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Question

Issue with center channel on Arc Ultra - even after replacement

  • May 18, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 21 views
S

Dear Sonos community. 

I am currently in the situation of having issues with the center channel of my home theater setup. The dialogue in different media is sounding very muffled.

Here’s what I have done to troubleshoot

  • Got help from Sonos support. After an hour of troubleshooting with them on the phone, they decided to send me a new Arc Ultra. Issue still remains after the receiving the new speaker unit, so ...
  • I have used a specific youtube video to use as benchmarking the issue
    • I tested the video from my Computer (It’s hooked up to the TV), youtube app from my Nvidia Shield, and also the Youtube app on LG TV. Same issue.
    • However! The issue is not present when running the sound via Airplay.
  • Dolby Atmos content is not affected by this issue.
  • The media that I have without Dolby Atmos has this issue.

 

This issue appeared recently (last two weeks), so can it be that an update for the Arc Ultra is causing this to happen?

 

Thanks for the attention!

2 replies

Stanley_4
  • Stanley_4
  • Grand Maestro
  • May 18, 2026

YouTube has often mislabeled the audio format on their content.

Try a more reliable source and see if the sound is better.

    Airgetlam

    I’d agree. The vast majority of content on YouTube is stereo, even when it is suggested that it is higher. Likely due to bandwidth reasons. Any ‘stereo’ signal is going to be ‘interpreted’, and the center channel will likely sound odd. 

    You may need to adjust the audio settings on your TV, too. It’s rare, but some TVs ‘change’ the format that it receives, and then passes on to Sonos. Since we have no idea what the TV is in your case, we’re not sure. 

    Honestly, a computer test is variable, too. We have no idea what type of audio is being passed to your TV. It certainly could be stereo, or higher. And if the issue is your TV changing what it is passing to Sonos, you’re still stuck. And the fact that Atmos content plays without issue certainly suggests an issue pre-Sonos. 

    Bruce
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