Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

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Beyond thrilled to receive the new Sonos Arc. True played my room and I have loudness on as well connected to LG B8 using Tidal and Spotify. Most of the sound range is phenomenal, aside from the bass. At even half volume the woofers are extremely muddy and sound terrible. Not sure if this is because I have under two hours of use but I wasn’t expecting to have to break-in the speaker. I own set of speakers next to it in the same room (KEF LS50W) and the difference is night and day. There have also been posts on Reddit regarding this issue. It is interesting given no reviewers have mentioned this issue but more than a few recipients have. Has anyone else experienced similar issues? Turning loudness off helps but it is disappointing for such a highly anticipated product.

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Scott - SonosAnswer

Sonos Product Management

Hello everyone. I’m a product manager at Sonos. Thank you for sharing your experiences with Arc. The development team is monitoring this community and listening to your feedback.

As we do with all Sonos products, we’ll continue to improve the experience for Arc through numerous software updates into the future. Last week we issued our first update (12.0.1) to fix a bug some customers were experiencing with low-frequency distortion at higher volumes.

If you have specific music tracks or timestamps for TV shows and movies that you want to bring to our attention, please use this form. It is helpful if you can submit a diagnostic when you’re listening to the content. Instructions for doing so can be found here.

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sebas1509

Enthusiast II

I contacted Sonos Netherlands by chat. He told me I had to put bass on 0 (I have +8) and turn off true play. After that he told me I have to perform true play again, as this had a fix in the latest app update. Also my Eco system being on a wifi extender could cause problems. (i have this for a week now, because my Play 1 sound cut out in the back Of the garden)

if true play doesn’t fix it I have to call them

Well it sounds like we are going round in circles even more... Did he want you to do that standing on your head whilst drinking water too? Don't believe anything they say anymore to be honest.

At this point, I believe some people have expectations out of this soundbar that wont be met. I say this in the music department. And the reason is simply speaker design, the Arc is smaller in area than the playbar and has smaller woofers. It also doesnt have an integrated sub as the playbase. So it wont have similar “feeling” bass. Even though it is 800 dollars or euros it was designed for movies or tv primarily. And it delivers very well in that department. For me music is also good with the bar, but I think some are misled because its 800 it will be amazing for everything including music.

There are MANY users that are happy with the Arc performance, actually I think it has more than enough bass for my movies and shows and movies. But I recognize it isnt as good for music thump as other speakers.

Some compare it to Homepods, or Sonos Fives, look at the size look at the physical dimensions look at the woofer sizes (diameter) that is what determines bass of a speaker.

I have seen one or two clips of a guy who shows a netflix movie and a bad sound, I would ask for a replacement mine does not behave like that.

I initially had some issues but after the firmware update it was fixed for me. If you are not satisfied gfo with another soundbar with a sub. That is my advice or grab a playbar with sub.

Smaller area, smaller woofers, bass isn’t as good as the HomePod which has a quality big size woofer and 7 tweeters for just $199, isn’t good for music - so the important question - What are you paying $799 for, bruh? I didn’t even mention the lack of passthrough ports and trash microphones for google assistant.

Based on your own points, you are paying 50% premium for Sonos logo. Enjoy !

No need to “bruh” anyone.

And I am confused since you are legit agreeing with me. Smaller area smaller woofers less punchy bass….. The arc was not designed for hiphop/EDM music.

I have a homepod here in my room airplayed my tv there for a movie and I do not prefer it than the Arc. No way. I think the voices in the homepod all feel behind the music and bass and like drowned out. Not as clear as on the Arc. Theres 0 stereo separation of course. But it just feels like overly muddy to my ears - I do not mean muddy bass, the bass is very punchy but the vocals and other instruments feel like drowned out.

But then again you are agreeing with me. Yeah the Sonos Arc is expensive. And if you are mainly interested in movies or Tv the arc has way better sound than a homepod. For music if you like heavy bass music yeah the Homepod delivers more of course. But then again for more acoustic or less bassy songs I prefered the Arc. I played some of taylor swifts new music and then again homepod sounds drown out . I am giving away the homepod since I already have Sonos Ones and the Arc.

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Dysfunctional

Enthusiast II

I think you are both missing the point - the issue isn’t an inherent lack of bass (this is to be expected -and if I want more base I’ll get the sub)

The PROBLEM is the bass that is there sounds terrible - like a cheap bluetooth speaker that is pushed past its limits. They released one update and claimed the problem is fixed - it’s slightly better BUT STILL THERE. Doesn’t matter if it is music (any service) or a movie. YES I’ve tried trueplay. Same on or off.

I SHOULD be able to listen at extended volumes without the bass sounding like garbage - it’s loose, it pops, it’s muddy, it’s uncontrolled. It isnt as good as the Beam.

They still need additional work on the DSP and Crossover frequesncies. THATS THE PROBLEM (not a sheer lack of bass).

The only reason I haven’t exchanged my bar yet is b/c there are others that have - and the result is still the same.

I should only have to buy a sub if I want MORE bass - not to FIX bass that sounds like garbage.

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pyro225