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Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

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B
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Today I got he information that my order has been cancelled. I called the company and I asked why they won’t deliver my Sonos Arc and they just told there has been problems to get any more of them. They will continue to sell all other Sonos products but at this point they decided to remove Arc from all their local shops and entire web shop.  (I suppose they are the biggest dealer over here). 

Hopefully this is not a recall :-(

I will continue with my Beam and I will continue to read this support forum because I will get the Arc when they have got things fixed!

 

Strange.  I can see that the Arc is still listed on the Sonos’ site (https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/arc.html). Backordered and shipping on August 14.Sub is backordered and shipping on August 21 (https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/sub.html).

M
Userlevel 5
Badge +7

Hmm...thats worrying….

Come on Sonos! please give us some information of this problem, otherwise all kinds of negative stories/theories will flood the internet!!!

Potentially leading to Sonos brand damage….

If there is a problem, just admit it...that’s called damage control….(ignoring it hoping it will blow over is an illusion)

Agree all seems bit to quiet on here from the Sonos end, really hoping a software fix can sort these issues out.

K
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

Hmm...thats worrying….

Come on Sonos! please give us some information of this problem, otherwise all kinds of negative stories/theories will flood the internet!!!

Potentially leading to Sonos brand damage….

If there is a problem, just admit it...that’s called damage control….(ignoring it hoping it will blow over is an illusion)

J

Today I got he information that my order has been cancelled. I called the company and I asked why they won’t deliver my Sonos Arc and they just told there has been problems to get any more of them. They will continue to sell all other Sonos products but at this point they decided to remove Arc from all their local shops and entire web shop.  (I suppose they are the biggest dealer over here). 

Hopefully this is not a recall :-(

I will continue with my Beam and I will continue to read this support forum because I will get the Arc when they have got things fixed!

 

K
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

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

A

Has Sonos at least acknowledged this issue? I’m on the fence between Sonos Arc/Sub or LG Sn10yg. I’m not in a big rush so I’m willing to wait a month since its on back order anyway. Otherwise Ill get the LG and save some coin.

P
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

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.

 

Yes I have read it and fully understand. 

The problem is that we are end consumers not beta testers. What I purchased, so far, is a very average, but very expensive, soundbar… are you suggesting I should be happy to wait through various software updates for them to get it right ???

 

 

Smilja

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)
P
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

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

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)
P
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

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!! 

K
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

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!!

C

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. 

M
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

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.

 

 

P
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

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

BMF
Userlevel 5
Badge +13

Diagnostic 2126649200

 

Was watching Netflix via TV

 

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

M
Userlevel 5
Badge +7

@Jean C. @Scott - Sonos 

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

thank you

K
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

I have the arc since release date. From the beginning I find the voice (like watching news, talk shows) very tiny. Like the arc is only using the small tweeter and not the midrange drivers.

I was hoping to get used to it but I’m not. For comparison I bought a Denon DHT-S716H a 3.0 soundbar about the same size and price of the Arc. 

This confirmed my suspicion: while the Arc is much better than the Denon on soundstage, bass, clarity etc, the Denon is much, much better on voices, much richer and fuller.

This proves to me there is something wrong with the Arc. 

it’s a real shame I really really want to keep the Arc, but if this problem is not fixed In my return window , I have to send ik back. 
 

Sonos please fix this! It’s a pity that this is ruining a potential great product. 

 

 

Have you tried with trueplay off and loudness off? My experience is it is an improvement to tinnyness with certainly trueplay off … still not right but better


trueplay on or off makes a tiny tiny difference. Not noteworthy. 


I have to correct myself:
did some testing but it seems indeed that true play makes things even worse. True play with an iPad mini 2 makes it very bad. True play with an iPhone 7 is les bad.
 

But with true play of it is always less harsh/bright.  But still too harsh/bright. 

K
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

What I am experiencing is a harsh sound, with very pronounced “SSSSS” sounds throughout any video that is playing. It’s not that the arc is creating sounds that are not there --- it is just amplifying the SSSSS part. (I listened to the same video via a different speaker, such as the beam, and I can pick out the SSSSS, but it is much smoother and pleasant on the beam). 

I get this problem over HDMI ARC from my TV and also when sound is pushed to Arc via airplay 2 directly via the Apple TV 4K.

I have tried trueplay tuning with various Apple devices: iPhone 11 Pro, iPad Air (latest generation), iPhone 6S. I’ve done various trueplay “dances”, neither  of which seems to alleviate the problem. My system is a full 5.1 system, including a sub and two one SLs. The TV has HDMI ARC but not HDMI eARC, so all sound coming to Sonos Arc is Dolby Digital 5.1 

I do hope that Sonos fixes this very soon! I love the Sonos brand, and until now I have been a fierce Sonos advocate. I am very hopeful that this is just a software issue and that very soon Sonos will be able to fix it!

This is an exact description of my findings. The Playbar is so much better in dialogue and the SSSSS issue was called out even by my wife (who normally does not hear that much difference between speakers)

This is a down to a “sharpness” in dialogue l guess. I am getting It too on my soundbar.Have you spoken to the technical team at Sonos?

W
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

What I am experiencing is a harsh sound, with very pronounced “SSSSS” sounds throughout any video that is playing. It’s not that the arc is creating sounds that are not there --- it is just amplifying the SSSSS part. (I listened to the same video via a different speaker, such as the beam, and I can pick out the SSSSS, but it is much smoother and pleasant on the beam). 

I get this problem over HDMI ARC from my TV and also when sound is pushed to Arc via airplay 2 directly via the Apple TV 4K.

I have tried trueplay tuning with various Apple devices: iPhone 11 Pro, iPad Air (latest generation), iPhone 6S. I’ve done various trueplay “dances”, neither  of which seems to alleviate the problem. My system is a full 5.1 system, including a sub and two one SLs. The TV has HDMI ARC but not HDMI eARC, so all sound coming to Sonos Arc is Dolby Digital 5.1 

I do hope that Sonos fixes this very soon! I love the Sonos brand, and until now I have been a fierce Sonos advocate. I am very hopeful that this is just a software issue and that very soon Sonos will be able to fix it!

This is an exact description of my findings. The Playbar is so much better in dialogue and the SSSSS issue was called out even by my wife (who normally does not hear that much difference between speakers)

K
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

For now my “best” settings are 

treuplay off

bass +3

treble-2

 

I think this is some workaround to control te mid tones  But still it is not good at all. 

I tried that-but marginal improvement only.l am not sure that Sonos will fix this issue.

K
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

I tried that-marginal improvement only!!! I’m not sure if Sonos will fix this problem!!

O
Userlevel 4
Badge +6

TLDR: something was off with the HDMI handshake between devices. This caused distorted audio from Apple TV to Arc. Resetting the TV fixed this. Arc sound much improved, still harsher than I would like. 

Intro and bottom line: Arc still sounds harsher than I like, but I discovered an odd problem that once fixed, improves the situation somewhat. Again - harshness is still there, and I am eagerly waiting for a fix, but I want to share this with you, should you also be affected.

Setup: Sony X850E, Apple TV 4K on HDMI2, Arc on HDMI3. The TV does not have eArc. I only stream data from Apple TV; I do not use any of the TV’s built in apps. Apple TV is audio setting is set on convert to Dolby Digital 5.1. 
 

The problem: I played this simulated Atmos demo from youtube, which supposedly compares stereo with Atmos sound. There’s this ball jumping from left to right, with sound following it. Well, whenver the ball was on the right side, there was no sound! This was clearly a problem. At first I figure my Arc was defective. However, when I airplayed sound to the Arc, the right channel was coming through loud and clear. I switched the Apple TV to HDMI4, and suddenly the right channel was working again! This is not a viable solution, as HDR is only possible on HDMI2. To solve this, I reset the TV to factory setting and now HDMI2 works perfectly. 
 

Technical note: throughout all of this, HDMI CEC was working perfectly: volume control was good, as was turning off and on all devices.
 

 

K
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

For now my “best” settings are 

treuplay off

bass +3

treble-2

 

I think this is some workaround to control te mid tones  But still it is not good at all. 

M
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

I bought the arc two days,and l have tried everything to get rid of this harshness and tinny sound in the audio.I am very disappointed at the 

moment with the product,and l hope Sonos will address this problem. I wonder does the soundbar need a “running in” 

Do we wait for a fix or send it back???
 

I m thinking about sending it back just can’t wait for 6 months for a fix lol

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