How to Switch Between Stereo and Surround Sound on Surround Hub / Hub X

Common Scenario
You may want to use your Surround Hub for movies via the eARC HDMI connection to enjoy an immersive surround sound experience, but prefer standard stereo (2.0 or 2.1) when listening to music (e.g., via a turntable, Wi-Fi, or optical connection). How can you easily choose between stereo and surround modes?

Automatic Switching and "Direct Mode"
With the Surround Hub, swapping between stereo and surround mode is seamless.

The hub is designed to switch automatically based on the native format it receives from the input source. This means:

• If your input audio is stereo, the audio will be played as stereo through your speakers, even if you have a full 5.1 setup.
• If the input is Dolby Atmos, the system will automatically output Dolby Atmos.

How to Manually Change the Audio Mode
In addition to the automatic switching, you can also manually adjust your audio preferences using the control app.

Simply open the app, navigate to the Playpage, and look for the 'Signal mixing' menu. From here, you can manually select the mode that best fits your current needs:

• Direct Mode: The system automatically determines the format based on the native input (as described above).
• Auto Select: The device chooses the best playback format based on both your current speaker setup and the input source.
• Stereo: Forces the system to play in 2.0 or 2.1 stereo mode—perfect for pure music listening.
• Dolby Music: A surround sound setup with Dolby decoding that is specifically optimized for music (it takes your exact number of speakers into account).
• Dolby Movie: A surround sound setup with Dolby decoding optimized for movies (it also takes your exact number of speakers into account).
• DTS: DTS audio decoding (Note: This feature is only available on the Surround Hub X model).

Typically, there isn't much difference between 'Auto Select' and 'Dolby Movie'. You might notice that in ''Auto Select'' it basically alway seems to choose ''Dolby Movie''.

💡 Tip: Whether you want an untouched stereo experience for your vinyl records or a cinematic surround sound for movie night, the 'Signal mixing' menu gives you complete and flexible control over your audio.