Trending Lyricist I

New to Sonos - bass issue

23 replies
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I just got Sonos arc after reading lots of reviews. I want a soundbar now without woofer and surround speakers and may add these stuff later.

However very disappointed with sound quality. Almost no surround effect (Atmos etc). But that’s ok. May be my expectation was too high. Biggest issue is the bass. This thing has no bass!. My $200 bose TV speaker has much better bass (that’s all I need). I don’t see many reviews mentioning this despite some early threads. Is this normal? Is there any solution?

I use Android device. So certain features are not available in app.

My TV has ARC output, but don’t see it’s eARC. Does it matter for bass?

Here’s an example. The short movie ‘Olaf's Frozen Adventure’ in Disney+ has deep bass at 19 minute and 27-28 seconds. It’s great with my tiny bose speaker. But almost none with ARC. All comments are appreciated.

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Ken_Griffiths

It’s difficult to say as it maybe the source device, or perhaps a faulty speaker, or even the way it’s installed. You are probably best within 20 minutes of playing the A/V clip mentioned, to submit a Sonos diagnostic report from the ‘Settings/Support’ area of the Sonos App. Make a note of the reference generated, and when practicable, contact/chat to Sonos Support Staff about the matter via this LINK and see what they can suggest to resolve the matter. I would also submit a photograph, or video, of the setup in case that might reveal anything too.

Let us know how you get on.

G

Gubes

Avid Contributor I

Not sure of your expectations. One shouldn’t expect much bass based on the physics of the speakers. They are smallish speakers at the end of the day and the sound bars low for shape is not conducive to bass. A sub will obviously change everything.

True play tuning may also help. Your room size and acoustics matter just as much as the sound system you use too.

J

jeminijosephAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

It’s difficult to say as it maybe the source device, or perhaps a faulty speaker, or even the way it’s installed. You are probably best within 20 minutes of playing the A/V clip mentioned, to submit a Sonos diagnostic report from the ‘Settings/Support’ area of the Sonos App. Make a note of the reference generated, and when practicable, contact/chat to Sonos Support Staff about the matter via this LINK and see what they can suggest to resolve the matter. I would also submit a photograph, or video, of the setup in case that might reveal anything too.

Let us know how you get on.

I already talked to support and submitted diagnostics. But somehow they didn’t get all the information. I will try again. Thank you

J

jeminijosephAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

Not sure of your expectations. One shouldn’t expect much bass based on the physics of the speakers. They are smallish speakers at the end of the day and the sound bars low for shape is not conducive to bass. A sub will obviously change everything.

True play tuning may also help. Your room size and acoustics matter just as much as the sound system you use too.

This is why I mentioned Bose TV speaker soundbar in the original post. I had a full 7.1 system before and I know I cannot expect that kind of performance especially for bass. But I was expecting at least the level of a $200 soundbar from competition. Bose has a remote and there’s a way to increase just bass and I have it set to maximum. Sonos App has similar setup, but has no effect. Now I’m thinking may be the piece is faulty. If nothing works, I will get a replacement. I wanted to get an opinion before doing so. Thank you

Bumper

Send it back, get a new one or try something else. It’s brand new, I wouldn’t waste my time chasing what could be a defect or bug.

J

jeminijosephAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

I got a brand new one. Still same. I think this is Sonos. It could be my taste too. But I feel the Bose TV Speaker soundbar’s bass is way better. The difference is huge (after adding extra volume to bass using remote). This is even true when bose is connected through bluetooth and Sonos using Optical or HDMI.

Other than the bass the sound is clean and clear. Since I’m not planning to add subwoofer to the setup soon, this may not work for me. I’m going to try comparable bose soundbar (900).

buzz

Grand Maestro

BOSE is probably a better match for your tastes.

Bumper

I got a brand new one. Still same. I think this is Sonos. It could be my taste too. But I feel the Bose TV Speaker soundbar’s bass is way better. The difference is huge (after adding extra volume to bass using remote). This is even true when bose is connected through bluetooth and Sonos using Optical or HDMI.

Other than the bass the sound is clean and clear. Since I’m not planning to add subwoofer to the setup soon, this may not work for me. I’m going to try comparable bose soundbar (900).

There’s a bug affecting an unknown number of Arc owners that trashes the sound. Arc generally sounds pretty good so maybe yours is affected by it. It seems unlikely but there’s definitely some problem as there’s no way it’s worse than your POS Bose.

M

Marcellus H.

Trending Lyricist I

@jeminijoseph

Could you share a picture of your arc setup? Is the thing mounted on the wall or on a console etc. ?

People are entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own facts.

J

jeminijosephAuthor

Trending Lyricist I

I got a brand new one. Still same. I think this is Sonos. It could be my taste too. But I feel the Bose TV Speaker soundbar’s bass is way better. The difference is huge (after adding extra volume to bass using remote). This is even true when bose is connected through bluetooth and Sonos using Optical or HDMI.

Other than the bass the sound is clean and clear. Since I’m not planning to add subwoofer to the setup soon, this may not work for me. I’m going to try comparable bose soundbar (900).

There’s a bug affecting an unknown number of Arc owners that trashes the sound. Arc generally sounds pretty good so maybe yours is affected by it. It seems unlikely but there’s definitely some problem as there’s no way it’s worse than your POS Bose.

I agree with you in theory. But every time I start listening to TV, I feel like going back to Bose and I did. But how's it possible two in a row?

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