Recalibrate Gen 2 Sub

Hello @thecult03,

Welcome to the Sonos Community and thank you for reaching out with your question.

Have you tried tuning your system with Trueplay tuning and if you have, does toggling it off make any difference in the audio quality?

If you adjust the EQ  or adjust the Sub levels is there any improvement?

Hi, 

I’m having the same issue. Upgraded from the Playbar, which I thought sounded great with the Gen2 sub and 2 play:1’s. Installed the Arc, and it just sounds flat. As if the Sub is barely used. Turning the Sub on/off only makes only a slight difference. Changes the bass (EQ) or sub level just makes it sound weird. As if it’s not part of the sound, but just some weird background “hum”. I used Trueplay twice. Did make the speaker sound better as a whole, but bass is almost non-existent. I have bass and treble set to default, sublevel default, loudness off and surround speakers music on full. Had the same with the Playbar, which was great. Diagnostics: 266117204

Did some more testing, and it seems that Trueplay does remove most of the bass from the setup. Turning it off brings back a lot of bass but makes it sound bad as a whole. Sub is in the same place as it was with the Playbar and it did not have this problem.

If you can try another Trueplay with a different iPhone, here are my notes, I also moved  the Sub to get best results:

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/optimum-trueplay-6842990

That’s not the point. I don’t want to move my sub and should not have to. The Arc is also in the same place as the Playbar was.  I have always used the same iPhone. Nothing wrong with that. Trueplay just takes out way to much bass connected to the Arc compared to the Playbar setup. Maybe it’s because the Arc is suppose to have more bass of it’s own, but the Sub is suppose to handle all that instead. Now it seems neither is. 

My Gen 2 is full and really completes my 5.1.2 setup consisting of ARC, Gen 2 sub and One SL rears. 
I run Trueplay on the system and then usually end up turning the sub down to -2 to tailor it to my taste. 

Hello @Whistler,

I’ve taken a look at your diagnostic report and I’m hoping that you can verify that your Arc is in the HDMI/ARC port and that the TV audio format is set to a supported format and that the HDMI-CEC is enabled for your TV.

For Samsung this setting is called Anynet+ .

I say this since I’m getting some odd readings in your diagnostic regarding your Arc’s ARC connection and audio format and I wonder if that isn’t a contributing factor in your audio quality.

How does it sound when you playback music through the Sonos app?

Hi Jean, 

Yes the ARC is connected to the HDMI-ARC port of the TV. Also I have Anynet+ enabled. Everything is working fine. I get sound from the TV and from the Apple TV connected to the TV. Also no problem getting Dolby Digital 5.1 from several sources. What do you mean by “odd” readings and audio format? Maybe your seeing different formats because I have been trying to get DD+ (But I don’t think my TV supports this, but that is another matter). Also there is almost no bass when playing music form Spotify or Tunin. Last night when watching Netflix on the Apple TV it sounded “Ok-ish”. This morning it was bad again. Without bass the sound is really Shrill, which makes the lack of bass really stand out if that makes sense.  It’s almost like the sub isn’t activated (All the time). I made another diagnostics: 1514887801

Hello @Whistler,

Thank you for your response. 

Is your TV on while you are submitting these diagnostics or are you submitting them after playing music only? The “odd readings” were pertaining to the HT codec being received by your system which was none. It could either mean that something is very wrong with the communication between your TV and your Arc and consequently your Sub, or that the TV is off and it’s a non-issue.

Since this is happening on non-home theater sources, I’d like to shift the focus to the location of the Sub itself relative to the Arc.

Are they within 4m. of each other?

Is there anything in between the two that could be interfering with communications between your Arc and your Sub?

While the bass issue is occurring, can you look to see if your Sub is still listed in your Sonos app as a part of that room?

If you place your hand over the opening in your Sub, can you feel it vibrating or is it “still”?

Hi Jean,

here is another diagnostics while the TV is on. (1798773010).  To answer your questions. 

Yes the Arc and Sub are about 2 meters from each other. But it is in the same place as it was with the Playbar. The Sub is in the corner of the room. About 20 cm from the wall on all sides. 

The is only a chair in between the Arc and Sub. 

Also, the last few days I have been going through several topics on the sound quality of the Arc. As I have mentioned myself, the lack of bass is most noticeable after Trueplay. There are several posts of people indicating there might be a problem with the latests iPhones. I initially used my iPhone Xs for Trueplay. The sound was horrible and almost no bass. I tried an old iPad Air 2 and that did make it sound better with more bass. The sound from the Arc is still to harsh and the rear Play 1’s are way to noticeable. Also I have to up the volume much more than with the playbar. It just sounds unbalanced. 

Hello @Whistler,

Thank you for the additional information and the fresh diagnostic. 

The audio issues we are currently tracking with the Arc are concerning systems with no bonded surround speakers or Subs. Since you have both i’m giving your sub-woofer/ Arc communications some serious side-eye.

It does look like your home theater system is changing 5g channels and this may be causing audio issues between the Sub and the Arc.

Are you able to set a static channel for your 5ghz band in your router settings rather than have it set to “Auto”?

You may want to take a quick look around and see if there is anything that could be running interference in your wireless network as well.

Once I can rule out peripheral communication issues we can look more closely at the Arc itself. I appreciate your patience as we work with you on this issue.  

Hi Jean, 

That is weird. Both my 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz have fixed channels. 1, and 44 respectively. The Arc is connected via Ethernet though. Sub is on Wifi/SonosNet. As for interference, there is a metal heater radiator on the wall next to the Sub. I have moved the sub to the other side (no radiator). Same distance to the Arc. I re-did Trueplay with my iPhone Xs. Makes not much difference. Did again with iPad Air 2. Sounded better again, but still not as great as with the Playbar. Sound remains more harsh, less bass and lower in volume than with the Playbar.  I myself are more and more convinced, the problem is more with Trueplay with my iPhone Xs. If i disable Trueplay, there is so much more bass! It just sounds bad as a whole then. 

Hello @Whistler,

Thank you for update and additional information. 

I’m sure you are fining this far more frustrating than I am and believe me I’m finding this frustrating.

Are you able to  make any adjustments in the EQ or Surround Audio Setttings to balance the sound out?

It does seem like something is amiss with the Trueplay in general on this, as you said, and hopefully this can be resolved through a software update.   

Hi @Jean C. 

I have the sound tweaked now, so it’s acceptable for now. I’ll wait a few updates to see if things improve. Thank you for all your help and keep up the good work! 

What do you have your surround music playback setting set to? Full or ambient?