Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

@Krishma M ?

As one of the earlier people reporting this issue, I thought I’d offer an update on my experience.

Initially, I found the ARC very harsh, ‘tinny/metallic,’ and lacking midrange. My original post describes it in more detail. After recalibrating with an ‘old’ iphone 6, it was better, but not as good as I thought it could be. After the 12.1 update, I retuned with my 11” iPad Pro (2018), and made sure NOT to move around the room, but just wave the iPad around the couch area, it was at least AS good, but seemed slightly less harsh than the iphone 6 tune. 

After living with the arc for 4+ months, I am satisfied with the sound, and DO think it’s better on all metrics than the Beam. I still have the Beam, and recently played with it a bit and I’m reminded that, while it definitely emphasises midrange more, it really lacks detail in the high end, and the soundstage is dramatically smaller. 

I don’t listen to much music on this system, and when I do, it’s mostly for background/ambiance. If I were focused on music, with TV secondary, I would not recommend the Arc. But it does a pretty dang good job with home theater. I no longer find it distractingly harsh, but I admit that’s just as likely due to my ears/brain adapting as any changes Sonos has made.

Things I would like to see change in order of likelihood:

1. Sonos could provide more control over the sound profile of a tuned system. My preference would be some kind of ‘advanced’ mode that shows you the eq settings it had detected, and let you customise them a bit. Let people who understand sound, and know their preferences, take more control. AND all eq settings should be able to be saved separately for music vs. tv playback.
2. Sonos could allow adding left/right main speakers to a surround setup. I would LOVE to spend the money on two Fives to add as main left/right. I could get a bigger soundstage, more punch in the mids, and the arc could be freed up to focus on center/height/virtual-surround). For stereo music, I would want JUST the Fives and the sub to be active. 

@rick.f I’m sat here listening to my One SL at an 8th of the volume on my iPhone - it’s kicking out more depth and bass than the Arc when it’s turned up! WTF!? Can’t believe it.

Ahh a customer allowed EQ would be a DREAM!! Here’s to dreaming 

I think this is definitely a software issue more than a hardware - reason being, after you use the Trueplay it plays a tone to show you its complete and the depth and range of that tone is completely different than when I’m watching it with a movie. You can hear the capability it has. I’ve just tried a retune and played “Man Of Steel” more specifically, the scene where superman first learns he can fly. When he’s flying through the air there is no rumble, when he hits the ground there is no thud at all.
 

As a test, I set my Ones to a stereo pair and watched the same scene on my phone and airplay’d the audio to the speakers - it was much closer to the sound I was expecting from the Arc. It wasn’t perfect but I felt way more engaged and a part of the scene. How can an iPhone and £280’s worth of speakers out do £800’s worth of sound bar?! Makes no sense. 

I was one of the early people complaining about the sound as you can track back on this thread. I was completely disappointed the first time I played it. It sounded closed off & small. 
 

I actually started the process of returning my Arc right up until they released the big firmware updates. I waited to see if the updates would help and I’m glad I did. I’d say I’m now content with the sound. It’s pleasant and sounds good paired with the sub. With that said, I absolutely think it’s overpriced. I went to Costco today and they had the Arc in stock right next to the Beam, a Playbar, a sub $200 Bose soundbar, Klipsch 5.1 system, a $239 Yamaha soundbar, and a Samsung soundbar (not sure the model). My wife and I both agreed that the little $239 Yamaha and Bose soundbars sounded as good for a fraction of the price. The Bose has spooky imaging.

To sum it up, I’m happy with the sound now but think there are some serious contenders for way less money. 

Has anyone found a fix for this yet? It is very clear when you listen to the S’s in dialogue.

I have tried True Playing with my iPhone X, 2 old iPhone 6’s, and an iPhone XR - not much difference with them.

I have treble set to -4 and bass to 3. It hasn’t changed after getting the Sub too.

I received the Arc 5 days ago.  I went from a receiver and bookshelf/surround speakers to the Arc/Sub/One set.  My listening experience went from warm, full, rich and enjoyable to unpleasant and somewhat painful.

My previous setup sounded disciplined and focused - the sound appropriately filled the room.  The Arc setup sounds like a scattered mess with manic sound separation, including painful highs, and a tinny/metallic/echoey sound profile.

I read through the comments and tried running Trueplay from all of my ios devices (some older, some newer) and it still sounds echoey.  At this point, I have turned off Trueplay (to reduce the echoey effect), turned off the Sub (to bring back some of the mids to the Arc and to somewhat reduce the piercing highs) and have the treble turned all the way down.  Disappointing, to say the least.

I currently own 2 Play:1, 2 Play:3, 1 Five, 1 Amp and am pleased with the fullness, warmth and richness of these components.  I expected and hope for the same from the Arc, but it’s a mess.  I hope they plan to address the concerns expressed by many in a future software update.  Otherwise, I’ll need to return the Arc.  It’s not an enjoyable experience at all.

Have sonos responded to this?

We have recently bought the Sonos Arc & Sub Woofer but are struggling to get the right balance.  Voices are sometimes faint and are overpowered by the action/music noises.  I have tried the enchanced speech but that just makes it sound very tinnie.  Also we note that voices go up and down in volume on a regular basis.

Our room is relatively small and I have done the Trueplay.  I've tried the settings with and without this but it makes little to no difference.  At the moment I have the following, which is the best I have managed so far:

• No night time or speech enhancements
• EQ Bass at 0
• EQ Treble at -2
• EQ Loudness on
• Trueplay on
• Sub Audio 0

I think that's all I can alter.

Any thoughts on this set up?

If the action/music sounds are too overpowering, turn on Night Sound. This will lower the dynamic range of the audio so loud explosions and music will be played at a lower level.