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Sound ARC playbar sound format?

  • 1 March 2021
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M
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Hi Folks

can someone kindly help me please?

i was considering buying a gen 3sub, the reviews I read about the ARC playbar suggest that a sub may not be necessary as the bass response from the ARC is supposed to be very good, the question I ask is as follows

i don’t have EARC on my Samsung tv only ARC hence I won’t be able to play in Atmos 😥

what sound formats will the playbar be able to play using the ARC output from the tv?

Many Thanks

Martin

 

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Best answer by Ken_Griffiths 1 March 2021, 16:55

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4 replies

Ken_Griffiths

The Arc, without eARC, will be able to play PCM, Dolby Digital/Plus (2.0/5.0) and the usual audio formats. You will basically just be missing out on:

  • Dolby TrueHD (Dolby Atmos) 
  • Multichannel LPCM 

See these two links too:

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/4945

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/79

 

 

 

 

M
Userlevel 1
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Thanks Ken

will I not get DD 5.0 without the sub?

which would be the best format without EARC?

Martin

.

melvimbe

Thanks Ken

will I not get DD 5.0 without the sub?

which would be the best format without EARC?

Martin

.

You can get dolby digital plus, which a lossy format used by most streaming sources and does allow for atmos content.  if you have the Arc by itself, you’ll essentially have up to 5.0.2 as the soundbar will bounce the atmos and rear channels off the ceiling and walls.  If you add rear channels, you still have 5.0.2 as the Arc will no longer bounce the rear channels off walls...essentially.  Add a sub to get 5.1.2.  Of course you only get 3.0/3.1 with stereo PCM, or 5.0/5.1 with DD+ non-atmos sources.

If you want to use eARC without upgrading your TV, look at the HDFury Arcana.

Danny
Ken_Griffiths

Yes, I was trying to keep matters simple, as to what you will (most probably) actually be able to get from your TV with its Arc Port. The Arc is capable of handling Dolby 5.1.2 audio, but it’s likely the TV with Arc may only output Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Plus 5.1… probably with/without atmos metadata. The two things you won’t get however, is uncompressed Dolby TrueHD or Multichannel LPCM, as both those codecs require an eARC port connection. So the Sonos Arc will play all other formats with a connection using an HDMI-Arc port.

Most users set their TV output to Auto, or Dolby Digital Plus. If ‘DD+’ isn’t supported by the TV then select Dolby Digital 5.0/5.1 - NB: the Arc will ‘merge’ .1 LFE channel using the mid-range drivers, although I would also recommend you consider adding a sub and the two rear surrounds to the Arc, at a later time perhaps.. maybe moreso than upgrading the TV. 

If your TV (streaming) Apps support Atmos, you will get compressed Atmos with DD+ too, but usually the TV may not have those Apps (this usually depends on the age of the TV) - the TV may not support pass-through of the codecs aswell in some instances, but there are products on the market to get around some of the older TV limitations, such as HD Fury’s Arcana (for eARC uncompressed atmos audio capabilities) or even some much cheaper audio switcher/splitters for compressed atmos audio. If you need to read more about those devices then see these links:

https://www.hdfury.uk/product/hdfury-arcana/

And just as an example…

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PS4JGX1

Hope that assists further.

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