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Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

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B
Userlevel 3
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(cross posting from another thread out of frustration)
Adding a vote. Been following these threads for months (this community, reddit, and others) and have tried it all, including doubling down and adding the sub and ones to my arc, but still not satisfied with the dialogue quality at all. 
 

There’s obviously something wrong and I’m finding it hard to believe Sonos has still not resolved the issue or provided much of an update. (Maybe it’s something they can’t fix??)
 

I’m seriously regretting the purchase and cannot recommend Sonos at this point. 
 

im sure there’s many more people that are not posting as so many others (thousands) are already writing about the same - if that’s you, I encourage you to post. Again, hard to believe that Sonos doesn’t understand the severity of the issue at this point, but let’s at least make sure they understand the scale of dissatisfied customers. 

This thread is a year old and nothing's changed, if I were you I'd move it on.

For what it's worth I didn't like the sound of the Arc either.

Mutiny
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You should maybe call Sonos.

I did and they told there is an internal limiter to keep the speaker from damage.

I am very confused. What’s the point in powerful speaker if i can’t use its full power.

I mean it sounds very good on 70-75 volume and i would probably never go higher than that. Still this is all very strange to me.

Maybe see what the volume dB level is, using a mobile App, at the point when the limiter kicks in and then see how it compares to the attached chart (as a rough guide). If it’s not that loud, then you might want to go back to Sonos Support and see what they say.

I would put your mobile, out it’s case/cover, say 6-8 feet away out in front (and level) with the speaker to take your readings, using a variety of different audio sources to the point where you notice the limiter.

I use an Arc with an LG C9 TV and in our lounge and I would probably not go too far above 65% volume for ‘loud’ listening, but I appreciate we each hear things differently in our different environments, but hope the suggestion here assists.

Thank you Ken, i will definitely try your suggestion.

The thing is that in my full HT setup in the other room i will not go past 50 for loud movies/games etc. I do also think that it is more than enough. Even when i go to, say, 95 the sound signature does not drastically change. It’s just the same but obviously louder.

However my single Five is in the living room, bigger space. And Five is not than punchy before 50 to be honest. It is a very capable speaker though, i instantly fell in love with it on my first listening. The only purpose of it is music. But when i go above 75 i can instantly feel like the low end and midrange is gone. Only harsh, almost metallic treble is left.

Maybe i should try different room and position to troubleshoot, still i didn’t expect this to happen.

 

UPD - so, yeah, 75 in my living room is around 85 dB. I guess i just shouldn’t go above that). Interesting, i have never experienced something like this with my other speakers before.

Jean C.
Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hello @CuzFeeshe,

Thank you for the diagnostic report and welcome to the Sonos Community by the way.

Does your X Box One or TV have an eArc port?

Can you test the Arc directly from the X-box to see if the harshness continues?

  

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K
Userlevel 3
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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. 

 

 

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

Been following this topic for a while, as it took a couple of weeks before my Arc + Sub arrived.

 

The posts made me quite nervous, but now after 2-3 weeks of using the setup with my LG 55 C9 i can honestly say that i am extremely satisfied with the sound! There is no metallic sounds or harsh voices at all. Music is warm and clear, movies and series sound amazing, especially those with atmos.

 

My dad has a Playbar, and i currently feel that one is slightly warmer/nicer for music, but the Arc blows the playbar out of the water with movies and series.

 

Config details: Trueplayed with an Ipad Air (2019). EQ settings are -3 (Bass) and -3 (Treble) with Sub audio volume at -4 (yes i live in an appartment building)

 

Edit: I know this topic discusses a problem with the Arc, but i feel it is important to highlight that not all Arc’s have this issue, as this topic made me extremely nervous for no reason in the end.

I think this is a person to person problem. I used to say what are people talking about? But tried going to some content suggested and I hear the issue mentioend here the thing is it doesnt bother me much.  I also dont listen to a ton of music on my 5.1 system. But for example, yesterday listening to the new taylor swift songs I can tell how her voice sounds weird. Like a bit harsh. Honestly itdoesnt bother me and if you add the sonos ones in surround full mode they basically mask this.

 

But I can tell how some people would dislike the sound signature of the bar alone due to it being a bit harsh. I only tuned with iphone XR. Also, for movies or TV it really sounds good and I dont have complaints

Well i have also been listening to the new Taylor Swift album quite alot, and also here i do not find her voice weird or harsh at all. Maybe it's because my Treble is at -3? Or the combination with the Sub?

Yes it is the treble, i played with this reducing the treble to -3 masks this. Also do you have sonos ones for surround? The sonos ones when sent to full surround they basically cover a bit the arc per se like they dont have this “issue” so they pump out sound that covers the arc issue. if you turn off the surrounds and toggle it you notice yeah voices sound a bit different. I have the complete 5.1 setup. It is very clear with for example: Taylor swift voice in acoustics, Sia voice as well (they have higher pitched voices being girls so it shows it more clearly.

 

Then again, to me it is not horrendous it doesn't detract much BUT i notice it and i think some might say MAN! this isn’t as warm and full sounding as the playbar was (for music). For movies I think it is nicer as you posted I think it has imprvements that outdo the playbar.

 

My hope is SONOS dials down these high frequencies a bit by tuning the DSP. This will not hurt movies much but improve music giving out a more well rounded soundbar. 

 

I think the issue here is Soundbars are usually not great for music, playbar wasnt amazing but it wasnt bad either (for music) so when people got the arc and noticed it being less warm or full sounding, they are dissapointed. Some people use these soundbars for music a LOT. So I understand this. Also, some are much more sensitive and the high pitch Sssss sounds some voices produce in movies when you accentuate high frequency sounds drive them nuts. For example someone suggested Locke and Key episode 4 minute 2:00. I played that and definitely noticed the Sssss BUT it just doesnt bother me that much.

 

 

B

So after a night's mixed viewing I can definitely still hear an issue with the sound from the Arc and so can the OH now.

When OH came to mine we watched Coronation Street, audio was fine, voices front and central nice and clear. Lucifer on prime was fine. Watched Fatal Attraction on iTunes and there were scenes that the audio was off. There's a club scene when the affair starts that went really loud (OH complained I was deaf), then during a meal scene I struggled to hear the conversation. The voices were low but ambient background sounds were loud, it was like the director had the window open and mic outside whilst filming.


It's the same issue I've had before where I've struggled to hear the conversation, with vocals not being front, center and clear 

Jean C.
Userlevel 5
Badge +16

@BMF, ​​@arpatil1 & @shane_sd,

CEC can come into play if it is somehow blocked or preventing the Arc from receiving the correct audio codec. 

That the ARC status had been consistently reading as blocked/inactive/disabled tells me that something might be amiss in how the Tv is communicating to the Arc.

The quickest way to remedy this would be to completely reboot the TV and then see what format the TV is passing on via the HDMI/ARC or preferably eARC port. 

If your TV doesn’t support eARC, try setting the TV audio format to Dolby Digital+ and see if it makes a difference. 

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B
Userlevel 3
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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.

I sent mine back with 5 days to go.  Sticking with my Playbar for now, but I just ordered a B&O Beosound Stage.   From reviews I've read everyone seems to really love it.  Quite pricey though.

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

I for one am quite satisfied with my Arc, the only thing that I would like to highlight are the settings in the S2 app under Surround Audio.

 

Theres TV level & Music level, for some reason music sounds A LOT better when the Music level setting is set to -5 rather than on 0. Is it supposed to act like this?

Hello Magony, l have mine set at this too.What do you set it to watching tv/movies? I have mine plus 15.

 

 

I have my TV level set to 0, I find that if I set it higher, the volume becomes higher but that’s it. At least with the Music level I saw a difference in bass and mids.

I tested this and I see no difference when set to -5

B
Userlevel 1
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I think there are a few issues going on here;

 

  1. There appears to be an issue with trueplay. Lacking low end and sharp highs and also the balance of the surrounds seems way out. Ive had to drop mine to -9. On my beam i had to drop them to -6. 
  2. There appears to be an issue with frequency response when air playing music from an iOS device. proven by playing a song through apple music from an apple tv there is a wide frequency response and then when playing straight from the phone its all thin (this could be because the apple tv is encoding to DD5.1)
  3. There also seems to be some issues with non DD5.1 or Atmos content through the TV also having a strange frequency response.

So based on this i would say there’s an issue with how the ARC divides frequencies with 2.0 source material and also how it performs its true play tuning.

S

Sonos.

A lot of people have report this problem.  I have until 31 Jan to return my to Amazon.  I really do not want to do so.  TV is okay (sort of), but streamed music, sadly, is not.

 

Please respond so I know if this will be fixed.

 

Thank you,

 

V
Userlevel 2
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For those of you who are still hearing the “metallic” or “tinny” sound from the Arc, more than likely it will not change anytime soon or at all. Most people who own the Arc are happy with the way it sounds, including myself. If you personally hear a “metallic” sound and it bothers you, it will probably ALWAYS bother you, and you will never reach a point where you are completely satisfied with your sound bar. For most of you, it’s probably best to just return the Arc before your return window has closed rather than wait for something that may never come.

For your information ... the metallic sound that is spoken in this forum is recognized by sonos.

T

Jumping in late here and way to much to read… Bottom line, is it worth purchasing the Arc to replace my Beam? Outside of this thread, the reviews I’ve found all make it sound like the Arc is the shit. This thread though makes me think it’s shitty. I’m lost. 

If you have a pair of surrounds and a sub to pair with the Arc then you will not be disappointed. The Arc by itself was terrible at launch, both opinion and fact. But things have improved. The bass issue is 95% resolved, it only crops up in the most obscure places at volumes too high when it is unpaired with a sub and surrounds.  The metallic issue is also mostly fixed, but has been narrowed down to an issue with Trueplay on certain iPhone models. I started a thread here about it, with a video link for a deeper explanation.  

TL:DR: As of Jan 2020 the Arc is a great HT purchase IF you are also pairing it with  surrounds and a sub.

I was once a user who wanted to return my Arc that I preorded, as of now I am  90% happy with my Sonos purchase.  (still burned by no DTS, yes I am one of those guys).

 

 

 

What is the issue if you do not bond it with surrounds when listening to stereo music? This should not be a problem should it? It still ridiculous that you have to bond a 900 dollar soundbar with sub/rears if you ask me...

 

Pairing the Arc with surrounds, and the sub will offload many of those frequencies off the Arc.  It is barely talked about in Sonos’s marketing but the change is pretty huge. A guy named Peter Pee on Youtube shows this change using fancy audio testing equipment to map out the crossover and response changes made.

 The Arc by itself is just trying to do too much on its own.  My wife will contest for me, I was an angry new Sonos user when my Arc came in a week before the One Sl’s and Sub. I added the Ones and instantly the difference was crazy. Then the Sub the next day.  I have been a happy camper a few firmware updates after adding the sub. 

C
Userlevel 6
Badge +11

 

Here’s the thing though… I’m suspicious that this metallic treble sound and missing midrange is a Trueplay bug, or a compatibility issue with certain iPhone models doing the calibration, rather than a flaw with the speaker itself. I re-calibrated Trueplay using my wife’s iPhone 11, and the sound quality is much improved. It’s still not as good as the Beam… the midrange is still off, and it sounds like the center channel is still missing, but the trashiness of the treble is much improved.

 

https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/trueplay-tuning-a-variety-of-speakers-playbar-arc-beam-with-newer-iphones-results-in-tinny-sound-6843248

 

I’m tempted to try recalibrating with an iPad, just to see what happens, but I’m afraid of making it worse and not being able to get it back. I wish I could save different Trueplay calibrations.

https://en.community.sonos.com/setting-up-sonos-228990/suggestion-save-multiple-trueplay-tunings-6843198

D

Hallelujah, after a long wait on hold to customer service they have finally (a month after I first contacted them) set up an exchange for my arc….. wonder if it will resolve the problem or will it just be the same (e.g. a mess)??? 

Let us know. 

K
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Been following this topic for a while, as it took a couple of weeks before my Arc + Sub arrived.

 

The posts made me quite nervous, but now after 2-3 weeks of using the setup with my LG 55 C9 i can honestly say that i am extremely satisfied with the sound! There is no metallic sounds or harsh voices at all. Music is warm and clear, movies and series sound amazing, especially those with atmos.

 

My dad has a Playbar, and i currently feel that one is slightly warmer/nicer for music, but the Arc blows the playbar out of the water with movies and series.

 

Config details: Trueplayed with an Ipad Air (2019). EQ settings are -3 (Bass) and -3 (Treble) with Sub audio volume at -4 (yes i live in an appartment building)

 

Edit: I know this topic discusses a problem with the Arc, but i feel it is important to highlight that not all Arc’s have this issue, as this topic made me extremely nervous for no reason in the end.

I think this is a person to person problem. I used to say what are people talking about? But tried going to some content suggested and I hear the issue mentioend here the thing is it doesnt bother me much.  I also dont listen to a ton of music on my 5.1 system. But for example, yesterday listening to the new taylor swift songs I can tell how her voice sounds weird. Like a bit harsh. Honestly itdoesnt bother me and if you add the sonos ones in surround full mode they basically mask this.

 

But I can tell how some people would dislike the sound signature of the bar alone due to it being a bit harsh. I only tuned with iphone XR. Also, for movies or TV it really sounds good and I dont have complaints

Well i have also been listening to the new Taylor Swift album quite alot, and also here i do not find her voice weird or harsh at all. Maybe it's because my Treble is at -3? Or the combination with the Sub?

Yes it is the treble, i played with this reducing the treble to -3 masks this. Also do you have sonos ones for surround? The sonos ones when sent to full surround they basically cover a bit the arc per se like they dont have this “issue” so they pump out sound that covers the arc issue. if you turn off the surrounds and toggle it you notice yeah voices sound a bit different. I have the complete 5.1 setup. It is very clear with for example: Taylor swift voice in acoustics, Sia voice as well (they have higher pitched voices being girls so it shows it more clearly.

 

Then again, to me it is not horrendous it doesn't detract much BUT i notice it and i think some might say MAN! this isn’t as warm and full sounding as the playbar was (for music). For movies I think it is nicer as you posted I think it has imprvements that outdo the playbar.

 

My hope is SONOS dials down these high frequencies a bit by tuning the DSP. This will not hurt movies much but improve music giving out a more well rounded soundbar. 

 

I think the issue here is Soundbars are usually not great for music, playbar wasnt amazing but it wasnt bad either (for music) so when people got the arc and noticed it being less warm or full sounding, they are dissapointed. Some people use these soundbars for music a LOT. So I understand this. Also, some are much more sensitive and the high pitch Sssss sounds some voices produce in movies when you accentuate high frequency sounds drive them nuts. For example someone suggested Locke and Key episode 4 minute 2:00. I played that and definitely noticed the Sssss BUT it just doesnt bother me that much.

 

 

Hi,

What are your settings for surround sound when watching movies? Cheers.

 

 

S
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@kenwk123 Read this whole thread and your comment re: hollow Hamilton on Disney+ is exactly how I’m feeling. I’ve had Arc + Sub + 2 SLs (Atmos-enabled via Sony TV) for 2 days and I’ve tuned 5x both with iPhone XS and iPad mini 2 to try and figure out why the orchestra doesn’t have fullness/richness and feeling of enveloping you with sounds.  There is some hissing with the “s” in different scenes as well which is slightly lessened by playing with treble.  Avengers Endgame wormhole battle scene sounds much better, dialogues are still slightly bright (Thor talking to Captain America, etc.) and I want to chalk it up to the recording of Hamilton.  BUT I had a Samsung HW-Q90R previously and that sounded MUCH better (returned b/c of sub disconnecting all the time) so I’m not convinced it’s just the way it was filmed as another user in this thread mentioned it may be. Any other workarounds that have helped improve your experience with specifically Hamilton? 

D
Userlevel 4
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Also - for what it’s worth - the bass issue (when not using a sub) is better than it was but certainly NOT 100% fixed….

 

I don’t have an issue with the metallic sound - but I have no doubt some people do.

Jean C.
Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hello @jkozlow3,

Home Theater audio and streaming music or Airplay music function very differently from each other.

To the best of my understanding this issue is only occurring with home theater audio which indicates a software issue rather than a hardware issue at this time.

If this has not been the case and any audio sourced from the Sonos app or other streaming audio services linked to Sonos was sounding equally bad, it would change the slant of our troubleshooting here.

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A
Userlevel 6
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Just recently found this thread, would anybody be so kind to summarise this thread up for me so i don't have to read through all the 418 replies haha. Is there a solution to the metallic sound or anything that helps/reduces it?

 

No - not for those affected by the issue.  Sonos has been pretty silent on the issue as well.  There may or may not be a hardware issue/bad batch as some people don’t seem to be having any issues/complaints whatsoever.  Others think all the issues can be fixed with software updates.

Bottom line is - your guess is as good as anyone’s at this point!

@dhewitt  Try it out. Many are happy with their Arcs! I have 0 complaints about metallic sounds… Lots of replies doesnt mean everyone here is complaining theres tons of back and forths and also people posting examples of their problem content. So not 418 complaints

Issues exist. So many people can’t be wrong at once (Few YouTubers have also acknowledged). Arc is still very much a beta product. LPCM support is also a few months away (this matters a lot if you do gaming, use Apple TV 4K, etc). Unless you absolutely cannot live with what you have right now, I would wait it out. Just my 2 cents.

Dont necessarily agree with this you could get the Arc today and be satisfied and happy with it. Many are keeping theirs. LCPM support was never promised at launch, and yes it means your gaming wont have surround but stereo gaming sounds great and good enough for me for the time being. In terms of apple TV not sure how it even matters (basides some TVS having issues if they hasve LPCM and the arc doesnt) but my apple tv plays surround just fine and sounds great

 

The beta product statement I dont agree with either,  because my functionality isn’t reduced or buggy. During normal use I do not notice any issues. And theres manyt people saying this on reddit and here. They got their arcs and are happy with the arc and will be keeping it. So the only way of knowing is trying it out! @dhewitt  no need to wait months .  Unless you decide you dont want to deal with a potential return hassle (not even that big of a hassle but ok) 

Are you on the Sonos Defense Council? This isn’t the “Sonos Arc Rich and Full Sound” thread. We’re trying to get to an issue 95% of us are expressing in this thread and you’re acting like we need non-qualified customer support. Glad you’re enjoying yours. Start a thread about it.
 

Guys it sounds like Sonos isn’t seeing issues with the Arc. It’s unfortunate but it’s okay. I’ve made several speaker purchases that I regret. I know the Sonos ecosystem is a big investment so I’d just keep what’s working and maybe start looking for another home theater solution. That’s what I’m doing. I’m keeping my Play 5’s for music and moving on. 

Dude chill , I am just commenting since people here are asking for summary. Remember people dont have the arc and some are looking for feedback like that poster. They see this giant thread and incorrectly assume everyone has issues and hates the arc. The arc is a piece of poop bla bla bla. 

I am not defending SONOS, have stated time after time there are issues with the soundbar., especially at higher volumes. My advice was simply it is better to test it in person because there is a large standard deviation (bug, expectations? hardware defects? who knows)  in satisfaction with the product. And I stated theres a good chance this person gets the arc and doesnt hear any metallic or tinny issues and is happy.  I am following these threads because I am interested in SONOS response and many people have constructive conversations. For example, some discovered retuning with other iphones helped the issue which led me to retune etc…. 

@sebas1509 Then do mention in your “summary” that there are issues at higher volumes and there is a large standard deviation in the satisfaction which means there are many people on the lower end of the “not happy” spectrum as well. 

S
Userlevel 4
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Version 12.0.3

 

App and System updates

You are correct just updating the system. Unclear what the improvements are? I expect them to comment in one of the threads explaining.

@Scott - Sonos @Krishma M Does this 12.0.3 update target this issue?

D
Userlevel 1
Badge +2

Anyone getting the ‘tinny’ audio from new LG oled TV’s B9,C9, BX or CX? Mine does and its a B8. Wondering if it effects the new TV’s too, although i suspect its nothing to do with that but still....

P
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I have  Arc + sub + 2 x play 1 And for me This set sounds amazing  in movies. After trutone bass is weaker but much more precise and excelent to everyday watching . 

Bumper
Userlevel 6
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Version 12.0.3

 

App and System updates

"Performance enhancements and improved reliability."

P
Userlevel 2
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I had recently bought the Sonos Arc because of the reviews on youtube and other tech outlets swearing by the sound quality of the Arc.. But when I got the unit, I was so surprised about the metallic sound and bad audio quality.  I can compare the sounds to “metal fork rubbing on a plate or nails on a chalkboard”.. So I did a quick internet search and found this forum talking about the issues I am having.  I had no clue so many people felt the same way I did about the sound. Having to skim through 27 pages of this, people have been raising this issue over a month ago and apparently still no FIX? Should I just return and get something else? How many have returned their purchase so far because there’s still no fix for this? Seems like Sonos not responding to this issue in a timely manner. I am truly sad about this. 

Yep. I tried everything, including trueplaying until my arm went numb and a replacement arc to no avail. In my opinion it’s just a poor sound bar from Sonos. Rushed out maybe? 

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