Retired Community Manager

14.12 Update

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.

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Show previous replies

Airgetlam

I think I would lose my current employment, if I was also working for Sonos. That would be bad.

Not to mention that Sonos employees are required to have a Sonos descriptor on their accounts…

Bruce

melvimbe

Sorry, that is not the truth, ugly or otherwise.

That’s a statement as a forum user, or as camouflaged sonos employee?

Sonos employees are clearly marked.

Are you an actual customer, or are you really a Bose spy attempting to sabotage a competitor? 🙄

Danny

M

msf

Lyricist III

Folks i told you, it’s clear now. They did it on purpose because of their new product and they ain't gonna to fix it by rolling back or updating soon. It’s cheaper for them to produce this mini sh.. and probably the profit will be better. If they sound almost identical with this firmware and the mini is cheaper, which one are the regular customers going to buy?

You believe that despite the significantly lower sales price and the need to recoup development costs for the Sonos mini, the profit margin is higher for the mini than it is for the full size sub? They intentionally sabotaged the sound quality of the full sub to push people into buying the mini instead?

If this were true, then why would Sonos allow only one mini per HT room, while they allow 2 full subs? And why wouldn’t they just stop selling the full sub, or raise the price, if profit margin was an issue with the full sub?

2 subs option was not available either in the past for the regular ones. Can’t see the future to answer you regarding the mini, but thats not the point of this treat.

O

Oswald

Contributor I

Hi all,

Later today there will be a software release and whilst we have been working to deliver the fix you have been waiting for, it’s not ready yet.

We understand that it’s disappointing that this has not yet been resolved.

We can assure you that we’re working on making sure the Sub performs as it’s expected, and we’ll let you know as soon as there is any news.

This is extremely disappointing. I bought the Arc+Sub Gen3+2 One SL for the first time from Sonos for a premium without knowing the implications of the new firmware that had just been released, I ended up updating it to the 14.12 as soon as it was unboxed and setup for the first time. I was so ignorant to the extent I was proudly telling my family that Sonos is taking care of the updates automatically unlike other systems in the market. If only I had known, i could have stayed with the 14.10 update that all of you are referring to. I didn’t even get an opportunity to see a demo in the place where i live. I had to do so much selling to my family only with the reviews I had gone through to decide on this huge investment. But to my utter dissatisfaction and to my family’s great disappointment, the system is sounding like a third rated sound system. I was still convincing my people that Sonos would be releasing a patch soon and this problem would get sorted out. But to my disappointment, this issue is not fixed even by today’s release and the worst part is is none of you from Sonos are not really bothered or cared to even issue an official communication with a clear timeline on when this issue would get fixed. This lethargic attitude can only happen if the company does not care about their customers or they have decided to shut down the business shortly. I regret my choice to invest on the Sonos product.

melvimbe

Furious I ever spent a dime on this company with the way they’ve completely run us all over. It’s clear the issue arose because of their new sub mini, and because they care more about selling those to new customers than taking care of their existing customers, they won’t change.

Sell what you have and get far, far away from this mess.

The sub mini has been requested for years by existing customers. I’m sure there are also some folks who don’t own Sonos gear yet, and the Sonos mini got them off the fence, too.

Danny

M

msf

Lyricist III

Sorry, that is not the truth, ugly or otherwise.

That’s a statement as a forum user, or as camouflaged sonos employee?

Sonos employees are clearly marked.

Are you an actual customer, or are you really a Bose spy attempting to sabotage a competitor? 🙄

You can check my invoice for 3000EUR. Straight to the full setup and now super disappointed!

melvimbe

Folks i told you, it’s clear now. They did it on purpose because of their new product and they ain't gonna to fix it by rolling back or updating soon. It’s cheaper for them to produce this mini sh.. and probably the profit will be better. If they sound almost identical with this firmware and the mini is cheaper, which one are the regular customers going to buy?

You believe that despite the significantly lower sales price and the need to recoup development costs for the Sonos mini, the profit margin is higher for the mini than it is for the full size sub? They intentionally sabotaged the sound quality of the full sub to push people into buying the mini instead?

If this were true, then why would Sonos allow only one mini per HT room, while they allow 2 full subs? And why wouldn’t they just stop selling the full sub, or raise the price, if profit margin was an issue with the full sub?

2 subs option was not available either in the past for the regular ones. Can’t see the future to answer you regarding the mini, but thats not the point of this treat.

The tech/method for doing it exists now. Why not take the supposed extra profit now? Or at least let customers know that it’s coming in the future, the way they let customers know Google Assistant support was coming to drive sales now. Sonos stated to the media that the reason you can’t have two minis is because it would not have the volume output of a single full sub, and customers are better off just getting the sub.

Danny