Will I get 24 bit ausio on a play 1 if it is connected with the Arc? I would love a technical explanation of the sonos ecosystem to understand better. Does each speaker have a DAC? Can I override this with an external DAC if needed?
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Apologies to OP for digressing this thread!
Anyway, quick Search for “Bonded” and the first thing that comes up under Support is:
https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/create-a-stereo-pair
Admittedly, despite that articles wording, I agree with 
ha ha.
Yes, I agree with you both there. I would always refer to a stereo pair as being “paired” rather than “bonded”, but add a Sub into the equation of the stereo pair and that’s probably where I would use the terms interchangeably. Going forward, outside the HT, I will stick to “pairing”!
Edit: just another example.
https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/home-theater-or-stereo-pair-appears-as-not-configured
- When a Sub or Sub Mini has lost communication with its bonded speaker
It’s not specific that the above bullet point is only referring to a HT setup, so I think you can see my confusion over the terms.
Yes, I agree with you both there. I would always refer to a stereo pair as being “paired” rather than “bonded”, but add a Sub into the equation of the stereo pair and that’s probably where I would use the terms interchangeably. Going forward, outside the HT, I will stick to “pairing”!
Edit: just another example.
https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/home-theater-or-stereo-pair-appears-as-not-configured
- When a Sub or Sub Mini has lost communication with its bonded speaker
It’s not specific that the above bullet point is only referring to a HT setup, so I think you can see my confusion over the terms.
I do actually see the sub as being ‘bonded’ to a stereo pair, but maybe that’s just me 
It’s just usually a case that the term ‘bonded’ is mentioned most often with HT setups - only time I use ‘pair’/‘pairing’ is when two speakers the same/similar are setup together for use as the left/right stereo channels.
Ok this is exactly what I suspected and helps makes sense of these different behaviors! For clarity, I currently have a playbar, Play 1 surrounds and a Sub(gen 2) and from what I can gather from all of your guys feedback is that if I were to replace the Playbar(master) with an Arc I will then be able to enjoy 24 bit quality because the Arc will be sending the signal to the other speakers. I guess the issue is the DAC and/or memory or something else in the older Sonos speakers but not the speaker itself and that is great news! No need to replace the older slaves...just upgrade the master
Ok this is exactly what I suspected and helps makes sense of these different behaviors! For clarity, I currently have a playbar, Play 1 surrounds and a Sub(gen 2) and from what I can gather from all of your guys feedback is that if I were to replace the Playbar(master) with an Arc I will then be able to enjoy 24 bit quality because the Arc will be sending the signal to the other speakers. I guess the issue is the DAC and/or memory or something else in the older Sonos speakers but not the speaker itself and that is great news! No need to replace the older slaves...just upgrade the master
Or switch and use Qobuz, as that service under their agreement with Sonos supports 24bit with the older Playbar (confusing, isn’t it
?).
The Play1 and Playbar are clearly is listed in the following article: https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/info/Qobuz-Vous/Qobuz-Streaming-the-compatible179461 but it does not say Hi Res like some of the others in the list. Tell you what...I will do the Qobuz free trial and do some more testing... I will let you know my findings...
The Play1 and Playbar are clearly is listed in the following article: https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/info/Qobuz-Vous/Qobuz-Streaming-the-compatible179461 but it does not say Hi Res like some of the others in the list. Tell you what...I will do the Qobuz free trial and do some more testing... I will let you know my findings...
That article is from 2017, but I believe Hi Res was only supported by Qobuz on Sonos sometime in 2021.
See this article where it mentions the Playbar being supported for Qobuz 24-bit.
Perhaps even better, see the comments here …
Very interesting...thanks...my test results will be coming soon...
Test incomplete. I have no way of confirming or denying the Qobuz 24 bit compatibility because there is no badge displaying that would indicate the resolution. I think I will be getting the Arc and while I won’t be able to enjoy streaming Apple music in 24 bit yet, what I will be enjoying is Dolby Atmos and Hi Res Lossless straight from Apple TV thanks to the HDMI eARC connection.
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