Question

Ace & Arc Swap - Volume Way Too Low

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Majo133
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

The issue is still there. Latest update, i have to crank the volume up to 70-90 percent so its somehow louder.

 

@Corry P u know something about this?

Yesterday, is not today.
D

My app was already updated to the latest version on iOS. My Ace headphones got their latest update as part of the installation process. What the Sonos technician helped me find was that my “auto updating” Sonos system (accessed via the app) was not actually up to date. I had it update any & all devices that were out of date and that included the ARC SL.

I am not saying the volume is perfect yet as I would expect to be able to turn the volume up past the point I am comfortable but it did significantly improve so that Netflix movies and YouTube TV content (including 5.1) is now watchable as I can hear dialog and sound effects at a comfortable level.

Hope this helps.

 

M
Userlevel 1

Just updated the Ace to the newest firmware - no change regarding the low volume in swap mode. I’m surprised it’s not mentioned more as it is painfully obvious to me. Play any Netflix series with 5.1 and the volume at max is nowhere near loud enough. The only way I can get decent volume is with YouTube stereo content. 

D
Badge

 Can you describe how to manually update the soundbar for those who want to give it a try?

S

Just updated the Ace to the newest firmware - no change regarding the low volume in swap mode. I’m surprised it’s not mentioned more as it is painfully obvious to me. Play any Netflix series with 5.1 and the volume at max is nowhere near loud enough. The only way I can get decent volume is with YouTube stereo content. 

I found a trick here that worked. In your iPhone settings turn off sound check. It has made my set much louder. 

S

 Can you describe how to manually update the soundbar for those who want to give it a try?

In app:

  1. Next to “Your System” click “Manage”
  2. Scroll down to system updates 
  3. Click “Check for updates”
M
Userlevel 1

Just updated the Ace to the newest firmware - no change regarding the low volume in swap mode. I’m surprised it’s not mentioned more as it is painfully obvious to me. Play any Netflix series with 5.1 and the volume at max is nowhere near loud enough. The only way I can get decent volume is with YouTube stereo content. 

I found a trick here that worked. In your iPhone settings turn off sound check. It has made my set much louder. 

That makes them louder in Bluetooth mode, but does not change the max volume in audio swap mode, just tried it.

Unless this is a bug - I really do think the volume limit in swap mode is intentional for the sake of battery life.  

S

Just updated the Ace to the newest firmware - no change regarding the low volume in swap mode. I’m surprised it’s not mentioned more as it is painfully obvious to me. Play any Netflix series with 5.1 and the volume at max is nowhere near loud enough. The only way I can get decent volume is with YouTube stereo content. 

I found a trick here that worked. In your iPhone settings turn off sound check. It has made my set much louder. 

That makes them louder in Bluetooth mode, but does not change the max volume in audio swap mode, just tried it.

Unless this is a bug - I really do think the volume limit in swap mode is intentional for the sake of battery life.  


Gotcha. I hadn’t retested them after another Sonos Ace update last night so I should probably test again with sound check back on and see if the Ace just are louder on their own now. Because it was definitely loud enough for movies now via TV Swap and was much happier. 

C

They are the best pair of Bluetooth headphones I have ever heard. The design is nice and sleek, not bulky like the AirPods Max, They are lighter than them also. But the fit and finish and sound quality are top notch. The Bose QC Ultra are no where near the quality of the ACE also

Sorry mate disagree. I like 100s of others are returning their headphones. Bussing noise in right ear.

M
Userlevel 1

Quick update for those interested - Just tried a 4k Blu Ray player playing a lossless Dolby Atmos track… and volume was super loud and exactly where I’d want it!
 

With this in mind, I doubt the low volume is a hardware limit on the headphones themselves, and more likely something to do with either the way the Arc sends lossy formats (found on streaming services) out to the headphones, or, perhaps lossy audio formats just generally having less volume information in them. Playing an inbuilt Netflix app movie vs. an Atmos soundtrack from a blu ray showed a massive volume difference. Would be interested to see if others out there find similar.
 

Would be great if Sonos can get this volume discrepancy sorted as the Ace did provide a great movie watching experience through the Sony UBPX800 blu ray player.

D
Badge

Quick update for those interested - Just tried a 4k Blu Ray player playing a lossless Dolby Atmos track… and volume was super loud and exactly where I’d want it!
 

With this in mind, I doubt the low volume is a hardware limit on the headphones themselves, and more likely something to do with either the way the Arc sends lossy formats (found on streaming services) out to the headphones, or, perhaps lossy audio formats just generally having less volume information in them. Playing an inbuilt Netflix app movie vs. an Atmos soundtrack from a blu ray showed a massive volume difference. Would be interested to see if others out there find similar.
 

Would be great if Sonos can get this volume discrepancy sorted as the Ace did provide a great movie watching experience through the Sony UBPX800 blu ray player.

 

I believe what your stating to be true. I just used the SONOS ACE with my Xbox Series X and the volume output is exactly what you would expect  it seems that different hardware with the combination of different streaming apps produces varying levels of volume output (db). Hopefully they figure out a way to detect the volume/format of any given source and implement a way for the headphones/arc to compensate.

Maybe if the db sensed is lower than a pre-determined level the headphones/arc can boost the source volume going to the headphones.

That’s how I would do it, and that can be done via firmware updates.

 

G
Userlevel 5
Badge +8

Quick update for those interested - Just tried a 4k Blu Ray player playing a lossless Dolby Atmos track… and volume was super loud and exactly where I’d want it!
 

With this in mind, I doubt the low volume is a hardware limit on the headphones themselves, and more likely something to do with either the way the Arc sends lossy formats (found on streaming services) out to the headphones, or, perhaps lossy audio formats just generally having less volume information in them. Playing an inbuilt Netflix app movie vs. an Atmos soundtrack from a blu ray showed a massive volume difference. Would be interested to see if others out there find similar.
 

Would be great if Sonos can get this volume discrepancy sorted as the Ace did provide a great movie watching experience through the Sony UBPX800 blu ray player.

Priority fix for users but probably not high on Sonos coders’ to-do list.

M
Userlevel 1

Quick update for those interested - Just tried a 4k Blu Ray player playing a lossless Dolby Atmos track… and volume was super loud and exactly where I’d want it!
 

With this in mind, I doubt the low volume is a hardware limit on the headphones themselves, and more likely something to do with either the way the Arc sends lossy formats (found on streaming services) out to the headphones, or, perhaps lossy audio formats just generally having less volume information in them. Playing an inbuilt Netflix app movie vs. an Atmos soundtrack from a blu ray showed a massive volume difference. Would be interested to see if others out there find similar.
 

Would be great if Sonos can get this volume discrepancy sorted as the Ace did provide a great movie watching experience through the Sony UBPX800 blu ray player.

 

I believe what your stating to be true. I just used the SONOS ACE with my Xbox Series X and the volume output is exactly what you would expect  it seems that different hardware with the combination of different streaming apps produces varying levels of volume output (db). Hopefully they figure out a way to detect the volume/format of any given source and implement a way for the headphones/arc to compensate.

Maybe if the db sensed is lower than a pre-determined level the headphones/arc can boost the source volume going to the headphones.

That’s how I would do it, and that can be done via firmware updates.

 

Thanks for this! That does seem to sound about right based off my my testing - hopefully they can implement a fix similar to what you suggest.

Xbox is exactly what I want the Ace for - but I have been put off by this low volume issue… Can you confirm that volume is nice and loud using the Xbox - and if so using what output format, and is there any noticeable latency? I currently use 5.1 LPCM through my Arc as Atmos adds a bit of latency.

 

Cheers!

A

Hi All 

 

After much frustration with the ‘buggy’ SONOS software on my iPad, I eventually got the Ace & Arc functionality working. While playing Dolby Atmos music tracks from Apple Music or Tidal, the max volume is too low to be useful. Movie soundtracks are louder but I would also like to be able to turn up the volume much more. 

When the SWAP takes place the volume on the Arc is disabled and I have turned up the volume in the SONOS app to the max so not sure if If there is anything else I can do to increase it

So weird - volume with tidal and Apple Music via Bluetooth. 
1. dial volume up with iPhone to max and I barely get 75db. 
2. using the media silver slider on the Ace, and it gets very loud. 
 

have people been cranking volume with the media slider on the Ace? Does that “fix” issue for now? 

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