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arpatil1
Enthusiast II
June 17, 2020
Answered

Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

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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    Scott - SonosAnswer
    Sonos Product Management
    July 2, 2020

    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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    Bumper
    Bumper
    July 16, 2020

    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.

    neo06
    Lyricist III
    July 16, 2020

    I hope all is well internally within the company and they are working on a plan to get things back on track.

    neo06
    Lyricist III
    July 16, 2020

    Packing everything- getting ready to return the Arc and 2 ones even after paying 30% off the price. Dealing with the quiet and thin dialogue by increasing the volume did not help much as the action scenes were getting too loud. Sonos is also silent about this issue and have not provided any assurances. I can’t just bet my money on HOPES that they will fix it. Lack of 4K pass-through ports, LPCM and DTS support were aleady a bummer, but I still accepted those flaws because of the price I paid, but I can not accept sound quality issues. Not everybody was privilged to get 30% off and at $799, Arc is just not worth it as it depends too much on the pricey sub and surrounds for good experience. 

     Overall, the experience is sub-par for a supposedly premium system. I will be going back to the HomePod and Airpods combination which are much more cost-effective with a fuller sound (I never thought I would be saying this after using the Arc).

    Did you face any issues with the returns as some other folks are experiencing?

    Highfalutintodd
    Prominent Collaborator I
    July 16, 2020

    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. 

    Arc + Sub 3 + One SLs = Awesome and Loving It!
      Bumper
      Bumper
      July 16, 2020

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

      I hear that companies may pay for some reviews to happen, either directly or through ad buys (I have no idea if Sonos does this) - as well as provide the product FOC. Reviews may claim not to be influenced but 🤷

      sebas1509
      Enthusiast II
      July 16, 2020

      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. 

      arpatil1Author
      Enthusiast II
      July 16, 2020

      Packing everything- getting ready to return the Arc and 2 ones even after paying 30% off the price. Dealing with the quiet and thin dialogue by increasing the volume did not help much as the action scenes were getting too loud. Sonos is also silent about this issue and have not provided any assurances. I can’t just bet my money on HOPES that they will fix it. Lack of 4K pass-through ports, LPCM and DTS support were aleady a bummer, but I still accepted those flaws because of the price I paid, but I can not accept sound quality issues. Not everybody was privilged to get 30% off and at $799, Arc is just not worth it as it depends too much on the pricey sub and surrounds for good experience. 

       Overall, the experience is sub-par for a supposedly premium system. I will be going back to the HomePod and Airpods combination which are much more cost-effective with a fuller sound (I never thought I would be saying this after using the Arc).

      Did you face any issues with the returns as some other folks are experiencing?

      Nope. I filled the online form and got the UPS labels right away. The only problem was receiving confirmation for one of the returns. I had to call the support and they sorted it out. Their wait times are very long though (could have atleast kept their support email open). Definitely not the Sonos they used to be. Thanks to Covid and thanks to their IPO.

      arpatil1Author
      Enthusiast II
      July 16, 2020

      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.

      phollin2
      Lyricist III
      July 16, 2020

      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. 

      They aren’t an airline tho, or a business that would be massively directly affected by COVID. They shouldn’t have a 1 week wait to reply to an email, 3 weeks to set up a return etc. It’s simply not good enough and I am currently out of pocket by around £1200. Fortunately I can afford to purchase a replacement and wait for a refund but not everyone will be in this position. It’s shamefully bad. Even just put some notice on social media about what is going on.

      phollin2
      Lyricist III
      July 16, 2020

      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. 

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