Sonos’ $900 Dolby Atmos soundbar has a loud pop issue that’s taking years to fix

1 month ago 113

I bought a Sonos Arc soundbar and an LG OLED G2 six months agone to usage with my Xbox Series X reasoning it would beryllium the astir convenient mode to grow my existing Sonos setup to grip Dolby Atmos audio from apps similar Netflix, Apple TV Plus, and Disney Plus. Now, however, my Sonos Arc soundbar sounds similar it’s exploding with a startling large bang and a bid of audio pops erstwhile I effort to usage Dolby Atmos content. I’m not alone, either. I was shocked to larn that hundreds of Sonos Arc owners person experienced these highly large audio pops for astir 3 years without a fix.

Sonos markets its Arc soundbar arsenic being capable to “bring each your amusement to beingness and acquisition breathtakingly realistic spatial audio powered by Dolby Atmos.” The world for galore is that it’s a Dolby Atmos soundbar that can’t grip Atmos properly. I’ve been experiencing these large audio pops implicit the past fewer weeks, with nary changes to my setup. Others person been suffering with them for years without a hole successful sight, with a azygous thread connected Sonos’ forum afloat of astir 1,000 responses from disappointed Arc owners.

After contacting Sonos enactment to adhd my dependable to the increasing fig of affected users, I was met with 2 authoritative workarounds: disable CEC connected devices oregon disable Dolby Atmos and usage Dolby Digital 5.1 instead. One of these workarounds means I suffer the quality for my TV to power different devices implicit HDMI-CEC, and the different means disabling Dolby Atmos connected a soundbar that’s expected to beryllium designed for it!

The lone workaround that has worked for maine is disabling Dolby Atmos, and it’s the aforesaid for galore different owners stuck with a $900 Dolby Atmos soundbar that can’t grip Atmos.

Not each Sonos Arc proprietor volition acquisition the issue, though. It’s peculiarly prevalent with radical who usage an Xbox Series X oregon Apple TV 4K to propulsion Dolby Atmos contented to their TV, and it seems similar this operation is causing issues. One elaborate post successful the ongoing Sonos enactment thread suggests that the occupation could beryllium related to however the Xbox Series X and Apple TV 4K usage a Dolby MAT 2.0 encoder to output sound.

But aft astir 3 years without a fix, Sonos doesn’t look to beryllium immoderate person to resolving things arsenic the institution is struggling to reproduce the issues customers are experiencing. Here’s what Sonos merchandise manager Scott Fink had to accidental successful a connection to The Verge:

We are alert that a tiny percent of customers person experienced an interoperability contented which is causing a popping dependable connected Arc. What we cognize present is that this contented occurs connected immoderate Dolby Atmos enabled audio products, including Arc, erstwhile connected to definite combinations of streaming devices and TVs portion playing Dolby Atmos content.

We are committed to uncovering the basal origin and we’re continuing to trial for a reliable reproduction of what customers are describing online and successful conversations with our enactment team. We are besides engaging our contacts astatine 3rd enactment manufacturers to further research imaginable solutions. As this is an contented stemming from the mode assorted devices are moving together, determination are a scope of tests our squad needs to behaviour to recognize the scope and make a targeted solution for each setup. We’ll fto you cognize arsenic soon arsenic we person an update to share.

Sonos says it can’t reliably reproduce the issue, but that’s bizarre since galore customers can. I’m besides capable to marque the audio popular simply by navigating astir the Xbox dashboard and past moving to contented that isn’t Dolby Atmos and backmost again. The audio popular is incredibly large and startling, and the archetypal clip I experienced it, I thought the soundbar had exploded and died since the airy flashed reddish and it looked similar it concisely turned off.

I’ve had to disable Dolby Atmos to debar this audio pop, arsenic it has been genuinely making my bosom skip a fewer beats. While it’s imaginable to spell connected to ticker Dolby Atmos contented aft the large bang, I person to bash truthful with my miniature dachshund hiding successful fearfulness for the remainder of the evening.

The “solution” to disable Dolby Atmos “doesn’t consciousness good,” according to KeithFromSonos, a Sonos worker who regularly posts connected Reddit answering assemblage concerns. “I hesitate to accidental a ‘fix’ is successful the works. Only due to the fact that I don’t privation anyone to get tied to the thought that thing is coming ‘soon’. The squad has been and is actively moving towards a solution, the biggest contented we person is reproducing the large pop.”

Regardless of however analyzable this contented mightiness be, it’s ridiculous that it has been ongoing for astir 3 years without a fix. Perhaps I’ll connection to vessel my 65-inch TV, Xbox Series X, and Sonos Arc to Sonos truthful it tin reproduce the contented and fig retired a fix.

If you’re adjacent considering a Sonos Arc soundbar to usage with an Xbox Series X oregon Apple TV 4K, debar this $900 soundbar until Sonos has fixed this occupation oregon tin springiness america a much elaborate response. Otherwise, you’ll astir apt beryllium near similar hundreds oregon thousands of different Sonos customers with a Dolby Atmos soundbar that can’t grip Dolby Atmos properly.