Sonos Arc value or lack of

  • 30 January 2023
  • 65 replies
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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. 

65 replies

O
Userlevel 4
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I use a 2021 Apple TV 4K, AKA 2nd gen 4K. 

Ok I got the older version, so the 1st gen 4k, but as other mentioned this might also be a limitation from my TV. Or not really a limitation since I have no issues with a pop sounds luckily.

I would also buy the Arc again, but not really because of Atmos. In the end it’s a soundbar which tries to achieve some kind of Atmos sounds with tricks, it will never reach the quality of a real Atmos setup. So don’t expect too much of it, in most rooms it’ll probably not even work properly. 

Ken_Griffiths

I would buy the Arc again too. It has always worked fine with my old LG C9 TV and Nvidia Shield - so I’m happy. It sounds great in our Living Room. I added surrounds and Sub (in that order) but I maybe should have perhaps got the Sub first as that (for me, at least) made a huge difference when watching action movies, or listening to music.

The other thing is it fits in really well with the TV and of course there’s the multi-room wireless functionality with our other Sonos devices around the Home. There’s just no way I would have been happy with any other brand of soundbar. It’s integration with our other speakers is the one thing I would really miss.  

P
Userlevel 6
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I wouldn’t buy it again because I haven’t been able to turn Atmos on for my Apple TV and Xbox in about two years. Once you get the pop, Sonos recommends you turn off Atmos since it will just reoccur within about 30 minutes.

Sonos Arc sounded good for the short while I could use Atmos. If Sonos fixes the problem, I would go back to enjoying it. But at the moment, with the problem having been going on for years, I would not recommend Sonos to anyone who wants to use Apple TV or Xbox. 

J

not psyche about spending another $330 to get the Soundbar to work!

Ho hum. The Arc works fine. You would be spending the money to overcome the limitations of your TV.

I live in hope that eventually this will sink in.

J

I would certainly buy the Arc again, although not particularly for Atmos. 

What the Arc does is entirely in line with my expectations. What I know now is pretty much the same as I knew when I bought it.

I would only expect decent surround sound, with or without Atmos, with the addition of rear speakers.  My experience is that these make a big difference (although that depends on the nature of the film).

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Would you buy the Soundbar again knowing what you know now?

What would you buy instead?

Is Atmos far better sounding, more channel separation, surround, something?

not psyched about spending another $330 to get the Soundbar to work!

J

@ProUSAConstitution . I did read your post that said you had found an episode of Jack Ryan with a little marker to indicate it was in Dolby Atmos. Did you read the posts from @Ken_Griffiths  and from me indicating that what you took to be an indication of Atmos was possibly not that? Does your "little marker" include the words "Dolby Atmos" in full? If so then you have an Atmos source.

P
Userlevel 6
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My TV is a Sony 900H. It is possible that it’s the TV converting to DD+. It’s not obvious to me how I could check for that. 

Mr. T
Userlevel 7

In the majority of cases, Apple TV 4K requires an eARC connection for Atmos, however, there are a few televisions (some LG and Samsung TVs that I have read about) which can convert the Dolby MAT output from Apple TV into Dolby Atmos (DD+) to work over HDMI ARC.

Never had any issue using Apple TV with eARC enabled on my LG C1. I did experience a couple of pops using an older Samsung TV with a One connect box, which was resolved with an HDFury Arcana. This was before I even had the Apple TV.

P
Userlevel 6
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I use a 2021 Apple TV 4K, AKA 2nd gen 4K. 

O
Userlevel 4
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Interesting, it doesn’t work for me, maybe that’s a feature on the newest Apple TV? I also don’t have any pop sound issues described in the thread, but I’m using the 5th gen Apple TV. 

P
Userlevel 6
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With the Apple TV it will definitely not work. The Apple TV uses Dolby MAT for Atmos and therefore requires an eARC port on the TV for Atmos playback. OP is best off to test with the TV apps but given the age of the TV I doubt it supports Atmos. 

This is incorrect. I have an Apple TV. If I turn off eARC on my TV, Sonos app displays Dolby Atmos (DD+).
 


If anything, eARC Dolby MAT has a long-running compatibility problem with Sonos Arc. If you use eARC with Apple TV, consider turning off Atmos as Sonos advised me and I have done. You can read all about that here.

 

F
Userlevel 3
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With the Apple TV it will definitely not work. The Apple TV uses Dolby MAT for Atmos and therefore requires an eARC port on the TV for Atmos playback. OP is best off to test with the TV apps but given the age of the TV I doubt it supports Atmos. 

Or try it with another streamer: Roku, Fire TV, etc

O
Userlevel 4
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With the Apple TV it will definitely not work. The Apple TV uses Dolby MAT for Atmos and therefore requires an eARC port on the TV for Atmos playback. OP is best off to test with the TV apps but given the age of the TV I doubt it supports Atmos. 

P
Userlevel 6
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Surprised when I do this the S2 app just says Apple Music, not what format is playing. No 5.1/pcm/atmos.

In the app, go into Gear Icon → System → About My System. It will tell you what format is being played by any speaker playing.

Couple things to double check:

  1. In the Apple TV Settings under Video and Audio → Audio Format, make sure that the Change Format is “off” (not Dolby Digital!) and that the Dolby Atmos toggle right below it is set to “on”. Example.
  2. You have to be playing Apple Music from the Apple TV. The Sonos App unfortunately uses a low-end version of Apple Music. No Atmos or even lossless. Whenever you post about playing something for testing, please include the device on which you are playing it.
Ken_Griffiths

Apple TV will automatically send Atmos over DD+ in its default setting (as long as the Atmos option is turned on in settings). It is smart enough to change from LPCM to DD+ when on an ARC-only HDMI port.

I can even toggle my HDMI port between ARC and eARC and Apple TV will seamlessly alternate Atmos formats.

If you have Apple Music, I would recommend turning on one of the playlists “Made for Spatial Audio” as all the tracks will be Atmos and you’ll have lots of pleasant testing material running.

Surprised when I do this the S2 app just says Apple Music, not what format is playing. No 5.1/pcm/atmos.

Seems rather clear the TV is not supporting pass-through of Atmos audio. I would still personally suggest you consider using an audio extractor, like Arcana/VAX04101 to bypass the TV altogether, or just live with DD/DTS 5.1 audio … and maybe get the suggested HT surrounds.

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@ProUSAConstitution,

Also note the Apps built into the TV are not the ones to use for your testing - nor the Apple TV (when set to its default LPCM multichannel codec) as that codec requires HDMI-eARC - you need to set the audio format to ‘off’ and select (DD+) Atmos audio.

Maybe try an episode of Jack Ryan (series 3) on Amazon Prime as a test and see what displays on the ’Now Playing Screen’ for the Arc in the Sonos App.

Apple TV will automatically send Atmos over DD+ in its default setting (as long as the Atmos option is turned on in settings). It is smart enough to change from LPCM to DD+ when on an ARC-only HDMI port.

I can even toggle my HDMI port between ARC and eARC and Apple TV will seamlessly alternate Atmos formats.

If you have Apple Music, I would recommend turning on one of the playlists “Made for Spatial Audio” as all the tracks will be Atmos and you’ll have lots of pleasant testing material running.

Surprised when I do this the S2 app just says Apple Music, not what format is playing. No 5.1/pcm/atmos.

P
Userlevel 6
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That rings me a bell. If the Apple TV is connected to a regular HDMI (non-ARC) port on the TV, would it be able to send Atmos over DD+?

Because this TV has just one ARC port, which is being used by the Sonos Arc.

Yes, that’s how it works. ARC returns the audio channel coming in from the other HDMI ports, and the built-in TV apps. 

F
Userlevel 3
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That rings me a bell. If the Apple TV is connected to a regular HDMI (non-ARC) port on the TV, would it be able to send Atmos over DD+?

Because this TV has just one ARC port, which is being used by the Sonos Arc.

Ken_Griffiths

Apple TV will automatically send Atmos over DD+ in its default setting (as long as the Atmos option is turned on in settings). It is smart enough to change from LPCM to DD+ when on an ARC-only HDMI port.

I can even toggle my HDMI port between ARC and eARC and Apple TV will seamlessly alternate Atmos formats.

If you have Apple Music, I would recommend turning on one of the playlists “Made for Spatial Audio” as all the tracks will be Atmos and you’ll have lots of pleasant testing material running.

Thanks, I didn’t realise that the ATV audio format would auto-switch and detect the port in use by the Receiver, 👍

P
Userlevel 6
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@ProUSAConstitution,

Also note the Apps built into the TV are not the ones to use for your testing - nor the Apple TV (when set to its default LPCM multichannel codec) as that codec requires HDMI-eARC - you need to set the audio format to ‘off’ and select (DD+) Atmos audio.

Maybe try an episode of Jack Ryan (series 3) on Amazon Prime as a test and see what displays on the ’Now Playing Screen’ for the Arc in the Sonos App.

Apple TV will automatically send Atmos over DD+ in its default setting (as long as the Atmos option is turned on in settings). It is smart enough to change from LPCM to DD+ when on an ARC-only HDMI port.

I can even toggle my HDMI port between ARC and eARC and Apple TV will seamlessly alternate Atmos formats.

If you have Apple Music, I would recommend turning on one of the playlists “Made for Spatial Audio” as all the tracks will be Atmos and you’ll have lots of pleasant testing material running.

F
Userlevel 3
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@ProUSAConstitution, I don't have an Apple TV, so I don't know if these apply, but worth a shot:

You can't play sound in Dolby Atmos if Quick Start is turned off in Settings. To check, go to Settings > Apps > iTunes Movies and TV Shows > Quick Start.

 

Audio format: By default, Apple TV uses the best audio format available. You can change the audio format if you’re experiencing problems with playback. Select Audio Format, then select Change Format and choose either Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital 5.1, or Stereo.

 

When testing these, be sure the Vizio is set to bitstream and the cable is connected to its HDMI1 (ARC) port.

 

EDIT: The cable that comes from the Sonos Arc connected to Vizio's HDMI1 (ARC). The cable that comes from the Apple TV to any other HDMI port

P
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Also I called Sonos and they said adding a sub or surrounds does NOT improve or effect the Soundbar in any way.

Some of us hoped that the crossovers would send the proper information off to the other speakers thereby making the Soundbar work less and cleaner, etc.

My impression was the person was just reading a script and may or may not have understood my language or the tech/science.

I have read opposing information in forums addressing this question, people trying to improve the Soundbar and not just add fill to the room.

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John B

You must not have read my last post, or something else is going on with your thoughts and post of seeming frustration, I do not know.

The way we and a lot of people use forums: is to communicate and learn from each others trial and error, experiences and knowledge.  But for this to be efficient and right/factual, we need the whole picture and facts/truth. So that's why in my last post I stated that I physically found a movie or TV show that according to Amazon prime is listed as Atmos specifically. I tried that and the sound bar did not produce Atmos. It was only dolby 5.1 and I did try multiple different settings on the TV. It changed on the S2 app as being PCM or 5.1 NOT Atmos.

So I am using the process of elimination and passing that information on to the other forum members knowledge. I understand that a main problem is that the tv is the failed link in the chain. But I wanted to be positive with the test and results and not just assume.

I did this so we all have the whole picture and facts of what is going on.

Are you saying Amazon is lying when it says Atmos, it is not? Or are you saying I am a thick headed Moron due to continuing to post information here?

Ken_Griffiths

Note too, that the Amazon Prime App can vary across devices - not all may show the Atmos logo, but perhaps just ensure you’re not misinterpreting the Audio Description logo for Atmos content, see the attached image showing the two logos - sometimes people see AD and expect Atmos, but Jack Ryan is definitely available (on compatible devices) encoded in Atmos audio for its original soundtrack, but if there is something along the path to the Arc that does not support Atmos (eg the TV), the audio sent will fallback to the lowest common denominator, usually DD 5.1 or PCM stereo in some instances.

 

 

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