Contributor I

Answered

Sonos Arc Ultra Sound Issue

35 replies
2524 views

I wanted to gauge from the community as to whether or not people are experiencing bad sound quality through their arc ultra speakers as I have had two units and both have produced a slightly distorted/fuzzy sound specifically from the right side of the speaker. I don’t know if it’s bad luck or not but wanted to check with others to see if they’re also experiencing this and what they did to fix it?

My arc ultra is connected to my Samsung tv through the eARC port with the cable provided and use my Apple TV 4K Gen 1 to watch content. The fuzzy noise is present when watching any kind of media through the Apple TV as well as when I’m streaming music through the Sonos app and even when adding the product to my system through the chime it plays as well as during the trueplay tuning.

I have even changed the settings on the Samsung tv such that sound is output via pass through rather than automatic

Any help would be much appreciated, I will try get the product replaced but wanted to see if this is a common issue.

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User117655Answer

Prodigy II

I had exactly this issue from the right hand channel of an Arc Ultra too. It was specifically noticeable on the male voice and lower frequency sounds, at lower volumes. It was quite subtle but definitely present.

Support suggested it could be the source and asked for a recording. They listened to it and authorised a replacement.

Using sources that had triggered it to check (radio stream/local NAS) it was not present on the replacement so my conclusion is that it was a fault. I have not noticed the issue since.

Out of interest, a specific source was the BBC's Ed Reardon's Week... Ed's voice seemed to consistently hit the issue for me - not limited to but the start of s16, ep1 for example 🤓.

Show previous replies

buzz

Grand Maestro

Many years ago, before SONOS was in the imagination, a certain well respected speaker manufacturer started having trouble with a model. Units would fail within days of purchase and repair parts would fail in shipment. Eventuality the issue was traced to a person on the assembly line who was not following published procedures over a three day period. Speakers repaired or manufactured before and after this period are still in service.

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pjt99

Lyricist II

Support experience has been terrible. They clearly know there is an issue and just want customers to go away. I’d still be waiting for an answer from them — fortunately I just returned to Costco. Started to think I should have just got an LG Soundbar!

br.

Lyricist II

I’ve been using Sonos products for over 15 years, and this is the first real issue I’ve had. Like I said, the store replaced my first two soundbars without any problems after I explained what the exact issue was and how to trigger it. Mine only had distorted sound when using the HDMI input, not when using the app or AirPlay to play music.

The third time, they made sure that the serial number was very different from the first two I received, in the hope that it was from another batch. The fact that my third Arc is functioning fine may indicate that there was indeed an issue with a specific batch.

thomasbricker

Avid Contributor I

Hi guys, I just wanted to weigh in here. I recently bit the bullet and bought the Arc Ultra with the Era 300s and the Sub 4. Immediately upon setting up the Arc, I noticed it sounded fuzzy. Almost like the effect you get with a fuzz box on a guitar. I thought, wow. Not good.

I then went to the trouble of calling Sonos Technical Support and spent a long time troubleshooting the speaker, ending with yet another factory reset. (I had done one myself already.) It made no difference. They then recommended returning it to where I bought it from and getting another one. (This was through Amazon.)

I just set up the new one last night, and it works perfectly. no buzz.

The up shot is, if you have an Arc that sounds fuzzy. Just return it and try a new one. Apparently some of the units make it to the market with a physical malfunction. Hard to believe, but it’s true.

Now that I have one that works correctly, I must say I am delighted with the sound. It is everything the glowing reviews say it is. I had to Samsung Q990 D before this, which sounds very good, but the Arc Ultra system sounds more real. Particularly human voices. They sound life like. The Samsung sounds good with sound effects and musical scores, but people sound sort of plastic. The Sonos system sounds accurate, sophisticated. It’s very pleasing. And for almost twice the price, it ought to be. 😊

Oh, and one more thing: Playing music through Apple Music on this system sounds phenomenal! WOW.

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Keytar

Lyricist III

I hate to say it, but I also have the same issue with my Arc Ultra. I got one 3 weeks ago, and one of the drivers on the right side clearly was distorted. It sounded like something was resonating. It was very clear with low volume low frequency sounds. I had the Arc Ultra replaced, but the new one also has it. It is now much more subtle and it appears in the center. I am about to have it replaced again, but I seriously doubt if the third will be better. I actually expect Sonos to pick this up and see if there is not a bad batch or something… all reported issues appear to be very recent. If the issue remains, I might even consider replacing the ultra with the previous model, but I definitely did not expect this from my past experience with Sonos products.

Update: I checked the serialnumbers of both units and they are very similar, including a “2508”, which could indicate August ‘25. There is also an Mfg code which starts with 082025 so both my units are most likely from the same manufacturing batch.

I'd just like to confirm this. Mine also has the issue and I am trying to get it replaced. Serial number is 2508. Seems like a bad batch.

thomasbricker

Avid Contributor I

Yes, it’s kind of crazy for something this obvious to be an issue with the speakers, considering their price point and reputation.

Now, every time I hear any audio with any amount of texture to it, I get nervous. 😊 I hope the fuzziness does not come back.

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GoGood

Contributor I

Mine has 2505. I replaced it once. The previous one had the same speaker problem you described. It is far too expensive to sound this bad. My Bose home theater sounded ten times better

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Mattelion

Lyricist I

I have a Sonos Arc Ultra and the left side speaker has a buzzy/fuzzy distorted sound in it. I bought it with points from my credit card so I don’t know how to even return or exchange it. I did lots of the diagnostic steps with no resolution. Sounds like another dud. Help!

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

Call Sonos support, they are the only people with full warranty information and that can diagnose your issue.