Playbar's audio from optical cable of TV is excellent. Music streams at much lower volume and quality.

  • 1 July 2021
  • 6 replies
  • 228 views
M

This is not a new problem for me. I’ve been trying to rectify for over a year.

When I use the playbar through an optical audio cable from my TV, it sounds rich and full. This is the case for all sources (antenna channels, streaming, and DVD/Blueray). However, when I stream music through the Sonos app, the sound is thin and gutless. This is the case from all sources too (Apple Music, Sonos Radio, and even Tidal “master” level high fidelity).

I am beyond disappointed at this point. I want so badly to love this speaker but it has been a giant letdown. Does anyone have any new ideas since I last posted this problem a year ago?

 

Thanks!

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6 replies

Ken_Griffiths

What was the outcome of Bruce’s suggestion in your post/thread a year ago to speak with the Sonos Support Staff. I assume your device was checked/tested by them🤔 and perhaps equally importantly why have you then waited a whole year to raise the same issue again?

My suggestion would be to add Surrounds and a Sub (or maybe two Subs) to the setup, but it all depends if you want to goto that expense?

M

Ken,

Thank you for your response. Yes, I followed Bruce’s suggestion and have been engaging with the support staff off and on the entire year. I’ve been on the phone with them 2-3 times with no success or resolution.

My reposting a year on is due to the ongoing nature of the problem, my disappointment, and a small hope that maybe in the last year someone else had this exact problem and had found a solution.

Adding more components would certainly help the sound, but it still wouldn’t rectify the strange problem of different audio qualities from the app versus the optical audio/TV. I know it must sound like I’m missing something or am just wrong about the different audio quality - I’ve wondered the same thing. I am convinced at this point that I’m not wrong, though. When I play, for example, The Greatest Showman via Disney + streaming, the musical numbers are rich, full, and forceful. At the same volume point via Apple Music or Tidal they sound thin and weak. It’s baffling and disappointing and frustrating.

Plus I’m a little scared off by this problem. I’d planned to buy a Five by this point but haven’t yet due to worry that my opinion of Sonos wasn’t correct.

Ken_Griffiths

I’m perhaps then just not quite as patient as yourself to have waited a further year, but…

It perhaps might just be a case that your TV source/output is loud - my TV and cable box vary in volume and I see a difference between standard and HD channels.

Do things sound the same if you increase the volume when playing music? Have you tried adjusting options in “Settings/System/[Playbar Room Name]” including the EQ/Loudness options and ensured ‘Volume Limit’ is not in use.

Have you checked all speakers in the unit are actually working by playing test files such as ‘Stereo Check’ (Loudspeaker Test) by Bunker Analog, which is available via most streaming services?

M

Ken,

I will do the stereo check in the next few days, thank you. Increasing the volume does not solve the problem - the audio gets louder but still sounds thin and “tinny” compared to the TV/optical audio input. Yes, I have checked the volume limit and EQ settings - unfortunately to no avail. I’ve also tried tuning the speaker versus using the basic tuning. That actually results in worse audio for some reason. 


Thank you again for your reply. I’ll check back in after the loudspeaker test.

Matt

Ken_Griffiths

Ken,

I will do the stereo check in the next few days, thank you. Increasing the volume does not solve the problem - the audio gets louder but still sounds thin and “tinny” compared to the TV/optical audio input. Yes, I have checked the volume limit and EQ settings - unfortunately to no avail. I’ve also tried tuning the speaker versus using the basic tuning. That actually results in worse audio for some reason. 


Thank you again for your reply. I’ll check back in after the loudspeaker test.

Matt

I’d be surprised if there are any issues with the speakers as the TV audio obviously sounds okay to you.. but what is your music audio source and do you know if it’s CD quality?

K
Userlevel 7
Badge +16

Have you got Sub + surrounds connected?, could be the Disney version is mastered different due to Dolby Digital 5.1?.

I have the 5.1 setup and use it mostly for music now (Play:1 surrounds in Full Music mode), never had an issue with poor sound quality.

I wonder if for some reason the streaming services are sending a poorer quality stream to the Playbar?, I mostly listen to local FLAC files, Deezer, Mixcloud and Tunein all are fine.

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