A few months back, Sonos released a software update for the Arc and Sub that did not go according to the plans. According to the users, the 14.12 update significantly decreased speakers’ performance.
Bring all your entertainment to life with the brilliantly realistic sound of Arc, featuring Dolby Atmos. Enjoy control with your TV remote, voice, the Sonos app, Apple AirPlay 2, and more
But mainly, there were a lot of complaints regarding the Sonos Arc. The main aim of the update was to improve the dialogue clarity of the Sonos Arc.
But right after the update, the official forum and Reddit got flooded with complaints. Customers were saying that the speaker did not only become quieter, but the frequency response also altered.
These are two things that any speaker needs to get right to offer an excellent sound-listening experience. So, things were not looking good for Sonos.
However, Sonos is not a company that lets the customers’ voices go unheard. The team looked at the issue and came up with the 14.18 update.
The update aired on October 18th, and it is here to solve all the problems that 14.12 introduced. But the thing is, after the 14.12 update, a lot of the customers were hesitant to jump into the 14.18 update.
That is why a staff member explained all the improvements that the new update can bring to the table. According to the forum post, ” With the 14.18 software update, both of these issues have been addressed, and the Enhanced Clarity for Arc adjustments are retained.”
The post added, “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 forum post also addressed the Truplay issue that 14.12 introduced. Customers were experiencing a lower overall Sub level by performing Trueplay after updating to 14.12. And the post suggested that the users need to update their software to fix the issue.
After the update, the Truplay tuning will offer the results it should. That means you will be able to hear a much more powerful low-end response.
And with the 14.18 update, the adjustments that you might have made with 14.12 will no longer remain valid.
The staff member also confirmed that the systems without a full-size sub, which include the Sub Mini and stand-alone Sonos soundbars, were not affected by the 14.12 update.
So, if you are rocking those systems, you do not have anything to worry about. But if you do have a Sonos Sub or Arc and are still hesitant to get into the new update, you should know that the initial responses are all positive. Therefore, you can safely hop into the 14.18 update.
Slava is a man of mystery and no-one seems to know exactly where he is at any point in time. When he isn't enjoying writing about all things audio and technical he can be found researching his next project of interest. The man never rests.
This post was last updated on 2025-01-10 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.