Enthusiast II

Answered

Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

1017 replies
128967 views

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?

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S

Scott - SonosAnswer

Sonos Product Management

Hello everyone. I’m a product manager at Sonos. Thank you for sharing your experiences with Arc. The development team is monitoring this community and listening to your feedback.

As we do with all Sonos products, we’ll continue to improve the experience for Arc through numerous software updates into the future. Last week we issued our first update (12.0.1) to fix a bug some customers were experiencing with low-frequency distortion at higher volumes.

If you have specific music tracks or timestamps for TV shows and movies that you want to bring to our attention, please use this form. It is helpful if you can submit a diagnostic when you’re listening to the content. Instructions for doing so can be found here.

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mosodomemo

Lyricist I

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

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Mitchellsx

Renowned Enthusiast II

I’m not sure if my opinion would be much different if I hadn’t come from Samsung Q90r. Which had its own issues in regards to speakers disconnects and poor software support, but comparing the sound quality of that and I mean the general overall sound not just the atmos, that sounded so so much better, was great sounding what ever you played. So having to pay a lot more to get a full Sonos system I would expect this to be just as good if not better than the Samsung in sound quality, that’s why I have such an issue with the sound from the ARC. I can’t believe Sonos would just release a product like this and that’s how it’s meant to sound.

Do you have the full 5.1 setup or just the Arc? This is interesting since I saw someone on reddit saying they liked the full 5.1 Arc more than q90r

Yeah I have a full 5.1 setup, sub and 2 rear SLs, the sub is better than the Samsung sub and the sound from the rears is actually more noticeable on the Sonos, its just the ARC is the weak link, for me the the overall sound on the q90r was more rounded and meaty.

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bonedaddy

Trending Lyricist I

I’m not sure if my opinion would be much different if I hadn’t come from Samsung Q90r. Which had its own issues in regards to speakers disconnects and poor software support, but comparing the sound quality of that and I mean the general overall sound not just the atmos, that sounded so so much better, was great sounding what ever you played. So having to pay a lot more to get a full Sonos system I would expect this to be just as good if not better than the Samsung in sound quality, that’s why I have such an issue with the sound from the ARC. I can’t believe Sonos would just release a product like this and that’s how it’s meant to sound.

Do you have the full 5.1 setup or just the Arc? This is interesting since I saw someone on reddit saying they liked the full 5.1 Arc more than q90r

Yeah I have a full 5.1 setup, sub and 2 rear SLs, the sub is better than the Samsung sub and the sound from the rears is actually more noticeable on the Sonos, its just the ARC is the weak link, for me the the overall sound on the q90r was more rounded and meaty.

And that's my feeling about the sub and rears - really really good. Also my Playbar is much fuller and as you say "meaty" compared to the Arc which has an irritating shrillness I can't get rid of.

I still like my Sonos stuff and maybe if they can fix the Arc I would try it again but for now the Playbar is the better sounding of the two.

D

Danio1137

another interesting video, not solution to the problem maybe but maybe a bit on the way!

https://youtu.be/jmKsMLzv4m8

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pyro225

Enthusiast II

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!!!

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tconsidine

Avid Contributor I

I was about to buy the Sonos Arc today until I read this thread as well as the other thread about the muddy/bad bass. I am very disappointed to hear that after such a long time between the Playbar release(2013) and the Arc(2020), that they seemed to have rushed the Arc and maybe there is real hardware issues. I own many Sonos speakers

And it does not give me much confidence that the Sonos team do not get back to genuine concerns to loyal customers who are willing to pay extra for a product that is on the higher end of the market.

I will stick with my Playbar for now, but if this is not resolved, then it does not look good for the future of Sonos products. This will only force me to sell all my Sonos speakers eventually and invest in another ecosystem

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arpatil1Author

Enthusiast II

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.

P

pyro225

Enthusiast II

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

P

phollin2

Lyricist III

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

It does seem a bit odd doesn’t it? To send out a product as bad as the arc is disappointing enough but then to go completely silently when people try to exercise their right to a refund / exchange is even worse. I had wondered if they are delaying as they hope an update will fix the issue… The number of returns they are going to get is going to cost them... but that doesn’t explain why I’m waiting 3 weeks for a refund on a returned sub ??? Even just an email saying we are struggling with customer service due to COVID would appease me.

K

King Colin

Avid Contributor I

All these magazines that gave this product a great review should be boycotted!!!!! The Beam a way better soundbar and at half the price!!!!

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