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If you’ve left your Sonos system’s audio settings untouched, you’re missing out. Here’s what you need to know about them.
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Rear speakers are a surefire way to upgrade your Sonos soundbar’s performance. When listening to or watching content in spatial audio, you may notice sounds moving behind you — that means your rears are doing their job. A subwoofer adds a hefty layer of bass, and if you can feel it, it’s working.
I used to listen to stereo tracks on my Sonos home theater, consisting of an Arc Ultra, two Era 300s, and a Sub 4, with the default settings intact. I found myself saying, “Wow, for such physically imposing speakers, the soundbar seems to be doing most of the heavy lifting.”
Also: How I upgraded my Sonos soundbar’s audio quality – 3 easy and free methods
If I were listening in stereo, nearly every component of the song would come through the Arc Ultra, while the Era 300s would merely whisper. If you’re listening to or watching in stereo and want more immersion and fullness from your audio, you’re not alone. You might have set up your system and left its audio settings unexplored, or you might be unsure what certain settings mean. However, playing around with these settings helped me make the most out of my setup.
Here’s a guide to the Sonos home theater audio settings.
How to fine-tune your Sonos home theater
What you need: Sonos speakers configured in a home theater setup, and access to your Sonos account.
Once you find the room with your Sonos home theater, scroll down to the Sound category. Here, you’ll see options to adjust the audio of your surrounds, subwoofer, and height channels (if applicable).
Sit down in your room’s ideal listening spot, whether that’s a dedicated chair or a specific spot on a couch. Remember that there’s no handbook for these settings, and you should go with what sounds best to your ears. All of these settings are easily reversible, so if some setting combinations sound great for watching movies but not for listening to music, you can change them.
The Sonos equalizer consists of Bass and Treble, and it’s relative to the entire system within the room you’ve chosen to edit. You can slide each of these categories on a 20-point scale; I keep my Bass at +2 and Treble at +1.
Also: How I upgraded my soundbar audio quality for free – and 4 other methods to give it a boost
The Loudness feature boosts audio at lower volumes to help you hear a wider range of sounds. Our ears focus on midrange frequencies (such as dialogue) when volume is low, and higher volume enhances bass and treble.
TV and Music Level: In this settings folder, you can adjust the audio level of your surrounds when playing TV audio or music. You can adjust these levels on a 30-point scale, plus or minus 15. I keep these settings neutral
Surround Distance: Ensure your surround distance is as accurate as possible, as this feature serves as a balancing measure for your surrounds. This distance refers to how far your Sonos surround speakers are from your preferred listening position. However, Sonos only provides three vague distance options for this option, so if you don’t plan to move your room’s furniture or speakers anytime soon, let TruePlay gauge this distance for you.
Music Playback: This feature changes the loudness of your rear speakers’ output. Your options are Ambient or Full. I prefer listening to music when my rear speakers are set to Full. I noticed that this setting improves balance when listening to stereo music. In Ambient, I felt that my soundbar was doing too much of the heavy lifting, and I could only hear vocals without many instruments; it was unenjoyable for me. If you prefer your music to be front and center, you’ll appreciate Ambient more.
Also: Sonos Era 300 vs. Denon Home 400: Why I’m pulling the plug on the more popular speaker
I also noticed that I could squeeze more immersion from stereo tracks with the Full setting, and my music went from highly center directional to a wider soundstage with some illusion of sounds coming from above my head. Note that changing this setting does not apply to Dolby Atmos music playback.
However, if your Sonos system is in an asymmetrical room (as many living or family rooms are), the audio from your surround speakers might become too loud or overwhelming if you end up sitting closer to one of them. If you like the fuller surround sound but it’s too loud, first try adjusting the TV and Music Level settings mentioned above.
The Sonos Arc, Arc Ultra, Beam (Gen 2) soundbars, and Era 300 speakers have dedicated upfiring speakers. These speakers are angled upward to project sound above your head, which bounces off your ceiling, creating the illusion of sound coming from above you.
Increasing the volume of the height channels can help strengthen their presence, especially if you’ve had trouble hearing overhead sounds when watching immersive content. If you have vaulted ceilings, you may need to max out the height channels.
Also: Why the ‘Subwoofer Crawl’ is the only way I found the bass sweet spot in my living room
My living room ceiling is nine feet tall, and I have my height channels adjusted to +4. Increasing the height channels still won’t get me as much immersion as in-ceiling speakers, but increasing their volume did make a noticeable difference.
You can adjust this setting on a 20-point scale, though if your soundbar is at eye level, you likely won’t need to use the negative side.
You can increase or decrease the volume of your subwoofer; I keep mine at +2, since the Sub 4 is very powerful. I don’t like to increase this setting too much, or I’ll risk overpowering my other speakers with excessive bass.
Increase this volume if your system sounds thin or lacks depth, and decrease it if the bass is too boomy. You’ll also see an option to set the subwoofer’s phase control. Keep phase control at 0 degrees if it’s near your main speakers and facing you. Try flipping the phase control to 180 degrees if it’s on the opposite side of the room from your main speakers.
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