Skip to main content
arpatil1
Enthusiast II
June 17, 2020
Answered

Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

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.
    Scott - SonosAnswer
    Sonos Product Management
    July 2, 2020

    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.

    View in thread

    1017 replies

    Show previous replies
    Mitchellsx
    Renowned Enthusiast II
    July 4, 2020

    @Jean C. @Scott - Sonos 

    Any updates on this issue? Is it being looked into by technical.

    thank you

    BMF
    BMF
    Prodigy III
    July 4, 2020

    Diagnostic 2126649200

     

    Was watching Netflix via TV

     

    Switched to SkyQ via HDMI and very harsh treble and  lots of ssssssss ssss

    PowdeRiver
    Lyricist III
    July 5, 2020

    I agree with trueplay off it sounds better just need some work with trueplay also didn’t notice difference when comparing different iOS devic

    mewantsonos
    Trending Lyricist I
    July 5, 2020

    Trueplay off makes it slightly warmer but it loses focus and dialogues just get lost in some movies so you have to turn the volume up. 
     

    the best sound for me is with trueplay but treble set to -8 or -9.

     

     

    Cdodge
    Lyricist III
    July 5, 2020

    I have two arcs and one beam. I have had the beam for a bit longer than the arcs. I wouldn’t say the arcs sound harsh but I do feel the tones coming out of the beam are more enjoyable. I have also had the play bar in the past and preferred the tones on that too. 

    knafets
    Lyricist III
    July 5, 2020

    Trueplay off makes it slightly warmer but it loses focus and dialogues just get lost in some movies so you have to turn the volume up. 
     

    the best sound for me is with trueplay but treble set to -8 or -9.

     

     

    I have also tried with true play on and the treble on -8. This is also a “good” setting. Although lots of detail is lost. But at least it’s not piercing bright....
     

    have to set to treble to -8 or even more, proves again there is a problem with the Arc. 
     

    Sonos please reply here if you’re working on a fix!!

    phollin2
    Lyricist III
    July 5, 2020

    I’d also like to know if they are working on a fix.

    If I haven’t heard anything in the next couple of weeks I am returning my arc. I have a 100 day return but my sound is so bad I couldn’t tolerate it that long…. I’ve already started to switch to standard tv sound when not watching movies or listening to music. 
     

    The silence from sonos suggests it’s just bad hardware they can’t fix. I’ve emailed support and they didn’t help. Add to that the google assistant via Sonos is practically useless and I’m quickly losing faith in sonos!! 

      Smilja
      Smilja
      July 5, 2020

      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

      »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)
        phollin2
        Lyricist III
        July 5, 2020

        Thanks I hadn’t seen that. Hopefully they come up with something in the next couple of weeks.

         

        I won’t wait much longer tho, I remembered they promised the google assistant would be launched when the sonos one came out and ended up taking months/years. For me, they shouldn’t be releasing and sending out products until they are ready.

         

         

        Smilja
        Smilja
        July 5, 2020

        Thanks I hadn’t seen that. Hopefully they come up with something in the next couple of weeks.

         

         

        And you still haven’t read it.

        »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)
        Show more replies
        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement