Enthusiast II

Answered

Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

1017 replies
128995 views
Translate All

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.

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.

Show previous replies

B

Bernado

Trending Lyricist III

........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.

I really wouldn't wait for developments that'll change things to your liking, note this forum question is marked 'Answered" as far as Sonos is concerned.

Many folks are happy with the sound though like you I found it unpleasant compared to other Sonos products.

I think your best bet regrettably is to accept this product isn't for you and return it and move on.

Translate

Y

Yiannis74

........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.

I really wouldn't wait for developments that'll change things to your liking, note this forum question is marked 'Answered" as far as Sonos is concerned.

Many folks are happy with the sound though like you I found it unpleasant compared to other Sonos products.

I think your best bet regrettably is to accept this product isn't for you and return it and move on.

I have been following forums (including this one) about this and I agree with Bernardo’s assessment. I have not had the chance to listen to the ARC but I am quite sensitive to treble and midrange harshness so I am very reluctant to try it. I still might try it as Sonos offers a return window. Beyond my individual concerns, it does appear that there is a split among users. Judging from amazon reviews on the ARC, most seem to love the sound. It is not clear what use cases this refers to (maybe only movies and background listening only) so we cannot draw conclusions. Most amazon reviews rate the ARC highly. There are some (few) reviews that identify the upper midrange and treble harshness: https://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1591262781

and

https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/sonos/arc

I found the flatpanelshd review quite well written and it seems to describe the issue quite well.

Most other magazine reviews focus primarily on the HDMI connectivity problems but do not mention issues with the sound quality.

My sense is (not scientific) that there is indeed a group of people who find the ARC to be harsh and tinny but I do not see Sonos taking any corrective action on this. It may be that this is the sound ‘flavour’ they intended for the ARC all along and perhaps a majority of users are fine with it. A parametric EQ would be the remedy but again.. I don’t see this being implemented by Sonos.

I think that (sadly) for those of us who find the ARC sound to be harsh and tinny, a different product will serve us better.

Translate

L

lzy1987

Enthusiast I

Sono’s response to this thread has been lackluster so far. I was initially so excited when I pre-ordered the Arc during June, didn't expect it turns out to be a major disappointment. Still hoping for some improvement by next year. :sweat_smile:

Translate

G

GuitarSuperstar

Lead Maestro

Sono’s response to this thread has been lackluster so far. I was initially so excited when I pre-ordered the Arc during June, didn't expect it turns out to be a major disappointment. Still hoping for some improvement by next year. :sweat_smile:

Don’t expect the sound profile of the Sonos Arc to change much. The majority of Arc owners love how it sounds and aren’t experiencing the issue discussed on this thread. Your best bet would be to accept what you currently have or find another soundbar that you will be happy with.

Translate

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi

J

J32503

Lyricist III

I’ve played with my ARC+sub every way possible and the mids are still lousy with music. The Arc is tinny and hollow, sort of sounds like a 80-90’s portable stereo (not the boom box). It get’s worse the higher the volume, to get some sort of lower mids you have to turn it up, then the sound seems to get muddled like the ARC is overwhelmed.
Source seems to play a part; Music off my phone via AirPlay isn’t not good, music (XM, Amazon) through the Sonos app is eh, same with music off YouTube off my TV’s app. It’s a sound bar, I’m not expecting rattle the house music, but this is really poor, my truck’s OEM stereo sounds better, not kidding.

The ARC (w/sub) is pretty good with movies and tv shows, unfortunately not $800+$700 good. I wanted the clean wireless look in my house and could live with this being tv/movie only, but not at the cost. I’m going to return them and maybe if Sonos corrects this I’ll repurchase. A broader EQ would have been a help, but maybe that would have just shown a design problem instead of leaving people to wonder.

Translate

S

soesed

Lyricist III

Sonos.

A lot of people have report this problem. I have until 31 Jan to return my to Amazon. I really do not want to do so. TV is okay (sort of), but streamed music, sadly, is not.

Please respond so I know if this will be fixed.

Thank you,

Translate

T

Tylertron21

I’ve played with my ARC+sub every way possible and the mids are still lousy with music. The Arc is tinny and hollow, sort of sounds like a 80-90’s portable stereo (not the boom box). It get’s worse the higher the volume, to get some sort of lower mids you have to turn it up, then the sound seems to get muddled like the ARC is overwhelmed.
Source seems to play a part; Music off my phone via AirPlay isn’t not good, music (XM, Amazon) through the Sonos app is eh, same with music off YouTube off my TV’s app. It’s a sound bar, I’m not expecting rattle the house music, but this is really poor, my truck’s OEM stereo sounds better, not kidding.

The ARC (w/sub) is pretty good with movies and tv shows, unfortunately not $800+$700 good. I wanted the clean wireless look in my house and could live with this being tv/movie only, but not at the cost. I’m going to return them and maybe if Sonos corrects this I’ll repurchase. A broader EQ would have been a help, but maybe that would have just shown a design problem instead of leaving people to wonder.

Sonos.

A lot of people have report this problem. I have until 31 Jan to return my to Amazon. I really do not want to do so. TV is okay (sort of), but streamed music, sadly, is not.

Please respond so I know if this will be fixed.

Thank you,

Are you using Trueplay? If so Peter Pee has quantified the sound profile changes depending on which IOS device you use to perform the tuning on. The results can vary massively & I have started a topic here with links to his video. Below is the link to the new thread, I hope this can help.

Trueplay with newer iPhones causing issues?

Translate

B

Bernado

Trending Lyricist III

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.

Translate

G

GuitarSuperstar

Lead Maestro

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.

Translate

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi

J

J32503

Lyricist III

I’ve played with my ARC+sub every way possible and the mids are still lousy with music. The Arc is tinny and hollow, sort of sounds like a 80-90’s portable stereo (not the boom box). It get’s worse the higher the volume, to get some sort of lower mids you have to turn it up, then the sound seems to get muddled like the ARC is overwhelmed.
Source seems to play a part; Music off my phone via AirPlay isn’t not good, music (XM, Amazon) through the Sonos app is eh, same with music off YouTube off my TV’s app. It’s a sound bar, I’m not expecting rattle the house music, but this is really poor, my truck’s OEM stereo sounds better, not kidding.

The ARC (w/sub) is pretty good with movies and tv shows, unfortunately not $800+$700 good. I wanted the clean wireless look in my house and could live with this being tv/movie only, but not at the cost. I’m going to return them and maybe if Sonos corrects this I’ll repurchase. A broader EQ would have been a help, but maybe that would have just shown a design problem instead of leaving people to wonder.

Sonos.

A lot of people have report this problem. I have until 31 Jan to return my to Amazon. I really do not want to do so. TV is okay (sort of), but streamed music, sadly, is not.

Please respond so I know if this will be fixed.

Thank you,

Are you using Trueplay? If so Peter Pee has quantified the sound profile changes depending on which IOS device you use to perform the tuning on. The results can vary massively & I have started a topic here with links to his video. Below is the link to the new thread, I hope this can help.

Trueplay with newer iPhones causing issues?

I did use Trueplay and it still didn’t sound good (using a 2-3yr iPad Pro). Then I read a post somewhere last night where a person had a better solution for calibrating with Trueplay than Sonos’ instructions. Don’t go more than 2-3’ from your listening position vs walking around the room as Sonos instructs… It improved things when it came to the mids.
I have also seen a few posts where people commented that the mids and sound in general improved a good deal when they mounted the Arc to the wall, it made a noticeable difference. Since I am still undecided, I’m not mounting it to the wall at this time. But, the above did change me from definitely returning the Arc to giving it some more time.

The harshness was still there and I had the eq all over the place. Volume with music still seems to be an issue with me. The volume just does not get very loud until 75% or so, the mids really open up there and higher, but then the harshness seems to be very bad. None of that happens with tv/video.

I don’t think AirPlay gives good quality (or my music is just of really bad quality. iWhatever doesn’t deliver) because the music is definitely better through the Sonos app (XM and AMZ Prime) volume is better as well, I really have to turn it up using my iPad/phone.

A EQ with more settings would be really nice and a few presets for the sound settings would be fantastic! Hey Sonos! The settings I found I liked for music are not good (too much bass out of the sub and too little treb) for tv/movies and vis versa.

I have 2 more weeks and I haven’t given up on it, but the different Trueplay set up definitely made a difference and throughout the whole room (house) not just in the listening position. To be fair, I may be asking too much (musically) coming from cabinet speakers. I just can’t wrap my head around the sound difference in tv/movies vs straight audio (from all sources.) It’s a good soundbar for movies, I will definitely give it that, the harshness is still an issue there too.

Translate

Show more replies

Sign up

Login to the community