Enthusiast II

Answered

Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

1017 replies
128941 views

Hi All.

It’s a relief that Sonos has identified the bug that’s causing the bass distortion in Sonos Arc. Thank you @Ryan S for working with the Sonos Communty to identify the problem quickly.

Having said this, I believe that Sonos still needs more work to make the Arc sound as it was advertised. Currently, multiple people on Reddit including myself are reporting the highs being too high which sort of feels “harsh”. This improve the speech clarity and brings out details in the movies, but the warmth in speech is lost because the voices sound thin and metallic (for eg. actors I know having heavy voices don’t sound heavy). I was expecting the mid-range to be a lot better considering the Arc has 8 woofers.

I have tried TruPlaying twice without success (Turning TruPlay off produces muffled sound). Adjusting the treble also did not help much. Loudness turned on and off does not make a big difference either. May be, this is how the Arc is tuned?!

Anyone else feels that Arc is over-emphasizing the highs with compromised mids?

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

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Scott - SonosAnswer

Sonos Product Management

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.

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Alberta Beagle

Prominent Collaborator I

I have also been disappointed with the mid range and voice clarity on my Arc. I am new to SONOS and have the Gen 2 Sub and Two One SL’s filling out a 5.1.2 Set up.

I found it the worst when tuned with my Apple iPhone 11. The dialogue on movies sounded like it was playing through a transistor radio. No depth at all.

I have run True Play multiple times on multiple Apple devices. I have also moved my Sub Gen 2 to a few different locations in the room. This morning I tuned it again with our Apple iPad Pro 12.9” and I can say in the short time I have tried it since that I seem to see a little better mid range out of the ARC. I will get a better chance to listen tonight and report back my findings.

Beagle

Smilja

this is about the bass issue not the terrible sound?

The questions apply to the topic of this thread as well. But I acknowledge that raving around for the sake of it is a lot more fun than actually getting the issue solved.

»And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)

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Synomenon

Lyricist III

this is about the bass issue not the terrible sound?

The questions apply to the topic of this thread as well. But I acknowledge that raving around for the sake of it is a lot more fun than actually getting the issue solved.

Do you work with the Sonos engineering team? I think they’re probably the ones in the position to do anything about this and that’s if they haven’t been affected by Sonos’s recent layoffs.

Smilja

this is about the bass issue not the terrible sound?

The questions apply to the topic of this thread as well. But I acknowledge that raving around for the sake of it is a lot more fun than actually getting the issue solved.

Do you work with the Sonos engineering team? I think they’re probably the ones in the position to do anything about this and that’s if they haven’t been affected by Sonos’s recent layoffs.

They need your assistance on this. So if it’s convenient, do as you are kindly being asked, if it’s inconvenient do it anyway.

»And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)

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wbf

Contributor I

Does the true play tuning with an older iPhone actually work, ive got currently got an iPhone XS Max and a newish iPad 2-3 years old. What age iPhone are people using? thanks

Yes it does. I used my 2017 iPad Pro for Truplay and it is miles better than XS.

Yes, I used my kids iPhone 6s and it sounds MUCH better than using my iPhone XS Max. Horrible midrange voice harshness seems to be fixed. WTH is going on with this speaker?!

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dodgey1191

Contributor I

I got the Arc at launch and the dialogue and center channel was very rich and warm. After the update, I was forced to retune because of connectivity issues with rear surrounds and now I’m hearing the same thing. I thought I was going crazy until I found this thread! Tried several times with my iPhone X and iPad Pro 11 (2018) but could not get a warmer dialogue sound.

Sonos please let us know if we can help test anything!

J

jkozlow3

Enthusiast II

I got the Arc at launch and the dialogue and center channel was very rich and warm. After the update, I was forced to retune because of connectivity issues with rear surrounds and now I’m hearing the same thing. I thought I was going crazy until I found this thread! Tried several times with my iPhone X and iPad Pro 11 (2018) but could not get a warmer dialogue sound.

Sonos please let us know if we can help test anything!

Contact Sonos support via phone/email to report your issue. Sonos support is no longer responding here as they’ve let go of a large chunk of their support staff.

Jean C.

Retired Sonos Staff

Hello all,

I can appreciate your frustration with any ongoing audio quality issues you are having with your Sonos Arc.

If you have updated your Sonos software and are still having issues, the questions that @Smilja linked to are still highly relevant. To work out a solution for this we will need some data from those of you that are experiencing this mid-range audio quality issue. This information will help us determine if this is an isolated or widespread experience and if it is due to hardware or software.

What is the source of the media that is being played (TV app, external streaming device, cable, broadcast, DVD/DVR)?
What volume lever do you experience the issue?
Is the Arc wall-mounted?
If wall-mounted, does removing the speaker from the wall bracket and setting it on a credenza or table improve the issue?
Is Trueplay configured on the Arc?

A diagnostic confirmation number from your system while the Arc is playing is key to getting the right information to work towards a solution. You can find information on submitting a diagnostic report here.

If possible, please make a photo where Arc is located and reply to this along with your diagnostic confirmation number.

Help others find useful content by clicking the like button and selecting the best answer to your question.

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dodgey1191

Contributor I

@Jean C. Thanks for the reply! Understand it is a difficult time for you guys and really appreciate everything you are doing to help make top notch products.

Below is my information:

What is the source of the media that is being played (TV app, external streaming device, cable, broadcast, DVD/DVR)?
- Apple TV 4K connected via eARC to Sony A8H
- Sonos Arc + 2 x One SL for rear surrounds, no sub
- Netflix: The Crown Season 3 Episode 2 & 6 with 5.1 output
- Netflix: The Witcher with Dolby Atmos
- Apple TV rented movies: Mission Impossible Fallout with Dolby Atmos
- Apple TV rented movies: Kung Fu Panda 1/2 with 5.1 output
- Apple TV rented movies: Darkest Hour with 5.1 output
What volume lever do you experience the issue? up to 50% volume, have not gone beyond 50% since I am in an apartment building
Is the Arc wall-mounted? no, on TV stand below TV, Arc on flat surface and is situated near the edge of the stand with minimal protrusion
If wall-mounted, does removing the speaker from the wall bracket and setting it on a credenza or table improve the issue? N/A
Is Trueplay configured on the Arc? Yes
- Tuned Trueplay several times with iPhone X and 2018 iPad Pro 11
- Living room is rectangular (longer along the wall that TV sits on), dimensions are about 25 feet x 15 feet
- distance from Arc to viewing position is about 11 feet
- tried multiple walking patterns:
  - stayed within a 5 feet x 5 feet box of couch
  - walked entire room
  - patterns above + sweeping area directly around the Arc (top / sides / front)
- seems like 2018 iPad Pro 11 tuning is resulting in slightly warmer dialogue, but there is still thinness, tinny voices with sharp ‘S’’s in the center channel that were not present prior to the upgrade -- voices were full, rich, warm and center prior to the update

Diagnostic number (running 5.1 output): 1689969690

Diagnostic number (running Dolby Atmos): 858732726

Let us know if there is any more we can help test and thanks to the folks in this community for working together to collect data.

P

pyro225

Enthusiast II

@Jean C.

Getting this and the bass issues still after the update - just different material now. For the bass issue eminem without me sounds terrible as does drive on Netflix at 35:00 in at 50-60% filmed here have performed factory reset to no avail:

What is the source of the media that is being played (TV app, external streaming device, cable, broadcast, DVD/DVR)? tidal or netflix or anything
What volume lever do you experience the issue? 50-60% up
Is the Arc wall-mounted? No
If wall-mounted, does removing the speaker from the wall bracket and setting it on a credenza or table improve the issue?
Is Trueplay configured on the Arc? Yes but get the same issue with it on and off.

i will add that the very high notes aren’t as harsh as my playbase was (which is a good thing) but it seems to be lacking mids etc and as said seems a bit tinny in comparison.

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