Answered

Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

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1406 replies

D
Userlevel 1

Anyone with RTINGS early access can see some prelim graphs on THD, Frequency Response etc.

https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/sonos/arc

Will be updated in a few days.

 

I wish they discovered some of those issues we all have with the Sonos Arc and additionally mentioning the missing LPCM functionality etc.

This will put more pressure on Sonos to give us a proper solution in a timely manner, because RTINGS will have a stronger voice.

What we should not forget is, that we are talking about a 900 Euro product and it feels like being a beta tester.

I’m ok to have some features at a later stage, this is common, but the basic functionality of a audio system like the bass should be there on point from the beginning especially from a “premium” brand/product. This is not acceptable from my perspective.

It’s like buying a mobile phone and being only able to make phones calls to the same brand or the same carrier, maybe my example is a bit off, but I hope you get the point.

P
Userlevel 3
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Please have a look at this video:

 

Seems like the initial problem has been fixed BUT there are new issues with the bass at different frequencies.

 

 

@Ryan S please look at this. I confirmed the rattling sound at close to 100% on my arc. The previous issue was fixed but at 100% 40Hz still has this new rattling. Also, on my sonos one I definitely hear some wobbling (less bad than on Arc) at 40Hz at a range of volumes. So seems like there’s still work to be done. Definitely an improvement but bring this up with your team please

What concerns me the most now is bass behavior between 70 Hz and 90 Hz. Going back to 40 Hz after that was awful. DSP is definitely going crazy here LOL. I tested these tones on my HomePod and they are perfect as they should be. 

Yeah definitely they need to work on this. I now think this is a S2 issue because I noticed weirdness on my sonos one. 

Can confirm. It is prevalent on higher quality sources such as Dolby Atmos. 

I just watched the video, and it does seem the problem wasn’t remedied fully. C’mon Sonos, their was no bass issues with the Sonos bar and beam. Why all these problems with the ARC? You don’t get these problems from other soundbars.

R
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

My ARC has shipped so I am happy that the problem has been likely resolved - particularly in my use case.

I am substituting an ARC for my Playbar and have Sub and Play 1’s as well.

I generally do not go above about 20% volume on my system - and by generally I mean never (other than Muddy Waters - Folk Singer experiment that went well with whole system of   6 Play 1’s. 2 Play 3 a Sub and a Play bar belting it out at 100%).

People are entitled to be satisfied with what they buy or return it - but in my experience most audio equipment performs sub-optimally at the outer envelope of its capacity.  Thankfully the low volume envelope of my Sonos system is terrific as I live in a small house in an urban neighborhood where it would be uncivil to operate in the upper envelope.

Perhaps, people wanting a soundbar to operate optimally at high volumes bought the wrong device? 

C
Userlevel 6
Badge +11

Anyone with RTINGS early access can see some prelim graphs on THD, Frequency Response etc.

https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/sonos/arc

Will be updated in a few days.

Very interested in this!

Do you have this RTINGS preview? I am interesteed but now hope they wait a bit for these issues to be fixed

If you are an insider (ie support the rtings site and keep it Ad free) you can view it.

https://www.rtings.com/insider

 

P
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

Hopefully Ryan does come back… that video really highlights the issues..

 

On a side note I had left one of my Sonos 1s off during the update I turned it on just now played a song it sounded dreadful and muddy hadn't noticed before the S2 upgrade… 

 

I then just updated the firmware as it was off and it has cleaned right up like the majority of the initial arc bass issue. night and day difference

M
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

My ARC has shipped so I am happy that the problem has been likely resolved - particularly in my use case.

I am substituting an ARC for my Playbar and have Sub and Play 1’s as well.

I generally do not go above about 20% volume on my system - and by generally I mean never (other than Muddy Waters - Folk Singer experiment that went well with whole system of   6 Play 1’s. 2 Play 3 a Sub and a Play bar belting it out at 100%).

People are entitled to be satisfied with what they buy or return it - but in my experience most audio equipment performs sub-optimally at the outer envelope of its capacity.  Thankfully the low volume envelope of my Sonos system is terrific as I live in a small house in an urban neighborhood where it would be uncivil to operate in the upper envelope.

Perhaps, people wanting a soundbar to operate optimally at high volumes bought the wrong device? 

Glad you’re happy, but maybe keep your judgements to yourself, they are quite presumptuous. Some of us are still having issues and not all of us are experiencing them only at high volumes. 

D
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

My ARC sounds good after the update - Happy thus far.

MY concern is seeing Sonos lay off all of their support staff …..during a new software AND product release….

 

I just jumped on the Sonos bus and now no one is driving….

G
Userlevel 5
Badge +2

Anyone with RTINGS early access can see some prelim graphs on THD, Frequency Response etc.

https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/sonos/arc

Will be updated in a few days.

 

I wish they discovered some of those issues we all have with the Sonos Arc and additionally mentioning the missing LPCM functionality etc.

This will put more pressure on Sonos to give us a proper solution in a timely manner, because RTINGS will have a stronger voice.

What we should not forget is, that we are talking about a 900 Euro product and it feels like being a beta tester.

I’m ok to have some features at a later stage, this is common, but the basic functionality of a audio system like the bass should be there on point from the beginning especially from a “premium” brand/product. This is not acceptable from my perspective.

It’s like buying a mobile phone and being only able to make phones calls to the same brand or the same carrier, maybe my example is a bit off, but I hope you get the point.

Yeah the stereo frequency response was ranked 40/45 per their testing. Worse than the TCL Alto which is $50 sound bar that scored 6.7 vs 6.1 for the arc. Also holds the second worst score for stereo dynamics. Describes what we’re experiencing. They describe it as { What it is: How loud the soundbar gets and whether its sound quality degrades at loud volumes. When it matters: If you tend to listen at loud volumes or if your environment is large, crowded, or noisy, it's important to have a soundbar that can get loud. } Disappointing to see, we’ll see what they say when the full review is released.

R
Userlevel 2
Badge

My ARC sounds good after the update - Happy thus far.

MY concern is seeing Sonos lay off all of their support staff …..during a new software AND product release….

 

I just jumped on the Sonos bus and now no one is driving….

All the articles I’ve read simply say they laid off 12% of their work force.  Where are you seeing they laid off their entire support staff?   That can’t be true. 

D
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

My ARC sounds good after the update - Happy thus far.

MY concern is seeing Sonos lay off all of their support staff …..during a new software AND product release….

 

I just jumped on the Sonos bus and now no one is driving….

All the articles I’ve read simply say they laid off 12% of their work force.  Where are you seeing they laid off their entire support staff?   That can’t be true. 

Maybe not ALL of their support staff - but I’ve seen reports on here, and reddit, and avforums of people trying to reach sonos and having no luck at all. One guy received the wrong color ARC and has been trying for days to get in touch with some1 to swap it out. Who knows, but it doesn’t bode well….

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

@ggmogollon Why are they giving it such a bad stereo fgrequency response score? Is this because of the bass issues? I doubt they did this test After the fix that was released yesterday though… It really does significantly improve things. Even though theyre still are some present issues.

 

@Dysfunctional they laid off 12% of the staff, but I’m sure there are plenty of support folks around. It is just probably restructuring at the moment I expect them to have some more people in the support group soon. After all, right after a product release you really need good support 

P
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

@ggmogollon Why are they giving it such a bad stereo fgrequency response score? Is this because of the bass issues? I doubt they did this test After the fix that was released yesterday though… It really does significantly improve things. Even though theyre still are some present issues.

 

@Dysfunctional they laid off 12% of the staff, but I’m sure there are plenty of support folks around. It is just probably restructuring at the moment I expect them to have some more people in the support group soon. After all, right after a product release you really need good support 

I know what you mean but Ryan was checking in every day or two - it looks like he dropped the update news and ran currently :-( is have at least expected him to check in for feedback by now

BMF
Userlevel 5
Badge +13

To be fair….. It’s a nightmare trying to get any support from anywhere at the moment with covid, lots of staff working from home without access to all systems etc.

 

I am talking generally here, I had to call British Airways today…. total nightmare.

 

John Lewis last week, nightmare.

 

everyone just trying to do there job as best they can to get through this.

P
Userlevel 3
Badge +3

My ARC sounds good after the update - Happy thus far.

MY concern is seeing Sonos lay off all of their support staff …..during a new software AND product release….

 

I just jumped on the Sonos bus and now no one is driving….

All the articles I’ve read simply say they laid off 12% of their work force.  Where are you seeing they laid off their entire support staff?   That can’t be true. 

Well, that would suck if it happened. So many of us have been laid off (including me), because of the dreaded Covid-19. I know it’s hard, but we need to be optimistic that everything will be alright.

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

@pyro225 @Pawl Unfortunately it did happen,

 

Also, very unfortunately Ryan does not longer work at Sonos. Don’t want to speculate if these are related by he let me know by DM here, but I wouldn’t want people to think he just dropped and ignored our issues. He really did do a good job keeping up with this community 

G
Userlevel 5
Badge +2

@pyro225 @Pawl Unfortunately it did happen,

 

Also, very unfortunately Ryan does not longer work at Sonos. Don’t want to speculate if these are related by he let me know by DM here, but I wouldn’t want people to think he just dropped and ignored our issues. He really did do a good job keeping up with this community 

Yikes this will never get resolved

P
Userlevel 3
Badge +3

Here’s the article, this doesn’t sound good. ☹️
 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sonos-layoffs-covid-19-145239555.html

P
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

FFS they dropped the guy that seems to be in touch with the community? Seems wrong he did a great job up until this point! How do we get this progressed now? You’d have hoped a member of the team would have immediately taken over

A
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

That seems very strange since he has been dealing with one of the biggest issues Sonos have ever had with a new product, and has done a great job of helping preserve their credibility through it all. 

C
Userlevel 1

It doesn’t seem like there’s any other choice but to return the Arc for everyone that is still having problems with it now that the only person that was in touch with the community is gone

L
Userlevel 1
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Just in case Ryan S is still reading this forum - 

 

Thanks mate! Hope you are ok. You helped a lot of people on this forum for many years and I for one am grateful. Dont post much but have been reading and following his advice for a long time.

 

All the best.

 

B
Userlevel 3
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100% agree with @leelaw !

Beam. 2x Play:1 - 2x Play One (gen 2) - Sub - 2x Play 5 - Move
F
Userlevel 2
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I must say the sub has made a massive difference but I will add that when I did the update I lost trueplay as I have a Samsung s20 on android.

My son came over tonight and trueplay tuned the arc on his iPhone and it has indeed made a big difference since the update when I use the arc by itself.

 

J
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

@pyro225 @Pawl Unfortunately it did happen,

 

Also, very unfortunately Ryan does not longer work at Sonos. Don’t want to speculate if these are related by he let me know by DM here, but I wouldn’t want people to think he just dropped and ignored our issues. He really did do a good job keeping up with this community 


This is bad news if this is true! I’m getting less confident with Sonos by the day with all that’s happening with the company. 

Maybe we need to open a new topic for the still existing issues in the Arc if Ryan is really no longer with the company since this one has already been tagged as “Answered” and the new support team may not give this any prioritization. No feedback or response have been provided by the team after the update and there have been a lot of responses from users already!
 

 

JJ
V
Userlevel 2
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Try playing Dr. Carter by Lil Wayne at a 70% volume. 

The bass in this song sounds horrid at 40%

Yup this fix is not 100% fixed. I get horrible bass pass 50~60% on this track also. 

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