How to introduce soundbar to be used independently of existing 5.1setup

woodey

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Hi Guys,

I have a nice little 5.1 setup on my TV at the minute using Denon AVR-X2200W and some nice monitor audio speakers and sub.

This works great however I live in a flat and can't really enjoy the 5.1 during nighttime as I don't want to upset the neighbours living above.

I recently upgraded my TV to 2019 Samsung Q85RAT which came more or less with a free soundbar from Samsung which was a Samsung HWMS650 soundbar (which supports ARC).

My TV has got one HDMI ARC which is connected via HDMI to the HDMI ARC port on my Denon AVR, this works amazing!

I was just wondering the best way introduce the soundbar into the equation to be used independently of the 5.1 and replace the audio of the weak enough standard TV speakers for daily TV viewing. I really only use the 5.1 existing setup for the movie or sports events, so I feel adding the soundbar for normal TV viewing would be a great option, while keeping the 5.1 for special occasions.

I currently have the soundbar connected to the TV using a digital optical cable which works well enough but I have read that a HDMI may offer a better quality sound.

Can I maybe route the connection from the soundbar via HDMI to the AVR instead to receive TV audio independently just on the soundbar for normal viewing when the ARC ports are already connected between the AVR and the TV leaving no ARC port for the soundbar?

Or I'm open to any suggestions as to how best independently introduce the soundbar for normal TV viewing while keeping my 5.1 separate.

All the best,
J
 
TV via ARC to the Denon offers you at a maximum Dolby Digital Plus. The optical link to the soundbar will be restricted to Dolby Digital. Both formats are lossy with Plus probably just edging in quality. I doubt very much though that you will notice the loss of quality with the soundbar as it is never going to sound as good as that through the Denon.

Your solution will work very well and the soundbar will certainly be an improvement on using the TV's own speakers. Your other solution would be to use the Denon and just scroll through the audio options until you see the stereo format and just keep the volume down.
 

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