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Sonos Or Back To 5.1?

  • 27 April 2021
  • 8 replies
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C
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I recently purchased the Sonos Surround Set. The Arc wasn't working, so I ordered a replacement. I've now had some time to play about with the system. My thoughts:

 

1) The sound quality is good, but I'm not blown away. I only get a "Wow!" feeling when listening to Dolby Atmos test footage. Now, I realise that sound quality depends on the source, but I wasn't blown away by Blu-Rays and Netflix films that supposedly have good sound quality.

 

2) The sub seems to make no difference. It is definitely connected and active, but there's no difference when I switch it off and on. 

 

3) The rear speakers (Sonos Ones) are good, but I find that I have to be really close to them to get the benefit. This might be a personal thing. When it comes to the rear speakers, I don't really want a subtle sound that you hear occasionally. I want to feel like I'm in the middle of the film.

 

4) Night Mode seems to make no difference. Voice Enhancement seems to make no difference.

 

5) I tested T2 Judgment Day on Blu Ray, and the Sonos App says that it was being played in Stereo. Not Dolby or 5.1. I'm sure that's not right, so I'll investigate further. 

 

6) My TV (Sony Bravia 4K) doesn't have E-Arc - it just has Arc. I know that you need E-Arc to get the full benefit of the Arc, but will it make that much of a noticeable difference? I fully intend to upgrade my TV at some point, but until then I'm not sure if I want to fork out on the Arcana, especially if I buy it and the difference isn't clear or obvious. 

 

7) Years ago, I had a 5.1 system. With that, I used to crank the centre speaker and both rear speakers. This might not be the "correct" approach, but it gave me the sound I like - clear dialogue and immersive background sound. If this is my preferred approach, am I better returning the Arc for a simple 5.1 system? 

 

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Best answer by GuitarSuperstar 29 April 2021, 20:27

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8 replies

G
Userlevel 7

It sounds to me like you are limited by your TV. What is the exact model TV that you have? What is the highest quality audio you have heard from the Arc?

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
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I have a Sony Bravia 4K. KD 55X8509C. It’s a 2015 model. 

 

After playing around with the Arc, I can get the following:

Dolby Digital 2.0 (Normal TV, BBC iPlayer)

Dolby Digital 5.1 (Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV & iTunes Movies on 3rd Gen Apple Box)

Stereo PCM (Blu-Ray Player - with UHD 4K Blu-Rays, Now TV on Apple Box)

 

I don’t know the “ranking” of sound formats, but I imagine that True Dolby or Dolby Atmos are near the top, and better than Dolby Digital 5.1. 

 

Some things I’m still not sure of:

-If I unplug the arc, or any of the speakers, do all my settings reset? 

-In the “Surround Audio” section of the app, there are two settings. When I increase or decrease “TV Level” it controls the surround sound in the Sonos Ones. That’s all good. But when I increase or decrease the “Music Level”, nothing happens?

-Since I’m not even seeing the option to get Dolby Atmos, I’m guessing it is either due to my TV (tool old) or the lack of an eArc? My Blu-Ray player is Atmos capable. 

 

 

G
Userlevel 7

You are definitely limited by your TV. But at least you are getting Dolby Digital 5.1 from streaming apps and the Apple TV.


If I unplug the arc, or any of the speakers, do all my settings reset?

No

 

In the “Surround Audio” section of the app, there are two settings. When I increase or decrease “TV Level” it controls the surround sound in the Sonos Ones. That’s all good. But when I increase or decrease the “Music Level”, nothing happens?

The “TV Level” setting only adjusts the surround volume when in TV mode. The “Music Level” setting only adjusts the surround volume in music mode.

When in music mode, you can also set the surrounds to either “Full” or “Ambient”. Most users set it to “Full”.

 

Since I’m not even seeing the option to get Dolby Atmos, I’m guessing it is either due to my TV (tool old) or the lack of an eArc? My Blu-Ray player is Atmos capable.

Yes, your TV is older and isn’t equipped with HDMI eARC. Because of this, you will not be able to get Dolby TrueHD/Dolby Atmos audio from your Blu-ray player. That is why you are limited to stereo PCM.

If you want Dolby TrueHD/Atmos and multichannel PCM audio from Blu-rays and UHD discs, you could get the HDFury Arcana. This device will allow the Blu-ray player to bypass your TV and send audio directly to the the Sonos Arc. I have one connected to my setup of a 2013 Panasonic Plasma, Roku Ultra, Apple TV 4K, and UHD player and it works great. The Arcana allows me to get the highest quality audio from all three devices even though my TV is almost 8 years old.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
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Nice! Thank you for your responses. Very helpful. 

 

So, if I purchase the Arcana, will it improve everything? As in, will everything go up a level? So the 5.1 becomes Dolby True, and the Stereo PCM becomes 5.1? Depending on the input, of course.

Also, would you say that the Arcana makes a noticeable difference? I ask because I often read that things make a big difference (Sonos Sub VS No Sub, Bookshelf Speakers VS Satellite Speakers) but when I’ve investigated and compared, I rarely notice a big difference. 

 

G
Userlevel 7

The Arcana will allow you to get the highest quality audio that your devices/apps support. The most noticeable difference for you will be from Blu-ray and UHD discs. You would be going from Stereo PCM audio to lossless Dolby TrueHD/Atmos or multichannel PCM audio which is a pretty dramatic difference IMO. 

The audio from your Apple TV (Gen 3) will remain the same since it only supports Dolby Digital 5.1. But if you decided to upgrade to the Apple TV 4K, with the Arcana you could get Dolby Digital Plus/Dolby Atmos audio from Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and Apple TV+ which would be a slight improvement over what you are currently getting.

FYI… if you decide to get the Arcana, if you want to connect multiple external devices to it, you will need to use an HDMI switch. This is the switch I use: https://www.amazon.com/ROOFULL-Switch-Vision-Switcher-Compatible/dp/B083NWKPXW/

But with your current setup, I would just keep the Apple TV connected directly to your TV and only connect the Blu-ray player to the Arcana since the Arcana won’t improve the Apple TV’s audio.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
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Thanks, GS!

C
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Decided to buy Apple TV 4K. I’ve looked into the Arcana, but they’ve told me it has to be run through the Apple box. Is that right? 

 

Re-reading your last message, does that mean I’ll need to unplug and re-plug everything whenever I want to watch a Blu-Ray?

G
Userlevel 7

The Arcana only has a single HDMI IN port. If you want to connect more than one external device to the Arcana, you need to get an HDMI switch like the one I mentioned above. The Apple TV 4K and your Blu-ray player will connect to the HDMI switch. The HDMI switch would then connect to the Arcana’s HDMI IN port. The TV will connect to the Arcana’s HDMI OUT port and the Sonos Arc will connect to the Arcana’s eARC OUT port like the diagram below:

 

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