Sonos Staff

Arc Ultra Surround Sound change!

70 replies
7960 views

Hi All

We are happy to announce to all Arc Ultra owners that the latest Sonos system update (issued today) includes a change to the behaviour of the “TV Level” surround setting slider option, in response to your feedback.

Previously, the slider had an effect on the apparent volume of the Arc Ultra itself, as the Arc Ultra is involved with the rendering of the rear channels, even when rear speakers are present.

Now, the new behaviour of the “TV Level” setting will be that it will only affect the rear drivers/speakers, rather than the rear channels. The result of this is that when adjusting “TV Level”, you will no longer hear the audio coming directly from the Arc Ultra increase or decrease with the slider. Instead, you will only hear the surround speakers raise or lower their volume with the slider.

I hope you all enjoy the change we’ve made - happy listening!

Please note that I am keeping this thread separate from the threads already extant in relation to Arc Ultra and it’s audio profile. I will link to this thread from them, but as many of the threads are now rather murky in terms of exactly what they are referring to, I wanted to avoid implying that this change will address all complaints made in any particular thread.

I hope this helps.

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Corry PAuthor

Sonos Staff

Hi @Gavalar

Glad to hear it!

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

G

GuyinPA75

Enthusiast I

It now seems my rears (Era 300s) overpower the Arc Ultra in terms of presence and volume.

Anyone else experiencing this?

AjTrek1

@GuyinPA75

Not me.

Are you able to use TruePlay? If not there is a manual adjustment for the rears.

How are your Era 300’s positioned in reference to your seating? Submitting a diagram of your room showing the speakers and seating area would be helpful.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

G

Gavalar

Enthusiast II

@GuyinPA75 if you turn the volume of the rears down, this will help.

My 300 rears are set to -3 for TV.

V

visionaries

Lyricist I

@Corry P thank you for your help. But actual test tones are to check the correct channels are being ‘fed’ to the correct speakers.

It sounds like I’m best off repurposing the 300’s and using 100’s as rears as it will be the same (I.e. no benefit of side and rear channels like with the old arc, before the update), less the height tweeter.

I am intending to do that too. Swapping the 300 for 100 for my rears. Now awaiting for the stands to arrive.

Generalzod

Trending Lyricist II

I’ve noticed that I have to turn it up to hear dialogue, when previously I didn’t have to…The dialogue is low but when explosions happen it shakes the room, this is the second time that Sonos fiddled with the volume..Are people experiencing the same issue?

B

BlackZippl

Lyricist I

Hi everyone,

About a month ago I bought the Sonos Arc and I really enjoyed how it handled surround sound – it felt immersive and the rear speakers (Era 100s) were quite active during movies. A week ago, I decided to return it and upgrade to the Arc Ultra, thinking it would be an even better experience.

While I appreciate the cleaner processing and added features of the Arc Ultra, I’ve noticed that the surround speakers don’t seem to be as engaged. On the Arc, it felt like more audio elements were being pushed to the rears, whereas with the Ultra, the soundstage feels more “contained” and sometimes too front-heavy, even with Surround Level set to +5 and “Full” mode enabled.

Is this a design change in how surround routing is handled between Arc and Arc Ultra? Or is it something that could improve with updates? Would love to hear if others feel the same.

PS: I really appreciate that Sonos added an update to the Ultra which now lets us adjust the rear surround volume independently — that’s a great improvement. But honestly, the Arc did more than just volume. It sent more audio content to the surrounds, which created a richer and more engaging surround experience overall.

Thanks!

J

johntate

Lyricist I

Finally! Now the rear speaker control actually feels separate—much better surround balance now, especially if you're tweaking other setups too.

M

My Sound B

Trending Lyricist I

While I like the surround sound change, I do wish that there was a toggle to change back to the ability to raise the arc ultra surround channels along with the rears. This would maintain front and rear balance. Particularly for sports where the current center channel situation lowers some ambient sound in certain mixes. It could be an option so those who like the current configuration can maintain it as well.

@Corry P Can you please pass along my suggestion if possible? I promise I will not ask you any further questions about it so as not to put you in a position of having to answer for things you may not be able to answer to.

Corry PAuthor

Sonos Staff

Hi @My Sound B

Sure. Please create a new thread with the above request - I can’t really submit a post written by myself as a feature request.

With a dedicated thread, we can pass the feedback along no problem.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

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