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Playbase or arc.

  • April 11, 2021
  • 16 replies
  • 578 views

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I have got a sonos home theater system with the playbase but I'm now thinking about replacing it with the arc.

Will I be blown away by the difference or upset for spending Β£800???

Please help

Β  Simon.Β 

Best answer by GuitarSuperstar

@NizzyΒ Whether or not you will be β€œblown away” by the difference is largely dependent on your TV and its ability to pass through higher quality audio like Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD,Β Dolby Atmos, or multichannel PCM.Β What model TV do you have? Do you use any external media devices?

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16 replies

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  • Prodigy I
  • April 11, 2021

I went from a playbar to the arc and noticed a major difference, so I would assume you would.Β 

Easy enough to find 15% off codes as well and grab it for Β£679.Β 


@NizzyΒ Whether or not you will be β€œblown away” by the difference is largely dependent on your TV and its ability to pass through higher quality audio like Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD,Β Dolby Atmos, or multichannel PCM.Β What model TV do you have? Do you use any external media devices?


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  • Author
  • Contributor II
  • April 11, 2021

Firstly thank you for replying so quickly.

I have a year old Samsung 50inch TV but my sonos is connected to to my sky q box which supports atmos.Β 


Which specific model is your Samsung? Is it equipped with HDMI eARC?


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  • Author
  • Contributor II
  • April 11, 2021

Not sure about the model but yes it has hdmi.

Wouldn't the arc run though the sky box via hdmi or optical???Β 


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  • Prodigy I
  • April 11, 2021

Arc uses hdmi into the TV, then sky box into another hdmi port on the TV. To get full lossless dolby Atmos you require earc however.Β 

Can you try find your TV model. Will be on the about settings in the menu or on the back of the TV.Β 


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  • Author
  • Contributor II
  • April 11, 2021

Samsung 7 series 50


  • April 11, 2021

Not sure about the model but yes it has hdmi.

Wouldn't the arc run though the sky box via hdmi or optical???Β 

Absolutely not. The connection on the Arc is compatible with eARC and HDMI-ARC. Usually these are on TVs only. An HDMI connection from Sky box to Arc would produce silence.


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  • Prodigy I
  • April 11, 2021

Samsung 7 series 50

Β I'm taking a guess that it's aΒ Samsung UE50TU7100K. Ideally still need the full model, but if it is that one, then yes your TV supports earc and yes would be a big difference to the playbase.Β 


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  • Author
  • Contributor II
  • April 11, 2021

Found it.

Model ue50ru747qu


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  • Prodigy I
  • April 11, 2021

Yeah, don't think that model supports Earc and just has a normal arc port.Β 

Unless you are going to use a Blu-ray player or ripped mkvs etc, you won't be able to get Dolby Atmos - True HD (uncompressed). You will be able to get Dolby Atmos - DD+ (compressed) audio.Β 


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  • Author
  • Contributor II
  • April 11, 2021

Thank you for your help πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘


To clarify, yourΒ TV should be able to playΒ Dolby Atmos/Dolby Digital Plus audio from some ofΒ the TV’s native apps like Netflix and Prime Video,Β but it may or may not pass through Dolby Atmos audio from an external media device like the Skybox. Regardless, youΒ should be pleased with the improvedΒ audio you will get withΒ theΒ Arc connected toΒ your Samsung TV.


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  • Author
  • Contributor II
  • April 11, 2021

Hello my friend.

On the q box you can change the sound settings to dd/atmos wouldn't that help.

I'm nearly 50 years old so I'm not clued up enough now πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚


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  • Prodigy I
  • April 11, 2021

Yeah, it will work, just make sure the Sonos Arc, plugs into your arc port on the Samsung, then the Sky box is plugged into another hdmi port. Then set digital audio output hdmi to Dolby digital plus. As long as you have a UHD subscription, you will then be able to get Dolby Atmos through the sky q box.Β 


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  • Author
  • Contributor II
  • April 11, 2021

Great thank you very much.

My wife is going to kill me now πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘