Sonos Amp and 3rd party subwoofer issue

The sub is a Cerwin Vega HT-S10A. So far phone support has tried running diagnostics, says the Amp detects the sub connection, and has gone round and round telling me to turn up the volume (because i turned it down… because I’m on the phone… to phone support ) 

[edit] getting similar run around, unplug it, plug it back in. “oh it’s the sub's fault”, because perfectly functioning analog device knows to stop working just to mess with Sonos. 

“the problem is not with the Amp, everything looks fine from this end”

I don’t know the 3rd party sub you refer to, but presumably Sonos Support were referring to turning up the volume on the sub itself? I know their ‘classic series’ subs support that.

http://www.cerwinvega.com/manuals/home/Classic-Sub_manual.pdf

I got a sub working with my system.

I did not make any changes in my Sonos app and system settings except in the EQ to get the amount of low end I wanted. It kicks whether it’s flat or with the EQ boosted five points, which is my preference.   

The one I tried initially, the Sonos Connect Amp was either not pushing enough gain to trip the amp on or the sub was defective. So since my Martin Logan wireless transmitter has a Left and Right input for my Home Theater sub, I pulled out the right that connected to my Sony amp and used that channel for my Sonos Connect amp (subs are mono anyway so left and right in is pointless), and now I use the same sub for both my Sony entertainment system and for my Sonos zone in the kitchen (it’s one big room anyway). Problem solved for me! The ML wireless transmitter is its own preamp anyway so I don’t have to send a stronger signal to kick on the speaker since it’s wireless. 

AWHS has it right about what to do with setting up your 3rd party sub. I have the Martin Logan Dynamo Sub 1600X with the Martin Logan Wireless kit connected to the Sub Out of the Sonos Amp. I also own Sonos Connect Amps (which were easier to set up with a 3rd party Sub). With the Sonos Amp I also drive a pair of Paradigm Studio 60 v3 tower speakers.

So yes, go to the Sonos Settings and add sub, stay away from the Sonos Subwoofer settings. This section should be a little more clear.

You may be best to have your 3rd party sub always on as opposed to standby. With the Sonos settings have the sub level up high and adjust other settings according to your sub manual and cater to your room size and placement. Sub adjustments can be a science. Note : The Martin Logan Dynamo Sub has an app to fine tune it’s settings from your couch via Bluetooth. No need to adjust the manual controls on their latest higher end subs.

As for the Sonos Sub, it is not over priced for what it does. It’s impressive, I use one in another zone with a Sonos Connect Amp. But it’s no match for the Martin Logan Dynamo 1600 :)

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing your experiences with different devices and the Sonos Amp. We’re always interested in seeing what you have to say, and are eager to investigate any issues that might come up. Our engineering team has been looking into this issue and would love some more information. Currently, there isn't a major trend that has been identified, but they'd like to see some more cases where subwoofers and the Amp aren’t behaving as expected. 

If you’re having trouble with the Amp outputting low or no audio to a subwoofer and haven’t worked with our support team yet, please feel free to reach out to us using the contact details here. The support team will help sort out issues where possible, and if needed, they’ll gather the right information and get it up to the engineering teams for investigation.

Ryan - I appreciate your input. Is there a case number or something that we should reference when we call in? I spoke with CS at length at this issue a few days ago and was told that they “have never heard of this issue.” Given that this thread has 10K+ views and hundreds of users with the exact same issue, that was frustrating. Please let us know what we can do to facilitate a resolution to this issue.

I am having the exact same issue as others have reported with a REL T/7i sub. No output at all from sub out on AMP. This sub works perfectly on another system. Diagnostic code is 1376304507. I took advantage of your upgrade offer and will have to return the AMP if it does not work with my third party sub. This seems like a serious design flaw. 

Hey, in order to get sound I need to turn the volume control on my sub way up, as well as turn the sub volume on the amp settings page in the Sonos app to +13. Just thought I would mention this in case you haven't tried both of these.  

I've just submitted my ticket to support as well.  Hopefully there's an answer soon.  I'll update here if I get anything tangible.

Just to provide some hope for people. I have the new Amp connected to an Energy sub and Mirage speakers. I’m not using it for TV. It’s all playing perfectly and the subwoofer is powering just fine.

I will say the line level is low and I had to the sub volume knob to about 75% and it’s all the way up in the Amp settings. 

It sounded good playing lighter rock music like Gin Blossoms and thumped when I put on In Da Club by fifty cent.