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Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound



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Does the true play tuning with an older iPhone actually work, ive got currently got an iPhone XS Max and a newish iPad 2-3 years old. What age iPhone are people using? thanks 

Yes it does. I used my 2017 iPad Pro for Truplay and it is miles better than XS.

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Does the true play tuning with an older iPhone actually work, ive got currently got an iPhone XS Max and a newish iPad 2-3 years old. What age iPhone are people using? thanks 

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Tagging @Jean C. in this thread in hopes for an official response. 100+ replies of customers of a brand new, high end soundbar experiencing a significant issue related to the sound quality, the core purpose of the product. We would really appreciate an update and some correspondence from the company.

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I haven’t received my Arc yet. Still use Beam, Sub and a pair of One SL.  I read a lot of differences in Truplay tuning between new and older iOS devices. Decided to do a new Truplay tuning with my older iPad Pro. The sound is now much better (more warm middle and better bass from all speakers) Decided to do a new Truplay with a new iPhone 11 Pro and the sound got cold, metallic and thin. A very big difference. Will be nice to get the Arc to really be able to do a comparison. 

 

Keep us updated!  I’m considering upgrading to the Arc from the Playbase myself (we actually own a Beam as well but not using it a the moment) but am reluctant to do so with so many reports of issues with the Arc.  Some people say the recent update fixed all of their Arc woes while a bunch of people are still complaining that the Arc sounds worse than their old Beam/Playbar!

I haven’t received my Arc yet. Still use Beam, Sub and a pair of One SL.  I read a lot of differences in Truplay tuning between new and older iOS devices. Decided to do a new Truplay tuning with my older iPad Pro. The sound is now much better (more warm middle and better bass from all speakers) Decided to do a new Truplay with a new iPhone 11 Pro and the sound got cold, metallic and thin. A very big difference. Will be nice to get the Arc to really be able to do a comparison. 

I just want to add my voice here. I upgraded from the Beam to the ARC (with sub + play1 rears).

I felt immediately, and have continued to feel (after waiting for my ears to adjust), that the ARC sounds thin. Midrange just feels empty, with our without trueplay active.

In terms of my preferences and experience - I have owned several home theater systems, some of which were very high end ($10k+). I LIKE very detailed (aka bright, for some) speakers, having often preferred ribbon-based tweeters (Gallo Ref3s most recently). I’ve also owned and preferred very flat headphones, like the Audeze LCD2s.  All that is just to say that I know what a flat frequency response should sound like, and while the Beam may have been overly warm at times, the ARC seems just dead. 

I was actually pretty happy with the beam’s sound overall for the price, but wanted atmos and a bigger soundstage. The ARC definitely delivers on those aspects, and I think the high-end is quite nice and detailed, so I tend to think this can be fixed with better eq. I’m holding off on a return until Sonos has a chance to address these concerns.

While I respect what Trueplay is doing, especially the simplicity of it, I would really like more control to ‘tweak’ it. At the very LEAST add a mid-range slider alongside the bass/treble. Better would be some kind of advanced mode for trueplay that exposes some of what it’s done, and let us move the needle a bit in terms of certain frequencies. 

 

Edit - I’ve seen reports of using older ios devices for Trueplay, which I will try. I also realized that you can probably ‘fake’ a midrange adjustment by just turning down both bass and treble in equal amounts, so I’m going to play with that too. 

100% agree with Ben here.  Simply put, the Arc has no warmth and doesn’t have the rich, full sound I’ve come to love from Sonos.  I understand that everyone has different ears and “good sound” is subjective but with all of the 10/10 reviews I’ve seen before I received my own, expectations were set high.

I have the new Sub 3.0 + Arc set up, applied the new update, and there’s still something missing from the mid range.  Just sounds like a cheap Bluetooth speaker with an amazing sub.  Previously had a Playbase and even that sounded better.

One can’t help but wonder what several other’s have already shared on this forum about their Arc’s sounding amazing.  I WANT MY ARC TO SOUND AMAZING TOO!  The tech reviews, blogs, and this forum make me believe that I have a defective unit but getting through to Sonos support is a nightmare.  Spent 3 hours on the phone yesterday alone.

True! I spent more than 3 hours adjusting everything that can be adjusted:-) Trueplay, EQ, different music, movies scenes, over and over again. In my opinion the Arc just doesn't meet the high standard they sold us on their website, Facebook advertisements etc. ‘Extraordinary sound’….joke! I don't believe all the reviews I read, unless they really had different units. I was looking forward to the Arc for weeks. Very disappointed right now. I made up my mind. Spent 900 euros, not gonna wait any longer for another fix or reply from Sonos. This doen’t match a premium product like they promised, this is just an average soundbar. Unfortunately tomorrow the Arc goes back.  

Can you suggest some movies to check if my Arc also has the issue? I watched Transformers with about 50% volume and did not seem to notice any issues. Not sure if i missed something. Kindly suggest.

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I just want to add my voice here. I upgraded from the Beam to the ARC (with sub + play1 rears).

I felt immediately, and have continued to feel (after waiting for my ears to adjust), that the ARC sounds thin. Midrange just feels empty, with our without trueplay active.

In terms of my preferences and experience - I have owned several home theater systems, some of which were very high end ($10k+). I LIKE very detailed (aka bright, for some) speakers, having often preferred ribbon-based tweeters (Gallo Ref3s most recently). I’ve also owned and preferred very flat headphones, like the Audeze LCD2s.  All that is just to say that I know what a flat frequency response should sound like, and while the Beam may have been overly warm at times, the ARC seems just dead. 

I was actually pretty happy with the beam’s sound overall for the price, but wanted atmos and a bigger soundstage. The ARC definitely delivers on those aspects, and I think the high-end is quite nice and detailed, so I tend to think this can be fixed with better eq. I’m holding off on a return until Sonos has a chance to address these concerns.

While I respect what Trueplay is doing, especially the simplicity of it, I would really like more control to ‘tweak’ it. At the very LEAST add a mid-range slider alongside the bass/treble. Better would be some kind of advanced mode for trueplay that exposes some of what it’s done, and let us move the needle a bit in terms of certain frequencies. 

 

Edit - I’ve seen reports of using older ios devices for Trueplay, which I will try. I also realized that you can probably ‘fake’ a midrange adjustment by just turning down both bass and treble in equal amounts, so I’m going to play with that too. 

100% agree with Ben here.  Simply put, the Arc has no warmth and doesn’t have the rich, full sound I’ve come to love from Sonos.  I understand that everyone has different ears and “good sound” is subjective but with all of the 10/10 reviews I’ve seen before I received my own, expectations were set high.

I have the new Sub 3.0 + Arc set up, applied the new update, and there’s still something missing from the mid range.  Just sounds like a cheap Bluetooth speaker with an amazing sub.  Previously had a Playbase and even that sounded better.

One can’t help but wonder what several other’s have already shared on this forum about their Arc’s sounding amazing.  I WANT MY ARC TO SOUND AMAZING TOO!  The tech reviews, blogs, and this forum make me believe that I have a defective unit but getting through to Sonos support is a nightmare.  Spent 3 hours on the phone yesterday alone.

True! I spent more than 3 hours adjusting everything that can be adjusted:-) Trueplay, EQ, different music, movies scenes, over and over again. In my opinion the Arc just doesn't meet the high standard they sold us on their website, Facebook advertisements etc. ‘Extraordinary sound’….joke! I don't believe all the reviews I read, unless they really had different units. I was looking forward to the Arc for weeks. Very disappointed right now. I made up my mind. Spent 900 euros, not gonna wait any longer for another fix or reply from Sonos. This doen’t match a premium product like they promised, this is just an average soundbar. Unfortunately tomorrow the Arc goes back.  

Userlevel 5
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A have a q90r Samsung and the ARC, have been watching the James Bond films back to back over lock down. Last night I setup both on the same TV, watched half with the Q90r and half with the ARC.  Me and my partner both agreed the Q90r sounded a lot better, the mid range was so much fuller and the was a sight tin can sound to the ARC. I do hope Sonos fix this.

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I just want to add my voice here. I upgraded from the Beam to the ARC (with sub + play1 rears).

I felt immediately, and have continued to feel (after waiting for my ears to adjust), that the ARC sounds thin. Midrange just feels empty, with our without trueplay active.

In terms of my preferences and experience - I have owned several home theater systems, some of which were very high end ($10k+). I LIKE very detailed (aka bright, for some) speakers, having often preferred ribbon-based tweeters (Gallo Ref3s most recently). I’ve also owned and preferred very flat headphones, like the Audeze LCD2s.  All that is just to say that I know what a flat frequency response should sound like, and while the Beam may have been overly warm at times, the ARC seems just dead. 

I was actually pretty happy with the beam’s sound overall for the price, but wanted atmos and a bigger soundstage. The ARC definitely delivers on those aspects, and I think the high-end is quite nice and detailed, so I tend to think this can be fixed with better eq. I’m holding off on a return until Sonos has a chance to address these concerns.

While I respect what Trueplay is doing, especially the simplicity of it, I would really like more control to ‘tweak’ it. At the very LEAST add a mid-range slider alongside the bass/treble. Better would be some kind of advanced mode for trueplay that exposes some of what it’s done, and let us move the needle a bit in terms of certain frequencies. 

 

Edit - I’ve seen reports of using older ios devices for Trueplay, which I will try. I also realized that you can probably ‘fake’ a midrange adjustment by just turning down both bass and treble in equal amounts, so I’m going to play with that too. 

100% agree with Ben here.  Simply put, the Arc has no warmth and doesn’t have the rich, full sound I’ve come to love from Sonos.  I understand that everyone has different ears and “good sound” is subjective but with all of the 10/10 reviews I’ve seen before I received my own, expectations were set high.

I have the new Sub 3.0 + Arc set up, applied the new update, and there’s still something missing from the mid range.  Just sounds like a cheap Bluetooth speaker with an amazing sub.  Previously had a Playbase and even that sounded better.

One can’t help but wonder what several other’s have already shared on this forum about their Arc’s sounding amazing.  I WANT MY ARC TO SOUND AMAZING TOO!  The tech reviews, blogs, and this forum make me believe that I have a defective unit but getting through to Sonos support is a nightmare.  Spent 3 hours on the phone yesterday alone.

Userlevel 2
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I just want to add my voice here. I upgraded from the Beam to the ARC (with sub + play1 rears).

I felt immediately, and have continued to feel (after waiting for my ears to adjust), that the ARC sounds thin. Midrange just feels empty, with our without trueplay active.

In terms of my preferences and experience - I have owned several home theater systems, some of which were very high end ($10k+). I LIKE very detailed (aka bright, for some) speakers, having often preferred ribbon-based tweeters (Gallo Ref3s most recently). I’ve also owned and preferred very flat headphones, like the Audeze LCD2s.  All that is just to say that I know what a flat frequency response should sound like, and while the Beam may have been overly warm at times, the ARC seems just dead. 

I was actually pretty happy with the beam’s sound overall for the price, but wanted atmos and a bigger soundstage. The ARC definitely delivers on those aspects, and I think the high-end is quite nice and detailed, so I tend to think this can be fixed with better eq. I’m holding off on a return until Sonos has a chance to address these concerns.

While I respect what Trueplay is doing, especially the simplicity of it, I would really like more control to ‘tweak’ it. At the very LEAST add a mid-range slider alongside the bass/treble. Better would be some kind of advanced mode for trueplay that exposes some of what it’s done, and let us move the needle a bit in terms of certain frequencies. 

 

Edit - I’ve seen reports of using older ios devices for Trueplay, which I will try. I also realized that you can probably ‘fake’ a midrange adjustment by just turning down both bass and treble in equal amounts, so I’m going to play with that too. 

Today I double checked the deadline to send back my fully new system: arc+sub+2x one sl...more than 2.000 worth in € but not in quality as long as  I hear so poor dialogues being the actors and actresses  Oscar winners or not!!! :rage:

Userlevel 6
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Sonos…..If you are hearing, I would like to meet the people from your marketing team touting “Arc was carefully tuned with the help of Oscar-winning sound engineers to emphasize the human voice so you never miss a word.

Please give us control over the center channel. We can definitely do better than those sound engineers you worked with.

Userlevel 5
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Should I cancel my Arc order and still go with my Beam? Can there be some hardware problems that can not be fixed? Waiting for an explanation from Sonos!

Still waiting for mine and will just leave my BEAM sitting in the living room, so I can group them when listen to the music..

Should I cancel my Arc order and still go with my Beam? Can there be some hardware problems that can not be fixed? Waiting for an explanation from Sonos!

Userlevel 5
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Still having this problem after the 12.0.1 update, speaker still find my Beam sound better!

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I’ll be happy if they just a a Center settings, in addition to Bass and Treble. 

Userlevel 3
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I agree. Mine just sounds off and not what I expected at all - especially after listening to so many other Sonos products over the years. Being that Sonos is reluctant to help with with an RMA at the moment I still have mine. I’m going to wait to see what happens with next week’s update for the bass issue and then make a final decision on a return. 

Oops. I accidentally tagged your answer as the best. don't know how to fix it. @Ryan S

Ohhh. I dunno either! 

I fixed it.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone. The team is very focused on the bass issue right now, but I’ve flagged this with them too. I’ll let you know if there’s any news to share.


Now that the bass issue has been issued a fix, has this moved up in priority? 

Userlevel 2

FWIW I think the TruePlay issue plays a role in how bright/metallic the Arc can sound but it’s not the only factor. 
 

Even doing the tuning with an unaffected device, in my assessment when playing music, the side firing tweeters that are meant to bounce off the walls end up contributing to at least 30% of the volume, which probably contributes to a bright treble heavy effect. 
 

in my opinion this is a stark contrast to the Playbar which barely uses the side tweeters for music, allowing more of the midrange in the front facing part of the sound bar to dominate. 


this is what I was trying to articulate to the author... arpatil1… I think the side firing speakers are tuned too loud thus drowning out the center speaker, mid range/ vocals.

**Updated edit**
 

So I think I figured it out. Spent a lot of time on this.

Its as if the “virtual surround sound” is tuned too high. Think about a cheap sound bar and you select the “virtual surround button.” It creates a “room filling” sound but this also why people are explaining the sound is irritating especially with music. You hear too much of it thus missing out on the warmth and depth of mods. I suspect people with a large room where sound doesn’t bounce off walls don’t have this problem which explains the differing view points.

 

Even when I pair the sub and surrounds I still feel like the arc is trying to do too much electronically to fill the room. Let the speaker do the talking and back down the algorithm for emphasizing “virtual surround sound” 

from arpatil1: “This does not explain why the vocals are tinny. Center speaker is till direct, facing you. there is no virtual surround with the speech” 

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I’m not really noticing a difference after installing 12.0.1 and then re-tuning. But I’ve got Subs and a surround. Still the same, versus the Playbar, the Arc has a pretty significant surround sound effect for playing music that makes it feel less rich and center-stage than the Playbar.

Same here, its really annoying now 

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I’m not really noticing a difference after installing 12.0.1 and then re-tuning. But I’ve got Subs and a surround. Still the same, versus the Playbar, the Arc has a pretty significant surround sound effect for playing music that makes it feel less rich and center-stage than the Playbar.

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Some are saying to retune after the 12.0.1 and that fixes or improves this issue

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FWIW I think the TruePlay issue plays a role in how bright/metallic the Arc can sound but it’s not the only factor. 
 

Even doing the tuning with an unaffected device, in my assessment when playing music, the side firing tweeters that are meant to bounce off the walls end up contributing to at least 30% of the volume, which probably contributes to a bright treble heavy effect. 
 

in my opinion this is a stark contrast to the Playbar which barely uses the side tweeters for music, allowing more of the midrange in the front facing part of the sound bar to dominate. 

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Slightly disagree, the metallic treble sound u mentioned is already present even without Trueplay. While Trueplay calibration do give inconsistent result, i think the Sonos team should first focus on fixing the Arc to sound great out of the box.

Fair point. The speaker sounds downright atrocious without Trueplay. I would return it on the spot if there was no way to make it sound good.

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My Arc arrived last night, and sadly I too am suffering from this issue.

Upon performing Trueplay calibration with an iPhone XS, and firing up the speaker for the first time, I was extremely disappointed to hear the miserable sound quality. It’s like the midrange is totally absent, and the treble/presence is harsh and extremely exaggerated -- cymbals sound almost like static, “s” sounds cut through everything else, etc. It also sounded like the “center channel” was missing… the sound seemed too directional out of the hard left and hard right, rather than uniformly filling the room.

Arc is setup standalone, with no other speakers.

We previously had a Beam in this room, and the sound from that was so much better... full midrange, warmth, perfect balance. Hard to believe an $800 speaker with such glowing audiophile reviews could be so miserable in person. If this can’t be fixed, I’m going to return this thing.

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.

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.

@Ryan S please let me know how I can help the Sonos team fix this issue!

 

Slightly disagree, the metallic treble sound u mentioned is already present even without Trueplay. While Trueplay calibration do give inconsistent result, i think the Sonos team should first focus on fixing the Arc to sound great out of the box.

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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

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