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Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

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O
Userlevel 4
Badge +6

 

Ya that’s a good question. It was with limited testing. One thing I know for sure with the Arc is that I noticed the treble/bass is not right at times. I never had that impression with the playbar. I will keep testing them out with music and movies. I said I can see the benefits of the Arc but not sure if the sound profile is better than the playbar. The added speakers in the Arc do provide greater potential and that is apparent when hearing them side by side. But the Arc May require better tuning or software. The 250$ price difference might play a role but I plan on having the sound bar many years and 250$ in the long term won’t the deciding factor. 
I feel like I’m talking myself into the Arc. And if Sonos can adjust/fix sound profile it’s a slam dunk. Listening side by side provide a great perspective!

Wow, you put this very well. Some times I think the Arc sounds great. Other times, I am unsure if the sound is correct. I, too, feel like I’m talking myself into the Arc. 
Sonos: please chime in and tell us a fix is coming!!!

R
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

I was on the phone yesterday with tech support and he had me send in the diagnostics from the Sonos app. He said it came back with some bad “bashes”, he would not elaborate, but obviously it is not performing like it should, but I still have a feeling this has nothing to do with the tinny lack of bass. I am afraid this is a hardware and not a software problem :( I am so bummed, I was really looking forward to this being a great speaker, but when I go back to my Playbar, which I still have, I get more bass and a fuller sound. I was doing my best to sell my wife on the fact that it would be great to have this new speaker which costs a lot, but alas, playing the Arc is not helping. And music through it is just awful! The dialogue on movies with the Arc is a bit better, but to loose the lows is a non starter. My setup has the sub and to Sonos Ones as well. 

This is exactly my experience with the Arc.  I just regretfully sent it back to Sonos this morning.  My Playbar doesn't look as nice as the Arc but the sound is so much smoother and voices are way better too.  I just couldn't take the shrillness of the Arc any longer.  Of course I lost my discount code on the return….:tired_face:

 

My advice is to stay with the Playbar or Beam until this is sorted out. 

I have a Playbar and an Arc setup side by side connected to the same tv (as the same time) and on the same network. I keep switching the audio between the 2. I can say that the Arc is not perfect but it does sound way more immersive than the playbar The Playbar sounds great on its own but when comparing it  side by side with the Arc i can really see the benefits of the new soundbar. Still not sure which i will keep.

Hi Reefy, just wondering if you have both set up and you think that the Arc is fuller and better what would make you still wonder whether you will keep it or not?

Ya that’s a good question. It was with limited testing. One thing I know for sure with the Arc is that I noticed the treble/bass is not right at times. I never had that impression with the playbar. I will keep testing them out with music and movies. I said I can see the benefits of the Arc but not sure if the sound profile is better than the playbar. The added speakers in the Arc do provide greater potential and that is apparent when hearing them side by side. But the Arc May require better tuning or software. The 250$ price difference might play a role but I plan on having the sound bar many years and 250$ in the long term won’t the deciding factor. 
I feel like I’m talking myself into the Arc. And if Sonos can adjust/fix sound profile it’s a slam dunk. Listening side by side provide a great perspective!

IndustrialEcho
Userlevel 1
Badge

I was on the phone yesterday with tech support and he had me send in the diagnostics from the Sonos app. He said it came back with some bad “bashes”, he would not elaborate, but obviously it is not performing like it should, but I still have a feeling this has nothing to do with the tinny lack of bass. I am afraid this is a hardware and not a software problem :( I am so bummed, I was really looking forward to this being a great speaker, but when I go back to my Playbar, which I still have, I get more bass and a fuller sound. I was doing my best to sell my wife on the fact that it would be great to have this new speaker which costs a lot, but alas, playing the Arc is not helping. And music through it is just awful! The dialogue on movies with the Arc is a bit better, but to loose the lows is a non starter. My setup has the sub and to Sonos Ones as well. 

This is exactly my experience with the Arc.  I just regretfully sent it back to Sonos this morning.  My Playbar doesn't look as nice as the Arc but the sound is so much smoother and voices are way better too.  I just couldn't take the shrillness of the Arc any longer.  Of course I lost my discount code on the return….:tired_face:

 

My advice is to stay with the Playbar or Beam until this is sorted out. 

I have a Playbar and an Arc setup side by side connected to the same tv (as the same time) and on the same network. I keep switching the audio between the 2. I can say that the Arc is not perfect but it does sound way more immersive than the playbar The Playbar sounds great on its own but when comparing it  side by side with the Arc i can really see the benefits of the new soundbar. Still not sure which i will keep.

Hi Reefy, just wondering if you have both set up and you think that the Arc is fuller and better what would make you still wonder whether you will keep it or not?

Formerly with a Playbar, now with an Arc, but unfortunately, due to poor sound quality, soon back to the Playbar. / Sub / 2 Sonos Ones
R
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

I was on the phone yesterday with tech support and he had me send in the diagnostics from the Sonos app. He said it came back with some bad “bashes”, he would not elaborate, but obviously it is not performing like it should, but I still have a feeling this has nothing to do with the tinny lack of bass. I am afraid this is a hardware and not a software problem :( I am so bummed, I was really looking forward to this being a great speaker, but when I go back to my Playbar, which I still have, I get more bass and a fuller sound. I was doing my best to sell my wife on the fact that it would be great to have this new speaker which costs a lot, but alas, playing the Arc is not helping. And music through it is just awful! The dialogue on movies with the Arc is a bit better, but to loose the lows is a non starter. My setup has the sub and to Sonos Ones as well. 

This is exactly my experience with the Arc.  I just regretfully sent it back to Sonos this morning.  My Playbar doesn't look as nice as the Arc but the sound is so much smoother and voices are way better too.  I just couldn't take the shrillness of the Arc any longer.  Of course I lost my discount code on the return….:tired_face:

 

My advice is to stay with the Playbar or Beam until this is sorted out. 

I have a Playbar and an Arc setup side by side connected to the same tv (as the same time) and on the same network. I keep switching the audio between the 2. I can say that the Arc is not perfect but it does sound way more immersive than the playbar The Playbar sounds great on its own but when comparing it  side by side with the Arc i can really see the benefits of the new soundbar. Still not sure which i will keep.

K
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Yeah. The audio on mine is very bright on most tv channels. It’s bright on my streaming device too.Not as bad on dvds.Music is very good.
lt is very disappointing considering what l paid for it. I have the subwoofer and a couple rear speakers too in my set up.

l don’t know what further testing we can do.l have only tuned mine with iPad.l will try with an iPhone.Tech support told me that it didn’t matter what device you used.

 

Tech support doesn’t know anything apart from fixing standard issues. Truplay on my setup with an iPad Pro 2017 is much better than Xs. If I add +6/+7 treble to my current sound profile, I get the same sound I had before with Xs Truplay. I am still struggling to like the dialogues. I really hope the fix is coming, but lack of clear communication from the Sonos team on top of asking for the same diagnostics and questions, again and again, is not helping.

I wonder what the last software update was about!!!!

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

Yeah. The audio on mine is very bright on most tv channels. It’s bright on my streaming device too.Not as bad on dvds.Music is very good.
lt is very disappointing considering what l paid for it. I have the subwoofer and a couple rear speakers too in my set up.

l don’t know what further testing we can do.l have only tuned mine with iPad.l will try with an iPhone.Tech support told me that it didn’t matter what device you used.

 

Tech support doesn’t know anything apart from fixing standard issues. Truplay on my setup with an iPad Pro 2017 is much better than Xs. If I add +6/+7 treble to my current sound profile, I get the same sound I had before with Xs Truplay. I am still struggling to like the dialogues. I really hope the fix is coming, but lack of clear communication from the Sonos team on top of asking for the same diagnostics and questions, again and again, is not helping.

K
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Yeah. The audio on mine is very bright on most tv channels. It’s bright on my streaming device too.Not as bad on dvds.Music is very good.
lt is very disappointing considering what l paid for it. I have the subwoofer and a couple rear speakers too in my set up.

l don’t know what further testing we can do.l have only tuned mine with iPad.l will try with an iPhone.Tech support told me that it didn’t matter what device you used.

 

IndustrialEcho
Userlevel 1
Badge

I was on the phone yesterday with tech support and he had me send in the diagnostics from the Sonos app. He said it came back with some bad “bashes”, he would not elaborate, but obviously it is not performing like it should, but I still have a feeling this has nothing to do with the tinny lack of bass. I am afraid this is a hardware and not a software problem :( I am so bummed, I was really looking forward to this being a great speaker, but when I go back to my Playbar, which I still have, I get more bass and a fuller sound. I was doing my best to sell my wife on the fact that it would be great to have this new speaker which costs a lot, but alas, playing the Arc is not helping. And music through it is just awful! The dialogue on movies with the Arc is a bit better, but to loose the lows is a non starter. My setup has the sub and to Sonos Ones as well. 

This is exactly my experience with the Arc.  I just regretfully sent it back to Sonos this morning.  My Playbar doesn't look as nice as the Arc but the sound is so much smoother and voices are way better too.  I just couldn't take the shrillness of the Arc any longer.  Of course I lost my discount code on the return….:tired_face:

 

My advice is to stay with the Playbar or Beam until this is sorted out. 

I too talked to technical support yesterday. I got positive vibes that this issue will be fixed.l didn’t get a sinister report from  my diagnostic submission. The product has only been released since June-so surely Sonos can fix these problems!!

It was not sinister, he just said there were problems that showed up. I am not really sure that it is a software fix, although I wish that were true. I am feeling it is more a hardware issue. Yes, they were just released in June, but I am pretty surprised that after all the testing Sonos must have done on these...before June... that no-one said, hey, these sound flat and lackluster. Maybe we should do some more testing? ….

Formerly with a Playbar, now with an Arc, but unfortunately, due to poor sound quality, soon back to the Playbar. / Sub / 2 Sonos Ones
O
Userlevel 4
Badge +6

I too am on the “this is a software issue that will be fixed”. I am also overly observant of audio issues at the moment.

However, what bothers me is the radio silence from Sonos. I really hope they will chime in to say that something is in the works! 

K
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

I was on the phone yesterday with tech support and he had me send in the diagnostics from the Sonos app. He said it came back with some bad “bashes”, he would not elaborate, but obviously it is not performing like it should, but I still have a feeling this has nothing to do with the tinny lack of bass. I am afraid this is a hardware and not a software problem :( I am so bummed, I was really looking forward to this being a great speaker, but when I go back to my Playbar, which I still have, I get more bass and a fuller sound. I was doing my best to sell my wife on the fact that it would be great to have this new speaker which costs a lot, but alas, playing the Arc is not helping. And music through it is just awful! The dialogue on movies with the Arc is a bit better, but to loose the lows is a non starter. My setup has the sub and to Sonos Ones as well. 

This is exactly my experience with the Arc.  I just regretfully sent it back to Sonos this morning.  My Playbar doesn't look as nice as the Arc but the sound is so much smoother and voices are way better too.  I just couldn't take the shrillness of the Arc any longer.  Of course I lost my discount code on the return….:tired_face:

 

My advice is to stay with the Playbar or Beam until this is sorted out. 

I too talked to technical support yesterday. I got positive vibes that this issue will be fixed.l didn’t get a sinister report from  my diagnostic submission. The product has only been released since June-so surely Sonos can fix these problems!!

B
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

I was on the phone yesterday with tech support and he had me send in the diagnostics from the Sonos app. He said it came back with some bad “bashes”, he would not elaborate, but obviously it is not performing like it should, but I still have a feeling this has nothing to do with the tinny lack of bass. I am afraid this is a hardware and not a software problem :( I am so bummed, I was really looking forward to this being a great speaker, but when I go back to my Playbar, which I still have, I get more bass and a fuller sound. I was doing my best to sell my wife on the fact that it would be great to have this new speaker which costs a lot, but alas, playing the Arc is not helping. And music through it is just awful! The dialogue on movies with the Arc is a bit better, but to loose the lows is a non starter. My setup has the sub and to Sonos Ones as well. 

This is exactly my experience with the Arc.  I just regretfully sent it back to Sonos this morning.  My Playbar doesn't look as nice as the Arc but the sound is so much smoother and voices are way better too.  I just couldn't take the shrillness of the Arc any longer.  Of course I lost my discount code on the return….:tired_face:

 

My advice is to stay with the Playbar or Beam until this is sorted out. 

IndustrialEcho
Userlevel 1
Badge

I was on the phone yesterday with tech support and he had me send in the diagnostics from the Sonos app. He said it came back with some bad “bashes”, he would not elaborate, but obviously it is not performing like it should, but I still have a feeling this has nothing to do with the tinny lack of bass. I am afraid this is a hardware and not a software problem :( I am so bummed, I was really looking forward to this being a great speaker, but when I go back to my Playbar, which I still have, I get more bass and a fuller sound. I was doing my best to sell my wife on the fact that it would be great to have this new speaker which costs a lot, but alas, playing the Arc is not helping. And music through it is just awful! The dialogue on movies with the Arc is a bit better, but to loose the lows is a non starter. My setup has the sub and to Sonos Ones as well. 

Formerly with a Playbar, now with an Arc, but unfortunately, due to poor sound quality, soon back to the Playbar. / Sub / 2 Sonos Ones
C
Userlevel 3
Badge

I got my hands on an iPhone 7 this morning. I downloaded the Sonos S2 app and Trueplayed my room. 
 

The sound was definitely improved. It’s like the Arc took a step forward in presence. I use to describe its sound as “small.” Now not so much. It’s still silly bright but I’m not experiencing ear fatigue. 
 

Of course I hear they released an update and to my surprise, I had the updated app on the iPhone 7. So I’m not sure if they changed something or if the tune from the iPhone 7 is helping things. 
 

I’m very aware of the power of the brain, so I like to keep things flat (eq, loudness, sub off) as I’m evaluating the sound. I believe something has improved though I’m not sure if it’s the tune from an iPhone 7 or the update. 
 

I’m going to swap in the Beam for further reference. 

What phone did you use to TunePlay prior to the update?, it could just be your experience moving to an iPhone 7 rather than the update itself. (7 TunePlay performed significantly better than the X/Xs prior to the update in my experience, there is a clear issue with X/Xs which is immediately noticeable).

 

I’m using an original iPhone X.  It actually worked nicely for Trueplay tuning.

 

G
Badge

I got my hands on an iPhone 7 this morning. I downloaded the Sonos S2 app and Trueplayed my room. 
 

The sound was definitely improved. It’s like the Arc took a step forward in presence. I use to describe its sound as “small.” Now not so much. It’s still silly bright but I’m not experiencing ear fatigue. 
 

Of course I hear they released an update and to my surprise, I had the updated app on the iPhone 7. So I’m not sure if they changed something or if the tune from the iPhone 7 is helping things. 
 

I’m very aware of the power of the brain, so I like to keep things flat (eq, loudness, sub off) as I’m evaluating the sound. I believe something has improved though I’m not sure if it’s the tune from an iPhone 7 or the update. 
 

I’m going to swap in the Beam for further reference. 

What phone did you use to TunePlay prior to the update?, it could just be your experience moving to an iPhone 7 rather than the update itself. (7 TunePlay performed significantly better than the X/Xs prior to the update in my experience, there is a clear issue with X/Xs which is immediately noticeable).

P
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

No change for me!!!!!!!Still harsh!!!!

 

Same here! No noticeable difference

S
Userlevel 2
Badge

I got my hands on an iPhone 7 this morning. I downloaded the Sonos S2 app and Trueplayed my room. 
 

The sound was definitely improved. It’s like the Arc took a step forward in presence. I use to describe its sound as “small.” Now not so much. It’s still silly bright but I’m not experiencing ear fatigue. 
 

Of course I hear they released an update and to my surprise, I had the updated app on the iPhone 7. So I’m not sure if they changed something or if the tune from the iPhone 7 is helping things. 
 

I’m very aware of the power of the brain, so I like to keep things flat (eq, loudness, sub off) as I’m evaluating the sound. I believe something has improved though I’m not sure if it’s the tune from an iPhone 7 or the update. 
 

I’m going to swap in the Beam for further reference. 

O
Userlevel 4
Badge +6

Upon the first trueplay attempt post update, the sonos app crashed after the “sit where you watch” phase of trueplay. I reran trueplay and it went through fine. In my experience, sound seems somewhat better, but still brighter than I would like.  
I look forward to further fixes and tweaks by Sonos. 

K
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

No change for me!!!!!!!Still harsh!!!!

P
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Fingers crossed this helps. I have just installed the update and true played again. The trueplay felt like it took longer (I got to go around the room twice). Maybe they have updated that. Jury is out on whether it’s altered the sound profile...

C
Userlevel 6
Badge +11

12.0.2 just came out, installing now

No System Update though.

Trueplay Update ?

No clue cause yet again Sonos has not provided any info...

Lets hope someone who is experiencing the ‘bright’ sound with their Arc can update their App, do another Trueplay and report back.

 

S
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

12.0.2 just came out, installing now

No System Update though.

Trueplay Update ?

No clue cause yet again Sonos has not provided any info...

C
Userlevel 6
Badge +11

12.0.2 just came out, installing now

No System Update though.

Trueplay Update ?

S
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

12.0.2 just came out, installing now

No System Update though. On top of that in About My System says Version 12.0.2 but at the bottom under Sonos System Info still says 12.0.1

M
Userlevel 5
Badge +7

12.0.2 just came out, installing now

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

Hey Sonos! Can we get something more than a generic response? It’s your flagship product we are talking about. If you have forgotten- we are end consumers, not beta testers. So, fix your issues as soon as possible.

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