just an ARC labeled input. If not you must use an audio extractor between the TV and the Arc Soundbar such as the HDFury mentioned by @Ken_Griffiths.
        2. Not disagreeing with anyone regarding adding surrounds and/or sub to enhance the overall audio experience for theater sound. However, @ProUSAConstitution please know that doing so is not going to give you Dolby Amos sound. You’ll still have to follow @Ken_Griffiths advice to add an audio extractor.
        Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
        John B
        January 30, 2023

        @furacaopr .  You may well be correct that this offers a solution to the OP, and it is definitely worth checking out before buying any form of audio extractor.  But DD+ over Arc is a necessary condition for getting Atmos, but not sufficient. My 2016 LG TV will output DD+ but cannot process Atmos, and doesn’t have a pass-through option

        John B
        January 30, 2023

        Just to add my two cents….

        1. The TV must have an eARC labeled input as opposed to just an ARC labeled input. If not you must use an audio extractor between the TV and the Arc Soundbar such as the HDFury mentioned by @Ken_Griffiths

        Not correct I am afraid.  eArc is only required for lossless TrueHD.  HDMI-ARC can carry Atmos over DD+

          furacaopr
          Prodigy III
          January 30, 2023

          Just to add my two cents….

          1. The TV must have an eARC labeled input as opposed to just an ARC labeled input. If not you must use an audio extractor between the TV and the Arc Soundbar such as the HDFury mentioned by @Ken_Griffiths.

          Not really for streaming, as it's compressed Atmos encapsulated in DD+. You do need eARC to play uncompressed Atmos, e.g., from a Blu-ray player, though.

            ProUSAConstitutionAuthor
            Avid Contributor I
            January 30, 2023

            TV doesn't need to be Atmos compatible for you to play Atmos from streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, etc. as long as it can passthrough Dolby Digital Plus. Your TV is not too old as it even has an ARC HDMI port.

            Connect the HDMI cable to the HDMI 1 (ARC) port of your TV.

             

            Press the MENU button on your TV remote and go to AUDIO. Turn the built-in speakers OFF and set Digital Audio Out to BITSTREAM.

            Back to MENU, go to SYSTEM and confirm CEC is enabled for HDMI ARC. Then, your TV remote should control the volume of your ARC and be able to mute/unmute.

            Let us know if it worked.

            I did all of this yesterday. None of it got me atmos.

            I do thank you for your attempt to help me and the community!

            Ken_Griffiths
            Ken_Griffiths
            January 30, 2023

            @furacaopr, 

            Dolby Digital Plus? I don’t see that codec mentioned in its spec. See my earlier post and attachment showing the codec pass-through from rtings.com. 

            https://www.avsforum.com/threads/dolby-digital-plus-dd-atmos-over-hdmi-arc.2378442/post-42675274

            Odd that it’s not mentioned at the rtings site, but maybe there has been a firmware update since that review or the review just thought it was not that relevant back in 2017. I hope it is the case and it works for the OP. At least they now know what they need to do one way, or the other. 👍

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