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Dan135
Contributor I
July 6, 2020
Answered

About the Sonos Arc Drivers

Hey all, 

So maybe this is a stupid question but I'm new to Soundbars.

The arc has 11 drivers, but when listening to music I always only her the center ones and the ones on the sides. 

I basically never hear the front facing ones left and right from the center ones. (Even with movies) With Atmos content I at least also hear the upward facing drivers at specific scenes (I assume they are not supposed to always play)

So of course I can only hear it with my ear right next to the drivers, but I was just curious and I can never seem to hear sound from the Left and right front facing ones, only the center ones. 

What's up with that, is this normal or is my unit damaged?

Thanks in advance!

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    AudiofnAnswer
    Trending Lyricist I
    July 7, 2020

    I’m so glad you posted this.  I’ve been playing with my Arc, constantly adjusting settings trying to get it to sound more direct.  I have noticed the exact same thing, the concentration of the left and right stereo channels fires directly out the side woofers.  This is what I believe gives it the recessed stereo sound.  Sometimes I think standing on the side of the soundbar music sounds better than standing directly in front.  
     

    I really hope they can send the stereo L and R to the front of the soundbar where it belongs. 

    View in thread

    21 replies

    theprince4u2
    Trending Lyricist I
    July 7, 2020

    Hi,

     

    Unfortunately I’m not an Arc owner yet, however I intend to buy one soon mainly for Music listening.

    I believe what you are describing can be resolved if you switch between ‘Ambient’ listening mode into ‘Full’ listening mode. 

    You can read more here: 

    https://www.smarthomesounds.co.uk/blog/faqs/6-quick-tips-to-enhance-your-sonos-surround-sound-system#:~:text=Switch%20your%20Sonos%20surround%20speakers%20from%20ambient%20to%20full&text=Ambient%20mode%20means%20when%20you,when%20switching%20to%20Full%20mode.  

     

    please let me know if this helps and whether the Arc is now using all 11 drivers/speakers when you listen to music ? (e.g. radio streaming or mp3 playback) 

    Dan135Author
    Contributor I
    July 7, 2020

    Unfortunately there is no such option in my case. I guess because I don't have any other speakers, which would make it true surround sound. When I go there I just have the option to add surround sound

    John B
    July 7, 2020

    Here is a quote from the otherwise very favourable 5-star review in What Hi-Fi

    Our only complaint about the musical performance is that sound isn’t projected forward and towards the listening position as much as you’d expect, given that movie soundtracks are delivered with such three-dimensionality. 

    Sonos uses all of the Arc’s drivers during stereo playback, and it might be that the upward- and side-firing speakers are doing too much. Switching the bias to the front-firing drivers might result in a more direct and engaging delivery, and perhaps this is something that Sonos could address in a future software update.

    I thought you might find that interesting.

    Dan135Author
    Contributor I
    July 7, 2020

    Thanks for your post! Well yeah, that's interesting. So they say that all the drivers are playing during Stereo playback, mine is definitely not doing that ( upward is silent ).

    That's weird can it be a technical issue? I thought if one driver is not working all of them would stop because they should be somehow connected to each other

    John B
    July 7, 2020

    No Idea tbh.  Of course, WHF may be wrong. And does 'use' mean 'always use'?

    AudiofnAnswer
    Trending Lyricist I
    July 7, 2020

    I’m so glad you posted this.  I’ve been playing with my Arc, constantly adjusting settings trying to get it to sound more direct.  I have noticed the exact same thing, the concentration of the left and right stereo channels fires directly out the side woofers.  This is what I believe gives it the recessed stereo sound.  Sometimes I think standing on the side of the soundbar music sounds better than standing directly in front.  
     

    I really hope they can send the stereo L and R to the front of the soundbar where it belongs. 

      Dan135Author
      Contributor I
      July 7, 2020

      Thanks for trying to help. What do you mean by 'use'?

      John B
      July 7, 2020

      I meant that the review said that the Arc uses all 11 drivers for stereo music. I was just speculating that it might not use all 11 all of the time, whatever the music. I wouldn't make too much of it though, it was just a bit of a random thought. 

      theprince4u2
      Trending Lyricist I
      July 7, 2020

       

      Not sure I understand whether this is a software defect or not?

      Some reviews says Arc’s music is exceptional with 11 drivers/speaker works simultaneously, however other reviews/complaints says music sacks due to partial drivers/speakers utilization. 

      @Ryan S can you please clarify?

       

        Airgetlam
        Airgetlam
        July 7, 2020

        RyanS was part of the layoffs last week.

        Bruce
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