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Answered

Will my TV/Box work with Sonos surround?

D

My TV: Samsung un40h5003af

Streaming Box: Mi Box 3

My room: It's a fairly large room (25x15 feet) though I don't need to fill it all (neighbors). The TV and the couch are about 10 feet apart. 

The TV has 2 HDMI ports (one used for the Mi Box, the other says “HDMI/DVI” but I’ve had an Xbox on it with success in the past) and an optical out (no ARC). The spec says that it supports DTS digital output, Dolby Digital Plus output, Dolby Pulse output.

The manual [1] says “The SPDIF (Sony Philips Digital InterFace) outputs an uncompressed digital audio signal when you connect the digital audio jack on the back of the TV to a digital audio in jack on a receiver or home theater. Audio Format: You can select the Digital Audio output (SPDIF) format. The available Digital Audio output format may differ depending on the input source. ✎ By connecting the TV to a receiver or home theater with Dolby Digital and 5.1ch speakers and selecting Dolby Digital, you can maximize your interactive 3D sound experience”

 

The Mi Box 3 supports “DTS 2.0+ Digital Out, Dolby Digital Plus, Up to 7.1 pass through”, and has a SPDIF Out / 3.5mm audio output.

 

So now my questions are:

  1. Will this setup work with a Beam + 2x Ones/SLs and deliver true surround? I use quite a bit of Netflix, Spotify and Plex (own media, usually in AC3, or 5.1 or DTS).
  2. If not, what is the bottleneck and a path to achieving surround?
  3. Product recommendations: One option for me is Beam + 2x Ones/SLs. Would that be better than just one Five (without a Beam)? I experienced Five at a local store yesterday and it blew my mind (relative to One). But getting 2 Fives is out of my budget. I could in future get another Five for stereo. My budget is ~$600-700 (Arc is out because it’s too large for my TV and stand).
  4. Whatever your recommendation, what are the ideal connections (optical, HDMI etc), and media types to rip (specifically for Plex self-media)?

[1] https://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/201409/20140916102600998/[UH5003-ZC]BN68-05829Q-01ENG-0915.pdf

Best answer by GuitarSuperstar

You need to check if your TV can passthrough 5.1 audio from the Mi Box 3 (or any other external media device) through your TV’s optical port to the Beam. There is a good chance that it can’t. You’ll have to contact Samsung to confirm.

Ideally, you would connect the Beam to your TV via HDMI ARC, but since your TV is not equipped with HDMI ARC, you can use the optical adapter to connect it to your TV’s Digital Audio Output (SPDIF).

FYI… the Beam only supports audio up to Dolby Digital 5.1. It does not support Dolby Digital Plus or DTS or Dolby TrueHD that you would normally get from a Blu-ray disc.

Also, the Sonos Five is a music speaker and not designed to be used as your primary home theater speaker other than the option of using a pair of Fives as rear surround speakers.

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10 replies

G

You need to check if your TV can passthrough 5.1 audio from the Mi Box 3 (or any other external media device) through your TV’s optical port to the Beam. There is a good chance that it can’t. You’ll have to contact Samsung to confirm.

Ideally, you would connect the Beam to your TV via HDMI ARC, but since your TV is not equipped with HDMI ARC, you can use the optical adapter to connect it to your TV’s Digital Audio Output (SPDIF).

FYI… the Beam only supports audio up to Dolby Digital 5.1. It does not support Dolby Digital Plus or DTS or Dolby TrueHD that you would normally get from a Blu-ray disc.

Also, the Sonos Five is a music speaker and not designed to be used as your primary home theater speaker other than the option of using a pair of Fives as rear surround speakers.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
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GuitarSuperstar wrote:

You need to check if your TV can passthrough 5.1 audio from the Mi Box 3 (or any other external media device) through your TV’s optical port to the Beam. There is a good chance that it can’t. You’ll have to contact Samsung to confirm.

Ideally, you would connect the Beam to your TV via HDMI ARC, but since your TV is not equipped with HDMI ARC, you can use the optical adapter to connect it to your TV’s Digital Audio Output (SPDIF).

FYI… the Beam only supports audio up to Dolby Digital 5.1. It does not support Dolby Digital Plus or DTS or Dolby TrueHD that you would normally get from a Blu-ray disc.

Also, the Sonos Five is a music speaker and not designed to be used as your primary home theater speaker other than the option of using a pair of Fives as rear surround speakers.

Thanks for the response. My TV setting has an option of "Dolby Digital" under SPDIF which is greyed out. Isn't that passthrough? Currently the only other option there is PCM. 

 

Second question, when you say 5 is for music, what exactly makes it for music? What will I miss out on using it for TV?

G

Your TV supports Dolby Digital 5.1 audio through the Digital Audio Output (optical) port, but it may or may not send the audio from an external media device (like the Mi Box 3) connected to your TV’s HDMI ports through your TV (pass through) and out through the optical port. Oftentimes older TV models will convert the 5.1 audio to 2.0 stereo PCM rather than passing the audio through unchanged. That’s why you should contact Samsung and ask them:

“Can the Samsung UN40H5003AF pass through 5.1 audio from an external media device connected to the TV’s HDMI port through the TV’s optical port to a soundbar?”

 

Sonos sells home theater products like the Beam or Arc that allow you to easily connect the speaker to a TV via HDMI ARC or optical. The Five is not considered to be a home theater product and doesn’t have a good way to connect to a TV.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
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    didntreadit
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Nor does the Sonos Five have the chipset to interpret anything other than a stereo signal, so it can not handle a full 5.1 signal.

It does function well as a surround device, when paired with another Five, although many, including me, consider a pair of Fives to be overkill for surround duties. Spectacular as a music speaker, though.  

Bruce
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  • didntreadit
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The Samsung person says that the TV does support passthrough.

 

I'm not totally sure why "Dolby Digital" is greyed out though and only PCM is selected, and how I would be able to choose DD.

G
didntreadit wrote:

The Samsung person says that the TV does support passthrough.

 

I'm not totally sure why "Dolby Digital" is greyed out though and only PCM is selected, and how I would be able to choose DD.

Dolby Digital is probably greyed out because you don’t currently have a Dolby Digital-supported system connected to your SPDIF output.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
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  • didntreadit
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Got it. So theoretically, connecting the TV to Beam through optical should work.

2 more questions for my understanding:

1. The Mi Box settings allow me to choose between PCM and SPDIF audio formats. So far it was set to PCM but I've now changed to Recommended. Did I change it to something else?

2. Should I connect the Beam to the TV or the Mi Box? 

G

Are there any other audio format options to choose from? If not, leave it on “Recommended”.

Connect the Beam directly to the TV.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
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  • didntreadit
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There's also Manual where I can enable DD, DD Plus, DTS etc. 

G

Try it set to “Recommended” and “Dolby Digital” and see which works the best.

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