Reply With QuoteI think your output setting on the tv needs to be set to digital & not pcm.
Apologies for the naive question. We have just ( yesterday) installed a Sonos Beam soundbar on our 5 year old Toshiba TV . It is connected to the Hdmi ARC port and the TV outputs in PCM ( whatever that is) also DTS Tru surround is enabled on the tv.
When playing music there is a defined left right separation, but when on Terrestrial TV or Iplayer the sound seems mono aural. Is this right. I do not have rears yet! The sound is very rich and a massive improvement on the tinny tv speakers.
My last home cinema was a full 5.1 system powered by a dvd player so maybe Im expecting too much.
Thanks in advance
Steve
I think your output setting on the tv needs to be set to digital & not pcm.
Yes I thought this , but Ive tried every menu I can find and my only option is PCM or compressed. Compressed just makes the audio quieter and “ thinner”
Steve
What's your TV model?
I have a Beam and after reading plenty of reviews I was expecting to be blown away but to be honest I’m a little underwhelmed. I got rid of a window shaking 5.1 setup because I prefer the look of a sound bar to speakers and a sub in the lounge so I think I’m in the same boat as you, it’s good but no match for a decent setup.
I have a couple of play 1s that I don’t use so may have a go at setting those up today and am considering the sub but don’t really want to go back down that route. It’s also disappointing that there aren’t any settings to mess about with, it’s just turned on and that’s it, like it or lump it
We had the same experience just before Christmas, went to our local hifi dealer up in Carlisle in the view to buying a soundbar for the tv but wasn't that impressed to be honest so came away with a 5.1 setup which naturally blew the soundbar out of the water, however we will probably get one for our caravan as it will be ideal in a small room scenario
Ps they had a B&O soundbar which blew the Sonos away but had a whopping price tag to match though
Rod its a Toshiba 32D3863DB , I have downloaded the manual and have a manual which makes reference to Dolby DTS but I cant see that anywhere on the on screen menus.Originally Posted by Rod
Mick I would be interested how the play 1s go , but even the LE versions eg no Alexa its a further £370 on top of the beams £399.
Ps talking to my Pals back in Burnley they are fed up with the snow and Ice even if Pendle looks nice!
I'll let you know how I get on
You're not wrong about the ice, been out with the dog this morning and even he was struggling to stay upright.It just won't bugger off, worst I've known it for many years - the canal has been frozen solid for over 2 weeks
I've had one for over 2 years now and think it's fantastic.
It's never going to rival a dedicated set up but for me more than makes up for that with the lack of accompanied faff with speaker stands,cables etc.
I'd say unless you have a dedicated home cinema room it's a very good option for most.
The Beam doesn't support Dolby DTS - you need to set the tv to Dolby Digital.
Ah it's got a built in DVD which will play DTS DVDs, but only through a DTS spec A/V amplifier. The sound bar will play audio though but not in DTS spec.
The Sonos at best will only play terrestrial broadcasts in Dolby Pro logic and to do that, you need 2x Play 1's as surround speakers.
Rod, you are a star. We were given this TV from the mother in law when she updated to a 43” due to her losing her sight. In all the time we have had it we never realised it had a DVD player built in. Neither did she as she also has a separate DVD player.
Now the bad news, when we moved 12 months ago as we “ didnt have a DVD player” we gave them all away to the local charity shops. So Im sat here Sonos on, newly found DVD player but no DVD’s. You couldnt make it up.
So first thing tomorrow Im going to ask my neighbour if they have a movie dvd I can try.
Again thanks to everyone on here who has chipped in with advice and comments.
Steve
Last edited by higham5; 10th January 2021 at 21:10.
Folks and their technology, I don't know! 😁😁
Finally got round to connecting the 1s and it did improve the sound a fair bit but I'm now considering the sub which isn't what I really wanted when I bought the Beam, I was hoping that a single soundbar would be enough - which it is for watching TV but I find it lacking when watching a film
Morning All
Been looking at the Sonos Beam to pair up with my LG OLED TV, mainly because of the size of the Beam and the size of my living room reviews do seem a bit hit n miss mind you the Beam is easy to set up one power cable , one HDMI cable and no remote... anyone have any other recommendations around the same size,? Beam is 25inches long
Cheers
I would be looking at Yamaha. They invented them and are still the best at it. I use a YSP2200 which is an older model but still outperforms any Sonos offering.😁
I've got one with a CX48 and it is a decent match. The Beam covers maybe a couple of cm at the screen bottom but it does not matter when watching films. The CX remote and my ATV remote both control the volume. I also have Play One SL as rears and they do improve the overall sound. I have Loudness on and done trueplay and some surround equalisation. Tbh it sounds pretty good and if I have it too loud the wife complains from the other room anyway lol. I have a YSP2500 on the other tv and that is hit and very miss on any surround effect but does sound good generally for clarity, richness etc. It sounds absolutely rubbish without the sub though.
FYI, not according to Which. Their highest rated Yamaha soundbar (YAS105) only scores 65%. The highest rated soundbars (Canton DM 60 and Sonos Arc) score 85%.
Incidentally, the Sonos Playbar scores 83%. (Both Sonos products are also classifieds as ‘Which Best Buys’. The Yamahas aren’t).
They didn’t invent them either!
Hi Reecie
Thanks for the reply, i would have the CX Remote and a Virgin V360 Remote to set the volume , are 2 remotes easy to pair with the Beam ?
Cheers
The Beam connected to my Sony remote easily enough so I don’t think you’ll have problems there
Not quite the same thing, the Yamaha is 50% bigger and has a sub which is what some of us are wanting to do away with, plus it was £800 ten years ago. I’m sure it sounds amazing but if I wanted a sub I would’ve had a far bigger range to chose from
No one has the expertise that Yamaha has in acoustics. They have one in the range at only 60cm without a sub.
I only mentioned mine because I use to sell Yamaha and Sonos and as a HiFi dealer Yamaha was consistently better.
Once again, your info is old. Sonos soundbars top most current reviews, both mainstream and specialist Hi-FI magazines/sites. Yamaha barely scrape into the top 10s these days.
(I bought a Yamaha soundbar (and subsequently a sub) years ago on your recommendation. It is still going strong. However, the game seems to have moved on and left Yamaha behind a bit).
A bit off topic I suppose but I’ve been looking at these while considering changing my current up and I just can’t justify the cost against what I’m already running.
If it’s of interest I’ve had a Canton Dm75 sound base with a Rel sub for about five years and the range seems wider to me compared to the Sonos.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for replies everyone
As said before it is mainly a size thing
Only have a small lounge and not really looking for a big Sub woofer set up...
Just a small good sounding Soundbar hence the Sonos Beam ....
Plus it doesn't have a remote one less to put on the arm of the Sofa ! 😄
Hopefully it can pair 2 remotes
Andy I had a Rel sub as part of my old 5.1 system. It was one of the reasons my missus forced me to sell the lot. She didnt call it Home Cinema, preferring “ loud telly”
I also dont think I helped myself as I had it set up sitting on a 500 mm square paving slab from B&Q, (in the lounge). Action films were just that!
Steve.
Mick do you have the loudness button on in the Sonos app switched on? I read that broadens the “ dynamic range”. I have to say mine doesnt rumble like a dedicated sub. I remember watching Saving Private Ryan and it felt like you were being crushed by the sound of the tanks!
That did make me chuckle. I’ve only got the baby T5i and it is only on a third of its overall setting. It also helps that my partner likes it and our house is detached.
My 16 year old who’s bedroom is above the lounge is less than impressed sometimes. I just claim it’s a creative way of me getting on his nerves for change.
Oh and no paving slab only boring carpet.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited by Andyp1973; 14th January 2021 at 21:24.
Hi Steve, I didn't know there was a loudness button. Can't see it on my app?
Mick as follows on my app
Open up app, opens in Settings
Choose System
Then shows products, choose Beam
Then get list Name, products, Sound, in the sound menu select EQ
Loudness is a slide on and off below Treble
Steve
What I meant they were the 1st with real surround digital processing with their YSP1.
Altec did have one before Yamaha so that was the 1st one I believe.
Very nice sounding bar
https://www.t3.com/reviews/bang-oluf...eview-soundbar
Yep. The ATV one was already paired from the previous tv. The LG Magic remote use RF rather IR so I think it is doing it via the HDMI set up. I believe it is more fiddly if you use an optical connector. Tbh I don't really like the LG remote for volume changes as you have no sense of where it is or the jump a single press does. I find it easier just to say "Alexa set volume to 2" or whatever or use the ATV remote for it. The LG mute is also infuriating as the mute symbol does not go away. So I have to trick it (when play Xbox with headphones) by setting it to mute, then going up a notch with the remote and then down again to mute it finally which for whatever reason gets rid of the floating mute symbol that a straight forward mute leaves in place. It is a first world problem irritation.
found it. Loudness was already on but I've sneeked the bass up a little and set up the tru play and it does sound a lot better. May watch a film later to test it out but at the minute I'm a lot happier with it
Cheers Mick glad I could add 1%, most of the time Im asking for help and advice on here!
If you ever find your way back to the Four Alls the first pint is on me
Solved the problem of getting Dolby 2 or 5.1 to the Sonos.............Buy a new 2020 model TV! . Bought a new Samsung and now all the outputs are there.
Steve
Anyone else having trouble with the Sonos Beam not sounding very clear , had an answer from the AV Forum.. this applies to my LG CX OLED TV but may be a generic thing
For the CX/BEAM
The Digital Sound should be set to Pass through and not Auto ,then check the Sonos app should be Dolby Digital 5.1 ( if the channel is playing in that format)
I only have the Virgin V360 BOX and Sonos Beam as inputs but this has made a lot of difference to the sound quality
Cheers
^^^^^^^Thanks for this ^^^^^^^^
I recently purchased a Beam and, as some have suggested previously, I was a little underwhelmed with the sound as so many reviews had raved about how good it was. Mine is linked to an older LG TV and I have to use the optical out to connect the Beam to the TV. I was tempted to return it to Sonos.
I thought I had configured the TV correctly but after reading your comment I had another look and on changing things as you mention the sound is so much better. I can actually hear the dialog clearly now rather than having to constantly rewind to try and catch what is being said! The bass lines are also improved.
Thanks!!
Its interesting that the Sonos Beam has little or no instructions, claiming to be correctly configured once you install it with the app.
Yet this thread has revealed the out of the box condition really benefits from tweaks to the TV and the Beam to get the best out of it. A great use of the TZ resource in raising the game.
Steve
Hi All
Just set up the Symfonisk rear speakers.. to my LG CX and no sound !, i get speech and background from the rears when i click living room on the app , ( not background on its own ) also on the app i haven"t got this surround Audio feature
It appears with "(+LS+RS)" in the Products section.
Under Sound, tap Surround Audio.
The sound out is passthrough on the CX the speakers are working with music fine just no background, watching Football on BT ULTIMATE so should be something there !
Cheers
Dont know if this helps. With you mentioning LR and RS is that left stereo and right stereo? Eg not set up for surround set up for stereo.
On my app if I go to system , then products ( in my case living room) , when I tap on living room I get a sub menu called Products. On there is the beam, below that “ connect a sub , below that add surrounds.
The link below mentions LS RS
https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3335?language=en_US
Thanks H5
Do i need to un pair them ?, when i go to living room it doesn't open any other pages on the app !! Bit strange... just dont think you should have speech in the surround speakers !
cheers
Last edited by arthurDALEY; 30th January 2021 at 19:41.
Hi Im no expert as my Sonos knowledge is only two weeks old. I would start by making sure you have the latest app downloaded on the phone. From memory of trawling the net Im sure there is a rear speaker setting where you opted for ambient of full.
Wait here it is!
https://www.smarthomesounds.co.uk/bl...d-sound-system
Steve
That is weird i have the updated app, when i try this ( you have the Gold Coloured app ? ) Go to your Sonos app then select:
Settings > System > Select the room your system is in > Surround Audio > Music Playback > Choose Ambient or Full
i go to the list of rooms click on living room in the list and nothing happens ?
Cheers
Last edited by arthurDALEY; 30th January 2021 at 22:00.
Yes Im on the gold coloured app. Are you sure your sonos beam is living room? Whichever room you have the beam installed in it will say
Room xxxxxxxx
Beam
Where xxxxx is the room associated with the beam, if beam doesnt appear under the room, then its not in that room, if that makes sense.
If you go on settings and select “ about my system “ it will tell you which room the sonos is associated with.
If I was you I would do what you suggested earlier, un pair the speakers and try re installing. If that fails then I would set the beam up again, as you know its only a 15 min job
Good luck
Steve
Last edited by higham5; 30th January 2021 at 23:27.
Hi H5
Yes all connected to Living room in the system , they are all working just speech is audible , watching the Cricket on BTSport its very clear out of the rears
I will uninstall them , it is weird
Did you set them up one speaker at a time then pair ?
Cant comment on installation as I dont have any rears. If you go on you tube it shows them being set up one at a time.
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