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Sonos beam 2 HDMI ARC Dolby digital/Atmos pass through

  • 2 December 2022
  • 8 replies
  • 3978 views
M

Hi all

After reading all the wonderful reviews (what hi-fi) about how good sonos products are. I purchased a Beam 2 sound bar. Only after installation do i now find out it will only play in PCM stereo mode and not Dolby 5.1 or the holy grail Atmos. Due to TV HDMI technological drawbacks. Like a majority of people i have a smart TV, Panasonic Viera, Sky Q HD, Fire TV stick, Netflix etc. I’m not going to replace a perfectly good TV just to get better sound. Had i know this before purchase i probably wouldn’t have bothered. How do i get proper Dolby digital sound from my sound bar while still being able to control the sound with one remote not the phone app. I’ve read about HDMI switches but I’m unsure how they work and why i need one. My TV has 2x HDMI + 1x HDMI ARC not eARC as I’ve now found out is needed in order for it to work properly. 

Many Thanks

 

moonbeam

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Best answer by GuitarSuperstar 2 December 2022, 15:47

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8 replies

G
Userlevel 7

What specific model TV do you have?

Consider getting the HDFury Arcana eARC adapter. It allows your external media devices to bypass your TV and send audio directly to the Beam. I use the Arcana with my old Panasonic plasma and Apple TV 4K, Roku Ultra, and Panasonic Blu-ray player and it works great with my Sonos Arc. You will need to get an HDMI switch too. The ROOFULL switch works really well with the Arcana.

 

Arcana:

https://hdfury.com/product/4k-arcana-18gbps/

 

ROOFULL switch:

https://a.co/d/cVMzbUe

 

NOTE: There are a couple of other devices like the Arcana out there that are less expensive, but they don’t seem to work as well.

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

Thanks for the reply. Wow they’re not cheap over half as much again for the HDFury Arcana eARC and roofull switch. I wish SONOS would make this clearer before purchase. 😭

jgatie

You most certainly do not need eARC to get Atmos.  Atmos from Dolby Digital+ is what most streaming sites use, and DD+ only requires ARC.  However, your TV needs to support the codec.  What is the make and model of your Panasonic TV?  If it does support DD+/Atmos, there are probably some settings that need to be changed.

Also note - Atmos requires every device in the chain - Source, streamer, TV, Sonos to be Atmos capable.  For instance, Atmos from Netflix requires a premium account.  Atmos from Fire TV requires an Atmos capable Fire TV device (Fire TV 4K, Fire TV 4K Max, Fire TV Cube).  

 

M

You most certainly do not need eARC to get Atmos.  Atmos from Dolby Digital+ is what most streaming sites use, and DD+ only requires ARC.  However, your TV needs to support the codec.  What is the make and model of your Panasonic TV?  If it does support DD+/Atmos, there are probably some settings that need to be changed.

Also note - Atmos requires every device in the chain - Source, streamer, TV, Sonos to be Atmos capable.  For instance, Atmos from Netflix requires a premium account.  Atmos from Fire TV requires an Atmos capable Fire TV device (Fire TV 4K, Fire TV 4K Max, Fire TV Cube).  

 

Its a TX-50AS600 . When i set my Sky Q to digital i get no sound. Only on normal can i hear anything. I’ve read about Atmos broadcasts are only on certain Sky Ultra HD package for live football 💤. I’m new to Netflix. I’d read they are broadcast in Atmos but this is not the case. Clearly this is misleading as you have to pay extra on top of the already extortionate monthly subscription fees for several different companies. To be fair the speaker sounds okay in PCM stereo. Would i be able to hear much difference in reality. 

jgatie

Set the SPDIF setting to ‘Auto” in the Audio Advanced Settings menu.  That will give you Dolby Digital from Dolby sources.  The TV predates Atmos, so I doubt it would support it, but give it a shot.  

M

Set the SPDIF setting to ‘Auto” in the Audio Advanced Settings menu.  That will give you Dolby Digital from Dolby sources.  The TV predates Atmos, so I doubt it would support it, but give it a shot.  

Already done that. Tried watching netflix through the TV app and it works perfectly so not sure what the issue is

G
Userlevel 7

Set the SPDIF setting to ‘Auto” in the Audio Advanced Settings menu.  That will give you Dolby Digital from Dolby sources.  The TV predates Atmos, so I doubt it would support it, but give it a shot.  

Already done that. Tried watching netflix through the TV app and it works perfectly so not sure what the issue is

That TV model was released in 2014. It can probably play Dolby Digital 5.1 audio from some of the TV’s native apps, but more than likely it will not be able to pass through 5.1 audio from any external media devices. I have a 2013 Panasonic TV with the same limitation.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
ThatOneDude
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

I have an LG 50um7300aue, a budget 4K tv from 2019. I decided to get the Beam 2 for it but was unsure if my TV supported Atmos or not. Once set up properly (ARC, Pass-through, Bitstream, etc.) it was outputting Dolby Atmos (according to the app) but only for about 20-30 minutes and then it would reboot the TV. I keep trying but get the same results over and over again. I suppose that means my TV doesnt really support Atmos? If thats the case then why does it work for a while? I changed some settings so now it just outputs DD+ 5.1 (or lower) and that gives me zero problems. It was worth a shot, still sounds great regardless. 

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