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Trending Lyricist I
October 4, 2025
Answered

Sonos Arc Ultra era 300s and 2 Subs 4s not loud enough

Hello. A few months ago I bought a Sonos Arc Ultra, 2 Era 300s and two Sub 4s. It's working on an 85" TCL TV connected to an Apple TV 4K. The audio quality is spectacular. However, I'm having two problems:

When I leave the system off for 10 minutes, when I turn it back on, the sound takes about 5 seconds to be heard. It's as if the amplifiers are turned off and only turn on after receiving a signal via HDMI.

The other problem is the lack of volume under certain conditions. I've done extensive research online, and absolutely everything in the TV and Apple TV setup is in line with what's needed to get the best results. I've also tried TruePlay in various ways. Few content can be heard satisfactorily in terms of volume without using at least 70%.
For comparison, I also have a Bose 600 + 5" subwoofer, and the volume of both systems is very similar, perhaps a little louder with the Bose.

I've tried using the Apple TV output only, but the volume results are the same. An excellent example is the video titled "Erick Clapton - Layla | The Lady In The Balcony: Lockdown" on YouTube.
Finally, I live in Brazil and bought this system in the US, which doesn't make it any easier to know if the system is actually like that or if there's a problem with mine.

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Stanley_4
Stanley_4Answer
Grand Maestro
October 5, 2025

Might be time to play from Apple TV for 15 minutes, then submit a diagnostic and call Sonos support,  they can see internal data we users can't see. 

22 replies

Triticale
Prodigy II
October 20, 2025

To have a common level to compare; have you tried to play music directly from the Sonos app? In this case you will have the source directly from internet to the speakers. 

With a lighter set-up (Arc+Sub3+2Era300) I never go over 50% of the volume. I suppose that during a party with the room full of people could reach 100% before the police arrive 😅 but strong enough antway.

I would check deeply the Apple TV or the display settings. Or perhaps you have a living-room like a church, with ceilimgs over 10 m and 200 m2 😉

Trending Lyricist I
October 21, 2025

To have a common level to compare; have you tried to play music directly from the Sonos app? In this case you will have the source directly from internet to the speakers. 

With a lighter set-up (Arc+Sub3+2Era300) I never go over 50% of the volume. I suppose that during a party with the room full of people could reach 100% before the police arrive 😅 but strong enough antway.

I would check deeply the Apple TV or the display settings. Or perhaps you have a living-room like a church, with ceilimgs over 10 m and 200 m2 😉

Yes, I've used the Sounds app's streaming service, and the volume results are the same.
I want to clarify that for some videos, the sound is acceptably loud. When used with some videos or music at volume 70, I already get good results (which, in my opinion, should have the same result at 50%).
The problem is that with certain sources, as I mentioned earlier (Superman 2025), I have to raise the volume to 90% to get results that are far from what I expected for that volume level.
My living room is approximately 40m2.
Having used a BOSE 600 with a 5" BOSE subwoofer in the same room and getting practically the same volume results, I'm actually considering replacing the entire system. It's a real shame because the sound quality, especially Atmos, is sensational. Sonos did an excellent job delivering sound quality.
I might try the Sony Bravia Quad Theater. I'll test it before I buy.

Stanley_4
Grand Maestro
October 21, 2025

You might want to consider a component setup with a high-power multi-channel AVR powering individual speakers. Not as convenient as an integrated system but far more volume potential.

Trending Lyricist I
October 22, 2025

You might want to consider a component setup with a high-power multi-channel AVR powering individual speakers. Not as convenient as an integrated system but far more volume potential.

You`re right. Since I love convenience, I'm going to try to “test drive” some soundbar systems.
It would be amazing if Sonos released more power for this system in an update. I don't know if that would be possible. If amps are already almost at the limit.

Stanley_4
Grand Maestro
October 22, 2025

Since my Arc Ultra, Sub 4 and Era-100 surrounds will play far to loud for comfort in my very large room I don't think it is a Sonos amplifier issue, unless yours is broken.

Trending Lyricist I
October 27, 2025

Since my Arc Ultra, Sub 4 and Era-100 surrounds will play far to loud for comfort in my very large room I don't think it is a Sonos amplifier issue, unless yours is broken.

Stanley, you make me jealous LOL.
Now my system is drastically lowering the sound alone at times. I really must have a problem with the system.

Trending Lyricist I
January 12, 2026

I was having problems with momentary sound cutouts at certain times. I discovered that with the microphone switch on, Arc Ultra understood that I wanted to "say something to it" and lowered the volume momentarily. After turning the microphone off, it never happened again. This might help someone with the same problem.

Trending Lyricist I
February 26, 2026

Apparently, with the latest update, my system no longer has any delay in releasing sound when it's turned on. What used to take 3 to 5 seconds to hear any sound is now instantaneous. I don't know if this happened due to the Sonos update or if my TCL had some kind of update that caused this.

Trending Lyricist I
February 27, 2026

I discovered what fixed the delay. The latest Apple TV update brought a feature called Continuous Audio Connection. That's what solves the problem; however, the Sonos app will display any content as Dolby Atmos, even if it isn't (YouTube, for example).

Airgetlam
February 27, 2026

That’s unfortunately a reporting issue by Apple. Sonos displays what it is handed. 

Bruce