Arc Ultra and Era 100’s 

Is there a timeline for this fix as a lot of our return policies are nearing it’s end and support is also informing users to return as audio issues are fixed in the latest release ( They are not ). It would be a shame having to return our Arc Ultras. This affects your most loyal users who are usually the first to upgrade when you release new products. 

Hi ​@fsedarkalex 

Reading the transcript of your conversation, the agent you spoke to did not claim that “all known AUDIO issues related to Arc Ultra are fixed” - they informed you that one particular issue relating to Ultra’s bass after performing TruePlay was resolved.

I did read a Google-translated version of the transcript, however - I will ask of an audit to be done on that case to be see if things could have been handled better, and if the tone was suitable. Thanks for flagging.

well… (translated using deepl)

ME (27.11.2024, 13:46:30): So that means in this version combination there are no more known equalizer or audio problems? 

In other words, all the open issues from the community about the Arc Ultra are all obsolete in this version? 
AGENT (27.11.2024, 13:49:35): Indeed. The bass issue was only applicable when Trueplay was involved, so it doesn't apply to your situation since you mentioned that it's the same without Trueplay. Since we have no reports of this being a real issue, we cannot treat it as such and if you are not satisfied with the product, you can choose to return it. 

I was explicitely asking for any known audio issues, especially those mentionned in the community. The answer was “indeed”. For me this is a quite clear statement. Followed by the info that my issue is no known case and as such the can not help me (even though I actually reported it).

​@Corry P please don’t get me wrong. I appreciate you trying to clear this up, but in this case I was not telling lies. This is what was said in the chat. I also see that they maybe don’t know every details, but the way the chat was handled with no tries to solve the issue or open a case or whatever… no diagnostic, nothing. Just “send it back” made me a bit disappointed.

Is this only a problem with Era100 (and also Era300?) as surround speakers? 

Because I can give the all-clear for the Sonos ONE as rears  (at least for me):

I have now tried the whole thing with several test files (Dolby and DTS) for 5.1 and 7.1 channels with playback via an Apple TV using an LG OLED.

All channels are played correctly by the Art Ultra as multichannel surround.

So both the “middle” surround channels and the “rear” surround channels come correctly from my surrounds (Sonos ONE).

I even had to reduce the volume of the sourrounds because it was too loud at first.

Hi ​@fsedarkalex 

I understand, and I did not think or say that you were telling lies, just that there was a miscommunication somewhere - but, I did not say as much and I should have. My apologies.

Our support agents do not know the contents of the Community inside out. I have to assume that that particular statement was a result of a misunderstanding - I think she probably meant that all the reports of the particular issue that you were reporting were relating to an issue now resolved. When I worked as a support agent myself, I would not have thought that a customer I was talking to was referring to every possible issue rather than the one they were contacting us about.

Regardless, an audit has been requested - if the agent’s reply was incorrect or used an unsuitable tone, they will receive notification and further training if needed. Personally, I don’t think the tone was suitable, but as I mentioned, I do not want to rely on translations.

I hope this helps.

Sonos, I want to suggest to also state known issues at the page of release notes, so both Sonos employees and customers will always be informed. This would prevent a lot of support calls and frustrations.

​@Corry P: Thank you for thinking with us and replying. Could it be you made a little mistake selecting the “best answer” of this thread?

Hi ​@Patriekvg 

I agree, but it was not I who selected it. I’ve unmarked it.

For me the tone (as in politeness) was okay indeed. The engagement could have been a bit better. I was lacking troubleshooting, maybe an offer to create an issue ticket with a diagnostic etc. But I think this is not something to be discussed here.

I am still unsure what to do on my side. Actually I hijacked this thread a bit. I am suffering from the sub-bass-issue (in my eyes/ears I do) and in general I think the ultra bahaves worse than the OG Arc regarding its EQ/Soundscape. Also I notice delay between arc’s sound and sub’s bass when using sonos app to play music. This is why I added my comments to this thread. To me it sound like it is a general issue in Home theather setups. Maybe especially with Sub gen 3. (I already said that switching off my sub improves the quality)

So my point is I have a new ultra and it does not sound the way it should. I am pretty sure its a software thing because the demo sounds at the end of the setup sound good but actual music does not.

What to do from here? I can not create a ticket, ponly call sonos by phone or use the chat - both are in my eyes no good ways to track an issue that is likely a bug)

Interesting… maybe it's because the Era series has more drivers to address (the One is mono, Era 100 is stereo as an individual unit)?

Hi ​@fsedarkalex 

You haven’t disabled WiFi on the Arc Ultra, have you? Doing so would probably produce these issues, though I’d hope that would be spotted quickly in any troubleshooting.

You are correct in saying that you’ve hijacked the thread, however - you are somewhat off topic. Please recreate the issue with content playing on your Arc Ultra and submit a support diagnostic, then create a new thread, explain the issue, and ​@Corry P me in the post and I’ll be happy to take a look.

Hi ​@matt1231123 

We have reached out internally to get more details regarding this behaviour. Unfortunately, it could take a little bit of time until we have more details, and to get something that we can share with you all.

We don’t want you to feel like you have been conned or hard-done-by with buying an Arc Ultra - if you are concerned, I would say get your refund while you can, just to be on the safe side - you can always come back to the Arc Ultra at a later date.

The Arc Ultra is not only our newest product, but it is also our new flagship product - having our customers be happy with their purchase is our priority, so we will continue to work on keeping it that way.

​@Corry P so we are actually back at square one without a real acknowledgement that this is an issue, from what I've read above?

It seems Sonos do not have proper quality control over the past few years and don't do thorough testing prior to release of products nor the app. With the vast amount of combinations of systems/devices you can have, it seems Sonos only tested that the Arc Ultra as a standalone was working OK, which defeats the purpose of a Sonos' system. Not a great showing for a company that markets themselves as a premium audio company.

I think you are misreading his reply. He replies to the question of Matt above (read it). So he’s not recommending to use the return policy, but if you don’t trust Sonos to make a fix with a firmware update later, it’s an option. He actually wants to say Sonos is on it, but has to be realistic with no ETA at the moment. Fact of the Arc Ultra being Sonos flagship for home theatre, should assure us a fix.

Ah right, getting confusing as so many people commenting, and the replies getting lost within the vast amount. I wasn't planning on returning, though as my original comment, it does seem Sonos quality control/testing has been hit and miss, even the original Arc had quite a few issues but eventually got solved, I don't doubt Sonos will fix it, just sucks that something as simple as adding current gen Era's to their current flagship wasn't tested properly prior to launch. I understand if there were issues with previous gen speakers working with Arc Ultra surround, but surely you would test your flagship with the current speakers? From what it sounds like, the Ones work perfectly fine as surrounds.

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...

 

I dont know what is “all issues are fixed” 
I dont think the orginal issues of the surrounds coming from the front is fixed yet or its not clear if fix is in the form of a firmware update or other. (Firmware seems to make sense to me)

So…. I dont think they are talking about the same “known issues” at all.

Sorry it seems like the thread has progressed alot since the reply I read…….. I think its been clarified with the chats afterwards.

Okay lets wait for the hopefully soon news.

Feeling a little bit of Stockholm syndrome here, but…...well how complicated some relationships are :)

Again, the post got marked as answered. But this time the answer is about an off topic comment. Seems some mods here don‘t even read the whole story and just want to close it as fast as possible. Could you unmark it again?

No moderators are marking Best Answers here - we only do so when there has been no activity for several days, or if the solution is very clear.

I have the opposite problem where my surrounds are way too loud and can’t reduce them by enough. If your surrounds are so quiet/ inaudible I think this might be because they are not connected over WiFi due to a weak signal.
 

Can you try connecting the arc or one of the surrounds (or sub) to an ethernet port as I recall from a while back this might help with any connectivity and stability issues. 

It has nothing to do with the Wifi, the signal is perfect and I never had this issues with my old Beam Gen 2. Seems you didn‘t read the whole story. Better Soundtracks with more channels, for example Dolby Atmos, doesn‘t have any issues. It is a problem with certain sountracks, for example Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. A Sonos Mod has already confirmed this issue (page 3):
 

Your issue with too loud rear speakers seems to be something different.

I'm on the same boat guys

I have the same issue since my upgrade to arc ultra and era 100…

Very annoying 

Hi ​@Corry P , do you have any updates from your support?
Much appeciated for an update.
 

Hi Everybody,

I am new on here, but I am experiencing exactly the same issue with a brand new Arc Ultra and new ERA 100’s supposed to be boring as rear surrounds.

An extremely disappointing scenario, considering the overall total cost in GBP !. 

My apologies, please note that should read “supposed to be working as rear surrounds”

​@LightingMan , have you contacted Sonos Support directly to discuss it?

When you speak directly to the phone folks, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your network and Sonos system.