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Changes to volume mapping and impact on Sub output

 

Thank you for your feedback regarding the recent 14.12 software update with Enhanced Clarity for Arc. 

 

In this update, we made a change to Arc’s audio profile to improve dialogue clarity and the overall sound experience. This change is based on feedback from our listeners in the field and brings Arc in line with our other Home Theater products, resulting in a more accurate representation of the sound as intended by the content creator. 

 

The updated tuning adjusts the spectral balance of Arc+Sub to achieve a more accurate representation of the sound and an improved sound experience. While the Arc+Sub output capability remains the same,  the mapping of volume across the 0-100% range has been adjusted with this release which means low and mid volume levels are relatively lower compared to the previous tuning so you may need to adjust the volume slider to achieve your pre-update volume level. The maximum volume and bass output are unchanged. We acknowledge that this change was not made more clear in the release notes and in the future we’ll be sure to make sure we communicate these rare changes more effectively. 

 

Please note, we have identified an issue for some users of Arc, Beam and Ray whose configuration includes a Sub (with or without surrounds), who may find their Sub output is lower than desired after performing a new Trueplay tuning. 

 

Users with Beam or Ray bonded with Sub can increase the Sub level for a more powerful low-end response, however this won’t have the same impact for Arc users. Customers using Arc bonded with a Sub (and/or surrounds) who find their Sub output is lower than desired following performing a new Trueplay tuning, should temporarily disable Trueplay on Arc until this is addressed by an upcoming software update. 

 

Trueplay tunings for Home Theater configurations without a bonded Sub are unaffected, including standalone soundbars and those bonded with surrounds only.   

 

 

If you would like any assistance adjusting the sound of your Home Theater setup, the community is here to help. You can also contact Sonos support.

 

Moderation edit:

With the 14.18 software update, the above mentioned issues have been addressed, and the Enhanced Clarity for Arc adjustments are retained. There was a clear preference within our community for the previous volume settings, and these have been restored. This will be apparent immediately after updating to 14.18. The Trueplay issue has been fixed. Customers who experienced a lower Sub level after performing Trueplay after updating to 14.12 will need to update their systems and then perform a new Trueplay tuning in order to address these improvements in their system. Customers will hear a more powerful low end response, meaning any Sub level adjustments made after 14.12 should no longer be required.

It seems to be fixed 

The lack of TruePlay reset is almost certainly the nail in the coffin for this update being the fix.

 

Sonos, you clowns.

 

Grow up.

@Aidyb

I have treble at -6 which seems to work also turned rears to -4 seems a lot better but it's not 14.10 😊

I tried your suggestion, probably the room difference but not helping me, it's the centre channel, it has a really jarring tone to it, voices are shrill but all sound coming from the centre channels are overbearing with very cheap sound to it, booming but also shrill if that makes sense… It's a real shame because it sounded really good before, my brother has a playbar and his first response was  my Arc has become tinny, I don't think he'll upgrade now and I don't think I'll be going ahead with planned future purchases, lost a lot of faith, if I'd known I was buying into a tech/software company I would of steered clear, Sonos had a good name in the audio world but I'm not sure it would hold up anymore, I still can't see how the feel they have the right to change the sound signature of a product after sale, it's like they're not an audio equipment company any longer..

The lack of TruePlay reset is almost certainly the nail in the coffin for this update being the fix.

 

Sonos, you clowns.

 

Grow up.

Uh, excuse you?

Uncalled for, my guy.

Turning on/off loudness at ARC makes completely no difference for me. How is with yours?

Turning on/off loudness at ARC makes completely no difference for me. How is with yours?

Same here

 

Turning on/off loudness at ARC makes completely no difference for me. How is with yours?

Is that new behavior in 14.18?

Turning on/off loudness at ARC makes completely no difference for me. How is with yours?

Is that new behavior in 14.18?

Sonos policy appears to be to let the community try and figure out what has changed rather than just communicate with us..

No, for me was the same with the previous firmware also.

Screw 14.10 take me back to 12.10

Screw 14.10 take me back to 12.10

Yeah I’d definitely go back there!

@Aidyb

I have treble at -6 which seems to work also turned rears to -4 seems a lot better but it's not 14.10 😊

I tried your suggestion, probably the room difference but not helping me, it's the centre channel, it has a really jarring tone to it, voices are shrill but all sound coming from the centre channels are overbearing with very cheap sound to it, booming but also shrill if that makes sense… It's a real shame because it sounded really good before, my brother has a playbar and his first response was  my Arc has become tinny, I don't think he'll upgrade now and I don't think I'll be going ahead with planned future purchases, lost a lot of faith, if I'd known I was buying into a tech/software company I would of steered clear, Sonos had a good name in the audio world but I'm not sure it would hold up anymore, I still can't see how the feel they have the right to change the sound signature of a product after sale, it's like they're not an audio equipment company any longer..

Agreed it's still a lot worse than the system I bought 

Guess I am still buying a replacement as a retirement present next year sigh

I tried too with a Dolby Atmos testvideo. I can feel the bass again with sub-level @ +2. Same setting as I had with 14.10. Also, it seems I don't have to crank up the volume to 55 anymore, for me it’s sufficient to stick to around 32 now to hear the dialog clear in Atmos content.

Of course after retune Trueplay.

I also tested a couple of songs. For example “Firedancer” by Poets of the Fall or “Way down we go” by Kaleo. I can feel the beat again in my bones, when I crank up the volume. My first impressions are very good, to my ears it seems to have a good balance in the frequency-range. Although the subs still seems a tiny bit off. It’s hard to tell, but for me this is the best update so far since 14.12.

Can’t wait for Peter Pee’s measurement video to get things visualised. That will clear things up for the most of us here. I predict, the curve from the sub is more flat, than in 14.10 and it loses a bit between 35 and 25Hz. But it's not dropping like a brick, like in Peter’s other video’s. Fingers crossed 🤞

I tried too with a Dolby Atmos testvideo. I can feel the bass again with sub-level @ +2. Same setting as I had with 14.10. Also, it seems I don't have to crank up the volume to 55 anymore, for me it’s sufficient to stick to around 32 now to hear the dialog clear in Atmos content.

Of course after retune Trueplay.

I also tested a couple of songs. For example “Firedancer” by Poets of the Fall or “Way down we go” by Kaleo. I can feel the beat again in my bones, when I crank up the volume. My first impressions are very good, to my ears it seems to have a good balance in the frequency-range. Although the subs still seems a tiny bit off. It’s hard to tell, but for me this is the best update so far since 14.12.

Can’t wait for Peter Pee’s measurement video to get things visualised. That will clear things up for the most of us here. I predict, the curve from the sub is more flat, than in 14.10 and it loses a bit between 35 and 25Hz. But it's not dropping like a brick, like in Peter’s other video’s. Fingers crossed 🤞

Super encouraging to hear!

Another test from me:

the Arc with trueplay redone sounds much deeper than before… more like beam sound profile. Now the bass is more deeper and doesn’t sound like plastic box. If you have sub turn it off and toggle trueplay on/off and you’ll hear the difference. 

Another test from me:

the Arc with trueplay redone sounds much deeper than before… more like beam sound profile. Now the bass is more deeper and doesn’t sound like plastic box. If you have sub turn it off and toggle trueplay on/off and you’ll hear the difference. 

I always redo truplay after every update all my previous comments apply

I find it odd that I have to tweak the settings with truplay on but when I had 14.10 and earlier I didn't all was fine at default settings 

Another test from me:

the Arc with trueplay redone sounds much deeper than before… more like beam sound profile. Now the bass is more deeper and doesn’t sound like plastic box. If you have sub turn it off and toggle trueplay on/off and you’ll hear the difference. 

I always redo truplay after every update all my previous comments apply

I find it odd that I have to tweak the settings with truplay on but when I had 14.10 and earlier I didn't all was fine at default settings 

Completely agree, the positive thing for me is there is almost no “boxy” sound. I never thought the arc can produce decent lower frequencies at normal listening volumes. The mids i feel now narrowed a little bit, but i prefer the softest sound.  Even without trueplay the sound of the arc by itself is more deeper and softer.

Another test from me:

the Arc with trueplay redone sounds much deeper than before… more like beam sound profile. Now the bass is more deeper and doesn’t sound like plastic box. If you have sub turn it off and toggle trueplay on/off and you’ll hear the difference. 

I always redo truplay after every update all my previous comments apply

I find it odd that I have to tweak the settings with truplay on but when I had 14.10 and earlier I didn't all was fine at default settings 

That is interesting.

Because on 14.12 I felt like I didn’t need to tweak anything (except the Sub bug) because every channel was absolutely perfect - but before that it was tinker tinker

I hadn’t posted on this thread before, nor seen any comments on how  a Playbase/Sub/surrounds had also been affected by recent updates. However, I’m pleased to say the 14.18 release and a fresh Trueplay session does result in a much improved experience. The surrounds L/R balance is better, and the sound for music is much improved too. Thank you, Sonos. 

Just FYI. 14.18 now allows trueplay to be performed on an iPhone SE 2022 model.

Ross.

Retuned with trueplay, definitely a lot better in my experience.. await Peter Pees findings to visualise what has changed.

Wider, more punchier and Sub bass has returned 

Agree with the last couple of comments, volume curve is back to how it used to be for me and also the sub is more prominent (IMHO)

Ran a bass sweep pre update, post update, and post update with a retune of TruePlay.

Both post update sweeps showed up way more at 40, 35 and 30Hz than pre-update.

 

Might be a placebo, but it certainly seems better for me. Awaiting actual data though to see for sure

I hadn’t posted on this thread before, nor seen any comments on how  a Playbase/Sub/surrounds had also been affected by recent updates. However, I’m pleased to say the 14.18 release and a fresh Trueplay session does result in a much improved experience. The surrounds L/R balance is better, and the sound for music is much improved too. Thank you, Sonos. 

I'm not sure I have anything to be thankful for. They've mostly fixed an expensive system that they broke in the first place? 

As far as I'm concerned I will never reccommend Sonos to anyone. In fact, I actively tell anyone who has an interest in audio to avoid them like the plague. This whole debacle has completely trashed their reputation. If I could have a zero-loss solution to offload this crap I'd take it in a heartbeat. My biggest regret this year has been that I didn't return it inside the 100 days when I had an issue with outputs. 

The moment there's something better that will justify an upgrade cost I am out of here and never looking back. A completely amateur company masquerading as a serious audio supplier. 

So both James L and Coroline V have retired?

 

Coincidence????

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