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Question

Arc Ultra – distortion, crackling, buzzing from one side (even after 2 replacements)

  • September 10, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 53 views

Hi everyone,

Hoping someone can help me figure this out, because I’m honestly running out of ideas.

I’m writing from Austria, and have been a loyal Sonos customer for years without ever experiencing anything like this.

Currently on my third Arc Ultra (Sonos replaced my original Arc Ultra, and then replaced the replacement unit 🙂) and all three have had the same type of distortion/crackling from one side on higher-pitched sounds, especially piano and certain voices. It is clearly audible from meters away, even at low volume.

 

The strange part is that the affected side changed:

  • Original: left side — serial starts with 2508LC
  • Replacement #1: left side — serial starts with 2508LC
  • Replacement #2: right side — serial starts with 2507LC

 

I’ve tested different TVs, Apple TV, AirPlay, Sonos Radio, the Arc Ultra by itself,

Trueplay off, and a complete factory reset/setup. The issue remained.

 

To be fair, Sonos Support has been very kind and helpful and approved the replacements after seeing my videos. However, I’ve now had to use total of three days of annual leave dealing with the replacement process, and I’m really hoping I don’t have to go through it again.

 

I’ve also found several reports of similar crackling/fuzzing issues with Arc Ultra on here as well as reddit etc. Should I keep replacing the unit until I “win the lottery”? 😞

At this point, I genuinely don’t know what else to try and would really appreciate any advice.

Thank you!

4 replies

buzz
  • buzz
  • September 10, 2026

What is the source of your our replacements? Dealer? Direct from SONOS?

If you have a record of serial numbers, compare the first four digits. This is the month of manufacture. If they are the same, potentially there was a bad batch.

Be sure to check for silly things, such as nearby objects and structures resonating. I’ve had shelf objects and window panes try to compete with the music and video.

Airgetlam
  • Airgetlam
  • September 10, 2026

The OP included the dates in the post.

The other thing to think about is potential interference . It’s rare, but not impossible in wires. They’re often shielded, but nothing is impervious. Frankly, any wired connection can be impacted, whether it is between the source and the TV, or the TV and the Sonos…or even the TV’s or Sonos’ power cables, although given the OP tested several TVs, it seems unlikely. Equally, I’d be guessing that three separate Arc Ultras would be bad is a minuscule chance, I’d be much more suspect at this point about other sources of interference. 

Bruce
  • vietzatziki
  • Author
  • Contributor I
  • September 11, 2026

The OP included the dates in the post.

The other thing to think about is potential interference . It’s rare, but not impossible in wires. They’re often shielded, but nothing is impervious. Frankly, any wired connection can be impacted, whether it is between the source and the TV, or the TV and the Sonos…or even the TV’s or Sonos’ power cables, although given the OP tested several TVs, it seems unlikely. Equally, I’d be guessing that three separate Arc Ultras would be bad is a minuscule chance, I’d be much more suspect at this point about other sources of interference. 

What you’re suggesting is a very understandable theory, but we’ve tested the product in two different locations, and as I mentioned in the original post, we’re experiencing the same issue even when there are no cables connected at all—only when using AirPlay or Sonos Radio. And also tried multiple Arc Ultra power cables…

Sonos Support asked me to send them videos, and after I sent them, they immediately said, “It’s a hardware issue; the speaker is faulty.”

There are quite a few people on Reddit experiencing similar issues, and it’s really starting to become quite frustrating.

Airgetlam
  • Airgetlam
  • September 11, 2026

Wifi interference can still occur when using AirPlay 2, or even Sonos Radio. I certainly don’t have access to diagnostic data, though, if Sonos stated it was a hardware issue, I certainly won’t argue with them. 

If you re-read my post, I said, specifically, that ‘the other thing to think about’, and not ‘this is clearly’. 

Bruce
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