Also sent an email. Got to push the urgency in fixing this.

This already happened and issues already here... no one can change this fact. So what Sonos has to do is to handle it in a positive way, keep updating the customers on the investigation and progress, let the customers know Sonos is a responsive and reliable company, so to rescue the reputation... I can't see anything more important than this.

I'm not someone that's affected as much as the others (because my Arc still not even delivered, my apartment is small and I already have a Sub) but I can still imagine how annoying this feeling is... So please, at the very least, give all of us a daily update. Even an amateur like me may not understand everything/every detail like the other experts here, but at least we know Sonos is reacting in a positive way.

Sonos has never, ever, given daily updates. I understand your desire for such, I’m afraid you’re bound to be disappointed, no matter how many posts there are requesting such. 

I am still giving them the benefits of the doubt and hoping they fix it. I am disappointed and I am tempted to send it back, I may still do so. I am waiting to see how the handle this, what the fix is and what the mop up looks like. 

Ideal scenario would be that they can completely remedy in s/w and then offer some sort of discount on the Arc post sale. If I am really dreaming they start selling something like the HD Fury eARC extractor (if they ever make it) and we get it free/cheap as recompense for a terrible launch and the fact that as elegant as the Arc is... how many people have and eARC TV. I mean, they bundle a HDMI to Optical adaptor - which is less useful these days. ARC has been around for around a decade and certainly widely used for the past 5 + years. I digress. 

BTW I doubt they would do the above. But if they made a grand gesture to all the folks who adopted the Arc early and suffered all the teething troubled...well, whatever they my lose in profit they will make up with good will, advertising, restored faith and future sales.

As it stands, they have lost their sheen. I am not looking to move away from Sonos, but I may stop growing the system and reevaluate options in the future. 

Well I received my Gen 3 sub today and now can see why you don’t see too many people with a sub complaining. Still look forward to this getting resolved. It was a long week with the Arc before the sub showed up. 

I also sent a note. It would be great if everyone having an issue would let him know how frustrating this is. 

I already have as well. 

I have thought of a situation/assumption that if the bass issue can only be resolved by adding a Sub other than firmware update, and Sonos is willing to offer a discount for those Arc owners that are having this issue to buy a Sub… then what about those people that already have the Sub? This become unfair to them… 

Of course it’s just an assumption… 

Me, too. 

Right? I was thinking the same. Apparently film creators and music directors like farting bass, lacking mid-ranges and over-emphasized trebles.

Sonos has acknowledged the issue. They are working on the issue. I am sure it is elevated and the highest priority item on the list. I am also sure that they want to make sure it is absolutely fixed before releasing a change. 

I would suggest everyone try setting the volume limit for their Arc to around 60% and test. Mine delivers quality sound at all test tones at this level and I do not need to worry about distortion at this point, or any potential damage to the device (if even an issue). 

That way I have great sound and the engineers can get it right. 

IMHO, mistakes happen, and in the pandemic I am sure it was much harder to release product. Is it a good excuse? No, it is not, but a little grace can go a long way. I get it, it is a lot of money for a product that is not working correctly. I have had similar, mistakes on new products, with vehicles. Again in the realm of major things you should care about, there are bigger issues in the world. Turn down the volume and let them work on it. If they fail to deliver then you can light up the message boards. 

Perspective: I mean we all had the extra cash to spend $800 on a sound bar during a global pandemic when millions are out of work. 

Cannot agree more!!

I agree to the previous two comments. Worst case, Sonos rushing a fix that doesn’t completely solve the issue or causing another problem and us losing more confidence. I have the time to wait for them to get it right. It’s only been 6 days, with multiple comments from Sonos in this thread. They know what the problem is.

We have identified a bug that has potential to cause distortion when playing bass-heavy content at higher volume levels on Arc. Our team is working on the fix now. We expect the software release to be implemented as early as next week. I'll share any additional updates here.

Thank you Ryan!

Thanks. Will the fix be applied for the Sonos One too?

I don’t believe this particular bug affects the Sonos One, but I’ll raise it with the team just in case.

I tested this yesterday. 2 of my 4 are affected definitely

It’s really the best news this week!!! Thanks Ryan!! :)

I’m looking forward to receiving my Arc and hope it will be with me after 3 weeks! 

What about an Arc paired with Sub? Does the team believe the issue is only when the Arc is performing solo?

The Sub takes over most of the troublesome frequencies for Arc that cause the audio distortion to surface. So it may or may not be affected or apparent, but the fix will apply nonetheless.

The dsp will limit these to protect the speakers at high volume. Mostly in a way by not going any louder even if you turn it up to 100%. Do the test on your mobile phone, it will not blow your phonespeaker. It is just this software limitation wich makes the Arc sound bad. It sould be like the Beam. After a volume of about 50% it does not get any louder and stays undistorted. Btw, paired with a Sub you can not test this because the cross over is at 110Hz I think, so everything below 110Hz wil not get send to the Arc or at a very low volume.

I agree. For products like the Beam/One there is something to say about almost completely cutting of the low frequencies to the Sub, but for a premium soundbar with the potential of delivering a fair amount of bass, Sonos should give us the choise to let the Arc act more as a full speaker and not just a small speaker satalite.

Should we be concerned about potentially damaged drivers as a result of this bug?

No, it sounds distorted because of the software is protecting the speakers in a bad way, not because the speakers are being pushed too far.