Sonos Arc Ultra center channel too loud

Hi ​@Corry P 

It’s now been a year since this issue was reported to Sonos. Lots of software updates have come and gone and still no resolution. The center channel is still double the volume of the left and right channel of the Ultra. 

Is there really no update or resolution to this bug? 

My two cents. The system has improved tremendously since the 9/2 update IMO. You’re not going to get a 1:1 match of “L-C-R” audio with Dolby test tones because the soundbar isn’t mapped to have specific channel audio play out of a specific “channel” on the bar. I’m unquestionably hearing ambient sounds way better than prior to the 9/2 update. 
 

There are still certain mixes I’m wondering about though they might just be bad mixes. Or some PS5 Dolby atmos issues (my games on the Arc ultra sound better in DTS). I don’t remember this being the case on my prior soundbar system. 
 

But that aside, there’s an improvement and this is not a placebo effect. 
 

I used Peter Pee’s method of Trueplay. It worked for me very well. Watched Penguins-Rangers last night. Sounded unreal with sub 4 and two 300s. All kinds of ambient sound, players, refs, crowd, music. Sounds like a really good mix of audio being output as L-C-R…in my opinion. 

Yeah, I was the guy who met with L3 and uploaded the test tones, trace files way back when. At time I was miffed when I was told “working as designed” then later I got really miffed when I saw SONOS support dismissing problems as “tweakers overly concerned with test files that don’t apply to our unique [muxed] environment”.

To be crystal clear to any passersby and support, our sound was NOT GOOD. We noticed it immediately with:

1. Castle Episodes 5.1
   1. Incorrect volume for End of scene music elements, sound effects and people talking off-screen but in the scene...terrible
2. Captain America: Winter Soldier - 
   1. Main fight scene under overpass where CA is deflecting the gaitling gun bullets. In theater and on other system, there’s a huge left to right pan of bullets ringing off the shield. On the Ultra almost zero.
   2. That whole 10 minute segment sounded like it was happening in a telephone booth directly in front of the screen, very low ambient and left/right. Terrible
3. Black Panther
   1. Scene where one of the ships first shows entering the main mine cavern, then floating through the center to dock at topside: the sound effects sound like your listening inside a helmet, again no ambient/L/R
   2. Once topside, the on screen character’s dialog leaps out like a loud commercial, again, no ambient

I logged all that but then thought I’d do Sonos a favor and provide objective measurements using the test files. Somehow those test files became the topic and were discredited as “not applicable”.

I ended up buying Fives and using SS to add L/R channels and all the ambient/music/conversation was fixed! But then had problems with L/R being too loud (hence all the requests for channel loudness control).

So, Sound B, would you mind checking a few of those scenarios above and comparing to another TV? Especially the Captain America. I’ve got everything boxed up, ready to go on Marketplace. If Sonos finally fixed it, then I’ll probably keep everything, use the Fives in an office.

its been a big hassle and I felt like Sonos was ignoring legitimate concerns with the Ultra, which soured me on the brand. If that’s been addressed, I’ll definitely give another chance.

Thanks

I can do that if you can give me until the weekend? Also can you give me the time frames in the two movies to find those scenes? I’ll do my best to inform you properly. I would hate to tell you it sounds great to me and then you unbox and are disappointed. But I’m willing to help as best as I can. I can measure decibel levels with an app. 

That’s great, thank you. tell you what, just do the Captain America scene, that will come up in the chapter scan, can’t miss it. You should hear the bullets ring off his shield left to right, as he aims/redirects the bullets back at the gunman, it’s very effective sound effect. If that sounds right to you, that enough to unbox and fiddle. It was most egregious example. The pitch should change from low to high as he redirects

Thanks!

So I think I found your scene. I’m at the 1 hour 20 minute mark. The scene has bullets flying through the air. Those are just moderately audible. However, bullets hitting cars are very audible. If we’re talking bullets striking the shield, EXTREMELY audible. There is an increase in pitch toward the end of the scene you specifically mention. I found it to be a very satisfying listen. I’m on Disney plus watching in Dolby Atmos. Hopefully you find the same experience and don’t find unboxing and reconnecting to be a waste of time. 

Do the bullets hitting the shield shift left to right? Or just centered in front of you? Should be expansive movement  

Today i listened scene from the winter soldier. Zero l/r effects. As you say it’s sound like “telephone booth directly in front of the screen”.

true hd atmos

Unfortunately I have not seen this movie in theaters. Nor did I hear it on my other high end soundbar which I’m still waiting to be returned from its repair. So I have no means of comparison. 
 

I have done trueplays after each update because the sound profile was definitely weird each update. Including the recent one. I can definitively say I’ve heard certain improvements in ambient sound. 
 

Now to the movie. The bullets fly off the shield and the sound is enveloping throughout the room. But as one who has not seen this movie before now, the bullets deflecting do not have an ambient sound of deflecting right to left back toward the gunman. That sound is very faint like as in I had to put my ear next to the bar to hear it. I would trust the previous posters judgment regarding the movie. D700, my feeling, again without data to back it up, is that sound intended for the L or R channels is now more increasingly being mixed into the center speaker array than it was previously. Which would account for certain ambient sounds that I know for a fact I’m hearing now that I did not hear before. But to support yours and the previous poster’s point, if there’s definitive L—> R sound that the Arc Ultra is not accurately outputting then more work needs to be done. 

Of note, I have two arc ultras. One in the living room with sub 4 and 300s as surrounds. In the bedroom I have sub mini and 100s. The living room one has experienced changes in sound with each of the last three updates, each of which for me had required trueplay to balance it back. The latest one I went from about volume 15 to volume 25 to get a similar volume level. After trueplay it reverted back to normal. It feels like something is happening. But whether that something accounts for all the issues is another matter. I can say I went from extremely dissatisfied with the arc ultra to at least pretty pleased with how it handles sports, which is what I mostly watch. I just don’t know if that difference accounts for complete mix accuracy, which I feel my other soundbar had. Still waiting for its return via UPS. Not sure if I’ll set it up or not. I hated the bass on it. Loud, boomy. My fav thing about Sonos is the rich levels of bass you get with Trueplay. 
 

Finally, I don’t know if you’d find it worth unboxing and trying again based on my info. I don’t really want to be the reason you unbox and feel like it was a waste of time. But I’m also curious if you’ll detect any change in effect. 

So, hey, Sonos, forget about the Atmos test files. Focus on delivering cinema sound. Here’s a great example for you to work on.