# Some Help Needed On Surround Sound



## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

I’m after some help and advice please on adding to my new tv to create a surround sound system or as close as I can get to it (please excuse the ramblings or any of my inaccuracies)
I have just purchase a Samsung QLED 70Q tv and was considering a Sonos Playbase together with 2 Sonos Ones in the lounge (to give a surround effect) then another Sonos One in either the kitchen or bedroom to support both radio and iPhone music.
The problem I have with Sonos is there is no HDMI-ARC connection, the codex is Dolby Digital and this may soon be out of date (I may be wrong on this one)

Having spoken to the Samsung Rep at John Lewis today he is recommended the Samsung 70 soundbar to match the tv which has Digital ATMOS and DTS-X (which I think?? Is more up to date) 
With the Samsung Sounbar there is no capability of adding extra speakers as the main soundbar is suppose to give cinema quality sound??
There appears to be two separate options here one is to create a (close to) cinema system with the Samsung soundbar, or two, a surround sound system which can be added to with additional speakers to create a household system as in the case of the Sonos system
So Is ATMOS and DTS-X the way to go or will Dolby Digital be around for years to come.

Price wise we are looking at £1150 for the Sonos Playbase and 3 speakers against £599 for the Samsung soundbar (£200 off at JL at the moment)

Thanks for your help and once again apologies for my ramblings but any advice from anyone who has any of the above systems or knowledge of the above would be very much appreciated.


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## dholdi (Oct 1, 2008)

Personally, and I realise everyone has different preferences, I would be looking at an AV receiver rather than a soundbar. I know its more hassle to get wired etc but imho the sound quality far exceeds that of a soundbar.


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## slobbox (Jul 14, 2019)

+1 for the AV system. Yes it is a bit more of a faff to set it up hiding the speaker wires ect but well worth it in the long run and many modern AV Receivers come with WiFi support to stream music.


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

Thanks Guys will look into the AV side


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## shl-kelso (Dec 27, 2012)

Apart from the TV what other sources do you have (if any) to use?

Do you envisage getting a UHD blu-ray later?

Are you going to be wanting to implement Dolby Atmos?

Are you likely to implement a 7.1 setup plus additional atmos speakers?

Sonos is a neat solution but the current Playbar/Playbase is a little out of date - only support Dolby Digital, no DTS suport, no lossless HD audio support or Atmos. However if you are only using the built-in smart TV apps etc then this might not be a major issue. It’s also a very simple setup, and gives you a very flexible music streaming/multi-room capable system too. You might find the bass a bit light, which means adding a Sonos Sub as the bar/base does not allow connection of a traditional subwoofer. Note that there may be an update to this model shortly, which probably means adding Airplay 2 support and HDMI (as fitted to the Beam), but Sonos always play their cards close to their chest so you’ll only get to hear about this just before it launches. 

AV separates offer the most flexibility, but you need to be prepared to cable everything up and set it all up properly. Accommodating a full 7.4.1 Atmos install means lots of speakers and lots of cables, but it can sound awesome. It’s not cheap to do well either, but need not be dissimilar to your budget for a Sonos system if you choose well.


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## macca666 (Mar 30, 2010)

camerashy said:


> Thanks Guys will look into the AV side


Just for info to add a point to shl-kelso post.

I've got a Yamaha AV receiver with 5.1 surround. I've got Sonos speakers elsewhere in the house and connected my surround sound to my Sonos via a bridge so even if you go Forman AD set up you should still be able to connect Sonos through it.

I've had mine for years now (think they stopped producing the bridge in 2014 and now produce a boost) but it should still work in the same way.

Have to say it's great for parties for the sound quality and volume. Last time one of my mates turned the volume up the floor was vibrating from the sub :lol:


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## dholdi (Oct 1, 2008)

A lot of AV receivers also have a Zone 2 for another room.
My ancient Onkyo does so I would guess most of the newer ones do too.


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## shl-kelso (Dec 27, 2012)

macca666 said:


> Just for info to add a point to shl-kelso post.
> 
> I've got a Yamaha AV receiver with 5.1 surround. I've got Sonos speakers elsewhere in the house and connected my surround sound to my Sonos via a bridge so even if you go Forman AD set up you should still be able to connect Sonos through it.
> 
> ...


You need a Sonos Connect for use with a separate amplifier, the Bridge/Boost is just an extender for the Sonos wireless mesh (or to bridge from wired ethernet to Sonos mesh of no other Sonos device is in range). Since So is added the ability to use standard wifi directly then the Bridge/Boost are not usually so relevant any more.

I do use Sonos extensively and also have a dedicated AV receiver with Tannoy Highline 500 speakers plus SVS sub in my "cinema" (actually my lounge with a wall-mount 75" LCD), and do have a So is Connect hooked up too for music duties. For me personally the Playbar/Playbase/Boost with Play1/One/Play3/Play5/Amp (with conventional speakers) would be too limiting, especially as use UHD Blu-ray quite a bit. I don't have Atmos (my amp is capable but I've not got cabling in place nor an easy way to run cables to the ceiling) but I'm happy with what I've got.

But it takes quite a bit more effort to install and set up compared to a Sonos setup, and for some the Sonos simplicity will win out over the extra performance of a full separates system.


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## shl-kelso (Dec 27, 2012)

dholdi said:


> A lot of AV receivers also have a Zone 2 for another room.
> My ancient Onkyo does so I would guess most of the newer ones do too.


You are right, and some even have a third audio-only zone too. However there's no universal approach to implementation (so for example many may only allow analogue sources to be played in the other zones), and then you have the issue of how to control the extra zones from those areas. Maybe not so hard if the AV amp has a smartphone app you can use, not so easy if the only control is via an IR remote!


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

Thanks everyone for your help and guidance......
Shi-Kelso .....I just have the tv and blue ray DVD player.
I don’t think the AV route is the way I want to go too many units and cabling.
I would be happy with a soundbar with ATMOS and/or DTS-X with 2 rear speakers and a sub if needed capable of ApplePlay etc.
Thanks again.


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## shl-kelso (Dec 27, 2012)

If you want rear surrounds then maybe the Samsung HW-Q90R soundbar is one to take a closer look at. It ticks all your boxes and does get great reviews. The surrounds and subwoofer receive their audio signal wirelessly but do need a local 13A mains socket to power them. So this gives you a 5.4.1 Atmos setup with the minimum of fuss. 

If you don’t mind loosing the rear channels then the HW-Q70R soundbar is quite a bit cheaper but still seems to get very good reviews too.

I’ve no direct experience of these though, and I’d always suggest auditioning them for yourself to make sure you are happy with their performance before parting with any cash.


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

Thanks mate reading a few reviews on the Q90R it sounds as if there are communication problems between the sound bar, speakers and sub

May stick with a Sonos Beam/Playbase and see if the new Sonos Move speakers come out in a few months time


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