Sub Mini disappointment

  • 14 October 2022
  • 10 replies
  • 1466 views

Userlevel 7
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Received my Sub Mini yesterday. Installing it was a piece of cake. I connected it to my Playbar. Performed Trueplay. Heard no difference in TV sound, whether speak or music. Toggled Trueplay on and off. Heard a difference in sound of the Playbar, nothing from the Sub Mini. Toggled loudness on and off. Heard a difference in sound of the Playbar, nothing from the Sub Mini. Toggled Sub Mini on and off. No difference. Tried various combinations of these parameters. No difference. Tried all of this at 2 different locations; one underneath the Playbar and one abt. 3 meters away. No difference. Throughout testing bass and treble levels at zero.

Then connected it to my 2 grouped Play:1's. Performed Trueplay. Once again: no difference in sound. Performed Trueplay. No difference. Toggled Trueplay on and off. Heard a difference in sound of the Play:1's, nothing from the Sub Mini. Toggled loudness on and off. Heard a difference in sound of the Play:1's, nothing from the Sub Mini. Toggled Sub Mini on and off. No difference. Tried various combinations of these parameters. No difference. Tried all of this at 2 different locations; one close to the Play:1's and one abt. 2 meters away. No difference. Played music from my library, mostly flac’s. Then played music from Sonos Radio. No difference. Throughout testing bass and treble levels at zero.

Made sure the Sub Mini is working by feeling the cones vibrate. They do.
Called in the wife. Let her listen to all configurations. She didn’t hear any difference.
Called in the son, who’s quite a bit younger than I am so has a better hearing. Let him listen to all configurations. He didn’t hear any difference.
The only time all three of us heard any difference, is when I changed the Sub’s audio setting from level 0 to +15, then the Sub Mini was audible. When I changed from 0 to -15 no difference was to be heard.

The “helping you feel more immersed in every scene and song” and “a richer, more powerful sound experience all around” were nowhere to be found. The next couple of days I'll keep on trying and experimenting, but if it stays like this, the Sub Mini is going to be returned. Really disappointed.

 


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10 replies

Userlevel 7
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Is it working?  Can you feel the drivers move?

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Is it working?  Can you feel the drivers move?

Yes, it's working, I can feel the cones at the inside vibrate.

@beynym,
Maybe it’s something to do with the location of the Sub? - give it a try elsewhere in the room, in a corner of the room, perhaps🤔? - I just mention that as a potential location, because that is where I have mine and I do notice a big difference with both TV and music audio with the Sub-Mini in the mix - the rich warm bass tones stand out clearly to my ears.

In my case it’s bonded to a Beam (gen1) and One surrounds and I’m seeing a significant change to the overall sound in the room.

A change of location is always worth a try with a Sub.

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

An update for all those interested.

After a fortnight of trying, configuring, hoping, wishing - all of a sudden something I heard years ago sprang to mind. A real estate agent once told me that only 3 things are relevant when purchasing a home: location, location and location. The same applies to my Sub Mini. After I found the right location, everything is allright.

So you were right after all, @Ken_Griffiths.

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Hi! I have the same problem, i feel Sub Mini doesnt sound with mi ARC. Wich place do you decide to put the sub mini? Do you use Trueplay? From 0 to +15 wich do you choose? Thanks

Hi! I have the same problem, i feel Sub Mini doesnt sound with mi ARC. Wich place do you decide to put the sub mini? Do you use Trueplay? From 0 to +15 wich do you choose? Thanks

I have the Sub-Mini in the Kitchen/Diner bonded to a Ray/One SL’s and another one in the bedroom linked to a Beam/Ones. Trueplay is enabled, albeit the difference in both rooms is subtle. I have each Sub mostly set to the default 0 position for TV listening and sometimes (not always) use around +4 for older music recordings, but for the more modern tracks I just leave it at ‘0’ as that provides plenty of Bass without being too overwhelming.

If I take the Sub volume and Bass levels too high (5+ for Bass level and 7+ Sub volume), that really can shake/vibrate the room, but that’s personally too much for how I like to hear things.

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Hi! I have the same problem, i feel Sub Mini doesnt sound with mi ARC. Wich place do you decide to put the sub mini? Do you use Trueplay? From 0 to +15 wich do you choose? Thanks

I have the Sub-Mini in the Kitchen/Diner bonded to a Ray/One SL’s and another one in the bedroom linked to a Beam/Ones. Trueplay is enabled, albeit the difference in both rooms is subtle. I have each Sub mostly set to the default 0 position for TV listening and sometimes (not always) use around +4 for older music recordings, but for the more modern tracks I just leave it at ‘0’ as that provides plenty of Bass without being too overwhelming.

If I take the Sub volume and Bass levels too high (5+ for Bass level and 7+ Sub volume), that really can shake/vibrate the room, but that’s personally too much for how I like to hear things.

Thanks!

Thanks!

You may also find this link helpful…

https://blog.sonos.com/en-gb/beginners-guide-to-bass

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Well, I added the mini in my main floor setup and it does make a difference.

I joined it to a pair of Five and the room also has a pair of One. It does cover the lower spectrum a lot more than the Five alone could do. I have not used Trueplay though. Yet.

Are you sure it's not too close to a furniture that would absorb to much of its output?

Userlevel 7
Badge +22

You might consider connecting it to the pair of Ones that would get much more benefit from it than the Fives.

Usually furniture doesn’t impact low frequencies a lot.