Contributor I

Answered

Sonos Arc Ultra center channel too loud

160 replies
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I like that the dialog is very easy to hear without having to turn on any dialog adjustments. The problem is I barely hear the left and right channel audio. Background music is barely audible. I’ve tried it with both Trueplay turned on and off and there isn’t much improvement. I know the left/right channels are working because I hear music. Anyone else have this problem?

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Corry PAnswer

Sonos Staff

Hi @not_convinced & @mindthings

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

Sorry to hear that you are not both entirely happy with your new purchases. 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 - if there is an issue with the sound mix, it will need to be documented before it can be addressed.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

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GuyinPA75

Enthusiast I

@GuyinPA75, Is your system up-to-date? I think that yesterday’s firmware update addresses the Arc Ultra’s center channel volume in some way.

Update your Sonos speakers | Sonos

Just read yours and other post by member saying not do anything for center speaker. Will try when home and let you both know how it worked out.

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GuyinPA75

Enthusiast I

Yesterdays firmware did not change anything in this regard.

Hi all, just want to share able confirm with Rawjanus that I noticed zero difference in any performance with speakers.

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Ken7

Lyricist III

The system is so good, but it’s really hampered unnecessarily by the overly loud center channel. I really have my fingers crossed that Sonos will do the right thing and give us control of the center channel.

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GuyinPA75

Enthusiast I

The system is so good, but it’s really hampered unnecessarily by the overly loud center channel. I really have my fingers crossed that Sonos will do the right thing and give us control of the center channel.

It would not only be wonderful, but honestly, a necessary update.

Pauper

Contributor I

I came from using traditional L/R stereo speakers ( Revel M16 )

I bought the Arc Ultra because of all the positive reviews and because we wanted less clutter. How wrong I was .

Horizontal stereo spread is non existent - it’s basically mono - like an expensive centre channel. I do have two Era 100’s but I can’t have them in an ideal position. Trueplay does absolutely zilch to help.

ok , I have been spoilt by the Revels but there is a distinct honky resonance in the treble area especially on certain female vocals…oh for a parametric eq!

I doubt that Sonos will do anything about the unbalanced centre channel as they think nothing’s wrong.

it looks like I’ll be moving on in search of the elusive but they really are spoiling what could be a great product.

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Ken7

Lyricist III

You will never get the left-right spread with a soundbar, any single piece soundbar, the way you do with traditional left right separate speakers. It’s a sacrifice you make for the ease of use, setup and lack of clutter.

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

Get a Sonos Amp for the front and go back to your preferred speakers.

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GuyinPA75

Enthusiast I

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.

Just want reconfirm and wish this was actually an option.

Truly a wonderful and much needed idea and option.

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Gavalar

Enthusiast II

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.

Just want reconfirm and wish this was actually an option.

Truly a wonderful and much needed idea and option.

I hope so as well. I know the channels are simulated, but surely a centre channel could be solely centre and therefore easy to implement?

If the rears are simulated, and we have a rear channel volume slider, why can we not have a centre channel volume slider?

It is such a shame the centre is soo loud 8 months after this product came out…

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GuyinPA75

Enthusiast I

If the rears are simulated, and we have a rear channel volume slider, why can we not have a centre channel volume slider?

It is such a shame the centre is soo loud 8 months after this product came out…

Yep. Completely my thoughts as well. Honestly I’m extremely disappointed Sonos have not made more updates and features to Arc Ultra by this time.

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