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Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

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A
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looking for some info about room accoustics, I found this article: Room acoustics for home audio

The result may be midrange and treble that's too bright and harsh or echoey, or bass notes that are boomy, with a muddy "one-note" quality that drowns out deep bass. Because these reflections arrive at your ears at different times than the sound from your speakers, the three-dimensional "soundstage" created by your speakers and the images of the instruments and singers may become vague or smeared.

 

I am no sound-engineer at all, but could it be due to the Arc speakerplacements, which sends sounds in multiple directions, not only front left-center-right, but also left- and rightside, and 2 on top, this phenomenon is more present than other speakers (like beam and playbar)??

The whole point of Truplay is to negate the effects you mentioned. But it looks like it’s not working as intended. I have found stereo 2.0 to be much fuller than DD5.1 content. So, the channel separation and sound reflections might be the culprit here as you said @knafets 

P

Mine is updated and I still get a popping sound.  While watching interstellar, a minute and 30 seconds in when they show the ship re-entering earth, it starts popping and crackling.  Atmos generally sounds great, but that popping sound is annoying and ridiculous for an 800 speaker.

S
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I think there are several problems:

  1. Trueplay is buggy. Different devices give wildly different results. Older iPhones are generally better. However, even with an older iPhone, I need to do several rounds of Trueplay before I get something that doesn’t sound truly horrendous. 
  2. The Arc’s sound profile puts an emphasis on high frequencies, which makes some shows very harsh on S sounds. This is quite bothersome. 
  3. I suspect that the mid-range is somewhat de-emphasized, especially with the pronounced high frequencies. 
  4. EQ settings are very blunt; the treble adjustment mainly makes the sound muffled when set to a negative value.

Having said the above, well-mixed shows or movies can actually sound good. I watched Baby Driver and enjoyed the sound very much. However, many TV shows are not as well mixed, which causes problems. The worst offender, for me, was Locke & Key, episode 4, at the two minute mark. It's just an SSS fest. 
 

I must remark that Arc doesn’t create SSS sounds. They are audible on other speakers. It’s just that it exaggerates them. 
 

I am eagerly waiting for a fix. I firmly believe it’s a software issue, and I have faith it will be fixed.  I just hope it will be sooner rather than later. I, too, would like to have some updates from Sonos. For instance, someone like Scott could chime in again and let us know that Sonos is acknowledging there is an issue and that they are actively working on a fix. 

I went to listen to this. While I do hear the Sss it doesn’t sound offensive to me at all. The thing is the Arc is able to go higher frequencies than Playbar or beam ( you can look at frequency response on RTINGS) so this might be a reason why. Also sometimes tuning makes a small “peak” at higher freq too which would worsen this issue. Then again not sure if some are less sensitive, or some Arcs are tuned for the worse due to a bug

C
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This is what I predicted. People are trying to explain: like this is what is supposed to sound like and Sonos wil not fix this. 
 

all because Sonos is dead silent about this problem. Not give us an answer if it will be fixed/ tuned or not. 
 

I have a 100 day return period. But for me this way all the fun is gone.  Really thinking of returning the arc ASAP.  Then I can move on. Maybe try Bose soundbar 700.

That’s not what I think.  I think there is an issue, but I think it’s a complex one.  Mainly because I have some sound experience and it sounds great to me…. but rtings.com clearly did a comprehensive test and found issues.  Many other experienced reviewers are completely satisfied with the sound, while others here are clearly having a difficult time.

I hope those of you with an issue find an answer - I can imagine how frustrating it would be to hear constant exaggerated sibilance.

Maybe this kind of experience will prompt Sonos to break their “simple” philosophy and provide a band equalizer.

T

How has Sonos not resolved this issue yet!?

B
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Sebas with all due respect ... I do not understand why you only fear in this forum and in the one of the low to contradict people who are not working well and to say a thousand and one wonders of your team. I see that you are very happy with it ... I think they have already told you once. You should open a thread to praise your sound equipment and let people here who are not happy express themselves without having a reply from you ... I think what you want to achieve is that the problems of this forum do not take it seriously that has to take it. Do not take it the wrong way but the only thing you get is to reduce the problems of this thread. And be careful that you provide solutions but it is clear that it is not for you without knowing or how it sounds to him, it seems to me that you are making a mistake. Sorry for my English.

Perfect

G
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the issue is not solely related to trueplay as I did not use trueplay (do not have an iphone). but perhaps the Arc will not produce quality sound without a proper trueplay calibration

A
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My wife and I agree on this issue, I came from a Bose Soundbar 700. While I could notice more details in the movies, our first impression was that the sound is too thin and metallic like described in the post. I purchased 2x One SL and a Sub (gen 2) and I’m still debating if I should keep this system. I like the immersion it offers. I suspect based on the hardware available in the Sonos Arc a lot can be improved with software. Hopefully, we can get a more fuller sound. But I would definitely like to see  are settings available in Bose where the CENTER CHANNEL can be adjusted just like the Bose SB 700.  I think this could help with this issue by making speech more fuller. This is only for Movies and TV , not so much for music. 

Agreed. Control over the center channel to make the speech fuller would be great if Sonos doesn’t want to fix the issue themselves. This way, we can increase the treble a bit to bring details out of the ambient sound without making the vocals thin and tinny.

S

I have been a Sonos fan for years, own all there products. Always bragged to all my friends and family how it just works and sounds good consistently. However, the arc is the first time I have been let down. I have the arc hooked up to a new Sony a9g through earc, with a sub and two s1 speakers. While the arc has plenty of volume, it’s harsh not typical traditional good sounding Sonos. I will be returning tomorrow.

P
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on the muddied bass thread they have just said its all fixed with the update...its not!

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

G
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why has this thread been marked as “Answered” when the problem still very much exists?

D
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Just set up my gen 3 sub and surrounds to my arc i got yesterday. I haven't had too much time to play around but i find when watching the football, the commentary seems a bit flat, no depth to it is the only way i can describe it, my old sk9y LG soundbar sounded better on the football. Any ideas? Will probably say on general TV it may be slightly worse as well, but 5.1 content and atmos content sounds very good. I have trueplayed the system, i have an LG B8 Oled TV, other content on sky seems okay but like i say haven't had too much time to listen to it properly yet.
Also another problem i seem to have is one minute it will be at an okay sound and then something will happen action wise and the sound seems to impact massively before going back down when the scene ends, any ideas on how to keep sound at the same level?
If i change EQ settings etc. will that mess up the trueplay i have done?

Thanks.

C
Badge +1

Just updated app and Arc/sub to 12.0.5, reran Truplay and no change. Trusting in Sonos to address this as I purposely passed the return window and am getting anxious. Not an exaggeration, I have to run at -10 treble just to not be uncomfortable listening to this thing. So disappointing to be nearly 3 months in on something I preordered and still experiencing awful sound. 
 

As an aside, I was at my friend’s again this weekend and envying the warm, rich sound from his Playbar. Even without a sub. I’d take that over this Arc/sub setup hands-down right now. It’s that much of a difference. 

I suspect that if you’re having to run treble that low, something else might be at play in your case. I’m not aware of the problem being quite that severe in most cases. 

B
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Hi all

Haven’t got my Arc yet as it’s on backorder. 
But I have been keenly following this and other threads with interest. 
Thought I’d share these videos by Peter Pee on YouTube. They may already be posted on here. 
He measures the frequency response of the Arc using different devices to show the effects. 
The video also discusses the issues people are experiencing with metallic sound, due to boosted treble after a truplay. 
Appreciate this will be very subjective to the individual listener and their surroundings. 
But thought it may help to show why they think it’s happening, and some of the things that can be tried to improve it. 
Im certainly not suggesting there is no underlying issue or potential faulty units in circulation. 
This is just something I’ll be using as a guide on setup, that may help someone out now.  🙂

Ultimately, if I experience similar listening discomfort after attempting to resolve through settings or Truplay device. It’ll be going back before the returns window expires.   😂

Good Luck
 


 

 

Yeah I watched all of his videos yesterday. 
 

it also depends of the individual phone too! 
 

I tuned mine with an iPhone XS and mine is perfect now. I think it has more to do with the position in the room which you tune than the phone model. 

L

I actually disabled TruePlay entirely and that 

Hi All.

It’s a relief that Sonos has identified the bug that’s causing the bass distortion in Sonos Arc. Thank you @Ryan S for working with the Sonos Communty to identify the problem quickly.

Having said this, I believe that Sonos still needs more work to make the Arc sound as it was advertised. Currently, multiple people on Reddit including myself are reporting the highs being too high which sort of feels “harsh”. This improve the speech clarity and brings out details in the movies, but the warmth in speech is lost because the voices sound thin and metallic (for eg. actors I know having heavy voices don’t sound heavy). I was expecting the mid-range to be a lot better considering the Arc has 8 woofers. 

I have tried TruPlaying twice without success (Turning TruPlay off produces muffled sound). Adjusting the treble also did not help much. Loudness turned on and off does not make a big difference either. May be, this is how the Arc is tuned?!

 Anyone else feels that Arc is over-emphasizing the highs with compromised mids?

I also am having a huge issue with the highs being too emphasized. I have been measuring the performance of my Sonos Arc and am seeing a huge flat response in the range from about 375hz to 1khz. There is just nothing really there. No movement on a spectrum analyzer, and the sound lacks any warmth to it. I fiddled with the EQ settings and managed to get a slight gain in that range by turning down the Treble and turning up the Bass, but it overall is very, very cold-sounding. To listen to this for long periods of time is actually quite irritating. Podcasts and other streamed audio dialogue is painful. Sonos, can we get a fix for this ASAP? 

Thanks!

Follow up: I disabled Trueplay entirely and manually adjusted the EQ and the sound is far, far better. The mids are there again. The only issue is that the crossover is not as robust without Trueplay, so there is muddiness in that mid-range and a loss of clarity on the high end. 

L
Userlevel 5
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What’s eARC got to do with metallic/harsh sounds.

L
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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
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Watched Lord of the Rings (Fellowship) last night and it was horrible. Piercing. Couldn’t hear voices. 
 

Haven’t returned my quite yet. Waiting on the update.

Return it. It’s crap. Will never work for you. 
Mine, on the other hand has been fantastic and it’s no issues with connectivity or Atmos content. 
You’re a very small minority of unhappy buyers. The Arc continues to be sold out everywhere with few complaints. Not sure exactly what the expectation was but if you want it to sound like a $40,000 home theatre set up then start saving your money to buy a $40,000 home theatre. 

No we don’t we want something that sound as good as the playbar which is 7years old! This fails that in every way except Atmos. Do you ever run yours with bass at 50% plus? Or do you just have a sub? 

Most Arc owners will disagree with you. As stated there are very few owners who aren’t satisfied. Sound being highly subjective I won’t argue that yours sounds horrible to “you”. If it does do yourself and the rest of us a favour and sell it or return it. You’ll feels so much better with something else. 

A

Same here. Watching movies and playing Xbox with the latest update. Hopefully they can update this issue. Probably should of got a Bose

J

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!

M

I submitted a diag while watching a movie on amazon prime called “For Love or Money”. It was one of the worst offenders so far. Even after turning down the treble it’s too harsh. My setup is a Apple TV > LG C7 >  Sonos. 
 

the diag confirmation is 625831310

P
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I realize this is for a different problem but if Sonos looks at arc muddy/bottoming out bass related topic as well as post build 58178180 there are multiple examples of arc owners experiences.

There answer to me for both issues was rma I said it hardware they ignored my question and proceeded to start the process.

S
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Just received a reply from Sonos after a bit more back and forth about the issue. I sent them a link to this thread as well, and this was their reply: 

“Thank you for getting back to us. I will be happy to assist you.

I've taken a look into the Community thread that you shared with us and what you're experiencing seems to be a known issue that we are currently working on. At the moment there aren't any fixes or workarounds but it is being worked on. 

In the mean time I'd like to ask a few questions just to be sure this is in fact the known issue that you're dealing with.

What volume are they experiencing the issue at?

Is the Arc wall-mounted?

If wall-mounted, does removing the speaker from the wall bracket and setting it on a credenza or table improve the issue?

Is Trueplay configured on the Arc?

Is the Bass EQ setting flat or adjusted in some way”

 

So, I’ve replied back with those answers but I’ve adjusted every setting available in seemingly every way possible and my Arc is still a constant SSSSSSSSS fest. Hopefully they really are working on a solution here and will have an update for us all soon. 

This is the generic response they are sending out. However they have been consistent saying they are working on this issue through responses to support and Scott commented a while back. I do find frustrating the lack of updates. But no need to hope they are working on this, because that has been confirmed multiple times.

I think this is just trickier than people think. They cant just adjust the high frequency peak without considerable testing because they: 

  • dont want to introduce any other issues
  • need to make sure the solution is now consistent for trueplay variations and true play and true play off
  • most solutions in processing might affect other frequencies as well ( even if slightly) so they need to check that is not being compromised as a result

I also speculate they are just fixing the general DSP because some people said they still heard bass issues. I think those of us who decide to wait will need to be a bit patient to make sure they get it all right and make us happier. The last thing we want is a rushed update and other complaints.

S
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So I finally received a replacement arc today. I’ve set up and tested and the verdict is in….. it’s exactly the same as the old one!!!
 

Same tinny, hallow sound, annoying dynamic range (loud one minute, inaudible the next), different volumes on different channels, doesn’t push out sound to fill entire open plan room, sounds odd and artificial… can clearly tell it’s coming from sound bar which is separate from tv. Basically it’s a bit of a mess. 
 

It’s even more noticeable as I have been using a beam for last week which is a much nicer sound (but smaller soundstage). 
 

ive got a sub + ones as a rears. Squarish room. True play with iPhone 6s and iPad. updated with today’s update. All in all bit of a disappointing saga. 

I want to repeat the great majority of users and Sonos have stated this is not a hardware issue. Replacement doesn't solve the problem ( many reported so) I have seen one user saying it did, and i attribute that to something else (not sure what).

Please @phollin2 check the new updated issued this morning (not that loing ago) you must update the app then the firmware within the app. After that you need to re-truplay! I noticed an improvemen in music. After this I am not sure what was changed or if it is a case of a truplay incosistency fix. But my bar sounds better I can say I am happy with it. If you think it still sound harsh turning down the treble one or two notches can help. 

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