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I always upgrade to the newest app the day it comes out but I already had the current one at that time which was the one before 80.17.09 and 80.17.07, and it did a system update to my new Arc Ultra.  The rear speaker balance sounded fine after I ran a full TruePlay on my system with two Era 300 rears and two Sub (Gen 3)s.

(But why with the Arc Ultra is the option not allowed, greyed out, to adjust distance between surrounds which I never had different before anyway but previously I had it on 2ft to 10ft, and now it is greyed out on more than 10ft, or not allowed to change the phase of my subs, which should be independent by the way — as should volume, balance, bass, treble, and height controls be SEPARATE for Arc Ultra/Subs and SEPARATE for the Era 300 surrounds?)

But once I did the system update to my hardware in 80.17.07 came the problem of the left era 300 being 10x louder than the right era 300 surround speaker!!!!  This is worse with TV Video than with music, as with music the left rear is only 4x louder than the right which is still horrible!  AND THIS MAKES NO DIFFERENCE IF TRUEPLAY IS TURNED ON OR OFF (but I’m glad you restored the option to turn it off and a separate option to retune like it used to be with the Arc, BEFORE YOU CHANGED TO THE NEW STYLE APP LIKE 10 MONTHS AGO OR WHENEVER IT WAS)!

I have begging for this to be fixed along with another problem THAT DID NOT EXIST WITH THE ARC!  I had zero issues with the Arc in my system, and the Arc had a wider soundstage due to its midwoofers and a fuller but not taller height.  The stereo speaker sound is obviously better with the Arc Ultra, but I now have to turn my bass up higher than before for better dialogue.

The other problem is that now when I change TV channels or stop/start a DVR program recorded in my Xfinity XG1v4 4K cable box, it makes a distortion sound like tearing paper at 20x the actual volume level which will eventually destroy the drivers and it does this in all the speakers!!!!  This never happened once with the Arc!!!  The ONLY CHANGE WAS PUTTING THE ARC ULTRA IN PLACE OF THE ARC!!!  And also when I need to switch certain settings on my TV for other reasons than sound, my screen will go black for 5 seconds before it comes back on and again THIS NEVER HAPPENED WITH THE ARC AND THE SAME OTHER SPEAKERS IN THE SYSTEM!!!  Oh, and now 3 TV channels are much lower volume than the rest, and I notice in the app that it tells you if it’s Dolby multichannel 2.0, 5.1, DD+, or Dolby Atmos.

On my AppleTV, it only seems to be playing Dolby Atmos from the AppleTV+ area, and none of my movie apps that are broadcast in Dolby Atmos!!  This never happened once with the Arc, and there is a very audible difference and you can easily hear when Atmos is on, without needing to read it under TV Source window in the Sonos app.

There are other issues as well but these are the most pressing ones.  For example, now I need to turn my volume higher on my TV channels than with the Arc and much lower than on YouTube app built into my TV which formerly the volume was at 12-14 (as the volume only moves in levels of two numbers at a time; you can choose 1-99 or 2-100, but only 50 options with TV remote).

THESE NEEDS TO BE FIXED IMMEDIATELY OR I WILL BE RETURNING MY ARC ULTRA BACK FOR A REFUND!!!

How far is the left Era 300 from the side wall? How far is the right Era 300 from the other side wall?


There are shelves on either side.  These are wall mounted on my back wall and my head is on my bed, a foot lower than the speakers, and they are roughly 7 feet apart.  Equidistant in all directions.

 

And didn’t I mention MANY times that I did not have this issue AT ALL WITH MY ARC?  It was only until I pulled out the Arc and put the Arc Ultra in its place on the app version prior to 80.14.07 (which is 80.12.03) which did a system update and it worked fine.  But when I upgraded to 80.14.07 and did the system hardware update within the app (and which I check for new versions of, daily), it completely messed everything up, HORRIBLY!  So bad in fact it was ACTUALLY WORSE THAN ANYTHING I EXPERIENCED ON DAY ONE OF THE NEW APP DESIGN WITH MY SAME EXACT SYSTEM WITH THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BEING I WAS USING THE ORIGINAL ARC INSTEAD OF THE ARC “ULTRA”.  Another note of mention, when TruePlay is turned off, you can hear the full musicality of the Arc Ultra and nice stereo separation.  But after running TruePlay on it either with QuickTune or Advanced Tuning (which I’ve done on the system at least 50 times now of each way, AND THE SOUNDS IT PLAYS DURING THE TUNING ARE PERFECTLY BALANCED IN VOLUME ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT ERA 300 SURROUND SPEAKERS), the musicality is about ¼ of what it is when TruePlay is turned off, and even trying to compensate for it with EQ adjustments and speech enhancement levels, which I find best on high.  After TruePlay tuning I find it much more bass-present in the center channel which is great for dialogue but not for music, and a noticeable drop in treble on left and right soundbar channels, even when I increase the treble.  (It also increases the midrange and mid-bass in the rear channels and makes the rear volume louder than the front by a wide margin!)

 

CAN THEY NOT SIMPLY REVERT TO THE APP VERSION BEFORE 80.14.07, (WHICH IS 80.12.03) AND ALLOW ME TO REINSTALL THAT APP WITH IT’S PARTICULAR SYSTEM HARDWARE UPDATE?!?!?  That should, in theory, fix these problems!!  (I would hope…)

 

And putting the Arc back as a temporary fix wouldn’t work now, as the two Era 300s and the two Sub (Gen 3)s all have the most recent system hardware update.  So even if I didn’t system update the Arc, the other speakers would still act the same, as well as the horribly updated and damaged TruePlay software – and of course the Arc Ultra and overall horribly poor and DESTRUCTIVE system updates, because as I mentioned earlier, when I change channels on my Xfinity XG1v4 (4K) DVR cable box made by Arris (which is one of the best cable boxes in the industry and which worked perfectly fine with THE ARC, of course it was before the system hardware update in app 80.14.07 and worked fine with app 80.12.03 and its system update) or start/stop watching a recording on my DVR box, the entire system MAKES A DISTORTION THAT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY LOUD (5x as loud as the volume is set to) TEARING OF PAPER THAT I KNOW WILL DAMAGE THE DRIVERS EVENTUALLY!! 

 

CAN I PLEASE GET A REPRESENTATIVE FROM SONOS TO REPLY TO MY QUESTION (and read this reply as well)?!?!?  I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE I LIKE THE SPEAKER BUT NOT WHAT YOU DID TO THE SYSTEM UPDATES AND THE TRUEPLAY UPDATES!!

•  Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to sadly return the $1000 Arc Ultra for a full refund with you paying for shipping, too, and I’ll also have to start posting about this on my audio forums as well as no longer being able to recommend SONOS speakers – at least until such point as you stop fixing problems and then damaging them again.  You should be testing this on your BEST, MAXED OUT system like I have (but I’m sure you’ll use the Sub 4s, which don’t sound any different, but I’d prefer you try it with two Sub Gen 3s like I have).  I have over $4,400 invested in SONOS and another $950 to a professional home theater installer (and his assistant).  So please fix this very serious problem immediately!

 

Thank you very much.  😃


Hi ​@Bellatone 

Thanks for your post!

Sorry to hear of these issues you are having with your Arc Ultra, and the surround speakers connected to it.

I recommend that you remove the surround speakers from the Arc Ultra in the app, then add them back on again: Settings icon » nRoom with Arc Ultra] » Remove Surrounds. Please also remove the Sub(s) at the same time with the Remove Sub option.

Please then bond the Sub(s) and surrounds back on to the Arc Ultra with the Connect Sub and Set up Surrounds options in the same section of the app.

If this does not clear the issue(s), I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and what it reports.

I hope this helps.


Thank you, Corry.

Which should I remove first (subs or surrounds) and re-add first (subs or surrounds)?

I assume I will need to redo the TruePlay advanced?

Please advise.

Thx.


Hi ​@Bellatone 

It should not make a difference, but there is anecdotal evidence suggesting that things go better if you add the Sub after adding the surrounds. I don't think it'll make any difference which order you remove them in.

If any change is made, TruePlay Tuning will be lost, yes.

I hope this helps.


Thank you.  How about the order of removing them?

 

oh, and an interesting thing happened last night.  I’m using 8K HDMI hologram certified 1/2” diameter cables on all 4 inputs including the eARC for my Arc Ultra (and worked perfectly fine with the Arc) but I woke up last night (half asleep) to about 2 hours of staticky sound in my Arc Ultra until I unplugged the HDMI and plugged it back in to the Ultra end.

 

im beginning to wonder if the Arc Ultra is defective.


Hi ​@Bellatone 

Thank you.  How about the order of removing them?

HI don't think it'll make any difference which order you remove them in.

oh, and an interesting thing happened last night.  I’m using 8K HDMI hologram certified 1/2” diameter cables on all 4 inputs including the eARC for my Arc Ultra (and worked perfectly fine with the Arc) but I woke up last night (half asleep) to about 2 hours of staticky sound in my Arc Ultra until I unplugged the HDMI and plugged it back in to the Ultra end.

 

im beginning to wonder if the Arc Ultra is defective.

This is strange. If this happens again, please submit a support diagnostic while the staticky sound can still be heard, then do what you can to fix it. Then, at your convenience, please get in touch with our technical support team who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and what it reports, and give them the number of the diagnostic you submitted. Hopefully, it was a one-off.

I hope this helps.


It’s not a one off.  When I change TV channels or start/Stop a DVR recording, 1 out of 2-3 times, it makes a very loud, distorted tearing paper-like sound on all speakers that is about 7x louder than the volume I’m listening at, and I know from audio experience that it will eventually destroy the drivers in the speakers.

 

(I also build high-end audio cables and power cords under the name Bellatone, and built my own $80,000 balanced headphone amplifier and linear regulated power supply based on the AMB Labs Beta22 and Sigma22 plus tons of customization like extra PCBs that I designed and a remote control system for a stepped attenuator, only 0.01 ohm output impedance, dual chassis, 105 lb. total, and I graphically designed the front and rear panels as well as the CAD work, and all text/graphics are laser bleached at 600dpi instead of crappy silk screening;  I have a $140K headphone system and nearly $40K in high end headphones.)

 

 


Corry,

You’re a genius!  I don’t know about the tearing sound yet, if it will do it again, but I fixed the surround issue!  However, I made sure to UNPLUG ALL OF THE SPEAKERS FIRST, INCLUDING THE ARC ULTRA (and I unplugged the Arc Ultra before ALL the others), after I first removed the subs and then removed the surrounds.  When I added back the surrounds, I fortunately picked the room it assigned to my right surround (as the previous times when it asked me where the sound was coming from it was always the left one), but this time the tone came out of my right surround.  Then I added the subs and didn’t have to do the NFC thing again since it only flashed white on all speakers and not green/white, so it obviously held them in memory.

Then I did the advanced TruePlay and the SURROUNDS ARE BALANCED!!!!   I’m so happy!!!

Thanks so much, Corry!  (Btw, are you a M or F?, just curious due to the spelling of your name.  And how old are you, if you feel like answering? 😊 I’m 45, but people always think I’m anywhere from 27 to 35.)  You really helped me out a lot, and I’m keeping this thread UNANSWERED for the moment to make sure A) the distortion tearing sound is gone, and B) so you get a chance to view some of my headphone equipment.

Eventually if there is no more distortion (as there was none with my Arc), I will mark your post that gave me the instructions as answered!  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😃


Corry,

Could you reply to the above ⬆️ post, please?

And also: even though the surround issue is fixed and gone, the loud “paper-tearing distortion” isn’t, sadly.

I’ve submitted a diagnostic report before but that was a while ago and with no follow up, as every time I call, and I’ve tried at least 6-7 times and I get hung up on every time after 3 minutes, and get this!!!  I can’t call from my number or it just rings twice and stops, so my number is obviously blocked; the only way I can get through IS IF I ADD A *67 BEFORE THEIR NUMBER TO BLOCK MY CALLER ID!!!

    So maybe you could kindly help to fix this issue and see if anything is under my account, which you might have fixed already by allowing my reply to this thread to go through, or need to fix to remedy this… nonsense.  Thank you so much.

....because over a year ago I was chatting with some guy from another country for support and we were just chatting and both having fun laughing and talking for like 3 hours, but here’s the thing… because I happened to have just been released from the hospital for a serious medical issue, I was given some prescription for sleep that I had never taken before called Ambien, so I had no idea I would have had sleep/awake talkative effects at the time until I later looked up that people even sleep drive on it (and never took the medication after this one time), and so we were joking around and I said the four-letter “S” word 1-2 times, and I only remember that because Sonos customer service e-mailed me the next day; I hadn’t remembered the conversation at all until I was reminded of it.  So in the email or message they sent me, and they didn’t tell me for how long this would last, but that “I was no longer permitted to use customer service chat or phone, and I could not buy any products from Sonos.”  I was extremely shocked and even after I explained the situation thoroughly and that I was given a strong sleep/hypnotic medication, and didn’t even know what I was talking about and didn’t say anything cruel, and completely and thoroughly apologized if the person was offended if anything was said by me or interpreted wrongly, perhaps due to a language barrier, and that we were just talking and joking – after I had gotten back from a week in the hospital for a severe gastrointestinal problem and diagnosis (which I will have all my life), they stood firm and shrug it off with two words to me, rudely:  “Too bad.”

Now, follow me on this, please:

  #1). I find it rather ironic that they are legally allowed to discontinue support to a person who spends $3,400 in product I purchased from them directly that carries a 1 year warranty, without a letter from their lawyer, as nothing was mentioned about “special medical circumstances resulting in the use of prescribed medication with certain side effects” in the T&C, not to mention that I apologized profusely if anything said by me was wrong or taken out of context, as I was discharged from the hospital with a sleeping/hypnotic-class of medication I had never taken before or known about before this happened.

  #2). I find it rather ironic that if they had no further plans on selling me any product, they would send me THREE 15% UPGRADE COUPONS for my Arc and my two Sub (Gen 3)s.

  #3). I find it rather ironic that not only DID THEY ACCEPT THE ARC 15% UPGRADE COUPON but used it in the SALE OF THE ARC ULTRA.

 

So… Corry, can you please help me get this fixed to the point where I can get technical support for a product I just purchased which you’ve seen I’ve had obvious problems with ever since I put it in my system 9 days after I received it, and help me to get them to submit my diagnostic report and set me up with a call to find out if my unit is defective or if it’s just the app software and firmware updates?  I would truly and genuinely appreciate any help you could offer in this area.

Thank you kindly.


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