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Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

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V
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The video is very interesting. It’s a bit frustrationg to spend $800 on a product that doesn’t work as advertised and the fix is to buy another another $700 product????

I don’t doubt the sub is a nice product but one reason I spent more on the Arc was to not have to buy a sub. 

That wasn’t my takeaway from the video… my takeaway was to say that generally, for a soundbar, it seems handles bass well. That’s what my ears hear. It has some DSP issues at particular frequencies, but obviously software/Trueplay is CAPABLE of correcting them… just needs some software tweaks to do so. Same applies on the treble side.

J
Userlevel 3

Hi, I’ve just received my Sonos arc and Sub gen 3. I’m having the same issues as others here. Watching Tv news is unbearable with this thing, the highs are extremely high and voices sound extremely tinny with absolutely no depth. Dolby Atmos on Netflix and music is ok though. Having spent a lot for this setup in Argentina, I’m kind of disappointed. 

I

Just submitted my return request for my ARC and my SUB. I am so glad to read that so many people thought this system sounded terrible. I thought I was crazy after everyone on Youtube raving about it and RTINGS giving it a good rating. I felt like I was watching TV in a cave. It sounds so thin and hollow. I plugged my 4 years old Vizio in and immediately my room was filled with sound again. I can’t believe how disappointed I am in this product. I also had to fight with it constantly to actually work right because it didn’t like my Orbi. Just ordered a Samsung 950A off of greentoe for $1149.

K
Userlevel 3
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A reminder for anyone who has been ignoring the following up to now…

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/sonos-arc-metallic-sound-6843110?postid=16450184#post16450184

 

Is just filled in the form, please everyone fill in this form, it might help bringing this problem higher on the priority-list

P
Userlevel 2
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I read this forum since the arc premiere because I have the same problem. With no warmth in the sound, unbearable highs not to mention the sssss. After the update the problem is still there. This update has not fixed anything in my case. I'm going to exchange my arc for another one, I'm still on time. But if this is not fixed I return everything. By the way I have arc, sub and two sonos 1 rear and it still sounds just as bad. I come from the playbar, with sub and 2 one, no point of comparison.

Very well put and exactly how I feel.  


 

I was convinced mine was faulty as I was sure an £800 sound bar couldn’t sound worse than the beam. I exchanged it and the new one is EXACTLY the same. I don’t think it’s hardware, I think the arc is just rubbish. Mine is going back.

N

Did you compare with the Beam? Same problem?

Yep. The Beam sounded so much worse in my space that I boxed it back up and returned it within the hour.

I’ve kept the Arc. After doing more research, I made a few changes:

  1. I found that if I used my older 12” iPad (before the newer apple processors) for the Trueplay tuning I had much better results.
  2. My room is arranged with the TV on the wall and Arc directly beneath that on a shelf, with a sofa mid-way through the room facing it, then a dining table behind that, between the sofa and the far wall. When I ran the Trueplay I made sure that I didn’t walk further than than the back of the sofa, about half-way in the room. That helped a lot, especially since we generally watch TV on the sofa and not while dining.
  3. I’ve since added 2 Ikea Symfonisk picture frames to the “back” wall behind the dining table, and it has made quite a difference. Can definitely recommend if your budget accommodates it. In store I tested the frame against the lamp and bookshelf speaker, and it was by far the best sounding. The lamp was ok, but the bookshelf speaker sounded cheap and boxy – definitely one to avoid.
  4. Finally, I tweaked the EQ: Bass +1, Treble -1, Loudness ON. For Surround Audio I changed: TV Level +2, to account for the distance from the Symfonisks to the back of the sofa.

I’m pretty happy with the setup now: Arc + Sub(G3) + 2x Symfonisk Frames. There’s much less high-pitched annoyances from dialogue, deeper voices have some of their timbre back.

Unfortunately I’m still having to “ride the remote” for certain TV shows & most movies, maybe a little more than I did with my Bose system, but the improved 5.1 and 7.1 sound makes up for it.

It would be great if I could normalise the loudness a little more. Watching action movies/programmes (eg. Marvel), the volume can jump a lot in a very short space of time between quiet dialog and loud music/effects. I’m a little concerned for neighbours. Maybe Volume Limit would help in this case? I’ve reduced it a little but haven’t noticed an impact yet. Need to test it more.

K
Userlevel 7
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I have Playbar, Sub and Surrounds. Read too much bad press about the Arc to warranty upgrading at the moment.

Even there newest update 14.12?, has multiple complaints about the Sub.

At least they've nearly sorted the 14.06 Surround connectivity problems out.

B
Userlevel 3
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I’m not sure if my opinion would be much different if I hadn’t come from Samsung Q90r. Which had its own issues in regards to speakers disconnects and poor software support, but comparing the sound quality of that and I mean the general overall sound not just the atmos, that sounded so so much better, was great sounding what ever you played. So having to pay a lot more to get a full Sonos system I would expect this to be just as good if not better than the Samsung in sound quality, that’s why I have such an issue with the sound from the ARC. I can’t believe Sonos would just release a product like this and that’s how it’s meant to sound.

 

 

 

 

Do you have the full 5.1 setup or just the Arc? This is interesting since I saw someone on reddit saying they liked the full 5.1 Arc more than q90r

Yeah I have a full 5.1 setup, sub and 2 rear SLs, the sub is better than the Samsung sub and the sound from the rears is actually more noticeable on the Sonos, its just the ARC is the weak link, for me the the overall sound on the q90r was more rounded and meaty.

And that's my feeling about the sub and rears - really really good.  Also my Playbar is much fuller and as you say "meaty" compared to the Arc which has an irritating shrillness I can't get rid of.  

I still like my Sonos stuff and maybe if they can fix the Arc I would try it again but for now the Playbar is the better sounding of the two.

B
Userlevel 2
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This is most probably a hardware design flaw which will be masked by future firmware/software updates. Compression at loud volume is pretty bad as well (rtings.com)

Having said that I will definitely be returning the Arc and will make a final decision on what to replace it with this week. Sonos will definitely not admit anything right now as that will mean disastrous financial consequences especially in Covid times… My first and last sonos product.

J
Userlevel 1

@rick.f I’m sat here listening to my One SL at an 8th of the volume on my iPhone - it’s kicking out more depth and bass than the Arc when it’s turned up! WTF!? Can’t believe it.

IndustrialEcho
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Is it possible that the different size speakers are playing a roll in less bass and tinny highs? My Playbar has a much bigger enclosure and I would imagine bigger woofers, midrange  and tweeters, although just not as many as the Arc.

In any case, sadly, I am returning it and going back to the Playbar. ….

Formerly with a Playbar, now with an Arc, but unfortunately, due to poor sound quality, soon back to the Playbar. / Sub / 2 Sonos Ones
Ken_Griffiths

@hooman64,

There are still some things worth trying before contacting Sonos Support with your issue. I would first try to borrow an iOS device and see if TruePlay tuning the HT to the room helps to resolve your matter. Also as Bruce mentions, switching the sound option between Ambient & Full only applies to music audio, it has no effect on the audio out from your TV. 

If problems persist, then submitting a diagnostic report and contacting Sonos Support are probably the next best steps.

J
Userlevel 1

As one of the earlier people reporting this issue, I thought I’d offer an update on my experience.

Initially, I found the ARC very harsh, ‘tinny/metallic,’ and lacking midrange. My original post describes it in more detail. After recalibrating with an ‘old’ iphone 6, it was better, but not as good as I thought it could be. After the 12.1 update, I retuned with my 11” iPad Pro (2018), and made sure NOT to move around the room, but just wave the iPad around the couch area, it was at least AS good, but seemed slightly less harsh than the iphone 6 tune. 

After living with the arc for 4+ months, I am satisfied with the sound, and DO think it’s better on all metrics than the Beam. I still have the Beam, and recently played with it a bit and I’m reminded that, while it definitely emphasises midrange more, it really lacks detail in the high end, and the soundstage is dramatically smaller. 

I don’t listen to much music on this system, and when I do, it’s mostly for background/ambiance. If I were focused on music, with TV secondary, I would not recommend the Arc. But it does a pretty dang good job with home theater. I no longer find it distractingly harsh, but I admit that’s just as likely due to my ears/brain adapting as any changes Sonos has made.

Things I would like to see change in order of likelihood:

  1. Sonos could provide more control over the sound profile of a tuned system. My preference would be some kind of ‘advanced’ mode that shows you the eq settings it had detected, and let you customise them a bit. Let people who understand sound, and know their preferences, take more control. AND all eq settings should be able to be saved separately for music vs. tv playback.
  2. Sonos could allow adding left/right main speakers to a surround setup. I would LOVE to spend the money on two Fives to add as main left/right. I could get a bigger soundstage, more punch in the mids, and the arc could be freed up to focus on center/height/virtual-surround). For stereo music, I would want JUST the Fives and the sub to be active. 

 

Ahh a customer allowed EQ would be a DREAM!! Here’s to dreaming 

M
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Hi I recently upgraded to the Sonos Arc + Sub and after about a week with it I’m noticing the vocals (whenever someone is speaking) sounds distorted almost like it’s clipping and has a raspy sound to it. I noticed other people are reporting similar issues and are claiming it happens after setting up Trueplay but for me I noticed it before I even bothered setting Trueplay to begin with. 

I first noticed it watching stand up comedy on Amazon Prime it was instantly noticeable compared to other movies and cable tv I was watching and I thought maybe it was just because it was live stand up that’s just how it sounded but then I was watching Jumanji The Next Level and noticed it again and now I’m noticing it all the time.

For what it worth mentioning my tv is the Sony x900h and I have the Arc hooked up to the eArc HDMI 3 port. Everything seems to be connected correctly and set up correctly. 

Also after the first couple days randomly the sound cut out and then came back after about 10 seconds and it has done that twice now in total and oddly after that is when I started noticing this raspy vocal distortion. I even tried rebooting unplugging everything and it still sounds bad. To be honest I feel let down and considering returning it. 
 

Oddly For music so far everything sounds great especially the Sub too no issue (only tested through YouTube & Sonos Radio). I called Sonos and did a bunch of diagnostic tests and a factory reset as well and still noticing the sound. They said everything is correct and offered to replace my unit for free but I feel like it’s not a defect and it’s just how the soundbar is designed.

 

For example in Jumanji The Next Level in certain scenes whenever Kevin Hart is speaking i notice the sound but when other actors are I don’t it’s almost like it’s a frequency issue depending on the tone in the persons voice the speaker pumps out this harsh staticky background noise.

O
Userlevel 4
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Is it possible to mark this as unanswered? I think Sonos is ignoring this thread as it is marked as answered. There is a problem with Arc (I believe it’s a firmware problem), and it should be addressed. Sonos should continue to update us that it’s being worked on. 

A
Userlevel 2
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I think may have been my misunderstanding, as I didn’t update to latest os, but have experienced a HUGE boost, I think the arc is particularly sensitive to trueplay tuning, perhaps owing to the undoubtedly bright sound signature 

G
Userlevel 7

@Jimothy My Arc/Sub/Play:1s setup sounds fantastic to my ears, and the majority of users love their Arc. Rather than complaining and hoping for a “fix” for something that isn’t broken, you should sell your system and find something you can enjoy. No one is forcing you to own a Sonos Arc. Cut your losses and move on. Life is too short to be angry over a speaker.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
G
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this is about the bass issue not the terrible sound?

M
Userlevel 5
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Hello everyone. I’m a product manager at Sonos. Thank you for sharing your experiences with Arc. The development team is monitoring this community and listening to your feedback. 

As we do with all Sonos products, we’ll continue to improve the experience for Arc through numerous software updates into the future. Last week we issued our first update (12.0.1) to fix a bug some customers were experiencing with low-frequency distortion at higher volumes. 

If you have specific music tracks or timestamps for TV shows and movies that you want to bring to our attention, please use this form. It is helpful if you can submit a diagnostic when you’re listening to the content. Instructions for doing so can be found here.

Hi Scott,

ive submitted some diagnosis forums even tho the issues are across all what I watch. Watching sky fall on Amazon prime last night, I just found there was no warmth or beef to the sound coming from the ARC. One thing I would like to see is the option to be able to manually adjust the centre speaker and the  overhead speakers, as even with speech enhancement I do find sometimes the dialogue needs adjusting. I think as other people have said the EQ needs adjusting on the soundbar, the mids are just not there.

A
Userlevel 6
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Well my guess is this is the sound signature of the ARC and if you don’t like it just move on to the next one. I can’t imagine Sonos will address this as if majority of the customers are not aware of this then no point of fixing.  Further changing this might affect surround effects and then u will have another group say the soundstage collapses and lack details etc. If u are into audio then u know how many diff brands of speakers with diff sound signature to satisfy diff taste.  

One big advantage of discrete speakers and the AVR- you can EQ it the way you want (the control you get is amazing). And since they are separate speakers placed in the physical space, surround remains largely unaffected. Of course, you need to live with a few extra wires and sizeable speakers.

I agree that soundbars can not please all the customers. Tiny 2/3 inches elliptical drivers can only do so much. DSP is fancy and have come a long way, but won’t beat Physics.

L
Userlevel 5
Badge +11

I think a lot of the people who are happy with the Arc are coming from listening to tv speakers.  Which in most cases, a Bluetooth speaker would be an upgrade.  You don’t see many people on here coming from another soundbar, and definitely not a decent hifi setup, praising the arc.  Poor or limited reference points.  

 

Not all, I had a Yamaha Ysp2700 previously, £900 soundbar, from what I have played so far I think the ARC sounds great.

 

A
Userlevel 6
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Are you listening, Sonos?

PS: I submitted my diagnostics a long time ago.

O

I’ve been reading this blog and wanted to add my experience in the hope Sonos release an update that fixes this problem. I have the 5.1.1 home cinema setup with the Sonos Arc (wall mounted), sub and surrounds. The sound on my Sonos Arc is really poor. It sounds like a small laptop speaker for speech.  I think it has become worse since Sonos released an update. I really would expect better sound quality form this system. It can’t just be the hardware.

I’m watching Netflix, watching White Collar S3 with the HDMI connected to the Arc with Dolby Digital + 5.1 input. However, the sound is terrible on most programmes.

Please Sonos fix it or provide more controls to manually adjust.

I have completed Truplay on the app with an iPhone 11 Pro.

Thanks 🙏😢

C
Userlevel 6
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If I use a ‘platinum’ premium HDMI cable, I guess the Arc would produce a more ‘platinum’ metallic sound, vs a ‘copper’ metallic sound?

H


Hi all

Haven’t got my Arc yet as it’s on backorder. 
But I have been keenly following this and other threads with interest. 
Thought I’d share these videos by Peter Pee on YouTube. They may already be posted on here. 
He measures the frequency response of the Arc using different devices to show the effects. 
The video also discusses the issues people are experiencing with metallic sound, due to boosted treble after a truplay. 
Appreciate this will be very subjective to the individual listener and their surroundings. 
But thought it may help to show why they think it’s happening, and some of the things that can be tried to improve it. 
Im certainly not suggesting there is no underlying issue or potential faulty units in circulation. 
This is just something I’ll be using as a guide on setup, that may help someone out now.  🙂

Ultimately, if I experience similar listening discomfort after attempting to resolve through settings or Truplay device. It’ll be going back before the returns window expires.   😂

Good Luck
 


 

 

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