Do your older Play:1 speakers (stereo paired) not have this audio drifting issue, if they are put in the same spot as the One SL’s, as that too would help to perhaps eliminate the matter being the local router/WiFi/Network environment?

Hi Ken,

The older Play:1’s were in this exact location for a couple of years with no issues. They now serve as rears to my Beam.

I am out of ideas, I’m afraid.  I have not previously heard of such a problem, and really cannot think what might be causing it.  There is still a diagnostic to be examined.  That apart, the only other line of enquiry that I can think of would be if someone had very detailed knowledge of how a stereo stream from Airplay is handled differently from stereo streams from other sources (if indeed this differs at all).

Sorry I could not be of more help. 

Hi @acbarn,

Thanks for your patience.

I’ve taken a look at your diagnostic and quite honestly, I see no reason at all why the issues you’ve described would be happening. When analysing the diagnostic I was checking a number of areas:

1. Connection between the stereo paired speakers - the connection between your One SLs is excellent, and I don’t see as much as a single dropped packet in the last 20 minutes before diagnostic submission.
2. General connection to the network - both speakers have good connections to the Boost, though the left one is slightly weaker than the right.
3. Background interference levels - both speakers have low interference levels across all measurable areas.
4. Errant volume commands - nothing to be found.
5. Audio interruptions from the services - I found 1 dropout, though this affected both speakers and appears to have recovered quickly.
6. Audio LR balance settings - dead centre and never changed.
7. Hardware error logging - nothing in the last 17 hours before submission, and nothing concerning logged at all.

In short, I have no idea from the information provided in this thread or in the diagnostic why the stereo image is shifting like this.

I’ve found your open case with our customer care team and have left a note on there detailing what I’ve found.

Someone should get back in contact with you shortly via email.

Thanks, John. I really appreciate it. 

Hi James,

Thanks very much for taking a look. It’s perplexing. I reached a point where I brought in a couple of other people to confirm what I’m hearing, just to rule out some sort of expectation bias. Both people clearly heard it, so at least we’ve established that I’m not losing my mind… lol.

Thanks again, I’m looking forward to hearing from the customer care team. 

Alan

Hello,

I’m having the EXACT same issue here : bought a pair of Sonos One SL 1 week ago, paired them in stereo : the imagining was fine at the beginning of a song, then slowly moved to a side (usually the left side).

I tried to delete the pair, and group them as two separate speakers (both playing in mono in this case): same issue.

Tried to reset both of the speakers: same issue.

Received a third Sonos One SL today to replace the on who was lower than the other: same issue.

Could there be a bug in the latest One SL firmware?

There’s always a possibility of a bug, but with only two (now) people reporting it, the chances seem remote to me. I’m certainly not experiencing this on my stereo pair of Sonos Ones, but they’re not SLs, and I’m also not experiencing on my PLAY:1s, which run the same software.

I would, however, recommend contacting Sonos directly as the OP did, and provide them with a diagnostic to look at so that they can confirm if there’s something odd going on, and help you resolve the issue. 

I’m sorry you’re having the same issue, but glad to know I’m not losing my mind. I went through all the usual steps and more with support but unfortunately never figured out what is happening. The next step would most likely involve replacing my router, which I’m not interested in doing due to other issues that would most likely trigger in my whole home system  

Do you happen to have a device on which you can stream to your speakers using Airplay? I’d be very curious to know how that would go. As I mentioned above, when streaming using Airplay the issue goes away for me.

Do you mind if I ask which ISP and modem/router you’re using? Just wondering if there’s some combination of these various pieces of the puzzle that may be at the root of the problem. 

My Play:1s don't exhibit this behavior, even when placed in exactly the same position as the SL’s, in the same system, with identical settings. 

Support never found anything in the multiple diagnostics I sent. 

I don’t see how a router could affect the volume, or more the “fullness” of the sound of one speaker.

I tried briefly yesterday with a YouTube video in airplay, and you’re right, there didn’t seem to be any balance issue.

I don’t have any issue neither with my pair of Play 1.

I already had the Sonos support on the phone, and sent them multiple diagnosis, but there wasn’t anything wrong. That’s why they sent me a new speaker, which exhibits the same issue.

There should definitely be something wrong with the internal firmware of the speaker, I can’t see any other way.

FYI, I’m using the box from my ISP (Livebox 4 from Orange, in France).

This seems to me the most extraordinary observation so far, and suggests it isn’t really stereo balance at all (but sounds like it).  I suppose it is consistent with the earlier observation that the balance slider doesn’t move at all when the speakers are stereo paired.

The common feature between the grouped and paired set up is that one speaker (the left in the stereo pair, the one from which you group when grouped) will act as the group coordinator, feeding the other speaker its music data.  Perhaps there is something in the way that process is operating that is causing this effect??  (Very speculative)

I have to agree with Bruce that there must be enough One SL pairs out there for there to have been many more posts if there were a generic bug, but maybe something is interacting with other local features. (Also very speculative.)

Have either @Grator or @acbarn got a One they could pair with a One SL, alternatively with the One or One SL as the left speaker?

Like @acbarn , I would be interested in whether Airplay exhibits the same behaviour for @Grator , if he has an iOS device.

Edit: @Grator replied while I was typing my post.

Hi @John B 

I have a Sonos One 1st gen at home. I’ll try to pair it with each of my One SL to see if I have the same issue.

And yes, I tried using Airplay from my MacBook yesterday, and there doesn’t seem to be any balance issue.

I’ll try with my iPhone too, and let you know.

But thanks to @acbarn , we may have the use case here: the sound is balanced at first, then moves always to the same side after some seconds. A pause/play resets the sound dead center, then again, it moves to the side after some seconds.

I don’t have a One. I do have a 3rd One SL that I swapped into the pair in every combination resulting in exactly the same issue. 

Hello,

I’m currently testing with Spotify connect, and I don’t have any issue.

So, it looks like the problem is present when the Sonos app is used to stream.

More useful info - thanks.  

Have you had a chance to try a paired One and One SL yet, using the Sonos app to initiate play?

I need to test this again because I recall the issue being present with Spotify connect. I also tested with the Qobuz and Tidal apps, and both services streaming through Roon, with all having the same issue. I’ll report back on Spotify connect. 

Hi,

I tested Spotify connect and for me it’s drifting to the side just like the others. I also went back and double checked Tidal, Qobuz, and Roon, same problem with those. Still, for me, Airplay is the only method working properly without the drift. 

OK, so I spoke with Sonos support again today. It sounds like my case is going to be referred to engineering/IT. The tech said it sounds like firmware, but only guessing. They’ll let me know, but I may end up sending my speakers in if they can’t recreate the issue on their end.

In the meantime, my Play:1s are back on my desk and the faulty One SLs will take up temporary residence as rears to a Beam in my little bedroom TV system.