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music through tv and music through phone

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Subject: YouTube Sound Difference: Phone vs. TV (Arc, Sub, and Fives)

Hi everyone,

I have a Sonos setup with an Arc, Sub, and a pair of Five speakers, and I’ve noticed a big difference in sound when playing YouTube through my phone versus my TV.

  • When I play YouTube from my phone (casting or AirPlaying to Sonos), the music sounds much quieter, and it feels like I’m not getting the full range of sound.

  • When I play YouTube on my TV, the Fives seem to only output ambient/background sound, while the Arc and Sub are more prominent.

I also noticed that when playing from my phone, changing the "Full" or "Ambient" setting in the Sonos app actually makes a difference—if set to "Full," the speakers play much better. But when playing from the TV, switching between "Full" and "Ambient" doesn't seem to change anything.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a setting I might be missing to get a more balanced sound across all speakers when using YouTube on TV?

Thanks!

Best answer by jgatie

There is no “Full” mode for sources coming from the TV.  The TV source is played as is because it is expected that the TV source is actually TV.  For streaming source played from the app, there’s no equivalent volume to the TV source.  The volume is whatever the service sets it at. So comparing the two will be a moot point. 

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3 replies

jgatie
  • jgatie
  • 27755 replies
  • Answer
  • March 28, 2025

There is no “Full” mode for sources coming from the TV.  The TV source is played as is because it is expected that the TV source is actually TV.  For streaming source played from the app, there’s no equivalent volume to the TV source.  The volume is whatever the service sets it at. So comparing the two will be a moot point. 

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  • Donatas
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  • Contributor II
  • 8 replies
  • March 28, 2025

Thanks for the explanation! That makes sense about the TV source playing audio "as is."

But I’m still wondering—why is the sound much quieter when playing YouTube from my phone compared to YouTube on my TV, even though it’s the same content? Shouldn’t the volume be more consistent between the two?

Is there a way to adjust this so that streaming YouTube from my phone has a similar volume level to when it’s playing from the TV?

Appreciate any insights!

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  • Donatas
  • Author
  • Contributor II
  • 8 replies
  • March 28, 2025

I’ve noticed that if I turn off the surround setting, the Fives stop playing completely when watching TV. This doesn’t make much sense to me—why can’t they just play in stereo for music and still be used for movies without being forced into surround mode?

Is there a technical reason for this limitation? Or is there a way to use the Fives as separate speakers for both music and movies without them being set as surrounds?

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