Sonos Arc Ultra center channel too loud

As I asked the previous poster… Have you tried the various levels for the center?

I did. I truly can’t tell the difference. And even question if it’s on. Is there a movie or show where it really shines? 

Odd, I notice a big improvement over my Arc using the medium setting, the low is better than the Arc but not much. Only used high on a couple movies where the dialog was pathetic and needed a lot of help.

Aren't you noticing a big difference in the settings?

I noticed the same with my new Arc Ultra. At first, I was very pleased with the clarity during dialogues, but now I have noticed with many films (Atmos or D5.1) that in scenes where the music or effects should be in the foreground, they come across very quietly. I used a Dolby test video to listen to the individual speakers, and yes, the left and right front channels are much quieter than the center or even rear speakers (tested with and without speech enhancement). Is this intentional on Sonos' part? I wonder why I bought a $999 soundbar when my built-in TV speakers convey more “action”. It would really help if you could adjust the volume of the center and front speakers in the app.

I watched Ready Player One on 4K UHD last night. At lower volumes the center channel dialog is quite a bit louder than the rest of the audio. For more balanced audio from the front soundstage, the volume needs to be increased but not too much as the dialog will begin to be uncomfortably loud. So there is a very small volume range where the audio sounds balanced in my room.

The center channel being 4-5 dB louder than the front left and front right channels is a problem. The ability to lower it 1-2 dB would be just about perfect in my setup. This is why a separate Center Channel Audio level setting would be incredibly helpful. If this setting was added, it would be extremely popular and a big win for Sonos and their users. 

I was going to buy an arc ultra but now I think I'll put that idea on hold until Sonos fixes it. We need to get this information out to the media etc.

Sonos - What's the point giving us 3 levels of dialogue volume increase and at the same time monstrously overboosting the central channel??

I also have noticed this with my Arc Ultra, and its louder by a significant amount without using dialogue enhancement and sounds like the left and right channel are very weak. They do sound fine when playing a stereo source, so I hope this is just a software issue and can be fixed and not a hardware issue some of us have.

Quick update:  I have talked with Sonos support and they are aware of the issue.  No ETA on fix though.

Add me to the list, I’m experience same problem

Example: Captain America: Winter Soldier, downtown fight scene

All of the sounds are coming from the front. There’s little left/to right or surround ambiance from the Arc Ultra. I was expecting sense of movement but it's all just coming straight at me, sounds like the fight’s happening in a closet. Other scenes in this movie we can hear the surrounds kick in and get plenty of separation, really wide soundstage.

100” screen on a 25’ wall

Apple Stream 4K/ATMOS on Formovie Premium Projecter out via HDMI to:

Arc Ultra

Sub 4

2x ERA 300s

Some content sounds fantastic with great separation but I suspect its when the ERA300s get blended in to support the stereo mix...when its just the Arc Ultra, not getting much L/R separation.

Yeah. I feel if I put the volume at 35-40, it gets better, but it’s pretty loud just to watch something casually so I can hear a left and right. 
I’m sad that I enjoy my beam + play 1s better in another room.