14.14 is out, did it fix Arc+Sub for you?

  • 23 August 2022
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84 replies

Userlevel 2
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I updated to 14,14 and I can now use the sub slider to increase or decrease the sub level. I could not do this with 14.12 so SOMETHING appears to have changed. Having said that, the sub doesn't go as high as it used to (although I can never have it too high in my room or it swamps everything).

 

It seems that, as with the recent sub/surrounds dropping out issue, not all systems get affected the same way. 

Userlevel 2
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I updated to 14,14 and I can now use the sub slider to increase or decrease the sub level. I could not do this with 14.12 so SOMETHING appears to have changed. Having said that, the sub doesn't go as high as it used to (although I can never have it too high in my room or it swamps everything).

 

It seems that, as with the recent sub/surrounds dropping out issue, not all systems get affected the same way. 

That’s with Trueplay ON, btw, both before and after 14.14

Userlevel 3
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They haven't changed anything , instead of the bass that we all paid for we got a neutered purring like a near dead cat piece of nice looking furniture... Thanks for nothing Sonos 

Userlevel 1

Ok guys you have to turn trueplay off. My entire system is back to life after turning tureplay off!

Userlevel 2
Badge +2

I updated to 14,14 and I can now use the sub slider to increase or decrease the sub level. I could not do this with 14.12 so SOMETHING appears to have changed. Having said that, the sub doesn't go as high as it used to (although I can never have it too high in my room or it swamps everything).

 

It seems that, as with the recent sub/surrounds dropping out issue, not all systems get affected the same way. 

That’s with Trueplay ON, btw, both before and after 14.14

That wasn’t an issue for the majority, nor was it the impact to why sub has diminished.

You either have excellent sub quality still, or you don’t.

Userlevel 2
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Ok guys you have to turn trueplay off. My entire system is back to life after turning tureplay off!

Sonos already told us to shut off TruePlay, as a band-aid till they fix the issue.

Userlevel 2
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Sonos - let’s all just quietly walk back from these “enhancements” and enjoy 14.10 the way we like it. We won’t even acknowledge this massive screw up ever again. We promise. 😃 

I’d really like if they revert us to 14.10, but I want all the changes they brought - minus the Sub problems people are experiencing. So I think a reversion is a great band-aid, but these channel isolations on the recent update are amazing..

Userlevel 2
Badge +3

These last 2 updates have been a mess. Besides the sub and trueplay issues, the overall volume is the worst for me. I know they say only the volume curve was changed but I don't buy it. I never used to be able to go near 90 - 100 now I max out and it still isn't as loud as it was with 14.10. Especially with atmos content. 

Userlevel 2
Badge +1

I'm with many others on these forums, 14.12 has ruined my once great system, Arc, sub gen 3, one sl's, the once open soundstage has been replaced by an overbearing centre vocus mess that is really harsh to listen to, even with turning trueplay off the difference in the arcs sound signature is horrible, the arc sound completely detached from the rest of the system where once it sounded well balanced, I honestly feel it's equivalent of me buying a car and the dealer has come to my home in the dead of the night and changed out the engine without permission, when you go to a shop and listen to an audio product you buy into the sound you hear, I'm scratching my head as to why Sonos things it's their right to change what I've paid for after sale, if some people bought the product blind and complained after then surely that's on them ? And if Sonos really wanted to tinker around to appease these people surely they should of placed these changes in the already existing voice enhancement button or create a second on alongside that one, I really hope they completely roll this back to 14.10 and give us thesystem we paid for. 

vocals and center seem more pronounced but no low frequency from sub that isn’t up to +8 and it sounds flat and awful.  

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The sub being absolutely nerfed has not been corrected. I won’t get into the Arc’s sound profile transformation, which I’m not a fan of either, because the sub being neutered is absolutely what’s most infuriating. 
 

Trueplay off or on, the sub used to absolutely floor me with how powerful it was. I have used the same songs to showcase it to friends and family since I set my system up, but those same songs are now completely lifeless. I wouldn’t show this system off to anyone at this point because quite frankly, it sounds like trash. 
 

This has been covered already in other threads but such a drastic change to the sound profile should be something the user has control over toggling on or off. To simply force a change on us that breaks what we initially paid for with no ability to roll back has got to be the worst move I’ve ever seen a company like this make. 
 

Thanks for the lack of communication, Sonos. You won’t be seeing another cent from this once loyal customer. 

What do you mean by “nerfed” though? If you mean that it’s simply not as overpowering as it was, then yes, it’s been corrected and balanced. I suspect your sound preference mirrors the trend of heavy bass at the expense of clarity and musicality. From my perspective the update’s made my Arc+Sub much more musical, and the Sub is more subtle and reinforces the sound (which it should), rather than lead the sound you hear. 

Userlevel 5
Badge +14

14.4 was not a fix for 14.12…Sonos said they’re still working on it.

Userlevel 6
Badge +12

14.4 was not a fix for 14.12…Sonos said they’re still working on it.

Live shot of Sonos working on it 😂 

 


 

 

 

Userlevel 4
Badge +2

The sub being absolutely nerfed has not been corrected. I won’t get into the Arc’s sound profile transformation, which I’m not a fan of either, because the sub being neutered is absolutely what’s most infuriating. 
 

Trueplay off or on, the sub used to absolutely floor me with how powerful it was. I have used the same songs to showcase it to friends and family since I set my system up, but those same songs are now completely lifeless. I wouldn’t show this system off to anyone at this point because quite frankly, it sounds like trash. 
 

This has been covered already in other threads but such a drastic change to the sound profile should be something the user has control over toggling on or off. To simply force a change on us that breaks what we initially paid for with no ability to roll back has got to be the worst move I’ve ever seen a company like this make. 
 

Thanks for the lack of communication, Sonos. You won’t be seeing another cent from this once loyal customer. 

What do you mean by “nerfed” though? If you mean that it’s simply not as overpowering as it was, then yes, it’s been corrected and balanced. I suspect your sound preference mirrors the trend of heavy bass at the expense of clarity and musicality. From my perspective the update’s made my Arc+Sub much more musical, and the Sub is more subtle and reinforces the sound (which it should), rather than lead the sound you hear. 


There was already a slider to lessen the bass if it was too much for you. It has not been “corrected”. I equate it to having purchased a Corvette and waking up to find they’ve installed a governor on it which no longer allows me to drive past 60 mph. 
 

My sound preference is having the ability to choose the output of my system, and the old way worked just fine for me no matter what style of music I was listening to. You can always turn it down if you need to, but taking away the ability to really crank it up is ridiculous. I don’t need a “subtle” $750 subwoofer. Give me a break. 

Userlevel 2
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This - “ if Sonos really wanted to tinker around to appease these people surely they should of placed these changes in the already existing voice enhancement button or create a second on alongside that one,”

Making changes to the existing sound profile without making it effectively optional is all wrong. Of, course, give people who don’t like the sound balance a way of changing it if they wish, but don’t force a new profile on people who don’t want it. 

Userlevel 4
Badge +5

Did some testing this morning. I don't have professional audio testing equipment, but what I do have is the app “spectroid” (free for android), so I can compare the results. All this was done with the latest firmware 14.14. All sliders at 0 and turned off the surround speakers.
For this test I have positioned an android phone on a fixed point while doing the measurements. For the frequency response I played a sample-file which sends a frequency from 320 to 20hZ. I have positioned the sub to the left of my Arc with the acoustic slot towards the main listening position.

t’s hard to see, but the red curve is what u need to look at. This represents the sub output with Trueplay disabled.

I

This graph shows the curve after I resented my sub (gen3) to factory default and re-added it again. Trueplay disabled. No difference with the first graph.

 

This graph shows before the reset with Trueplay enabled.

 

This one is after reset with Trueplay enabled. If you compare this to the graph before the reset, it doesn’t seem to make a difference to reset the sub to factory defaults.

 

Now the interesting part…. I decided to do 1 more measurement. This time with true play on after the reset and bumping the sublevel up all the way to +15:
 

With +15 it’s getting close to the rest of the curve, but as you can see it drops significantly after the sub gets as low as 30Hz.

The output of the sub is still not enough, but according to this measurements it’s acceptable for the time being until Sonos brings out a fix. If you realise that the Sonos sub under 25Hz doesn't suppose to do anything anymore, this drop between 30 and 25Hz seems to be acceptable in my point of view. So Trueplay enabled and sub-level maxed out gives the best result. So I can enjoy the wider soundstage while having a near-acceptable bass output from the sub (although it’s still about 8dB behind the rest)
When I do music playback and set the surround speakers to “full” the bass is very boomy and annoying, but if I set it to “ambient” it seems to sound ok.

It is still a big compromise if you compare it to 14.10, but I think it’s acceptable until Sonos get the fix out to us.
Maybe you want to try this out yourself and tell here what you think. Is it worth to lack a bit of bass and get the wider soundstage thanks to the enhanced voice clarity with Trueplay enabled? 

Hope this post can help some of you to get more out of your system while waiting for the fix.

Userlevel 2
Badge +4

Just updated to 14.14. The issue with Arc+Sub is not fixed. Anyone with better luck?

I’m still not 100% clear that this is only effecting Arc+Sub-gen 1, subs? I have Arc+Sub-gen2 with surrounds and have had no issues.

Userlevel 2
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I would sign the petition to bring back 14.10 update; sound was perfect then. Both volume and Sub. 

Userlevel 5
Badge +14

Invalid question as Sonos has stated that 14.14 is not the fix for 14.12..

I’m onboard with everyone else on this matter. My sub has become none existent since 14.12. Whatever Sonos comes up with the sooner the better. Automatic updates will be off for now on. 

Userlevel 4
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Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Just updated to 14.14. The issue with Arc+Sub is not fixed. Anyone with better luck?

I’m still not 100% clear that this is only effecting Arc+Sub-gen 1, subs? I have Arc+Sub-gen2 with surrounds and have had no issues.

No one said it was only effecting Gen1.

I have Gen3 and am impacted by this.

Even their public post doesn’t specifically say Gen1..

Userlevel 5
Badge +7

I haven't noticed any issues, not sure what software version I'm on but typically this sort of thing is why I don't let my Sonos products update - this isn't the first nor will it be the last of a n update that breaks stuff 

Userlevel 3
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Just updated to 14.14. The issue with Arc+Sub is not fixed. Anyone with better luck?

I’m still not 100% clear that this is only effecting Arc+Sub-gen 1, subs? I have Arc+Sub-gen2 with surrounds and have had no issues.

No one said it was only effecting Gen1.

I have Gen3 and am impacted by this.

Even their public post doesn’t specifically say Gen1..

I have Arc + Sub Gen2 and don’t seem to have the issue either.  My sub sounds punchy and loud.  Does anyone with Arc and Sub Gen2 have the issue?

Userlevel 4
Badge +3

I was reading this thread the other day and thought, maybe, yea maybe I'm hearing that, but tbh if no one told me I probably wouldn't have noticed.

My little fella is playing Fortnite right now and it sounds punchy and exciting.

There's a degree of placebo in all this. In any case I don't mind if Sonos tweak the sound signature as long as they get it refined as soon as they can. The cynic in me says the new sub product has something to do with all this - they're doing stuff.

Arc +gen2sub+ 2xPlay1s