Solved! Dolby Atmos or EAC3 Soundbar for MacBook

[fahadsgalaxy]

Hi Guys, I wanna know if there is a setup that can allow me to hookup my MacBook to a sound bar and I can get 5.1 or Atmos sound ?

 

[americanaudiophile]

If you get a soundbar with an actual HDMI input (not an HDMI-ARC input) and HDMI output you should be able to use an HDMI adapter to connect the Macbook.
To actually get 5.1 you would need surround speakers and a subwoofer. To get Atmos the soundbar would also have to have upward firing speakers.
The Macbook would have to support these audio codecs as well so I would check that first,

Dolby Audio Apple macOS Support Dolby Developer | Dolby Developer

Find out more information about Dolby Audio macOS support on Dolby Developer.

developer.dolby.com

 

[fahadsgalaxy]

Hi,

thanks for your reply.
I haven't seen sound bars with HDMI in and out (that are within my budget)

so just to confirm, the only way a Macbook can send Multichannel audio is through the HDMI ? and the traditional 3.5mm audio jack can only support 2 channel output ?

 

[hang-the-9]

Hi,

thanks for your reply.
I haven't seen sound bars with HDMI in and out (that are within my budget)

so just to confirm, the only way a Macbook can send Multichannel audio is through the HDMI ? and the traditional 3.5mm audio jack can only support 2 channel output ?

Yes the headphone jack is stereo only. If the soundbars you want are out of your budget then Atmos is out, that is only in higher end equipment. Sorting at BestBuy by Atmos support shows even open box soundbars with Dobly Atmos support are near $400.