Enthusiast II

Answered

Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

1017 replies
128987 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?

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

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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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stanleychau3

Lyricist I

I had recently bought the Sonos Arc because of the reviews on youtube and other tech outlets swearing by the sound quality of the Arc.. But when I got the unit, I was so surprised about the metallic sound and bad audio quality. I can compare the sounds to “metal fork rubbing on a plate or nails on a chalkboard”.. So I did a quick internet search and found this forum talking about the issues I am having. I had no clue so many people felt the same way I did about the sound. Having to skim through 27 pages of this, people have been raising this issue over a month ago and apparently still no FIX? Should I just return and get something else? How many have returned their purchase so far because there’s still no fix for this? Seems like Sonos not responding to this issue in a timely manner. I am truly sad about this.

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sebas1509

Enthusiast II

I had recently bought the Sonos Arc because of the reviews on youtube and other tech outlets swearing by the sound quality of the Arc.. But when I got the unit, I was so surprised about the metallic sound and bad audio quality. I can compare the sounds to “metal fork rubbing on a plate or nails on a chalkboard”.. So I did a quick internet search and found this forum talking about the issues I am having. I had no clue so many people felt the same way I did about the sound. Having to skim through 27 pages of this, people have been raising this issue over a month ago and apparently still no FIX? Should I just return and get something else? How many have returned their purchase so far because there’s still no fix for this? Seems like Sonos not responding to this issue in a timely manner. I am truly sad about this.

I’d suggest try re-truplaying, also if you have an older iphone use that as well to see if you see a difference. Another thing that some people claim is that turning off the arc (disconnect it from the wall ) for a while and turn it back on has helped (not sure what the technical reason would be though). So try doing that just in case (leave it overnight disconnected from the wall). Also, what TV do you have if you have an LG try using auto instead of passthrough check for difference in sound in the modes

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phollin2

Lyricist III

I had recently bought the Sonos Arc because of the reviews on youtube and other tech outlets swearing by the sound quality of the Arc.. But when I got the unit, I was so surprised about the metallic sound and bad audio quality. I can compare the sounds to “metal fork rubbing on a plate or nails on a chalkboard”.. So I did a quick internet search and found this forum talking about the issues I am having. I had no clue so many people felt the same way I did about the sound. Having to skim through 27 pages of this, people have been raising this issue over a month ago and apparently still no FIX? Should I just return and get something else? How many have returned their purchase so far because there’s still no fix for this? Seems like Sonos not responding to this issue in a timely manner. I am truly sad about this.

Yep. I tried everything, including trueplaying until my arm went numb and a replacement arc to no avail. In my opinion it’s just a poor sound bar from Sonos. Rushed out maybe?

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oriboaz

Prodigy I

In my opinion everything just sounds very shrill. No matter how many times I trueplay (and I have tried with three different devices). It’s not that it creates sounds that aren’t there, it just that it emphasizes some high pitched sounds, and it drives me crazy.
Arc has been a great commercial success for Sonos, and I am happy for them that it is. However, as a Sonos fan, I am disappointed with my Arc’s sonic performance. I am just not enjoying listening to TV.
I keep hoping for a software update that will fix this. This is really bothering me.
(And, as usual, it pains me that I see no indication from Sonos that they are looking at this. @Scott - Sonos, please give us some assurance.)

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oriboaz

Prodigy I

In my opinion everything just sounds very shrill. No matter how many times I trueplay (and I have tried with three different devices). It’s not that it creates sounds that aren’t there, it just that it emphasizes some high pitched sounds, and it drives me crazy.
Arc has been a great commercial success for Sonos, and I am happy for them that it is. However, as a Sonos fan, I am disappointed with my Arc’s sonic performance. I am just not enjoying listening to TV.
I keep hoping for a software update that will fix this. This is really bothering me.
(And, as usual, it pains me that I see no indication from Sonos that they are looking at this. @Scott - Sonos, please give us some assurance.)

Oh, and I should mention that I have a true 5.1 setup, with a sub and two one SLs connected as well. So, I should be experiencing the best possible sound. However, sound is hissy and shrill (sounds sometimes like some frequencies are clipped). PLEASE FIX THIS!

Sonos: please chime in.

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arpatil1Author

Enthusiast II

In my opinion everything just sounds very shrill. No matter how many times I trueplay (and I have tried with three different devices). It’s not that it creates sounds that aren’t there, it just that it emphasizes some high pitched sounds, and it drives me crazy.
Arc has been a great commercial success for Sonos, and I am happy for them that it is. However, as a Sonos fan, I am disappointed with my Arc’s sonic performance. I am just not enjoying listening to TV.
I keep hoping for a software update that will fix this. This is really bothering me.
(And, as usual, it pains me that I see no indication from Sonos that they are looking at this. @Scott - Sonos, please give us some assurance.)

Don’t bet your money on a hope that they will fix it. Return it and get your peace. You can always buy it again once (and if) Sonos fixes the sound profile to your liking. So many people actually like the current one, so it might just be a preference thing and won’t likely get changed drastically.

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Viljavi

Avid Contributor I

Veo que el foro está muy parado, muchos ya han devuelto todo y creo que a otros que aún no lo han hecho y siguen teniendo problemas  después de ver el soporte técnico que hay en este foro se han dado cuenta de que es inútil escribir aquí tus problemas. Hay gente que tiene problemas reales ... no es cuestión de gustos. Quien lo crea, vaya al foro de muddy bass y vea el video que han subido, comparando una canción con su playbar y con arc sonos ... no es cuestión de gustos. A mi me molesta escuchar los agudos brillantes y los ssss tan enfatizados. Pero bueno, cuando lo devolvemos a los que faltan, el problema se acaba para todos.

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Danio1137

Veo que el foro está muy parado, muchos ya han devuelto todo y creo que a otros que aún no lo han hecho y siguen teniendo problemas  después de ver el soporte técnico que hay en este foro se han dado cuenta de que es inútil escribir aquí tus problemas. Hay gente que tiene problemas reales ... no es cuestión de gustos. Quien lo crea, vaya al foro de muddy bass y vea el video que han subido, comparando una canción con su playbar y con arc sonos ... no es cuestión de gustos. A mi me molesta escuchar los agudos brillantes y los ssss tan enfatizados. Pero bueno, cuando lo devolvemos a los que faltan, el problema se acaba para todos.

English please

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Viljavi

Avid Contributor I

I see that the forum is very stopped, many have already returned everything and I think that others who have not yet done so and continue to have after seeing the technical support that is in this forum have realized that it is useless to write your problems here . There are people who have real problems ... it is not a matter of taste. Whoever believes it, go to the muddy bass forum and see the video they have uploaded, comparing a song with their playbar and with arc sonos ... it's not a matter of taste. It bothers me to hear the bright highs and the ssss so emphasized. But hey, when we return it to those who are missing, the problem ends for everyone. Sorry I thought I had an automatic corrector.

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Danio1137

I see that the forum is very stopped, many have already returned everything and I think that others who have not yet done so and continue to have after seeing the technical support that is in this forum have realized that it is useless to write your problems here . There are people who have real problems ... it is not a matter of taste. Whoever believes it, go to the muddy bass forum and see the video they have uploaded, comparing a song with their playbar and with arc sonos ... it's not a matter of taste. It bothers me to hear the bright highs and the ssss so emphasized. But hey, when we return it to those who are missing, the problem ends for everyone. Sorry I thought I had an automatic corrector.

I agree, become very quiet. Maybe some sent back and bought other brands or maybe bought Arc again and were satisfied then. I'm waiting for my Arc after being sent back.

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