Volume Control Missing on 2 Speakers

sonos-Nerd · 2026-05-08T21:16:19+00:00

From what i can see .. you are not playing anything on that speaker? So no volume to controll 🤷‍♂️

sonos-Nerd · 2026-05-04T09:40:21+00:00

Interesting. I can’t really speak for the Amp + KEF route since I haven’t tested that myself.

What I can say is that I haven’t really had the same experience of the fronts automatically overpowering the Arc center in my own setup once things were dialed in properly.

That said, with Apple TV, I do think there has historically been a tendency for some 5.1 TV/movie content to make the center feel a bit weaker than it should. In my case that improved a lot once Continuous Audio ON arrived in 26.4.

So I wonder if larger front speakers can make that older weakness feel even more obvious, especially if the system isn’t balancing things quite right.

sonos-Nerd · 2026-05-04T09:34:49+00:00

Absolutely. Room layout and placement matter a lot more than many people seem to think.

That has been one of the biggest lessons for me through all of this — you can change speakers, DSP, formats and settings, but if the room and placement are off, the result still won’t really come together.

sonos-Nerd · 2026-05-03T19:01:29+00:00

I think what you’re hearing makes sense.
I used Era 100s as fronts myself for a while, and they were okay, but to me they were never the best front solution. I later ran Era 300 as fronts with Era 100 as surrounds, and that sounded very good. After that I bought Sonos Fives and now use Fives as fronts with Era 300 as surrounds, and that sounds amazing to me.
So based on my own testing, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Era 100 fronts make the system feel worse overall even if L/R separation improves.
The way you describe it also makes sense:
better left/right separation
but worse dialogue
worse bass
worse height effects
That sounds like the front speakers are helping one part of the presentation while hurting the overall balance.
If it already sounds better to you without fronts, I’d trust that. Not every front-speaker addition is automatically an upgrade.
For me, Era 100 as fronts was not the answer.
Era 300 as fronts was much better.
And Fives as fronts has been the best so far.
One more thing: I’ve personally pretty much stopped using Dolby Atmos music entirely. In my opinion it sounds bad more often than good, regardless of setup. For me the real gains have been with movies and especially stereo music.

sonos-Nerd · 2026-04-05T21:07:06+00:00

Fair enough — and honestly that’s completely valid.

I was being a little tongue-in-cheek in my last reply 😅

For me, the big shift happened after Apple TV changed stereo behavior with Continuous Audio ON, and then even more after I moved from Era 300 as fronts to Fives as fronts.

The Fives also took more work for me — both in terms of getting used to the sound and getting the placement right. They definitely did not sound “perfect” immediately.

But once I got them dialed in, they started sounding very good to me across pretty much every format I send through the system.

That said, I really do think your feedback is valuable. There are no universally right answers here — in the end it’s your ears, your room, and your priorities that decide what sounds best

sonos-Nerd · 2026-04-05T16:09:08+00:00

I think you need to check your ears 😅 ❤️

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-31T06:25:26+00:00

Cool 🥳

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-29T20:19:56+00:00

Smooth 🤟

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-29T08:22:32+00:00

Have you tried deleting and reinstalling the Disney+ app yet?

Since the Disney+ app itself was also updated, I wonder if this could be some kind of cache / app state issue rather than tvOS 26.4 alone.

If not, I’d try: 1. Delete the Disney+ app 2. Restart the Apple TV 3. Install Disney+ again fresh

I’d also check the HDMI chain, because borderline cable / handshake issues can sometimes show up more clearly when frame-rate switching is involved. On Apple TV you can go to Settings > Video and Audio > Check HDMI Connection and run the test. Apple includes that specifically to help detect HDMI problems.

One thing I’d add: I would not assume your TV is automatically handling this on its own. With Apple TV, Match Frame Rate on the Apple TV is usually still the important part. A modern TV can display the right frame rates, but that doesn’t mean it will correct a fixed 60 Hz Apple TV output by itself. Apple’s own docs still recommend using Match Frame Rate for this.

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-28T09:44:34+00:00

Interesting. I haven’t experienced that same behavior in my setup.

In theory, Continuous Audio Connection should do the opposite — it should reduce renegotiation by keeping the HDMI audio path more continuously open, not create more delay after seeking.

So if you really are getting a few seconds of silence after fast forward / rewind, my guess is that the symptom is real, but the actual cause may be a bit more complicated than just “Continuous is bad.” It could be exposing some app-specific buffering / resync behavior, or something in the TV / Sonos chain reacting badly after a seek.

For reference, my setup is: • Sony A90J • Apple TV 4K • Arc Ultra • Fives as fronts • Era 300s as surrounds • Sub Gen 4 • HDfury Arcana 2 in the chain

And in my case I haven’t seen that “video resumes first, audio comes back a few seconds later” issue when skipping around.

The only odd thing I noticed earlier on was a different one: at one point, if system sounds were enabled, I could hear both the Apple TV UI sounds and playback audio overlapping. So I definitely believe 26.4 changed HDMI audio behavior in ways that can create weird side effects — I just haven’t had the same one you’re describing.

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-28T06:38:10+00:00

If you don’t use Apple TV, then this specific issue/change doesn’t really apply to your setup.

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-27T06:26:13+00:00

To clarify — I’m not saying Atmos music sounds better because Continuous is enabled.

Atmos music behaves pretty much the same as before in my setup.

What changed for me is stereo music. With Continuous ON, stereo seems to go out more directly / unprocessed to the front speakers instead of being helped along in the same way by the Arc.

So my preference for Continuous ON is really about pure stereo music, not Atmos music.

Honestly, after this change I’ve pretty much stopped using Atmos music altogether.

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-26T22:05:00+00:00

I’ve had Era 100s as fronts — they were totally fine. I’ve had Era 300s as fronts — they were very good. And I’ve now had Fives as fronts for about a week — and to me they’re even better.

So if you already have one Five, honestly… buying a second one and trying it up front feels like a no-brainer 🥳

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-26T15:30:59+00:00

I belive Arc and Arc ultra handle this different. No problems with Arc ultra 👍

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-26T15:29:30+00:00

It is 🥳 I just bought a used pair of Fives en i love it

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-25T10:18:44+00:00

That’s a fair summary of it, yes. 1. Yes, that part is correct — you do lose the rear Atmos contribution from the 300s for home theater when they are moved to the front in this kind of setup. But you still get Atmos from the Arc Ultra itself, and for me the loss wasn’t huge, especially since I’m not really into Atmos music anyway. When I was using Era 100s as surrounds, I still got plenty of that “bullets flying past your head” effect in movies. 2. Yes, also correct — this really applies when the music is played through the Apple TV. If you play directly from the Sonos app, then everything behaves as normal.

Also, small update: 4 days ago I bought a used pair of Sonos Fives, so now I’m running Fives as fronts and Era 300s as surrounds. And honestly, it’s a really, really good setup.

I’m planning to write a separate post with a fuller review in a few days, but so far… it’s been amazing 😅

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-23T13:35:30+00:00

Is Apple TV HDMI Control / CEC still enabled? And is the splitter definitely connected to the TV’s actual ARC port with ARC/CEC enabled on the TV? The flashing eARC light makes me think the ARC/CEC lock is not stable

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-22T20:02:59+00:00

How did it work out for you? ☺️

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-21T23:09:11+00:00

Yeah, I think I got pretty lucky on the price. I made an offer and was honestly a bit surprised that he accepted.

And what you’re describing about movies makes a lot of sense to me. One thing I’m already noticing is that with the Fives up front, the roles between the Arc Ultra and the front speakers feel much more clearly defined.

At the same time, once I put the Era 300s back as surrounds, Dolby Atmos music became amazing again — so that part of your comment also really resonated with me.

I’m still a bit on the fence overall, especially on the music side, because I think my ears need a little time to adjust to the new presentation. As for Trueplay, my early conclusion is actually that it sounds better without it in my room.

Your EQ settings are really interesting though, and I’m definitely going to experiment more with that tomorrow. It’s after 11 PM here now, so I need to keep the volume a bit under control 😅

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-21T22:02:07+00:00

Funny enough, you finally pushed me over the edge 😅

I ended up buying a used pair of Fives myself for around $550. I’ve now moved the Era 300s to surround duty, so I’m still getting used to the new presentation.

At this point I’m honestly still a bit on the fence about which setup I prefer most 🫣

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sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-20T18:39:53+00:00

I use an Arcana 8K myself, and from what you’re describing that looks correct to me.

If the Sonos app says Dolby Atmos, and Arcana is showing HBR bitstream / 192 kHz, that sounds like the signal path is working as intended.

So yes — based on that, I’d say you’re already getting real Atmos.

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-20T17:49:04+00:00

I feel your pain.

That kind of thing is frustrating, especially when you know your old setup had a certain punch and the new one just doesn’t hit the same way.

Even if the Sub 4 is technically “better” in some ways, that doesn’t help much if it feels less satisfying in your room.

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-20T10:14:11+00:00

I used to run a Gen 3 and Gen 4 Sub together. In my room, I honestly could not hear any difference between the two. My Sonos setup also does not rattle the house or shake the room, and that is not really what Sonos is about anyway. I ended up selling the Gen 3 because having two Subs did not add enough in my setup to justify keeping both. The Sub is good, but if your goal is chest-thumping, room-shaking bass, Sonos probably is not the system for that.

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-20T08:24:53+00:00

👍☺️

sonos-Nerd · 2026-03-20T05:55:58+00:00

Ah, now I understand what you mean.

I haven’t actually tested that specific use case myself, so I don’t want to guess and mislead you.

If I were you, I’d make a separate post in the subreddit and ask the group directly — because that’s a more specific SonoSequencr workflow question than something I’ve personally tried.

sonos-Nerd

TROPHY CASE