that is really an interesting interpretation by Sonos.

Over performance………. might as well say MONO is a feature cause playing through all speakers is a “feature” compared to Stereo...

THERE IS MORE SOUND DETAILS COMING FROM ALL THE SPEAKERS. 
 

I can´t believe that Sonos again has a problem regarding the correct channel distribution to the rears.

Those of us who are here for a little bit longer might remember that there was also such a problem with the (old) Arc after that was released. 

It took very long for Sonos to finally address that problem.

It almost looks like they don´t test their new soundbars with connected rears before they release them…

Literally just bought the Arc Ultra and have just bought 2 Era 100's to go with it before finding this thread.

Is the conclusion that Sonos aren't going to rectify this as this is how it's meant to be? According to one persons conversation with them on chat (if I can recall correctly from this thread)? 

Would Era 300's also have this same issue would anyone know? 

Sorry just read that people are having same issues with 300's

End of the 30 days return policy is getting near (in my case)… still no update or proper reply from Sonos. Guess we'll all have to send it back for a refund.

 In the same boat! I was hoping for some type of feedback 

​@Corry P sorry to tag you in here, though I saw you reply to a thread quite similar to this, arc ultra + sub issue, though could you please look into/raise this issue here that many people are complaining about, about the non existent sounds coming from surrounds added to the Arc Ultra please?

Many of us would love an explanation otherwise it seems most will just be returning their Arc Ultra as it's hardly worth spending this amount of money for something that doesn't actually support surrounds nor subs.

Thank you, any sort of response from Sonos would be appreciated, it's now 50+ comments deep with no acknowledgement.

Hi ​@LM404, ​@William_77 et al

Sorry to hear of this issue you are all having with the apparent channel mixing problem with Arc Ultra and Era 100 surrounds.

It does sound quite similar to an issue I had with my Ultra, but as I was using a US model with EU/UK surrounds, it turned out to be somewhat expected behaviour. I don’t for a minute think it is likely that you all are experiencing the same issue as I was, however. The symptoms do sound similar, however.

​@LM404 - the author of this thread - has reported that things sound OK now after rebooting their equipment. Hopefully this is still the case, and I would encourage anyone with this problem to try rebooting all connected equipment to see if it will help, though I would be surprised to hear if it was a reboot of an Apple TV that fixed this issue, so I’d start with the Ultra and the surrounds.

I also highly recommend that you all try removing the surrounds from the Arc, then add them back on again. If you have Sub(s), please test with the surrounds added, but not the Sub(s).

Finally, if you still have this issue after trying those steps, we’d like to see some diagnostics from affected systems - please submit a support diagnostic and let me know here when you have done so, but please don’t share the numbers given at the end of the process. Thanks.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for reading and replying. You are the first of Sonos giving a proper response.

Just to be sure, I did everything you suggested and more:

• Forgot my system in the Sonos app. Even deleted the app completely.
• Rebooted phone and installed the Sonos app again.
• Reset all my Sonos devices back to factory defaults (cut power, holding bluetooth button while plugging in the power cord again
• Connected the Arc Ultra first to the Sonos app and my network
• Connected the Arc Ultra to my TV (LG OLED G4 with eARC) - later also tried if reconnecting the TV would help, after the surround speakers were added).
• Connected both the Era 100 speakers and set them as surround speakers (same room).

Still the same problem…. When I encrease the volume of the SURROUND speakers, the Arc Ultra soundbar also goes louder. In movies, the soundstage is very up front. Only a slight surround effect coming from the back in certain scenes. Even with surround volume levels on max (+15).

I'm pretty sure the problem lies in the way the Ultra splits the audio channels and (barely) drives the surround speakers. Audio channels intended for surround speakers are also played on the Ultra (and louder). It’s almost as if the surrounds only act to get the accoustics right- they are not fully used.

Already submitted a support diagnostic before. Sonos support does not help.

 Sounds to me like the rear surround info is bleeding into the Arc Ultra.  Wonder if a 5.1 test would prove this??

Hi ​@Patriekvg 

I guess it’s too late for you, but I do want to respond before anyone else reads that and gets any ideas.

I don’t see how the Sonos app could be responsible for Ultra not getting the channel mix right. These steps are unnecessary. 

Resetting the Arc Ultra may have been worth trying once, but resetting an entire system is almost never the right course of action - no one should ever do this unless expressly instructed to do so by Sonos technical support. It just a way to create more work for yourself and is not at all likely to be of help.

Removing and adding surrounds is enough - well, it did not fix anything, so it isn’t enough, but you hopefully get what I mean.

It does indeed sound like the Arc Ultra is not utilising the surrounds as it should.

Thank you for trying those steps, but the part that would have been of the most help (to me), you missed. Please submit a support diagnostic while playing surround-sound content (5.1 or Atmos) and let me know here when you have done so (but don’t share the number given). Thank you.

As I wrote, I already submitted diagnostics before. But as you request, I just send it again (while playing Atmos).

Hi ​@Patriekvg 

Apologies - I don’t know why I missed the last sentence in your previous reply. Thanks!

Hi ​@Patriekvg 

You have just set up your Arc Ultra system from scratch, and I really don’t think you would have disabled the surrounds yourself, so I am little puzzled by something I found in your diagnostic report - it says your surrounds are disabled!

Could you please open the Sonos app and navigate to System icon » [room with Arc Ultra] » Surround Audio » Surrounds and check that the toggle switch is in the On position (dot to the right)? If, as I suspect, it already is, please toggle the surrounds off and on again, then check performance and submit a support diagnostic once more. Thanks.

I just submitted diagnostics while playing Dolby  5.1 content 

From the live chat with Sonos support:

 I was able to confirm that the issue is currently being investigated by the Sonos team and a fix is being worked on. 
 

The reason the Arc is increasing in volume is due to the side tweeters overpowering the surround audio.

Corry P wrote:

Hi ​@Patriekvg 

You have just set up your Arc Ultra system from scratch, and I really don’t think you would have disabled the surrounds yourself, so I am little puzzled by something I found in your diagnostic report - it says your surrounds are disabled!

Could you please open the Sonos app and navigate to System icon » [room with Arc Ultra] » Surround Audio » Surrounds and check that the toggle switch is in the On position (dot to the right)? If, as I suspect, it already is, please toggle the surrounds off and on again, then check performance and submit a support diagnostic once more. Thanks.

 

It actually is toggled on. But I will do now as you say (toggle it off and on again, send a new diag).

Hi ​@Patriekvg 

The agent you spoke to just got in touch with me and informed me of the known issue he informed you of - sorry that I was not aware.

So, for everyone else, I can confirm that we are aware of this issue and are investigating. I will update this thread when I hear of a fix being put in place in a future software update.

Further diagnostics from affected users are not needed, thanks.

I hope this helps.

Thank you for responding so fast and with actual helpful answers, I'm glad it's being looked into, I hope everyone else on this thread is somewhat reassured too. 

Thank you, im to hear someone finally acknowledges our issue. 
I’m happy our diagnostics finally got to the right ppl.

I'm also waiting for this issue to be resolved. Hopefully it's soon. I have no motivation to watch movies because the experience of the sound is so disappointing.

I received my ultra today and I also noticed something like that but while listening to music:

My Sub gen 3 seemed to have a delay in its sound. Like a bass-echo.

That is besides the overall bad bass performance which is already a known issue as far as I understood this.

What did Sonos Support say, when you called them to discuss it?

Thank you ​@Corry P and everyone who has contributed to this discussion. Will keep an eye on this thread, as well as any future software or hardware updates that may help address this issue with the Arc Ultra + Era 100’s as surrounds. 

Does Sonos have an ETA on this fix? I really regret upgrading from my Arc to Arc Ultra and am debating just sending it back. I’m nearing the end of the return policy. 

SONOS Support says with…

all known AUDIO issues related to Arc Ultra are fixed.

They even said if I still am unsatisfied with that version, I need to send the device back for refund as there is no case regarding any audio issues.

Funny enough, they don’t seem to want to create a new case. So wen can only complain for existing cases. Strange support strategy...