Era 300 rear driver is silent (with Arc Ultra)

BECAUSE IT WASN’T LIKE THIS WHEN I F****** BOUGHT THE SYSTEM.

Like seriously, stop trolling

He must be new to the era 300’s lmao. 
 

also someone said the update fixed their era 300’s on reddit. Cant test right now, but idk if this is true or not or if the OP “thinks” he hears sounds but really it’s the woofer working and not the tweeter. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/s/GHmDLMaL52

I tested last night using a Dolby Atmos test tones video and the inner drivers definitely sound louder. They sound more like they used to when the Era 300s were first released.

Biggest question is does the inner tweeter still fire from the upward firing driver, or has that been rectified? 

It sounds to me like the upward firing tweeter and the inner woofer are both being used to play rear channel audio. The inner tweeter is not being used.

Thats too bad. This process sonos has is asinine with approvals and shooting issues up to the “people that matter” to fix problems. It’s been just about two months now since Corrys response to get this issue into the right hands. 
 

this thread/topic itself was created 2 months ago. Idk what the hell is going on anymore. 

​@Snoomuffin it’s because @sonos pay the reviewers to ‘praise the products’.

Genuine reviews don’t really exist. A shame Peter pee hasn’t started the banging the drum about this. 

​@Aidyb @sonos are treating us like idiots as they cannot admit to their massive error…

​@superlollo  glad you liked it, such a shame it’s true 😢

This thread is just a bunch of minutia!

Whah, Whah, Whah…

My system with Arc Ultra, Era 300 surrounds and dual Sub 4’s  sounds fantastic! In fact I have three (3) setups as just mentioned; the latter two with single Sub 4’s. Least I forget...I have a Beam2, Era 100 surrounds and Sub Mini that sound great as well.

Oh….there’s  another thread floating around regarding the Era 100’s and sound quality as surrounds. I’m surprised links haven’t been posted in this thread. 🤡

Furthermore, I’d like to know where’s the proof that Sonos is paying reviewers. 🤔 Erroneous comments like that presented as fact serve no purpose except to feed this ridiculous firestorm with more nonsense! 

So now I guess it will be said that I’m a Sonos plant, employee or someone being paid by Sonos. Well...so be it!  Again more unverified, illogical claptrap! 

A final comment….

It’s  rather strange that the last comment from the Author of this thread was two (2) months ago! I guess he/she is letting their other posters carry on while they sit back and revel in the chaos they created!

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.

Lmao - well you don’t need to respond. There’s 16 pages of people who feel this is an issue (not even including reddit). You’re not the epiphany you think you are by saying everything’s bologna and your system/s sound fine.  The idea of rears firing from height speaker is ludicrous and it never sounded this way prior. And it’s even dumber out of nowhere, a year and half later, Sonos changes it up and says it’s “normal.” C’mon now - 🤡

LMAO as well. Go back and read the edit I added to my post since your response. I’m sure you’ll find it interesting...16 pages or not. 🤡

OP was probably smart enough to sell his sonos equipment.

btw, the fact you have so many sonos setups at home and don’t notice such a glaring problem says a lot about you.

​@AjTrek1 people are unhappy and have come here to make our voices heard. This is the purpose of the thread…

​@superlollo The opening post says “This bug appeared the moment I switched the Arc with the Arc Ultra.” In all likelihood your system (Arc Ultra with Era 300's is what this thread is about) has never sounded different. The Era's may have, but they change their behaviour when connected to an Arc Ultra.

This thread is as much about the Era's not using all speakers as it is about if this really is a problem or just the best way use the speakers in the system according to the makers of the system. We can disagree on that point, but accusing someone of trolling when he just does not agree with you is not very nice.

This is my last post to this thread as driving up the number of comments received is detrimental as well. As it just legitimatizes a falsehood.

This thread was started (as was aptly pointed out) that the Author made the following comment, and I quote….

• “This bug appeared the moment I switched the Arc with the Arc Ultra. Before I made the switch I was on the 16.1 app and firmware. So I don't know if the Ultra causes the problem or the app/firmware. Before the switch everything was running as it should.”

How the Author concluded; that it was a “Bug” (regardless of their credentials stating that “I know what I’m talking about”) boggles the mind. They were not part of the team that designed the Arc, Arc Ultra nor the Era 300 and subsequent behaviors.  So, for my part the OP only stated their opinion.

Fast forward to the Community Moderator’s reply and here’s what was given by way of explanation….

• Hi all, thank you all for your patience.
• I was going to post at the same time as Keith on Reddit, however I wasn’t able to. I see that the link to the reddit post has already been copied here, but just to confirm what you've already discovered, this is expected behavior as explained by our audio team.
• “I’m happy to forward any questions and feedback you have, as well as forward this as a feature request.
   
• The side tweeters on the Arc Ultra are “overpowering” the bonded rear surrounds.
  Side channels are virtualized by both the Arc Ultra and Era 300’s. While you can use “Surround Audio” features to dial in the sound level of your preference there are a few important things to keep in mind:
• Surround TV Level and Music Level Slider Behavior: The surround level sliders adjust the sound level for both the Arc Ultra and the surround channels equally. This is the intended behavior.
• Using Surround Distance Setting to Adjust Rear Sound Levels: The surround distance setting can be modified to influence the output level from the rear speakers relative to the sound bar:
• Setting it to “Less than 2 feet (0.6m)” reduces the volume from the rear speakers.
• Setting it to “More than 10 feet (3m)” increases the volume from the rear speakers.
• Perceptible Differences: While the surround distance slider adjusts the levels equally for both the Arc Ultra and the surround speakers, testing has indicated that listeners may perceive differences in the sound from the listening position, as described above.
• Impact of Trueplay: The surround distance setting is disabled when Trueplay is active, as Trueplay automatically corrects for this. To adjust the surround distance, Trueplay must first be disabled.
• There is no audible output from inner woofers when Era 300 is bonded as rear surrounds.
  This is by design. The rear speakers are designed to disperse sound throughout the room, rather than directing it to the listener exclusively. 
• The Era 300 plays rear channel audio through its height array.
  This, too, is by design. The Era 300’s DSP (Digital Signal Processing) leverages either the rear height tweeter OR the outward-facing tweeter/woofer to create the intended sound experience. Because of this, when you play the Dolby test track, you might notice that rear height channel as being active during rear-channel playback. This is expected.

As far as I’m concerned, a rational person would accept the answer that was put forth by the Sonos design engineers. The Era 300 rear driver being silent is not a “bug” when bonded the Arc Ultra as surrounds; but intended behavior by design.  That’s the definitive answer plain and simple.

Fast forward again...

• Someone suggested Sonos send an update to allow the user to turn the rear driver on/off.  Thus, allowing the user to decide the sound parameters of the Era 300 when used as surrounds with the Arc Ultra.  

OK…that’s a reasonable request and may have been considered by the engineers. However, since it has not been granted, one must assume that after careful consideration it was denied for reasons we can only speculate.  Regardless, the original designed behavior of the Era 300 when used as surrounds with the Arc Ultra stands.

To conclude…

After two months certain people are still pushing the issue as a design flaw (bug).  People researching the Arc Ultra and Era 300’s reading this thread and viewing the number of comments may believe the rhetoric without having experienced the sound for themselves. Those who may own the Arc Ultra and Era 300’s may buy-into the claims being made because of the sheer number of posts. In other words, they are being influenced not to believe their ears; but rather what is being put forth in this thread.

The answer has been given regarding the Era 300’s behavior when bonded to the Arc Ultra as surrounds. From what I can perceive; after two months of saber rattling in this thread insisting there is a bug, the answer is not going to change.

Here’s something you might do….send the Author of this thread a PM and pull them back into the conversation, as they seem to have gone silent for two months. 🤔

That’s it for me…I’m out!