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Producer I
March 7, 2017

NO DTS on NEW PlayBase and thats not due to hardware limitations.

http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/3/7/14828738/sonos-playbase-tv-speaker-soundbar-announced

"But home theater enthusiasts might be disappointed with some of the technical details. For one, the Playbase doesn’t support DTS multichannel audio. Neither does the Playbar. Here’s what a company spokesperson had to say about that decision (emphasis ours):

For home entertainment, DTS content is only found on physical media such as DVD, Blu-ray and Laserdisc – no video streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu support DTS. Sonos is focused on modern listeners who predominantly stream and because most physical discs encode DTS at bitrates substantially similar to Dolby Digital, we have decided to not support DTS on PLAYBASE as we don’t believe it offers a better listening experience for the majority of owners."

I really love my SONOS system. The sound is indeed great, but I cannot understand how it comes that SONOS isn’t paying any attention to all the users that have been claiming for DTS support for years now.

Apparently, they don’t plan to support anytime soon because they are affirming that SONOS is made for the modern users that uses streaming and no streaming service offers DTS at the moment. Ah they also said on the interview that there is not much difference on DTS sound.

SONOS was one of the first speakers to support Hi-Fi and always have been on the vanguard for audiophiles. I really think that these comments are discrepant and are at least conflicting with the company’s past. I really hope that SONOS reconsider.

There is also a segment about HDMI support on the article.

“While newer HDMI standards such as HDMI ARC and CEC promise increased control functionality, they are unlikely to be found on TVs that are several years old and are still implemented in a fragmented way across newer TV models,” the Sonos spokesperson said. “We continue to monitor the state of HDMI audio implementations in the market for future roadmap products.” 

Apparently, we cannot expect SONOS to be on the vanguard anymore.
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43 replies

Lyricist II
November 20, 2017
sonos saying they support modern customers with 1979 dolby digital support. I paid for a premium product that they cant be bothered to update to allow increased functionality. money grabbing bastards.
Lyricist I
December 2, 2017
Wake up Sonos - Add DTS and you’ll sell a whole bunch more units - the ROI will be a no- brainer.
Trending Lyricist I
December 8, 2017
Ditto. Just found this out as my playbar just would not produce sound from a movie file with dts audio while my TV speakers do. Super disappointed
Lyricist I
December 11, 2017
I am moving into a new place in a few months, and was strongly considering Sonos 5.1 surround for my new 4K TV and 4K Blu-Ray. After discovering that Sonos will not support DTS, it is extremely unlikely that I'll be able to purchase this product. Hopefully Sonos will change course and introduce DTS into its Playbar.
Viva
Lyricist III
December 16, 2017
I bought the Playbar recently to accompany my new Sony 4K TV, admittedly enjoying the sound, but cannot get away from the fact that as a premium product it should have DTS; having already found a few things that steadfastly refuse to play, because of course, they’re DTS. I really want to know, if it’s possible for them to just add this at a later date to current hardware (via software)? As things stand I will be returning it and sticking with my ageing Pioneer LX03 that many years ago, supported DTS and every known format at the time!
AndH81
Avid Contributor III
December 17, 2017
It seems to me that moving with the times and utilising the latest technology is not one of SONOS' strong suits; neither is listening to their customers.

If you contact them in regards to a Playbar 2 with multiple HDMI ports instead of an optical only cable and DTS compatibility, they will deny that their customers have ever requested this and tell you that an 'optical cable is the future because of streaming content like Netflix' - both of which are simply not true. I can only speak for myself, but my Netflix and Amazon accounts stream from my player via an HDMI connection to my TV, and it's the output that is then limited by the use of the stupid optical cable!

HDMI is the standard, optical cables are archaic - there's not a huge range of TVs which even support a basic 5.1 input/output through an optical cable (most only do 2.0) and even then it's often compressed.

You also only have to spend 5 minutes searching the boards to realise HDMI ports and DTS compatibility are two of the most requested features.

Unfortunately SONOS are a bit like Apple: they're not interested in what their customers want, they hear what they want to, and they prefer to dictate. Their customer service has always been pretty lamentable in my experience.
Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City.
Airgetlam
December 17, 2017
I rarely count on CSRs who answer the phones to know and give necessary corporate strategy information. The simple fact is, we don't know what Sonos is planning, nor is it likely that we will know until they have some sort of announcement. It would equally be questionable if the CEO would be to announce their company's roadmap for other competitors to copy.
Bruce
Trending Lyricist I
December 20, 2017
I just hope they will do something about it. Its simply annoying I have a lot of digital files that I stream to my tv that have DTS and none of them produce sound... I agree with some of the other comments that I should have known this and read through the specs before buying but its such a big minus point. Makes the playbar a lot less enjoyable
Lyricist III
December 23, 2017
This kinda news make me wanna sell all my Sonos stuff...

https://www.whathifi.com/news/samsungs-dolby-atmos-soundbars-get-dts-51-update
Lyricist I
December 30, 2017
I own various Play 3 and Play 5 Gen 2 speakers around my home and are very happy with them. I have been reading all these posts about the DTS problem and i agree with most people, why on earth would sonos come out with a Playbar or Playbase that does not support DTS? A high end home cinema product with a high price tag that is very limited regarding what it can decode.

I have a denon AVR amp that im using that has all the Codecs you need paired with the Q Acoustics 7000i speaker package, which is cheaper in cost and offers better connectivity. I was looking to downsize to just use a soundbar, wireless sub and a couple of wireless speakers. After reading this about the Playbar and this DTS problem im now looking at the Bose Soundtouch 300 as it is better value for money for what you get overall. The Bose Soundtouch accepts DTS signals, has HDMI and is similar priced.

From reading the posts it looks to me that sonos dont care what people think and are only doing what they want to do. Come on Sonos listen to your existing customers. All i can say is Sonos you have lost a sale from me.