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.