14.12 Update

I think, unfortunately, all of that is here to stay. That's my biggest concern too, the sheer fact they're only acknowledging the issue between Arc and Sub in terms of TruePlay. Everything else including new volume curve is intentional and will not be reverted back.

Essentially they have singled out the Arc, made it sound different to the rest of the product line up and made it quieter. There's no harmony any more between them all; in my opinion it was the wrong decision, serves no benefit to anyone and I will be looking to sell at the earliest opportunity, together with recommending against purchasing from this brand in the future.

This is not how you do business, people are now trapped with having something that underperforms and sounds completely different to what they invested a significant amount of money into. My only wish is they continue with this backward progress with a roll back to 14.10.

Based on what has been done, combined with Sonos staff statements made to this community on how it has been done in terms of a Sonos admitted not clear enough upgrade communication, and open ended talk about when it will be fixed, I know I could get a full refund ordered on the official Indian distributor of Sonos in India, from the Consumer Protection court in my city. There would be no legal costs, because I can go direct to this small causes tribunal.

If I had the Arc.

Even if it was past the warranty period because that has nothing to do with this. And obviously, I would have to return the product.

PS: there would be no other damages order passed, because there would have been none such suffered.

Sub problems aside, the sound signature of the Arc is incredibly tinny now. I know music/sound is subjective but I can’t possibly understand how this was perceived as better. I’ve stopped listening to music on my arc/gen 3 sub and I just use my decades old Dell computer speakers/sub now as it sounds more balanced than the thousands I spent on the Sonos setup. 

I’ve become so completely disillusioned with this disaster of an update/poor response that I have decided to sell my system and look elsewhere.

RIP Sonos. We had a good run. ✌️ 

Agree, not enjoying the new Arc sound profile. It sounds sort of hollow to me now whereas before it was nice and rich with all sources. With Trueplay enabled, the rear One's I use as surrounds seem too quiet, and the setup in general seems to have a narrower soundstage. 14.10 was really good, and in line with previous sound profiles of the Arc. 14.12 is like another system altogether, I'm not sure if I'd have bought it had I demoed it with 14.12.

Have you messed with the eq at all? 

You’re right, 14.10 and 14.12/14.14 sound like 2 different systems. 

14.10 sounded like god.

What worries me is that if the software engineers were gormless enough to create and then test/publish this mess, are they good enough to fix it? Or worse, do they believe that it's actually better, as they have published? If that's the case, then we will never get the speaker systems back we bought and used up until a month ago.

If I were Sonos I'd re-publish 14.10 as 14.15, but tell us they have improved it "yet further as per customer feedback". As I said before, "New Coke".

Really not enjoying the new signature, they say speech is clearer, I think it’s harsh sounding, particularly women’s voices, it sounds like a badly mastered song

UPDATE:  Two weeks ago I sent a letter tp Patrick Spence, President and CEO of SONOS, which told him that my ARC + Generation 3 Sub = two SL Ones were unlistenable due to the 14.12 upgrade.  I have not received a reply from him, or from anyone else.  Even with the treble set at -8, the sound from the ARC sounds very tinny.  Because I am months out of the  return period, I am unable to return the equipment to SONOS.  I am an honest person. There is no way that I would sell the system to an uneducated buyer.  I am ready and able to create a You Tube video that shows me setting fire to the equipment.  The stock has gone down over 60 percent in about a year.  Perhaps they are intentionally destroying their products to help someone who has shorted the stock.  Maybe I should file a complaint with the SEC.  Ditto, a complaint with the Consumers Protectin Bureau might be a good idea.   I, like so many others, have waisted over $2,000 on the Yugo of the audio equipment world.   I hereby request from you any suggestions on what I need to do now.

Wait until Sonos releases the fix. If you still don’t like the way it sounds after the fix, sell the speakers. You won’t have any problems selling them and getting most of your money back since the Arc is in high demand. And just because you don’t personally like the new sound profile doesn’t mean it is the same for everyone. My Arc setup still sounds great after the update. Odds are the person you sell your speakers to will feel the same.

You won’t get a reply from him…if any reply is given, it will be from just a customer rep. Your email is handed to someone else. 

How hard could it be if ANYONE from Sonos just can write a reply and give us som godamn info?

like ”We are working on it” or ”we wont do anything about ut” just so we know!?

And IF, I say IF They actually are working on a fix. Will it be ready for Top Gun 3 in another 40 years or in like a Month? Pls just give us some info!!!

They’ve stated several times that they are working on it.  Until such a time as they rescind that statement, or release the fix, you can assume that statement is true.  Because after the Audible and Google Assistant fiascos, they will never give a schedule again.

The more i read and wait for a fix, the more i cannot understand how can you release such a firmware and state that "now it even sounds better"?!?!!? Sound engineers tested it, beta testers listened to it.... and they approved it. This is unbelievable! Trueplay is fundamental feature and one of the main reasons for me to buy sonos. It's obvious that the sound lacks of low base and the system sounds terrible. Now you have to either choose for good clarity with trueplay on (woody bass), or muffeled sound - without trueplay. For me the package box of my sonos system now adds more value than the product itself. Maybe they need to rethink the nature of their business. Sorry to express it this way, but thats how i feel.

Unfortunately I don't know you and we are miles away... otherwise I really want to hear how great your system sounds 😅😅

Hey Sonos, just in case you aren't getting the message and think that it's only a minority of users unhappy with the 14.12 update. Here is a real live survey from a Sonos Users Social Media group. To date (out of 229 votes) 77 (33%) people say 14.12 made the sound worst, 79 (34%) people say it made no difference, and 45 (19%, THE MINORITY) people say it sounds better. 

 

Almost the majority of people in this data set think 14.12 made it sound worst. If you combine those unaffected with the disgruntled, that's 67% of this data set either see no difference or are unhappy with inferior sound. This data set suggests a truly unsuccessful update. The numbers don't lie!

The. People. Have. Spoken.

 

Also, I'll add for context: Thinking the 14.12 update made the sound worst "is not" the popular opinion to have in this referenced social media group where this poll was taken.

 

 

You know you need to add “no difference” and “made the sound better” and then compare it against “made it worse” right? 

"You know you need to add..." is an incorrect statement. There are many different ways to present the data. What you are suggesting is simply "one of those ways", but not a "necessity" lol. I presented the data in the format I chose most appropriate for the point I was making. Feel free to do the same, but at the end of the day neither is a "necessity."

Updated results of the Poll taken in a Social Media Sonos Users Group about the 14.12 update and how users thought it impacted their system's sound.

Note: 34% (97 votes) say this update made the sound profile worse, 34% (97 votes) say it made no difference, and 18% (53 votes. Least of these 3 options) say this update made the sound profile better.

DEAR SONOS, PLEASE PRESENT SOME TYPE OF ROUTE FOR USERS TO REVERT BACK TO THE 14.10 FIRMWARE SOUND PROFILE.

SINCERELY,

A VERY LARGE PORTION OF YOUR CUSTOMER BASE

Disclaimers:

-I did not conduct this survey, - this survey is somewhat general in nature, -there are 284 total votes in this survey.

*If you desire a more targeted poll (ie broken out by different groupings of equipment/etc) or find this data set size to be insufficient, please feel free to perform your own survey(s). 

I just got my Sonos Arc (no sub at the moment) and got the update as soon as I connected to wifi. Based on my experience so far, the sound depends on the content. There are content which has good mix and I get good dialogue and sound stage and there are some which are just worst and I can’t even here people talking properly even when the speech enhancemet is turned on. So now I’m thinking if I made the wrong investement. The whole reason for buying this soundbar is because of the clarity when it comes to dialogue (as advertised and posted by netizens) so I don’t have to turn the subtitles on.

I hope Sonos can come up with fix on this issue or set different profiles when listening so users have the option to choose rather than forcing them to use certain profile. This is bad user experience considering it is one of the “premium brands” out there.

For those who are in India, can I still return this and get a refund? Is there such policy here? I have the receipt and the box. 

Take it back..no one knows if Sonos will correct this issue. You can always buy it later if they get it resolved. This volume issue sucks! 

I was kind of thinking the same, but not sure if such return policy exist here in India. Customer service is so bad here. They won’t take it back unless it is “defective”. This will be challenging. 

Not quite. Write a letter to the seller, quoting Sonos statements in this thread that:

1. The sound sold to you has been changed
2. The communication of the change was not as good as it should have been
3. There is no Sonos declared time when you will get your preferred sound back.

Ask for a full refund based on this. Any refusal, get it in writing.

Armed with all the above, approach the consumer protection court/tribunal in your area asking that the seller be directed to take back the product after giving you a full refund.

@coinhunter 

I am afraid you may have a problem; you bought the unit a few days ago, after the new update has been released. So you cannot claim that the sound you preferred from before this update has been taken away.

Your only chance is if the retailer has a no questions asked return policy of the kind Sonos offers for all new products they sell.

You are right. I hope Croma will be kind enough to get this back or maybe a replacement of Sony sound system equivalent to the amount so they don’t have to refund. 

Thanks anyway. Appreciate it.

I had confidence you would get this serious issue (more for some than others) fixed in an appropriate amount of time.

The key here is the past tense usage in the second word.

Ok, I just bought sonos arc and sub gen3. I paid a lot of money thinking I read only great things about sonos. After the agony of installing sonos arc, which took me 2 hours of pain to connect a wi-fi connection, I listened to sonos system for the first time and I had the impression that I was deaf, it was very weak and the bass was non-existent. I hope that sonos will fix what they have ruined and return to the established and praised sound that made me buy the system.