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Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

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B
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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.

T
  1. Best Buy Arc sounds better than Amazon Arc
  2. Called Sonos support- wasn’t happy and but, the Arc fixed itself the next morning.
  3. Electricity went off and Arc is fixed when it came back on.
  4. Disabled wifi and now, the Arc sounds good now.

Please tell me you people are joking, right? 

Maybe you should read the whole text. Then you wouldn't write point number 4 :-)

T

@TomasKV, Is the Arc your only Sonos device? If there are more Sonos devices I strongly advise you to re-enable the WiFi module on the Arc.

I did enable Wifi again and Arc sound still very good.

Smilja

DO NOT disable the WiFi module on the Arc. Has nothing to do with sound quality, but Sub and Rears will no longer work!

»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)
A
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@Danio1137

I will certainly do not. If there isn’t an answer/ software fix from Sonos in the next week or so I am done with Sonos. 

The arc is my first sonos product. Was planning for more. But looks like Sonos is a no-go. 

@knafets I have decided to go with KEF Q150s and Q250C when they go on sale. I should able to grab a good receiver (with all codec support, AirPlay2, assistant goodies) from accesories4less. The only downside I see is running wires which is not hard to do and they are also easier to hide. You will be amazed at how many better options you will get with the money you pay Sonos or Bose.

J
Userlevel 4
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  1. Best Buy Arc sounds better than Amazon Arc
  2. Called Sonos support- wasn’t happy and but, the Arc fixed itself the next morning.
  3. Electricity went off and Arc is fixed when it came back on.
  4. Disabled wifi and now, the Arc sounds good now.

Please tell me you people are joking, right? 


Haha…

 

Well, #1 can be explained by defective hardware at least.

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6
  1. Best Buy Arc sounds better than Amazon Arc
  2. Called Sonos support- wasn’t happy and but, the Arc fixed itself the next morning.
  3. Electricity went off and Arc is fixed when it came back on.
  4. Disabled wifi and now, the Arc sounds good now.

Please tell me you people are joking, right? 

Smilja

@TomasKV, Is the Arc your only Sonos device? If there are more Sonos devices I strongly advise you to re-enable the WiFi module on the Arc.

»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)
T

This is a personal experience and wanted to share here, I was as fed up as everyone here, and before returning, decided I will give one more try with Sonos tech support and managed to reach them through chat. I spoke about both the muddy bass issue and the harsh metallic tone (treble) issue. We did the usual diagnosis and then a few tweaks done from the support agent. I guess he did a resetting of my EQ, restarted my Sonos arc, and then we did the trueplay configuration again. 

There was not much difference and I was not happy. So the agent requested me to send 20 seconds of files with different sources. (I am yet to do this). All this happened on Friday

On Saturday, I do not know what miraculously happened since there was no software update or any other action taken but my Arc sounds different now for good. The music and sound are much better, nicer, and crisp. 

PS: I have not tested movie source/content from TV (ARC/eARC) since my TV stopped working. My experience is with Airplay/Youtube Premium is the music source. 

I am still wondering and thinking if it could be a placebo effect but then even my wife felt today the system sounded way better. 

If anyone else has a similar experience, pls do share. Cheers 

I had the same problem with the metallic sound. I did disable WIFI connection in the SONOS app. Ars restarted and the problem is solved. Sound is perfect. Of course solution is not to disable Wifi connectuion but the restart of ARC.

C
Userlevel 3
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Im surprised that there's still no official response from Sonos. If I knew this was the sound quality I am getting, I probably go with a beam & sub combo instead of the Arc.

Clearly some are having an issue with the sound from the Arc…. some on this thread have found that retuning after the software fix solved their problem, others have found that they still were not happy and returned it.

rtings.com did an unfavorable review, however other review sites have tested the audio and given the sound top honors.

I was following this thread before my Arc arrived and I was worried, however I have had an almost completely good experience so far.  I don’t find it overly bright - I find that it has better treble response then the Beam (which I have in a separate room).  I am VERY sensitive to exaggerated sibilance, but I haven’t really noticed any personally (except in a single Atmos all-vocal video on the Xbox one).

I don’t know if there’s anything Sonos can say in response at this point.  I would hope they would visit rtings.com and work with them as a control to improve the experience.

My only advice is that you can give it a shot and purchase it.  If you’re unhappy you can return it and get a Beam, which is also a fantastic device…. or try another brand.

L
Userlevel 3
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Im surprised that there's still no official response from Sonos. If I knew this was the sound quality I am getting, I probably go with a beam & sub combo instead of the Arc.

A
Userlevel 2
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This is a personal experience and wanted to share here, I was as fed up as everyone here, and before returning, decided I will give one more try with Sonos tech support and managed to reach them through chat. I spoke about both the muddy bass issue and the harsh metallic tone (treble) issue. We did the usual diagnosis and then a few tweaks done from the support agent. I guess he did a resetting of my EQ, restarted my Sonos arc, and then we did the trueplay configuration again. 

There was not much difference and I was not happy. So the agent requested me to send 20 seconds of files with different sources. (I am yet to do this). All this happened on Friday

On Saturday, I do not know what miraculously happened since there was no software update or any other action taken but my Arc sounds different now for good. The music and sound are much better, nicer, and crisp. 

PS: I have not tested movie source/content from TV (ARC/eARC) since my TV stopped working. My experience is with Airplay/Youtube Premium is the music source. 

I am still wondering and thinking if it could be a placebo effect but then even my wife felt today the system sounded way better. 

If anyone else has a similar experience, pls do share. Cheers 

I had a similar one after turning off the electricity for the night and listening the next day.  It sounded better until I raised the volume really then the problems came back.

Interesting will try to turn on the volume high in the morning and report back. This seems to be something to do with the hardware than the software issue. I guess Sonos just do not want to admit and recall at this moment with descending economy 

D

This is a personal experience and wanted to share here, I was as fed up as everyone here, and before returning, decided I will give one more try with Sonos tech support and managed to reach them through chat. I spoke about both the muddy bass issue and the harsh metallic tone (treble) issue. We did the usual diagnosis and then a few tweaks done from the support agent. I guess he did a resetting of my EQ, restarted my Sonos arc, and then we did the trueplay configuration again. 

There was not much difference and I was not happy. So the agent requested me to send 20 seconds of files with different sources. (I am yet to do this). All this happened on Friday

On Saturday, I do not know what miraculously happened since there was no software update or any other action taken but my Arc sounds different now for good. The music and sound are much better, nicer, and crisp. 

PS: I have not tested movie source/content from TV (ARC/eARC) since my TV stopped working. My experience is with Airplay/Youtube Premium is the music source. 

I am still wondering and thinking if it could be a placebo effect but then even my wife felt today the system sounded way better. 

If anyone else has a similar experience, pls do share. Cheers 

I had a similar one after turning off the electricity for the night and listening the next day.  It sounded better until I raised the volume really then the problems came back.

A
Userlevel 2
Badge

This is a personal experience and wanted to share here, I was as fed up as everyone here, and before returning, decided I will give one more try with Sonos tech support and managed to reach them through chat. I spoke about both the muddy bass issue and the harsh metallic tone (treble) issue. We did the usual diagnosis and then a few tweaks done from the support agent. I guess he did a resetting of my EQ, restarted my Sonos arc, and then we did the trueplay configuration again. 

There was not much difference and I was not happy. So the agent requested me to send 20 seconds of files with different sources. (I am yet to do this). All this happened on Friday

On Saturday, I do not know what miraculously happened since there was no software update or any other action taken but my Arc sounds different now for good. The music and sound are much better, nicer, and crisp. 

PS: I have not tested movie source/content from TV (ARC/eARC) since my TV stopped working. My experience is with Airplay/Youtube Premium is the music source. 

I am still wondering and thinking if it could be a placebo effect but then even my wife felt today the system sounded way better. 

If anyone else has a similar experience, pls do share. Cheers 

K
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

@Danio1137 

I will certainly do not. If there isn’t an answer/ software fix from Sonos in the next week or so I am done with Sonos. 

The arc is my first sonos product. Was planning for more. But looks like Sonos is a no-go. 

P
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

I’m kinda getting tired of these but interested if this will help using his settings.

 

 

D

Just a follow-up to my last comment. I have noticed that the dialog sounds more metallic when playing a movie in Atmos. It's also more pronounced on certain apps. For instance. Disney + has a really big problem with low audio. It sounds like they are over compressing the audio. So I have to turn the volume up +10 more than on other apps. There is a big difference in the dialog with too much treble when playing a Disney + Marvel or Star Wars movie in Atmos. There is still a small treble problem when playing the same movie in Dolby Digital plus, without atmos. The metallic sound is reduced when not using Atmos. So far the majority of audio problems seem to be from certain apps, especially disney +.

I'm curious what streaming apps are people in this thread using to test the Arc? 

Are there more who had the courage to send back and dare to buy a new Arc?  is that the way to solve it maybe I should look into it.

K
Userlevel 2

Just a follow-up to my last comment. I have noticed that the dialog sounds more metallic when playing a movie in Atmos. It's also more pronounced on certain apps. For instance. Disney + has a really big problem with low audio. It sounds like they are over compressing the audio. So I have to turn the volume up +10 more than on other apps. There is a big difference in the dialog with too much treble when playing a Disney + Marvel or Star Wars movie in Atmos. There is still a small treble problem when playing the same movie in Dolby Digital plus, without atmos. The metallic sound is reduced when not using Atmos. So far the majority of audio problems seem to be from certain apps, especially disney +.

I'm curious what streaming apps are people in this thread using to test the Arc? 

K
Userlevel 2

I don't know if this will help anyone, but I purchased the Arc from Amazon. I received it and was not happy with the sound at all. So I decided to buy another one from best buy. The 2nd one was a night and day experience. It sounds incredible. No sharp treble. I wondered if I was just imagining the bad audio from the first unit, so I reconnected it again and could tell the difference right away. I returned the original unit and kept the 2nd one. So I am not sure if this is really a software problem or if it's a defective unit. I think in my case it was defective. 

L
Userlevel 2
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While I’ve been waiting for something like the Arc for quite a while (product with earc, ability to use sonos sub and my existing ones as rears) the issues, lack of lpcm and non-communication regarding the issues is starting to push me in other directions.
 

Too bad the beam isn’t an option, but happily I’m not too deeply bought into the sonos ecosystem yet.

They committed to adding multi channel LPCM. In their defense sonos is usually much better at this but IDK what is going on with their restructuring and covid.. 

 

gswanso2 .. Look at the beam curve dude theres no way they get to design their own speakers pick components and they say YES this is what we want for the Flagship product to perform worse than the Beam! Yes this is our sound signature….. come on. I do not know if theres a hardware issue, but I think this is most likely a DSP issue. The weird thing is if a random small company can test this, and a youtuber can test this I cannot believe that SONOS wouldn't. So something weird went on.

 

Regarding the “metallic sound” that could be a different topic where they are purposedly emphasizing the highs for atmos and directional wider sound-stage presence. 

 

Regardless I dont really experience any of these issues anymore or at least cant tell since I dont push the volume too high.

 

I’m expecting this to be the new normal, based on the sacking of the community manager right after the biggest new product launch in years.

A
Userlevel 6
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@arpatil1 What are you’re plans? I am looking at the Bose soundbar 700

@knafets I am going to reply on my HomePod and AirPods for now (No Arc-like struggle with them). I live in an apartment, but looking to buy my own house in the near future. So I will just switch to a proper 5.1 setup then. I can hide the wires the way I want. With the money bose and Sonos charges, you can get much better sound when you have a traditional system. No more soundbars for me.

W
Userlevel 2
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@arpatil1 What are you’re plans? I am looking at the Bose soundbar 700

I’m curious how that would work out? It actually has good reviews but the software is I guess horrendous 

K
Userlevel 3
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@arpatil1 What are you’re plans? I am looking at the Bose soundbar 700

P
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For testing purposes I just unplugged my arc and watch some tv using the (mediocre) built in tv speakers. I’m astonished what a relief this is for my ears. No more bright piercing voices. 
 

just stunned how bad the arc is.…

 

I wanted to wait for a software updated but right now I feel like I just want to get rid of this thing ASAP. 

This is exactly my experience. It’s now been disconnected and I’ll sit patiently with my £800 ornament whilst I wait for Sonos to get back to me. What a mess!! 

K
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For testing purposes I just unplugged my arc and watch some tv using the (mediocre) built in tv speakers. I’m astonished what a relief this is for my ears. No more bright piercing voices. 
 

just stunned how bad the arc is....

Try retuning with a different device, preferably an older one, if you can. Having updated the Arc software and retuned with an older device, the harshness is pretty much gone. I mean there is still some favoring of treble frequencies in spots, but nothing like before. Generally it sounds good to an unpicky ear. If you are saying your TV speakers sound better, you might need to get your Arc replaced.

I did all that you said. Treble did go way, but the dialogues were unchanged. My TV speakers have the same dialogue quality. can’t tell the difference. You would think a soundbar with a dedicated center channel would have much better vocals, but no. I don’t think the airplay functionally and lack of few wires is worth $799.Good luck.


exactly this. I just wanted to reply with exactly the same story. 
 

ps I tuned with an iPhone 7

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