Sonos Arc - Metallic Sound

So.... The question... Are all arc's affected, and is it just that some people don't mind or hear it (hard to believe) or are there units that simply sound better than other?

I am contemplating whether to get the arc or not, but I am unsure right now…

The fact that there is no more feedback from Sonos is worrisome to say the least, it makes me believe they're letting it be as it is, which means probably no arc for me.… 

This is a problem, I have a beam with sub right now (and two one's as rears, and a five gen2 in the kitchen) but the beam just doesn't really does it for me in the music department. With  the Arc now no longer being an option, there is no real alternative from Sonos right now.... 

This might mean i'd might have to say goodbye to Sonos altogether, I don't think there will be another soundbar added to the product line anytime soon....

@MJAhoud I was in exactly the same situation as you (though without sub) and considered moving on but my Beam/Ones setup works entirely adequately with TV viewing for my needs and throwing TV sound to the kitchen to the Ones in there is something I use extensively.

I went to a competitor's system for a music playback solution which I'm more than happy with, especially as it allows for integration of an existing remote control on their non-HDMI components.

If they produce a soundbar which has a form factor I can live with I may move over to that platform exclusively but for now I can use both systems together happily.

@MJAhoud It is probably a combination of people just hearing things differently and/or being more sensitive to certain things. When you go shopping for components there are speakers and amps/receivers that can be bright or warm (why a lot of people liked tube amps), my component system had a warm receiver and warm speakers, it took a lot of shopping and some returning (internet was in it’s infancy then). Not every person is the same. There is a well know speaker company where the running joke used to be “No highs, no lows, it must be ****.”
 

The Arc is marketed as a sound bar for movies and part (if you wish) of a home theater system, it does that fairly well. It is not a full blown stereo meant to play a dance party. We have all become used to having a product do everything good (not great) that many become frustrated when something doesn’t do everything great and only does one thing well, in this case movies/tv. I could see the Arc being designed to be brighter in order to do dialog in movies. Also a lot of people just don’t know any better and will live with the hot new thing, you see this with certain brands of automobiles.
 

Either Sonos designed the Arc to be bright/harsh, the Arc sounded fine to them and they don’t see a problem, they realize there is a problem that affects a certain group of people and they don’t know how to fix it, or they just don’t care that a minority are bothered by it. They did however release a product with a bass issue, which they later fixed. A broader EQ may solve the problem for a majority of the minority that are complaining about harsh treble. Only being able to adjust the bass and treble is some pre-2000 car stereo crap.

I bet three 5’s, two 1’s, and a sub would be a outstanding all around 5.1 and music set up, but it’s not really possible or cost effective, and at that point you may as well go wired. 

I drug two of my speakers and sub out to use for music and my gf is annoyed that they are “cluttering up” the room. lol  

I’m not going to throw Sonos under the bus, the Arc (with sub) delivers what it is supposed to with tv/video, I won’t tell someone not to get one, I’m just really sensitive to bright/harsh highs. Heck, it’s probably just fine for music for most people! Look at all, the people running around with the earbuds that come with your phone and those things sound pretty lousy.  It does a lot of things well and is lower profile, better than tv speakers by far, if it is worth the price is subjective. I’ll admit, it IS the best looking soundbar out there and it does work.

Too add, since I couldn’t edit. A lot of different rooms out there too. Everything in my room is hard w/ only a sofa and mid size area rug to absorb sound, I’m sure that doesn’t help matters. Big open floor plan room too. 
 

I just moved it to the edge of the table it’s sitting on so the front of the Arc is a bit forward (no table top in front of the speakers) and this seems to have made a bit of a difference. 
 

Still want a couple of user set able EQ, one for music and one for movies and a multi eq so I can dumb down the higher freq. 

Obviously, every speaker sounds different and everyone experiences sound quality differently, but seeing the amount of post about this issue makes saying "a small amount of people have a problem" a little bit of an understatement. I choose Sonos after listening to playb5 gen 2 and a pair of one's  because of the sound signature (tight and clean, with lots of detail). I would expect a company that advertises getting "the whole Sonos ecosystem" to at least try to unify that sound signature, as they have done with the playbar for example.... Ev

By the way, the arc is promoted as "The premium smart soundbar for TV, movies, music, gaming, and more", not just a TV soundbar...

Good points and I agree wholeheartedly.

Hey, it plays music, just not as well as it plays movies/tv. Jury is still out on my end. If both sub and Arc were a couple of hundred less expensive each, I’d just run it as a tv only system and be fine with it.

The problem is not that it doesn't play music as well as it plays movies/tv, it's that it plays music, just not as well as a play 5 or even a pair of one's play music... Or a playbar for that matter! 

In the end  I might just  have to try it out for myself to see for sure, it's just that my faith in the future of Sonos room quite a hit.

Jumping in late here and way to much to read… Bottom line, is it worth purchasing the Arc to replace my Beam? Outside of this thread, the reviews I’ve found all make it sound like the Arc is the shit. This thread though makes me think it’s shitty. I’m lost. 

If you have a pair of surrounds and a sub to pair with the Arc then you will not be disappointed. The Arc by itself was terrible at launch, both opinion and fact. But things have improved. The bass issue is 95% resolved, it only crops up in the most obscure places at volumes too high when it is unpaired with a sub and surrounds.  The metallic issue is also mostly fixed, but has been narrowed down to an issue with Trueplay on certain iPhone models. I started a thread here about it, with a video link for a deeper explanation.  

TL:DR: As of Jan 2020 the Arc is a great HT purchase IF you are also pairing it with  surrounds and a sub.

I was once a user who wanted to return my Arc that I preorded, as of now I am  90% happy with my Sonos purchase.  (still burned by no DTS, yes I am one of those guys).

What is the issue if you do not bond it with surrounds when listening to stereo music? This should not be a problem should it? It still ridiculous that you have to bond a 900 dollar soundbar with sub/rears if you ask me...