Surround system with 2x Era 100 + Beam (G2) + Sub Mini - which formats ?

Some options...

1. No..Find a friend or relative with a recent iPhone or iPad to run Trueplay
2. Depends.  I one of my rooms it made a massive difference, especially for Music, but other rooms it did little.  So it’s hard to say until you try it.
3. Not sure I get what you mean

If Trueplay option is not there for the Beam 2 then make sure ALL your sonos products are switched on (including Roam or Moves) and check for updates.  I had this issue and it was because one of my Moves that was on standby, wa on an older version.

4.For supported formats Sonos give that info here:-

https://support.sonos.com/en-gb/article/supported-home-theater-audio-formats

If there is a correct Surround signal the Sonos app will show it for that room

5.For test sounds use a Netflix or Amazon Prime test a downloaded file will not produce proper results.

Hope some of the above helps

Where do I see this information on the app ? I don’t see it and I don’t see any place that would show it. Could it be missing in the Android app ?

5.For test sounds use a Netflix or Amazon Prime test a downloaded file will not produce proper results.

I don’t think that’s correct. Normally in the same setup but the HDMI connected to my Denon AV receiver , I get proper Atmos and DTS audio.

This is where the codec shows

It will show the same for the Android app. If it’s not there then you may need to check the eARC setting on the TV. 
 

OK. Now I found it. I had thought that I could see it in the settings of the room.

It just shows on the screen where room is selected for listening.

Anyway, I see “Dolby Atmos” but I don’t feel like getting the surround sounds from surround speakers.

They are not standby, they produce sound , but I don’t get different sounds as I should.

For example, when a simulation is being played and there is a bee sound which should be at the back of the room, I hear the bee both from back (era 100) and from the front (beam)

I vaguely recall a thread some while ago where a Sonos rep said that playing test tones won’t play to individual speakers/channels the way they do in most systems. This may have been specific to Atmos tones? But as I recall, the Sonos soundbar plays the sound to the same kind of “balance” to represent how it will sound in the normal listening position.
 

Perhaps someone with a better memory than mine can comment, or maybe add a link to that thread. Or maybe a Sonos rep could comment? 

Atmos test tones are positionally based, not channel based.  Though you may hear them coming out of the “correct” channels (“correct” being a big misnomer), the position of the tone in your particular room determines which speaker(s) are playing what.

You state “Btw, that’s weird because when I was using the Era’s as a stereo pair , the Sonos app would give me the option to use trueplay. Why it does not support trueplay in surround mode (when it is really needed)”. You were seeing the quick tuning function of Trueplay, that disappears when bonding the Era's with the Beam that does not support the quick tuning function of Trueplay. See https://support.sonos.com/en/article/trueplay-compatible-devices-and-sonos-products

thanks for all the answers/comments.

I see that Trueplay is needed and it is a pity that Sonos choose not developing this feature on Android.

“If you don't have a supported device, you can borrow one from someone else”

that’s ridiculous and really not an acceptable answer from producer of quality electronics devices.

I don’t have a friend with an iphone. Even if I had, I wouldn’t want to install sonos app on their phone and let them access my non-guest wifi network, using my sonos account credentials.

my best shot would be to hire , or buy/sell an iphone.

I am an android developer btw. If I had an SDK provided by Sonos, maybe I could write a 3rd party app for Android.

Writing the App for Android would be easy,

Crafting the frequency/volume curves for every even slightly different Android mike, not easy.

Sonos should sell a calibrated USB mike that would work on any Android device.

There are numerous threads explaining why the huge variations in microphone performance used on android phones makes it so difficult to create the sound profiles created/needed in the full Trueplay process.
 

Personally, I find the explanation perfectly acceptable, and the workarounds are an acceptable option. I have tried Trueplay but I do not use it in all my rooms as it doesn’t always result in improvement. 

This doesn’t make sense…

• Beam and Sub Mini are connected to the same network switch. Era 100s are connected to the same Ip subnet through wifi….

The setup for a Beam, Sub Mini and Era 100’s as surrounds is a lot simpler than you have described. Unless you’re just providing information. If so...the wording is off 🤔.

Below is how a Sonos home theater should be configured….

Beam Setup

• Beam should be added to your Sonos as a room via Wi-Fi with no switch involved 
• Connect the Beam to your TV following the instructions via the app
• Configure the Beam to work with your TV remote to control volume

Era 100 setup

• Era 100’s should be added to your Sonos as separate rooms no switch involved.
• Do not combine them as a stereo pair
• Place them in position behind your couch

Setup Era 100’s as surrounds

• In the app go to the room with the Beam and select “Add Surrounds”
• Follow the app instructions

Add Sub Mini

• Add the Sub Mini to your Sonos system by selecting “Add a product/speaker” in the app
• Once done...Go to the room with the Beam and select “Add a sub”
• Follow the app instructions

That’s all...you’re done. If Necessary, the only product that should be wired to your router (or switch although not recommended) is the Beam. 

​@nik9669a is correct regarding the variations in microphone implementation on Android devices making it un-feasible to implement TruePlay. If you have a solution as an Android developer, I urge you to contact Sonos corporate to present your design/implementation to make TruePlay possible.

Maybe better than contacting Sonos with a workable Trueplay on Android solution would be to do your own App.

I would happily pay a reasonable price to be done buying Apple devices, running Trueplay, then sticking them in a drawer for months or longer. I have a nice collection of "no longer supported" Apple devices I never had any other use for.

Good USB Mike's aren't nearly as expensive as Apple devices and should never end up unsupported.

https://www.amazon.com/Dayton-Audio-UMM-6-MeasurementMicrophone/dp/B00ADR2E68/ref=sr_1_40

If one USB microphone is acceptable, why wouldn’t all of them be?

Same reason each Apple device needs individual correction curves, differences in output response versus input audio.

Might be more forgiving if the USB mikes had near equal responses, not sure just how picky Trueplay is about that, but any variation from the expected would be reflected in Trueplay's corrections.

Back when I messed about with recording I found mikes with near identical paper specs sounded very different from each other when the recordings were played back. Some were discarded or returned as nobody wanted to use them.

Almost forgot to add the mike's pattern, omnidirectional, Cartoid and a bunch I can't recall.

I don’t see why Sonos requires calibration for microphones. This is a simple task. The microphone will receive sounds from each speaker and the “same microphone” will be collecting information from each speaker. It does not need to be calibrated because the app will compare the sounds received from the “same” microphone.

Sonos might be trying to achieve a better , more professional output with this feature (Truplay) but surround speaker owners with only an Android phone would accept a simple solution. Sonos can call it another name if it is not Truplay as they imagine.

I didn’t understand why “it doesn’t make sense” for you. I didn’t have any problem setting up the system. I just provided information on how my setup is (as you guessed) 

Why the wording is off ? (btw, I am not a native English speaker, but I don’t see the problem in my wording)

 no switch involved.

you wrote that twice. Why do you think no switch should be involved ?

I prefer ethernet cable connection over wifi as it is more stable. As long as all Sonos speakers are on the same IP network, I don’t see a problem connecting them through cable & switch. Is there an official statement about “not using cable/switch” ?

Without knowing the sensitivity of the microphone at different frequencies, how will Trueplay know whether a poor response at that frequency is as a consequence of the room acoustics or the microphone? There has to be calibration first. 

A good read about Trueplay can be found here: https://tech-blog.sonos.com/posts/trueplay-spectral-correction/

Maybe that also clears up why calibrated mics are needed.