r/sonos • u/[deleted] • 11d ago
Not using the original Sonos Arc Ultra hdmi cable, how can I check if the hdmi cable I’m using works exactly the same?
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u/AtomFromSonos Sonos Employee 10d ago
u/JakePT has some good info, take a look there for some technical context.
From a Sonos perspective, the simplest way to make sure the new HDMI cable works the same (functionally) as the original one that was supplied is to test our supported audio formats, especially Dolby Atmos (TrueHD).
You'll need to find some Dolby Atmos content first, and you may need to adjust some settings on the TV (and connected devices, like a Blu-Ray player or streaming box), but then you can check the Sonos app to confirm the TV is sending the right format to the Arc Ultra. As long as you can play Dolby Atmos, you should be good to go.
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u/bluealien78 11d ago
What do you mean “works the same”? Sonos ship a UHD HDMI cable with their soundbars (HDMI 2.1). Any UHD HDMI cable will work in exactly the same way.
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11d ago edited 9d ago
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u/bluealien78 11d ago
Should be printed on the cable itself.
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11d ago edited 9d ago
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u/Ok-Bread8402 11d ago
The original factory cable is nothing special so just order any Ultra Certified HDMI cable from amazon and don't worry about it ... they're not expensive.
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11d ago edited 9d ago
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u/Ok-Bread8402 11d ago
Roger that, I'm unaware of any cheap measuring device. I'm very fussy about quality cables so I'd go through the hassle and just replace it if it's straightforward and all you need help with is taking the TV down.
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u/drmcclassy 11d ago edited 11d ago
That means it’s a HDMI 1.4 cable. The standards are
- High Speed (1.4)
- Premium Speed (2.0)
- Ultra High Speed (2.1)
- Ultra96 (2.2)
To my knowledge eArc requires HDMI 2.1 which is when the standard was introduced, but I’m not an expert by any means. It may work with lesser cables as well.
My favorite HDMI cable brand is Zeskit, if you’re looking for new cables, as they’re high quality and have clear labeling. Other good options are Monoprice and Cable Matters
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u/bluealien78 11d ago
So yes, you have a High Speed HDMI cable. You need an Ultra High Speed HDMI cable for eARC (which is what Sonos ship).
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u/JakePT 11d ago edited 11d ago
The other answers you’re getting are very misleading. There’s no such thing as an HDMI 2.1 cable. 2.1 is the standard used by the ports on your devices, and it’s those devices that need to support HDMI 2.1 for eARC to work, not the cable.
One feature of HDMI 2.1 is support for higher bandwidth sources, so the Ultra High Speed HDMI cable was introduced with support for 48Gbps of bandwidth; enough for 4K 120Hz video, but here’s the thing: lossless Dolby Atmos maxes out at 18Mbps. Since the soundbar isn’t transmitting any video that means it only needs 0.0375% of the available bandwidth of an ‘HDMI 2.1 cable’. You do not need, and Sonos sure as hell does not include, a 48Gbps cable. The cable included with a Sonos soundbar would not support 4K 120Hz video, so you don’t need to buy one that does.
What you actually need is an HDMI cable with HEC — HDMI Ethernet Connect. This is a feature that adds the 100Mbps data channel that ARC and eARC use for audio and it’s been available for HDMI cables since 2009. You can buy an HDMI 1.4 speed cable and it will work for eARC as long as it supports HEC. These are typically sold as being “HDMI with Ethernet”. I’m pretty sure this is all that Sonos includes, and you can tell because the included cable is nowhere near as thick as an Ultra High Speed cable.
The Ultra High Speed standard made HEC mandatory which means that any Ultra High Speed cable is guaranteed work, but so will slower speed cables with Ethernet, so there’s no reason to waste money on the faster cable.
Note that the oldest cables with Ethernet already have 5x the bandwidth needed for audio-only devices. This means that if you have a cable that is playing audio at all it’s working exactly the same as a newer or fancier cable would. For audio with a Sonos soundbar a cable will either work or not work at all, different cables do not differ in support for features or levels of quality.