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Enthusiast II
June 10, 2020
Answered

Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

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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Sonos Product Management
July 2, 2020

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.

1406 replies

Enthusiast I
June 15, 2020

Twitter reaction:

 

Hey Maurice, thanks for reaching out. We don't have a timescale to share just yet. The team are working fast on a software update. The best place to stay upto date would be our Community Forum -

Understanding it’s been the weekend, I didn’t expect an update the past two days. That being said, I absolutely don’t think the standard “we don’t have a timeline for a fix...” answer is appropriate moving forward. The twitter response doesn’t bother me, but if that’s going to be the same answer given in this forum, that’s not going to fly. Sonos launched a super premium product in an unacceptable state. Daily updates are warranted at this point even if only to acknowledge the team is still working on it. I fully expect a substantial and tangible update prior to this weekend. 

Enthusiast II
June 15, 2020

Twitter reaction:

 

Hey Maurice, thanks for reaching out. We don't have a timescale to share just yet. The team are working fast on a software update. The best place to stay upto date would be our Community Forum -

Understanding it’s been the weekend, I didn’t expect an update the past two days. That being said, I absolutely don’t think the standard “we don’t have a timeline for a fix...” answer is appropriate moving forward. The twitter response doesn’t bother me, but if that’s going to be the same answer given in this forum, that’s not going to fly. Sonos launched a super premium product in an unacceptable state. Daily updates are warranted at this point even if only to acknowledge the team is still working on it. I fully expect a substantial and tangible update prior to this weekend. 

I am with you. This is especially important because a lot of people are thinking about returning the Arc, and return window countdown has begun. Not everybody has 100 days to try. People who bought from best buy only have 14 days. That gives Sonos 10 more days to fix the issue.

Prominent Collaborator II
June 15, 2020

Twitter reaction:

 

Hey Maurice, thanks for reaching out. We don't have a timescale to share just yet. The team are working fast on a software update. The best place to stay upto date would be our Community Forum -

Understanding it’s been the weekend, I didn’t expect an update the past two days. That being said, I absolutely don’t think the standard “we don’t have a timeline for a fix...” answer is appropriate moving forward. The twitter response doesn’t bother me, but if that’s going to be the same answer given in this forum, that’s not going to fly. Sonos launched a super premium product in an unacceptable state. Daily updates are warranted at this point even if only to acknowledge the team is still working on it. I fully expect a substantial and tangible update prior to this weekend. 

I am with you. This is especially important because a lot of people are thinking about returning the Arc, and return window countdown has begun. Not everybody has 100 days to try. People who bought from best buy only have 14 days. That gives Sonos 10 more days to fix the issue.


The damage of not having a fix available and not being able to tell wether it will have a degrading impact on the sound quality is way worse. We here on the forum are patient and waiting for them to say anything. But imagine the people out there who do not read this forum and just send their “trash 900€ soundbar” back because they don’t know this is a bug?

Enthusiast I
June 15, 2020

Twitter reaction:

 

Hey Maurice, thanks for reaching out. We don't have a timescale to share just yet. The team are working fast on a software update. The best place to stay upto date would be our Community Forum -

Understanding it’s been the weekend, I didn’t expect an update the past two days. That being said, I absolutely don’t think the standard “we don’t have a timeline for a fix...” answer is appropriate moving forward. The twitter response doesn’t bother me, but if that’s going to be the same answer given in this forum, that’s not going to fly. Sonos launched a super premium product in an unacceptable state. Daily updates are warranted at this point even if only to acknowledge the team is still working on it. I fully expect a substantial and tangible update prior to this weekend. 

I am with you. This is especially important because a lot of people are thinking about returning the Arc, and return window countdown has begun. Not everybody has 100 days to try. People who bought from best buy only have 14 days. That gives Sonos 10 more days to fix the issue.

Honestly, I fail to see how this is acceptable. Obviously I know that bugs happen and nothing is ever perfect but this is, what, the biggest launch Sonos has had in years? This thing cost $800 before any discount code you might’ve used. For that kind of money on a speaker we should never have had this kind of issue right out of the box. Where’s the quality control? If there’s no software update and/or communication update on progress by Wednesday I’m sending it back. We ordered over a month ago, waited for the shipment/delivery only to be disappointed. I’ve read on here/Reddit about people using a Sub from another room “temporarily” or waiting for their Sub to come in to alleviate the issue. It’s a shame we need to do that. I was on the fence to begin with about getting deeper into the Sonos ecosystem with more products and this makes me feel like I made a mistake. 

Trending Lyricist I
June 15, 2020

Twitter reaction:

 

Hey Maurice, thanks for reaching out. We don't have a timescale to share just yet. The team are working fast on a software update. The best place to stay upto date would be our Community Forum -

Understanding it’s been the weekend, I didn’t expect an update the past two days. That being said, I absolutely don’t think the standard “we don’t have a timeline for a fix...” answer is appropriate moving forward. The twitter response doesn’t bother me, but if that’s going to be the same answer given in this forum, that’s not going to fly. Sonos launched a super premium product in an unacceptable state. Daily updates are warranted at this point even if only to acknowledge the team is still working on it. I fully expect a substantial and tangible update prior to this weekend. 

I am with you. This is especially important because a lot of people are thinking about returning the Arc, and return window countdown has begun. Not everybody has 100 days to try. People who bought from best buy only have 14 days. That gives Sonos 10 more days to fix the issue.


there is always the option that they commit to honouring returns past the deadline on arcs for people that raised the issue prior to the return window and a confident statement that it can be fixed without sacrificing the core selling point of the arc which is a huge soundstage and support for Atmos. 

Trending Lyricist I
June 15, 2020

Twitter reaction:

 

Hey Maurice, thanks for reaching out. We don't have a timescale to share just yet. The team are working fast on a software update. The best place to stay upto date would be our Community Forum -

Understanding it’s been the weekend, I didn’t expect an update the past two days. That being said, I absolutely don’t think the standard “we don’t have a timeline for a fix...” answer is appropriate moving forward. The twitter response doesn’t bother me, but if that’s going to be the same answer given in this forum, that’s not going to fly. Sonos launched a super premium product in an unacceptable state. Daily updates are warranted at this point even if only to acknowledge the team is still working on it. I fully expect a substantial and tangible update prior to this weekend. 

I am with you. This is especially important because a lot of people are thinking about returning the Arc, and return window countdown has begun. Not everybody has 100 days to try. People who bought from best buy only have 14 days. That gives Sonos 10 more days to fix the issue.

Honestly, I fail to see how this is acceptable. Obviously I know that bugs happen and nothing is ever perfect but this is, what, the biggest launch Sonos has had in years? This thing cost $800 before any discount code you might’ve used. For that kind of money on a speaker we should never have had this kind of issue right out of the box. Where’s the quality control? If there’s no software update and/or communication update on progress by Wednesday I’m sending it back. We ordered over a month ago, waited for the shipment/delivery only to be disappointed. I’ve read on here/Reddit about people using a Sub from another room “temporarily” or waiting for their Sub to come in to alleviate the issue. It’s a shame we need to do that. I was on the fence to begin with about getting deeper into the Sonos ecosystem with more products and this makes me feel like I made a mistake. 

reading up on this issue is actually making feel like I should cancel my order now and save all the hassle 

Enthusiast II
June 15, 2020

Twitter reaction:

 

Hey Maurice, thanks for reaching out. We don't have a timescale to share just yet. The team are working fast on a software update. The best place to stay upto date would be our Community Forum -

Understanding it’s been the weekend, I didn’t expect an update the past two days. That being said, I absolutely don’t think the standard “we don’t have a timeline for a fix...” answer is appropriate moving forward. The twitter response doesn’t bother me, but if that’s going to be the same answer given in this forum, that’s not going to fly. Sonos launched a super premium product in an unacceptable state. Daily updates are warranted at this point even if only to acknowledge the team is still working on it. I fully expect a substantial and tangible update prior to this weekend. 

I am with you. This is especially important because a lot of people are thinking about returning the Arc, and return window countdown has begun. Not everybody has 100 days to try. People who bought from best buy only have 14 days. That gives Sonos 10 more days to fix the issue.


there is always the option that they commit to honouring returns past the deadline on arcs for people that raised the issue prior to the return window and a confident statement that it can be fixed without sacrificing the core selling point of the arc which is a huge soundstage and support for Atmos. 

Best Buy and other vendors have their own return policy. So, Sonos extending the return deadline does not help much unless they somehow negotiate it with all the authorized resellers. 

Lyricist III
June 15, 2020

Twitter reaction:

 

Hey Maurice, thanks for reaching out. We don't have a timescale to share just yet. The team are working fast on a software update. The best place to stay upto date would be our Community Forum -

Understanding it’s been the weekend, I didn’t expect an update the past two days. That being said, I absolutely don’t think the standard “we don’t have a timeline for a fix...” answer is appropriate moving forward. The twitter response doesn’t bother me, but if that’s going to be the same answer given in this forum, that’s not going to fly. Sonos launched a super premium product in an unacceptable state. Daily updates are warranted at this point even if only to acknowledge the team is still working on it. I fully expect a substantial and tangible update prior to this weekend. 

I am with you. This is especially important because a lot of people are thinking about returning the Arc, and return window countdown has begun. Not everybody has 100 days to try. People who bought from best buy only have 14 days. That gives Sonos 10 more days to fix the issue.

Honestly, I fail to see how this is acceptable. Obviously I know that bugs happen and nothing is ever perfect but this is, what, the biggest launch Sonos has had in years? This thing cost $800 before any discount code you might’ve used. For that kind of money on a speaker we should never have had this kind of issue right out of the box. Where’s the quality control? If there’s no software update and/or communication update on progress by Wednesday I’m sending it back. We ordered over a month ago, waited for the shipment/delivery only to be disappointed. I’ve read on here/Reddit about people using a Sub from another room “temporarily” or waiting for their Sub to come in to alleviate the issue. It’s a shame we need to do that. I was on the fence to begin with about getting deeper into the Sonos ecosystem with more products and this makes me feel like I made a mistake. 

reading up on this issue is actually making feel like I should cancel my order now and save all the hassle 

I honestly think you should until the issue is resolved

Enthusiast I
June 15, 2020

Twitter reaction:

 

Hey Maurice, thanks for reaching out. We don't have a timescale to share just yet. The team are working fast on a software update. The best place to stay upto date would be our Community Forum -

Understanding it’s been the weekend, I didn’t expect an update the past two days. That being said, I absolutely don’t think the standard “we don’t have a timeline for a fix...” answer is appropriate moving forward. The twitter response doesn’t bother me, but if that’s going to be the same answer given in this forum, that’s not going to fly. Sonos launched a super premium product in an unacceptable state. Daily updates are warranted at this point even if only to acknowledge the team is still working on it. I fully expect a substantial and tangible update prior to this weekend. 

I am with you. This is especially important because a lot of people are thinking about returning the Arc, and return window countdown has begun. Not everybody has 100 days to try. People who bought from best buy only have 14 days. That gives Sonos 10 more days to fix the issue.

Honestly, I fail to see how this is acceptable. Obviously I know that bugs happen and nothing is ever perfect but this is, what, the biggest launch Sonos has had in years? This thing cost $800 before any discount code you might’ve used. For that kind of money on a speaker we should never have had this kind of issue right out of the box. Where’s the quality control? If there’s no software update and/or communication update on progress by Wednesday I’m sending it back. We ordered over a month ago, waited for the shipment/delivery only to be disappointed. I’ve read on here/Reddit about people using a Sub from another room “temporarily” or waiting for their Sub to come in to alleviate the issue. It’s a shame we need to do that. I was on the fence to begin with about getting deeper into the Sonos ecosystem with more products and this makes me feel like I made a mistake. 

reading up on this issue is actually making feel like I should cancel my order now and save all the hassle 

I mean… If the website had a disclaimer that said “the Sonos Arc will not sound great until a post-launch software update is released” I would not have ordered it. 

Lyricist III
June 15, 2020

I btw wrote a mail to the CEO of Sonos With My disappointment and concers. You can find his email on the support page if you feel like expressing yourself as well.