Soundbar: Atmos/DTS:X and HDMI 2.1 VRR/ALLM

M

Martin the Kiteboy

Weaksauce
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Nov 23, 2020
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Between moving and remodeling, it is time to upgrade from the serviceable but underwhelming built-in audio from my Samsung TV. The available space is small, so I prefer a sound bar to set of discrete speakers and a receiver. Frankly, I prefer a full solution from a bar only, but am sure I can find place for a discrete sub if I must.

My issue is that all the myriad I/O options and encoding schemes has me fully confused. After the soundbar, the next upgrade is a proper OLED with HDMI 2.1, VRR, and ALLM. It do not want to fall into a pit by buying a bar that will not support pass through of the lovely VRR and ALLM goodness. I’d rather not buy a bar that needs to be replaced to support VRR/ALLM.

I have no issue just using the bar to provide sound. It does not need to serve as a pseudo receiver. Totally fine having the TV handle input switching and just spitting out sound to the bar. However, I understand that Optical out does not support Atmos or DTS:X, yes? Can the bar be fed sound only via eARC? The maximum devices I can possibly foresee attached to the setup is 3 (Shield Pro 4K, PS5/XSX, PC). Fine having to use multiple remotes/devices to stitch input and adjust volume if needed, just don’t want to swap cables around.

Also, would prefer if the damn thing did not have Alexa or Assistant, but I can tolerate their inclusion if they can be disabled.

Good shit costs money. If the Sennheiser Ambeo is the answer, I would prefer something cheaper but can stomach the answer.

Let me know if I left anything out to help explain my need.
 
There are no soundbars with full HDMI 2.1 implementation. All of them are HDMI 2.0 + eARC in general.

For what you are talking about, it doesn't sound like you are even interested in a receiver in the future. In that case, just get a well reviewed soundbar with ARC and eARC, hook it up to your TV, and plug all your devices into your TV. In the future, you would be swapping out the TV, but the layout would remain the same. You should never need to pass anything through the soundbar if your TV has enough inputs at the HDMI level you need.
 
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Thanks. I figured as much after a bit more research. At least eARC is actually pretty nice and a good replacement for Toslink, if a bit annoying since it robs one of the TV inputs. Not a problem in my case as you noted.

Ended up getting the Sonos Arc. Seems to be the best rounded package for a semi-palatable price.
 
Looks like LG 2021 sound bars are full HDMI 2.1 in/out, which seems realistic since they were the first ones to mass-produce HDMI 2.1 OLED TV's since 2019, unless they're just shamelessly lying on their website. They aren't listed on the USA website yet, but are on UK and others:

https://www.lg.com/sg/home-audio/lg-sp11ra

HDMI 2.1 (HDCP 2.3) - In / OutYes (2) / Yes (1)

These were just announced like a week ago
 
Yeah, I gave up on HDMI 2.1 pass through and will live with dedicating an eARC port to the soundbar until HDMI 2.1 ecosystem settles. First world problems.
 
How is the Sonos Arc working for you? I’m in a similiar situation. Bought a new TV, though not an OLED, and think sound is next on the list. Don’t want to do a full speaker setup either as it would be a royal pain to run the wiring in the living room to surround/rear/heights. Lack of native DTS support is the one big thing holding me up about going all in on it.
 
TheGardenTool said:
How is the Sonos Arc working for you? I’m in a similiar situation. Bought a new TV, though not an OLED, and think sound is next on the list. Don’t want to do a full speaker setup either as it would be a royal pain to run the wiring in the living room to surround/rear/heights. Lack of native DTS support is the one big thing holding me up about going all in on it.
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In short: Very happy with it. I ended up liking the “smart” features much more than I anticipated. Having it work as an airplay receiver and being able to adjust volume from the phone is very nice. As for sound, it does very well in my odd room. I cannot compare to anything else really, but I will say I am pleasantly surprised that a bar with no sub sounds this good.

It felt like a good compromise since DTS, Dolby, and HDMI cannot get their shit straight. With everything in flux, and having very limited space, this was the best choice for my situation.
 
Seyumi said:
Looks like LG 2021 sound bars are full HDMI 2.1 in/out, which seems realistic since they were the first ones to mass-produce HDMI 2.1 OLED TV's since 2019, unless they're just shamelessly lying on their website. They aren't listed on the USA website yet, but are on UK and others:

https://www.lg.com/sg/home-audio/lg-sp11ra

HDMI 2.1 (HDCP 2.3) - In / OutYes (2) / Yes (1)

These were just announced like a week ago
Click to expand...

Just quoting myself - ends up the LG soundbar isn't actually HDMI 2.1 per the Rtings review. It's just HDMI 2.0 w/ 2.1 features tacked on such as eArc. Pretty disappointing considering LG has had HDMI 2.1 TV's since 2019. I don't think any (high end) soundbars ended up being HDMI 2.1 this year. Maybe next year...
 
Seyumi said:
Just quoting myself - ends up the LG soundbar isn't actually HDMI 2.1 per the Rtings review. It's just HDMI 2.0 w/ 2.1 features tacked on such as eArc. Pretty disappointing considering LG has had HDMI 2.1 TV's since 2019. I don't think any (high end) soundbars ended up being HDMI 2.1 this year. Maybe next year...
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Yeah that's asking for a lot from something essentially trying to be a cheap alternative to a receiver. Most receivers don't even properly support it yet.
 
Sony HT-A7000 is supposed to have 2 HDMI 2.1 inputs. But to be supposedly competing against the Arc it’s way outpriced. Looking like $1300 MSRP for the soundbar on its own. Sub and rear channels a la carte.
 
Klipsch Cinema 1200 & 800 5.1 have 8k pass through
Sony's Ht-A9 & Ht-A7000. 8k and 4k/120 pass through
 
xgrifter said:
Klipsch Cinema 1200 & 800 5.1 have 8k pass through
Sony's Ht-A9 & Ht-A7000. 8k and 4k/120 pass through
Click to expand...
Doesn't seem like it if you read the spec sheets & user comments. Not saying it's not true but looks very suspect at first glace. I'll dig a little further later.
 
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