New to Sonos - bass issue

  • 19 September 2022
  • 23 replies
  • 927 views

Badge

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.


23 replies

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.

Userlevel 1
Badge +2

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.

Badge

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

Badge

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

Userlevel 6
Badge +11

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.

Badge

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).

BOSE is probably a better match for your tastes.

Userlevel 6
Badge +11

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. 

Userlevel 1
Badge +2

@jeminijoseph

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

Badge

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? 

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? 

I would just do as @buzz mentions and stick with what you prefer, particularly  if you’re not happy with the Arc - we all hear things differently and it’s clear you have made up your mind having listened to them in your own home. I too have listed to both (and others) and I preferred the Sonos Arc, but it’s horses for courses. I most certainly have no regrets too, but it makes sense to go with your own preference having listened to them.

Badge

@jeminijoseph

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

Yeah, it’s not ‘finished’. Need to hide wires. Wall above is where video is projected. I know many things can affect the sound. But the difference can’t be this much. Biggest surprise is that there’s no effect on adding +10 bass in EQ settings. On Bose this makes huge difference. 

Userlevel 7

When you are listening to the Arc, within the Sonos app, what is the Audio format being received?

The format is displayed in the Now Playing screen or you can see it under Settings > System > About My System > Arc: Audio In

Badge

When you are listening to the Arc, within the Sonos app, what is the Audio format being received?

The format is displayed in the Now Playing screen or you can see it under Settings > System > About My System > Arc: Audio In

Long answer! I get few formats but not the highest quality (TureHD?) since I don’t have eARC. This is when connected to Sony TV which has ARC. I tried this setup.

 

Anyway now it’s connected to NVIDIA shield using an audio extractor which has only Optical Out (5.1). (HDMI 2.0 Fibre Optics cable is connected using the little Toslink adapter came with Arc) Bose is connected to Bluetooth. Sonos app is showing DD 5.1 when 5.1 video is played. If I play anything above (7.1 or atmost) I get Stero only. I think DD 2.0  

I will get eARC today (HDFury Arcana) and can’t wait to try it. I will do an update after 

 

Userlevel 7

@jeminijoseph 

Thanks for the picture of your Arc mounting. However, there is a propriety wall mount designed for Arc. When mounted to it the Arc detects it and makes adjustments for sound parameters. Your mounting mimics an Arc sitting on a stand or table. Click the links to learn more about the Arc wall mount and positioning relative to the view screen/TV.

PS: The positioning of the Arc in your picture would suggest it’s below ear level. You’ll never enjoy proper sound parameters with that positioning. If you are unwilling/unable to make the suggested changes as indicated in the links then by all means go with Bose.

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/guides/arc
 

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/wall-mount-for-arc

Badge

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? 

I would just do as @buzz mentions and stick with what you prefer, particularly  if you’re not happy with the Arc - we all hear things differently and it’s clear you have made up your mind having listened to them in your own home. I too have listed to both (and others) and I preferred the Sonos Arc, but it’s horses for courses. I most certainly have no regrets too, but it makes sense to go with your own preference having listened to them.

I agree. We hear things differently. But I had a bias and expectations towards Sonos after reading all reviews. Also Bose is too 'common'. :). I know if I add a woofer things might change. For now that's not an option for me. Besides if I get same or better bass than what I'm getting from current Bose bar, I may not even need a bass module. The HT system that I'm replacing had a 10" woofer and I was keeping it at minimum all the time. Bose tv speaker gives me that level. Anyway I'm not sure if the Bose TV speaker is 'faking' the bass or it's real. I like it though. Will find out by Friday 

Badge

@jeminijoseph 

Thanks for the picture of your Arc mounting. However, there is a propriety wall mount designed for Arc. When mounted to it the Arc detects it and makes adjustments for sound parameters. Your mounting mimics an Arc sitting on a stand or table. Click the links to learn more about the Arc wall mount and positioning relative to the view screen/TV.

PS: The positioning of the Arc in your picture would suggest it’s below ear level. You’ll never enjoy proper sound parameters with that positioning. If you are unwilling to make the suggested changes as indicated in the links then by all means go with Bose.

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/guides/arc
 

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/wall-mount-for-arc

Thanks for the links. I will definitely go through them. Positioning of the bar is not an option for me as the projector take rest of the wall. Anyway I didn’t spent too much to make the sound accurate or checked it. I like what I hear. Clean dialogues and almost all sounds from a standard movie scene including Dolby sample videos. I’m sure I will get better effect if I follow their guidance. Not sure about wall mount as it’s more money. But will read about them too

For now I just want to see if I can get the bass right. If I can, I will keep it.

Badge

Is there anyone using HDFury Arcana to get audio to Sonos Arc from NVIDIA Shield? I got the arcana today. I tried everything but I could not pair my ‘TV’ to arcana. This means no audio. I’m sure I’ve messed up some settings. I will ask the question to HDFury. But comments from someone using similar setup would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you

Userlevel 7

Is there anyone using HDFury Arcana to get audio to Sonos Arc from NVIDIA Shield? I got the arcana today. I tried everything but I could not pair my ‘TV’ to arcana. This means no audio. I’m sure I’ve messed up some settings. I will ask the question to HDFury. But comments from someone using similar setup would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

What FW is installed on the Arcana? On the discord channel tech support we’re recommending to use either 0.82 or 0.83 with Sony TVs when latest FW available was 0.86

Badge

Is there anyone using HDFury Arcana to get audio to Sonos Arc from NVIDIA Shield? I got the arcana today. I tried everything but I could not pair my ‘TV’ to arcana. This means no audio. I’m sure I’ve messed up some settings. I will ask the question to HDFury. But comments from someone using similar setup would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

What FW is installed on the Arcana? On the discord channel tech support we’re recommending to use either 0.82 or 0.83 with Sony TVs when latest FW available was 0.86

It’s .86. To make sure I didn’t mess up anything shield I went back to my Toslink audio and it works fine. Sonos app instantly find the ‘TV’ and audio works. But with Arcana, it cannot find TV. It’s possible the Arcana is faulty. But want to make sure I it’s not the settings cause problem. 

Userlevel 7

There’s known CEC issues with FW 0.84 and higher with Sony TVs. Need to downgrade the FW on the Arcana.

 

 

Badge

There’s known CEC issues with FW 0.84 and higher with Sony TVs. Need to downgrade the FW on the Arcana.

 

 

Thank you Sir

BTW, I don’t use TV with the setup. I’ll try that soonn. My TV is NVIDIA Shield TV Pro (2019). Output from Shield goes to the input of Arcana. eARC goes to Sonos and HDMI out goes to Projector. App is complaining there’s no audio output when try to connect 

Badge

I got everything working fine with Arcana

I got both Bose and Sonos with me now. Bose clearly has an advantage on Bass. No doubt. I have to listen to more music and tv scenes before deciding bass alone is enough for me to choose Base. If I keep Bose I won’t worry about adding bass module any time soon. This bass enough for my personal taste. Bose’s ADAPTiQ is a hardware module that has no association to android or iOS. Trueplay is only available in iOS. It was a pain to setup Sonos with Arcana. But Bose was almost a plug and play. I still want to love Sonos. Will decide this weekend

Reply