Sonos Beam and Apple TV, yay or nay?

[mactipple]

I'm looking to add a sound bar for a projector and Apple TV HD setup. I don't want any wires running to the Beam so the idea of just using AirPlay to send the audio is appealing to me however I can't seem to find reliable information on how well this would work and what audio formats it would actually support. Will AirPlay support Dolby 5.1 or Dolby Atmos? I've read that you can only do Dolby Atmos via connecting the Apple TV to a device that has hdmi arc. In any case, my projector only has hdmi in.

The alternative would be two HomePod Minis but then it would only be at best a stereo pair?

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[bozzykid]

Save yourself the headache and connect the beam to your projector via HDMI.

 

[JamesMay82]

I have the original player 5.1 system which connects via digital aux but I had an issue that some TV's don't support 5.1 over digital aux. Sony & Panasonic don't as an example but my latest LG TV does.

I imagine that HDMI could maybe have the same compatibility issue depending on manufacturer so I'd be keeping that in mind if I was you.

Other than that I still recommend Sonos and I think the 5.1 is fantastic so the new stuff can only be better.

 

[bozzykid]

I have the original player 5.1 system which connects via digital aux but I had an issue that some TV's don't support 5.1 over digital aux. Sony & Panasonic don't as an example but my latest LG TV does.

I imagine that HDMI could maybe have the same compatibility issue depending on manufacturer so I'd be keeping that in mind if I was you.

That will not be an issue over HDMI.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

OP, if your projector doesn't support ARC, you might spend more to inject one more piece in the chain: a Receiver. The receiver can then forward AppleTV video to Projector and up to ATMOS audio to any speakers (albeit through wired connections). In this exact setup, it would be 2 runs of HDMI from Receiver: one to TV and one to Soundbar.

Among many other benefits- and there's a LOT of benefits with a good Receiver- this would also open the door to letting anything else you'd like to watch on the TV and hear through your speaker(s) vs. being relatively locked down with only AppleTV as a source. Game console? Cable/Satt? Over-the-air free TV? Aunt Meg brings over the old VCR with home movies? Blu Ray Player? CD player? Camcorder? Someone want to show you something on their Android device? Etc.

I am both an Apple everything person and a Sonos person... so I suspect you can really enjoy the Beam. However, given that a projector is usually in play for BIG picture, may I suggest you consider Sonos's bigger soundbar: ARC? Arc will likely bring "bigger" sound to your big picture. Yes, it costs a bit more than Beam but you'll probably enjoy either for 10+ years. If you are ready to buy immediately, the refurb Arc is significantly discounted for Labor Day weekend making it almost the same price as a new Beam. Sonos refurb is like Apple refurb: seemingly as good as new, same warranty, etc.

Opting for HomePods would definitely be stereo at best and there is not a single rumor about Apple seeking to do anything more than stereo with them. So between those 2 choices, Sonos gives you massive flexibility without much compromise. For example, Sonos works fine with Apple Music (and dozens of other services too) and works just as well as an Airplay speaker (I do this frequently myself). The HP "smarts" already exist in your AppleTV, iPhone, iPad and/or Mac. For example, on any of those ask Siri to play a favorite playlist of your own creation in the living room and that Beam or Arc will soon be playing that playlist.

Lastly: for someone who is trying to avoid showing ONE wire, this next suggestion probably flops miserably... but again, since you are using a projector for presumably a big visual experience, consider going to the trouble of setting up a TRUE surround sound and/or Atmos system... which cannot really be accomplished by any single speaker/soundbar positioned up front. Marketing for such products pitch ATMOS but that's using trickery to try to fake surround sound. If that worked as well as the real thing, every theater in the world would dump the abundance of speakers positioned all over the theater and put a soundbar down front under/over the screen. That would be far cheaper for theater owners. So why don't they? Because the sound is not nearly as good as the real thing.

True surround or True Atmos needs a mix of speakers- usually "dumb" speakers that can't be made obsolete due to software or walled garden dependencies- positioned all around you and overhead (anyone's ears can certainly hear the difference)... which takes speaker wire runs... which can be challenging to get in place ONE time. In exchange for going to that trouble, your "big" sound will likely best match up to your big picture. That will really maximize a home theater far better than any single speaker/soundbar. It can be a fair amount of trouble once to get it in place but then you get to enjoy it for the next 10-20 or more years. If you are interested but absolutely can't go into the wall for the runs, there are some good options to effectively hide the wires behind strips that look like moulding if not outright moulding.

 

[Dc2006ster]

I tried that combination a few years back. I have a quite old TV and play content using Infuse and from streaming services. The Beam is impressive but at that time I found it a hassle to integrate the beam with my Apple TV remote for volume control. Things may have changed since then but to me it was an inconvenience I did not want to deal with so I returned it and picked up a pair of HomePods which integrate seamlessly and produce more than acceptable sound quality that is at least as good as did the Beam. Anything I send to the Apple TV via Airplay is played by the HomePods.

The sound is not as spectacular as would be obtained from a true multi speaker home theatre but my days of pursuing ultimate sound quality are long gone. To my ears the HomePods are just as impressive as was the Beam and seem to handle Atmos sound, and any other format I throw at it, quite well. I do enjoy the effect and she who must be obeyed enjoys the convenience..connect it and forget it.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Sonos integration works perfectly fine with CEC turned on. Volume control will work fine.

Anything to be airplayed can either be airplayed to AppleTV to play on a connected Sonos speaker(s) or directly to Sonos (without even involving AppleTV or needing the TV to be turned on).

HPs are obviously most simple in this setup but then OP is limited to stereo only and basically locked to Apple tech as source. Sonos is open to everything: EVERY music service and EVERY source of something OP wants to watch on that projector NOT available through AppleTV like game console, cable/satt, over-the-air free TV, Aunt Meg's VCR, Blu Ray Player, CD player, Camcorder, someone wanting to show you something on their Android device, etc.

HPs "just work" very well for stereo only within the walled garden. If one can anticipate ever wanting to watch or listen to some stuff from outside that walled garden, it's a good idea to consider other options. Sonos for one works just as well with both Apple Music and Airplay- including with TV and AppleTV turned off- but also offers just about all other options for anything one wants to enjoy on their primary home theater speaker(s) too. Even if someone is AppleTV-only right now, will they stay that way for the long-long life of good speakers? What if one wants the Playstation 7 in about 6 years or what if cable/satt has a resurgence now that streaming services are jacking prices so regularly? Etc.

If me, I'd pair a great receiver with my projector video and get a bunch of wired dumb speakers for at least a true 5.1 surround sound setup if not 7.1 or even full ATMOS. Then, I can maximize the benefits of AppleTV audio without any limitations on what else I might ever want to watch and hear on my home theater setup. But if I didn't want to go to that level, my next step down would probably be a 3.1 setup with maybe wireless transmission to a sub and wired rears (from that sub). And then, I probably consider Sonos ARC or similar if it must be a soundbar because I would retain the easy ability to build out a surround sound system in the future since Sonos already fully supports that now.

HPs would be towards last option because they would limit me to stereo audio only, rigid walled garden and be at the mercy of software updates jeopardizing how long the actual speaker portion of the smart speaker can keep delivering. I see HPs like I now see iMac- attractive at first glance and even in the initial buy but then "throw baby out with the bathwater" at the end when the software vintages what will be perfectly good speakers before they really need to be replaced. Note how gen 2 HP could not even stereo pair with gen 1. Good speakers should be able to be enjoyed for 10-20 or more years. Will the "smarts" portion of smart speakers allow their full use or cut it short through arbitrary vintaging decisions? (that's rhetorical. I think we all know how it will play out).

 

[mactipple]

Full surround systems are great and I have set them up in the past. My expectations for a soundbar are very different- I think it makes more sense to compare one soundbar to another, otherwise you run the risk of comparing a Prius with a Lambo, and I think it's pretty clear who is going to win that race

I just got confirmation from Sonos that you cannot Airplay Dolby to the Beam (and definitely not Atmos), which means that without running an hdmi cable to the Beam it would basically be a very expensive stereo speaker.

At this point I would be happy with a soundbar that sounds good, isn't too big and could support at least Dolby 5.1 via wireless. Wondering if something like this wouldn't be better https://www.samsung.com/uk/audio-devices/soundbar/s61b-white-hw-s61b-xu/#specs

Do any soundbars support surround formats over bluetooth?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Bluetooth basically struggles with even stereo if one is chasing quality of sound: too much compression. To try to squeeze what is basically 6 channels into that same constrained bandwidth would involve slicing that pie up that much smaller. If you want quality of sound, Bluetooth is not the answer. There's no way around that. Bluetooth is just not made for it.

If you must have wireless but care about quality of sound, seek out the options that work with wifi. Wifi has much more bandwidth than Bluetooth.

The very best quality of 5.1 (or more) surround sound will involve wiring the speakers. Besides maximizing quality of sound, it will also NOT be eating up that chunk of your home wifi bandwidth when in use... thus you could be watching something in surround sound without putting some pinch on anyone else doing things on other devices connected via wifi.

While even more of a generality, smaller speakers/soundbar will sound inferior to bigger speakers/soundbar. So the definition of "sound good" will be key here. It appears you need to take some of your favorite music and videos to a local A/V retailer and listen to the quality of small vs. big soundbars to pass your own judgement. Everyone who replies here will have a different definition of "sound good" vs. your own ears. So any posts will not perfectly align with what you would think if you were listening with your own ears.

Lastly, for the true "surround" in the term "surround sound" speakers must surround your seating position. Some soundbars try to fake that with various kinds of trickery but there is no way for any speaker up front to replicate the sound of "surround" speakers behind you as effectively as speakers actually behind you. This is basically technical ventriloquism. The best ventriloquist in the world can't sit in front of you and actually throw their voice behind you.

So if you want something with minimal wires, look at the soundbar packages that toss the subwoofer and rear speaker audio wirelessly from soundbar to sub... like Nakamichi or, again Sonos. Tuck the subwoofer behind or beside the seating position and wire up the rears to that sub. This can be a great stand-in that will sound much better than any single soundbar trying to cover all surround bases... without fully wiring up for true 5.1 (or better) surround/ATMOS.

That Samsung bar has an add-on purchase to put two rear speakers behind you: what they call the Wireless Rear Speaker Kit... but those require the other kind of wire- POWER- so might as well use a lone speaker wire to each vs. a power cord to each. The bonus would be that you would have a true sub for the .1 part too which will far outperform any bass from any skinny little soundbar.