{"id":203,"date":"2025-03-26T16:53:07","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T16:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/a.flowindsurfing.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/11\/how-to-get-dts-sound-on-sonos-arc-and-beam\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T11:39:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T11:39:38","slug":"how-to-get-dts-sound-on-sonos-arc-and-beam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/26\/how-to-get-dts-sound-on-sonos-arc-and-beam\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get DTS sound on Sonos Arc and Beam"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-content cf entry-content content-spacious\">\n<p><strong>If you\u2019ve got a Sonos soundbar, such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/reviews\/sonos-beam-gen-2\">Sonos Beam (Gen 2)<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/reviews\/sonos-arc\">Sonos Arc<\/a>, then you may initially have been put off by the lack of DTS support. As of a recent firmware update, Sonos\u2019 soundbars now support DTS but only the basic compressed version, not the full lossless DTS-X and DTS-HD MA. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s OK for older DVDs, but if you\u2019ve got Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray discs then you\u2019re potentially losing out on sound quality with the compressed sound format. <\/p>\n<p>For the most part, it\u2019s a strategy that works until you try and play a Blu-ray that only has a DTS soundtrack, in which case you\u2019ll probably find that you don\u2019t get any sound. So, what can you do about it? The answer really depends on the type of kit that you have. Here, we\u2019ll explain the different options.<\/p>\n<section class=\"block block-squirrel\">\n<div class=\"squirrel_div\" data-make=\"Sonos\" data-model=\"Beam\" data-loaded=\"false\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"wp-block-keystone-faqs\">\n<h2 class=\"faqs-title wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-short-version\">The Short Version<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stick with standard DTS<\/li>\n<li>Use PCM audio<\/li>\n<li>Check what audio you are getting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"block video-player\"><\/section>\n<section class=\"block block-mobile-ad block-mobile-ad-double\" style=\"height: 620px\">\n<div class=\"ad-label\" style=\"height: 20px\">\n        Advertisement    <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-inner\" id=\"ad_mobile-in-article_1\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"schema-how-to wp-block-yoast-how-to-block\">\n<ol class=\"schema-how-to-steps \">\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1645529597508\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  1.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\"> Stick with standard DTS <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">The easiest option is to stick with standard DTS, although you won\u2019t get the full quality audio and you won\u2019t be able to listen to the 3D sound format DTS-X, which is similar to Dolby Atmos. In this case, you don\u2019t need to do anything: the sound format will automatically be downscaled to standard DTS.<br \/>This is a good option for the soundbars that don\u2019t support higher-resolution audio, including the original Sonos Beam, Sonos Playbar and Sonos Playbase.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1645529615822\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  2.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\">Use PCM audio<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/07\/Panasonic-Blu-ray-Bitstream.jpeg\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">If you have a Sonos Arc or Sonos Beam (2nd Gen), both of these have an HDMI eARC input, which lets that support higher-quality sound formats thanks to the extra bandwidth this format supports. This doesn\u2019t mean that DTS-X or DTS-HD MA will work, but there is a workaround: use PCM audio instead.<br \/>With this audio format, your player decodes the soundtrack and sends it as uncompressed audio. <br \/>Depending on the player you have, you will either have the option to change the audio output to PCM for all sound formats or specifically for DTS only. My test Panasonic Ultra HD Blu-ray player, for example, lets you change the sound output for DTS audio to PCM, leaving Dolby Digital as Bitstream.<br \/>Bitstream is the best option where possible, as this is the compressed version of the audio, which can carry additional metadata required for Dolby Atmos to work.<\/p>\n<p>PCM sounds like a good workaround but it has some limitations. First, PCM strips out all metadata, so the Sonos Arc and Sonos Beam (Gen 2) will only get the equivalent of DTS-HD MA; DTS-X will not work properly. Secondly, you need to have eARC for multi-channel LPCM to get all of the channels; if you have a TV with HDMI ARC, PCM is limited to stereo sound.<\/p>\n<p>There is a workaround: buy the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/reviews\/hdfury-arcana\">HDFury Arcana<\/a> and this little box bypasses your TV. This box has an HDMI input (you can use it with an HDMI switch for multiple devices), and then two outputs: one runs video to your TV and one runs eARC to the Sonos Arc. Using this box, I sent 7.1 PCM audio from my Ultra HD Blu-ray player directly to the ARC, finally getting surround sound on the discs that I own that have DTS-only soundtracks.<\/p>\n<p>Just be aware that if your player only has a blanket option to send all audio as PCM, you\u2019ll lose Dolby Atmos support where available.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1645529688245\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  3.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\">Check what audio you are getting<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/07\/IMG_5567-e1605107994830.png\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">The problem with changing audio settings is that you can end up disabling higher-quality sound formats. Fortunately, Sonos gives you some ways to check. First, if you are playing Dolby Atmos content, the Sonos app will show you that the Sonos Arc is receiving this sound format. DTS content shows up with a display that says \u2018DTS Surround\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>For other formats, you need to go to Settings > About my System. Here, Sonos will tell you the format that your soundbar is receiving and how many channels of sound it\u2019s getting. If you see that you\u2019re only getting stereo sound and should be getting 5.1 or more Dolby Digital, then you need to check your player settings and make sure that the sound format output is set to Bitstream.<\/p>\n<p>Once you get LPCM working, then checking the same settings should show that you\u2019re getting this audio format in. If you\u2019re not, check your player\u2019s settings, and try switching inputs to and from your player to see if this fixes the issue.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-keystone-faqs\">\n<h2 class=\"faqs-title wp-block-heading\" id=\"faqs\">FAQs<\/h2>\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block faqs-content\">\n<div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1645529937470\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Do all Sonos products support DTS?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">All home-cinema products do, including the Playbar, Playbase, Beam, Beam (2nd Gen), Arc and Amp.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1645529971755\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">What DTS formats are supported?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Standard DTS only is supported; DTS-HD MA and DTS-X are downscaled.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"block block-squirrel\">\n<div class=\"squirrel_div\" data-make=\"Sonos\" data-model=\"Arc\" data-loaded=\"false\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"block block-opinion\">\n<div class=\"content-container\">\n<h2 id=\"opinion\">Opinion<\/h2>\n<h6 class=\"opinion-title\">There\u2019s no perfect solution<\/h6>\n<p class=\"opinion-content\">Sonos enabling basic DTS support makes life easier in some regards, and you\u2019ll have to faff around less to at least get audio out of DTS-only sources. The lack of support for higher-quality DTS sound formats is frustrating, particularly on the Sonos Arc and Sonos Beam (2nd Gen), both of which have the bandwidth to deal with DTS-HD MA and DTS-X. Guaranteed, these sound formats aren\u2019t as popular as Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos, particularly on streaming services, but for completeness, and for those with a lot of physical media, it would be good to see Sonos embrace all sounds formats.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-container\">\n<div class=\"author-inner\">\n            <img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/network.candrmediagroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/David-Ludlow.jpg\" alt=\"David Ludlow\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-details\">\n                <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/author\/david-ludlow\">David Ludlow<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>                                    <span class=\"job_title\">Home Technology Editor<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"socials\">\n                                                    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-ludlow-0490a24\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"the-icon tsi tsi-linkedin\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p>                                                    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/daveludlow\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"the-icon tsi tsi-twitter\"><\/i><\/a>\n                                            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"review-specs\">\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve got a Sonos soundbar, such as the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) or Sonos Arc, then you may initially have been put off by the lack of DTS support. As of a recent firmware update, Sonos\u2019 soundbars now support DTS but only the basic compressed version, not the full lossless DTS-X and DTS-HD MA. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-audio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}