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Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

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R
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@Jean C. My TV has eARC and my Arc still a hash tinny/metallic sound when playing through my AppleTV 4k, Xbox one S or though the TVs built in apps.  
 

I’ve tried trueplay with an older iPhone 6, iPhone 11 Pro and a 2018 iPad Pro.  Nothing helps.  I also still have the bass issue of I disconnect my Sub. 
 

Very disappointed 

T
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So after reading about others having success with Trueplaying older devices, I got a hold of my co-worker’s old iPhone 6 he had sitting in a drawer. All I can say is: wow, the difference is night and day.

 

My 5.1.2 sounds so much more like I was expecting to now with a more balanced, warmer sound similar to the Playbase set-up I had before. The highs aren’t anywhere near as harsh, although I would argue they’re not perfect either. Still a bit sharp and a noticeable lack of mids. Still, I 100% believe the issue is mostly related to Trueplay on newer devices now. Should be pretty easily replicable for the Sonos team.

D

This review may have already been posted here but one more but honest.  I'm surprised by the early reviews that did not notice anything, probably paid by sonos and I will always be critical in the future.  Check out this video.  
 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4VZxAC4BdTE&feature=youtu.be

P
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I’ve used an older iPad Air and iPhone 11 and noticed no difference

S
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All these magazines that gave this product a great review should be boycotted!!!!! 

Come on, everyone, let’s keep our heads and our cool. This isn’t some conspiracy and lots of people, myself included, quite like our Arc setups. Which explains the website reviews and the overall quite glowing consumer reviews on Amazon and Best Buy.  

The Arc is not a bad product despite the experiences some people have had / are having and we don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you’re having issues with the Arc for whatever reason, I strongly recommend returning it and getting something you’ll be happy with. Life’s too short to live with bad sound. Or if you really, really want the Arc, then hold on to it and wait for Sonos to issue updates that may “fix” the issue or, better yet, return it, watch the boards, and re-buy it once things seem corrected to your satisfaction. 

But all of this “these reviews must be paid,” “worst soundbar ever,” “let’s boycott magazines”…. this is all just bordering on silliness. We’ve all paid a lot for this gear and if you’re unhappy I get that. If I didn’t like my Arc or was experiencing terrible issues I would have already boxed mine up, sent it back, and been on the hunt for something else. 

There are bigger problems in the world than this - and this is fixable one way or the other. 

I tried saying something like this but have been singled out by some who claim Im a SONOS Defender ( is that a job, if so do I get paid..?? Waiting for my paycheck ) anyways, I totally agree with you and this is the reason I pitched in to comment on to someones post asking what to do or how to summarize this thread because they were interested.

 

There is some people that are very happy with their arcs, some others have some issues but think it is a matter of tweaks and some group that vocally says its trash and the worst soundbar ever!!! (not making it up look up WORST in this community forums and you’ll find some posts. Strangely theres a wide standard deviation here. But my advice is if you are excited for the Arc no need to wait a year or read 1001194 posts here. Try to get one and try it out! If you dont love it return and look for something else.

 

For those of you worried your return hasn't gone smoothly I understand the frustration witht the state of SONOS support right now, and shame on you SONOS for cutting support now, but at the same time the current state of the world is crazy and most companies have very long wait times ( my friend waited 3 hours tot alk to an airline the other day) but I seriously doubt sonos is gonna deny your return because you waited for them to get back to you. Open a support ticket before your return period ends, so you can reference this ansd say you tried to return. 

Definitely not the worst and trash soundbar like people have claimed. Arc has its issues that can be unacceptable to some people depending on their taste. Personally, I like fuller dialogues as opposed to treble boosted clear and forward. As Sonos is not communicating clearly, there was no way for me to know whether it’s a software issue or just the way it is meant to be. Dialogues also tended to be much quieter where I had to raise the volume constantly, but it made the action scenes very loud which was unacceptable. Bass was plenty but wasn’t clean at all (Maybe my HomePod has spoiled me). I accepted the lack of pass-through ports and LPCM/DTS support, but I could not compromise the sound quality. Overall, my $199 HomePod was performing better than Arc for me in my room setting. Clear and fuller dialogues, cleaner bass, and consistent volume. Arc’s L/R separation was not noticeable for me and my TV also did not support Atmos. Hence, I did not feel it was worth my money. Let’s see if that changes in the future. In the near term, I don’t think it will.

Mine is trash. Maybe yours is better. Everyone who has listened to it says it’s very bad so it’s not subjective. My standard tv sound is better quality. It’s actually offensive!!!  I guess some might be defective. But when Sonos won’t engage it’s hard to comment. 

Don’t know what else to say but I think you have a defective unit. I legit turned off my sub and rears watched a movie, then turned off the arc and used my TV speakers ( mind it I have an OLED, not the latest and greatest, but the flagship of that year) and I have no idea how anyone caan say the TV speakers are better. I understand the comment about voices being forward and that not being his preference, that I can understand. For me I do prefer that because it is much more intelligible, and clear. I have experienced a couple of movies where the mixing wasnt ideal and sounds like shooting were too loud compared to other things. But I do not think this is Arc related.

Regardless I want to reiterate! SONOS needs to look into this either give users more control about the center channel and highs, fix the Trueplay were some phones are making the issue worse instead of correcting for it. And additionally step up their support immeditely. Not fair some people want to return and are unable to. 

To the person that said SONOS is not an airline, I am aware. But they have indeed being hit hard by covid. They laid off like 10 percent of the workforce and support centers are reduced due to covid regulations etc. You cant have an office full of callers at the moment!! I’ve seen this across different companies as well. Not defending them more like trying to understand what is going on. I understand it is frustrating and they have to step their game up ASAP. I must say this is not representative of how the company is (in general before these moments). 

 

To the Homepod situation, homepods are $300 if you stereo pair them they are quite capable especially for music. And I think theyd sound better than the arc. I know there is discounts to $200 now since theyre older. Homepods also sound better than sonos ones. So I don’t find it hard to believe you say they sound better than the Arc especially for music I’d assume so. For movies of course you wont get surround sound, you wont get atmos, you wont get speech enhancement and for many I think they’d prefer a sonos system!

S

Bought the Arc, but the thin metallic sound from vocals ruined normal tv shows with mostly talking. It was tireing on my ears. As if it was heavily compressed but still very thin sounding. Concerts, singing contests and parts of movies with heavy effects and score sounded great, but 80 percent of the time there is just talking on my TV, so I sold it and got a beam instead. Very happy with that choice. Warm and pleasant vocals.

...but I miss the wide soundstage in music from the Arc sometimes. Hope they make an upgraded Arc with the best from both worlds. 

W
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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..

Smilja

this is about the bass issue not the terrible sound?

 

The questions apply to the topic of this thread as well. But I acknowledge that raving around for the sake of it is a lot more fun than actually getting the issue solved.

»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)
S

@Krishma M

“Hi folks! Just to let you know that we have received the reports and working on resolving this. We’ll surely let you know once the fix has been done. Appreciate all your patience. If you any other concerns, please let us know. Thanks!” 

 

So, what is status of this after 4 months and calling Sonos Support, indication is not on list of any problems known?

 

Thank you.

I would also like to know if anything is being done about this.  It is a very common problem.  Surely boosting dialogue in the arc is a fix that can be done.  I still can't believe I have to keep adjusting volume on pretty much everything I watch.  Yes I have doe trueplay, yes I have reset the router and yes I have tried speech enhancement and night mode. 

There is also a thread in av forum with similar complaints.

 

I did make the issue tolerable with re-calibrating true play with an older ipad instead of my iphone X. The high treble and tinny sound did dissipate alot. But still wasn’t very impressed with the sound. However, After getting a pair of sonos 1 for surround and sub gen 3. It is freaking amazing, but very expensive. I’m not sure if Sonos is going to fix the issue. But from my experience from trying to recalibrate with true play a million gazliion times to try to fix the sound. I feel like it really depends on the device you use because of the mic from the phone. I could technically be wrong, I’m just speaking from user experience. I’ve tested with a bunch of different apple devices. 

Bumper
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I have been trying to organise a return of my arc for over a week. I have emailed them 3 times to chase it - twice getting a generic response asking if they have solved the problem to my satisfaction (with no other reply or action) and once apologising saying the ‘return has been stuck in the system’ and that they will be in touch to tell me how to proceed with the return (that was 3 days ago). 

I get things are bit tougher with COVID but this seems a bit odd doesn’t it ???

I also returned a sub to them, which was received by them at the end of June but I am still waiting for a refund. I have emailed them and have had no response. Is their customer service usually this bad???

 

I tried too to no avail. I thought I could chat to return it, but no and then they said go online, but that did not work. Just call and get ready to be on hold for a loooong time :/

Good luck. I just brought mine to UPS ….

It’s a joke - I have been trying to sort an exchange THEY agreed since last Monday 6th July. It asked if I wanted an advance delivery and to leave card details and I would have it within 5 working days! Monday 12th still heard nothing so chased them and it was lost in the system apparently but still heard nothing and if it’s not hear by Monday it will be over 14days and they will bill be for a second Arc as you only have 14days to return since raising the exchange it’s a joke this company has gone from hero to zero in about 6 weeks… SONOS READ THIS - YOU SOLD ME SOME JUNK - YOU ACKNOWLEDGES IT WAS JUNK NOW FOLLOW THROUGH AND REPLACE IT WITHOUT ME BEING OUT OF POCKET FOR YOUR MISTAKE!!!

Just found out that they have also stopped monitoring support@sonos.com as I am dealing with my return. Only option is to call them and wait hours hoping somebody would pick up. One of the WORST support I have dealt with. Laying off majority of support staff after releasing much anticipated product in the history of the company speaks a lot.

I’m starting to think there is a case to report them to trading standards and maybe watchdog for this diabolical service here in the uk

I can't even get support for an order that they haven't shipped. Took my money and have gone completely radio silent.

V
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In my case after the update, everything remains the same, treble at -6 to be able to support television channels and still lacks media. In 5 days I get the arch replacement, to see if it improves anything.

P
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If they figure out the ongoing bass issue I’ll keep it. I hope they look into pushing the mids a little more or making it sound warmer maybe it’s just personal preference at that point but I really liked the sound of the playbar. Maybe there should be a separate mode for tv vs music.

B
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I've got my fingers crossed on the B&O Stage.  You're right no sub or DTX-T, but at least it has DTX which Sonos can't seem to provide.  After conversing with others who have heard both I'm pretty confident it will sound much better  than either the Playbar or Arc with subs.  We'll see.

J
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Too add, since I couldn’t edit. A lot of different rooms out there too. Everything in my room is hard w/ only a sofa and mid size area rug to absorb sound, I’m sure that doesn’t help matters. Big open floor plan room too. 
 

I just moved it to the edge of the table it’s sitting on so the front of the Arc is a bit forward (no table top in front of the speakers) and this seems to have made a bit of a difference. 
 

Still want a couple of user set able EQ, one for music and one for movies and a multi eq so I can dumb down the higher freq. 

G
Userlevel 7

I would sincerely suggest anyone waiting for a 'fix' to move on, there is nothing to fix as this is how it is.

I don't like the sound either, it's horrible for music to my ears but this is how Sonos built the hardware and no amount of tuning with Truplay or software revisions is going to change that and life's too short to wait for something that'll never happen.

I completely agree. The Sonos Arc isn’t broken. The majority of Arc users are VERY happy with the way it sounds. The fact that Sonos can’t keep them in stock proves it. Yes, Sonos will improve the sound gradually over time, but not dramatically. If you don’t like the sound profile of the Arc today, you probably won’t like it years from now even after multiple firmware updates. It’s all about personal preference and how the Arc sounds in your room. If you don’t like the Arc because it sounds too “tinny” or “metallic” to your ears, just return it and find another sound bar that you can enjoy TODAY.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
A
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Just got Bose 500 soundbar with the sub 500 for the same price as Arc. There’s no competition whatsoever. Music is miles better, fuller dialogues and sub-bass is awesome, thanks to the sub (compact sub that doesn’t overpower apartment and annoys neighbors). Movies and music both shine. Those who live in apartments and don’t want a Sonos sub, and having sound quality issues could consider this option. ONLY if you don’t care about Atmos. 

I looked at the Bose 700 with sub before I bought the Arc. Had my dealer set them up side by side and played the same content on both for comparison. Sound being what it is, highly subjective, to the individual I can share that to my ears the Arc was the hands down choice on all front. Soundstage being much wider than the Bose. Then add the fact the Bose is not a smart bar made the decision even easier for me. 
At the end of the day I’m happy that you’ve found a solution that works for you, your room and your ears. You’re personal satisfaction is all that matters. Enjoy!!!

B
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Ok, third post on this thread. I finally sat down and re-tuned with an iPhone 6 running 12.0.2 (previously ipad pro 11” and iPad Air 2). I also decided to just sit on the couch and wave the phone around a bit rather than walk around. 

This is the first time I feel like the life wasn’t sucked out of the sound, and there is now some ok midrange. I can actually listen to music without it being distracting. I’ve only been through a few songs, but I’m more and more convinced that the right EQ can produce a good sound from the arc.

That doesn’t mean I’m ready to say I’m totally happy with it, and I’m still mulling over a return. I don’t like the lack of communication from Sonos. A few simple thing would go a long way:

  1. At least acknowledge how the arc sounds very different from other sonos speakers, that this is very disappointing to many customers, and open a dialogue about what can be done. 
  2. Talk about what, if any, investigation is going into why trueplay seems to be producing wildly different results. 
  3. Talk about providing more control over the system. Trueplay + Bass/Treble is fine for a default mode, but why not have an advanced mode with a proper manual EQ? Even if that would take a while to build, just say it’s coming. 
M
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I really don’t have those severe treble problems. Treble 0 and bass +7 for me is just fine

D
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Going to re-post this incase any one has any light on this post and missed it…
 

Question.…

has anyone like myself who is also having a major issue with this ‘metallic sound’ maybe been to a shop or round a friends or even had a replacement arc and found another arc not to have this issue?

So many people dont seem to have this issue, wondering if there is a large bad batch (unlikely) but still. Also i understand that all the arc’s could have this issue & not everyone notices it due to the fact everyone’s ears and setup’s are different and may not notice it as much.

P
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Wow

P
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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
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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.

Clearly some are having an issue with the sound from the Arc…. some on this thread have found that retuning after the software fix solved their problem, others have found that they still were not happy and returned it.

rtings.com did an unfavorable review, however other review sites have tested the audio and given the sound top honors.

I was following this thread before my Arc arrived and I was worried, however I have had an almost completely good experience so far.  I don’t find it overly bright - I find that it has better treble response then the Beam (which I have in a separate room).  I am VERY sensitive to exaggerated sibilance, but I haven’t really noticed any personally (except in a single Atmos all-vocal video on the Xbox one).

I don’t know if there’s anything Sonos can say in response at this point.  I would hope they would visit rtings.com and work with them as a control to improve the experience.

My only advice is that you can give it a shot and purchase it.  If you’re unhappy you can return it and get a Beam, which is also a fantastic device…. or try another brand.

S
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While I’ve been waiting for something like the Arc for quite a while (product with earc, ability to use sonos sub and my existing ones as rears) the issues, lack of lpcm and non-communication regarding the issues is starting to push me in other directions.
 

Too bad the beam isn’t an option, but happily I’m not too deeply bought into the sonos ecosystem yet.

They committed to adding multi channel LPCM. In their defense sonos is usually much better at this but IDK what is going on with their restructuring and covid.. 

 

gswanso2 .. Look at the beam curve dude theres no way they get to design their own speakers pick components and they say YES this is what we want for the Flagship product to perform worse than the Beam! Yes this is our sound signature….. come on. I do not know if theres a hardware issue, but I think this is most likely a DSP issue. The weird thing is if a random small company can test this, and a youtuber can test this I cannot believe that SONOS wouldn't. So something weird went on.

 

Regarding the “metallic sound” that could be a different topic where they are purposedly emphasizing the highs for atmos and directional wider sound-stage presence. 

 

Regardless I dont really experience any of these issues anymore or at least cant tell since I dont push the volume too high.

 

M

My first tune sounded great. I moved things around and had to tune it again and it was very bright. I tried tuning again and had the same problem. For a final attempt, I tried using my 3rd gen iPad Pro and it was less bright, but was still not great and the imaging was worse. 

 

Edit: seems I’m not the only one who tried the iPad vs iphone (11 Pro Max) and had the same outcome: https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/sonos-arc-metallic-sound-6843110?postid=16442638#post16442638

C
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Is there any progress on this issue. I will be trying to run the Trueplay again with iPhone . I hope it improves things a little. Highs are really sounding harsh to me despite dialing down the treble through the Equalizer. So with all those atmos format trying and testing, I now have issues with Bass, treble and trueplay. I am disappointed to be honest.

Does turning off TruePlay result in the sound being more bass heavy and less treble harsh?

 

If so, either try tuning with a device older than the iPhone X, or alternatively try to wave the phone close to the top of the Arc and the sides of the Arc for 5-10 seconds out of the 1 minute.

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