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Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

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1406 replies

F
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. 

That is a very bass orientated song mind.  Have you trueplay tuned the arc since update?

That makes a big difference 

P
Userlevel 4
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Still no one looking at this :-( guessing they are all banking on Apple buying them out 😂

R
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. 

That is a very bass orientated song mind.  Have you trueplay tuned the arc since update?

That makes a big difference 

Yes, and it sounds awful with and without trueplay 

B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

I did try to reach out with a private message to @Edward R  and @Ditte .  Both of who are Sonos Members noted in the Troubleshooting section of the forums.  I asked if they could provide an update to let us know about this issue and linked them to this thread.  

Hopefully someone from Sonos Support updates the thread soon to let us know if this is still being looked into.  :fingers_crossed:

B
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I tried to run 4hz test tone on my Samsung MS750 in bedroom and on my friend’s Q90r and both of them wobble even on 30% volume without sub but sounds smooth with sub. So probably this is something with soundbars to provide nice quality sound with decent bass otherwise add sub. I tested dr carter by lil wayne and penetrator both of them sounds good after the update at around 60-70% volume without sub. This could be how the soundbars are designed. As adding sub made these tracks sound powerful so sub is required if you want to play bass heavy tracks at high volumes. 

P
Userlevel 3

The biggest problem with the ARC is the fact that at its core, its a broken product. Listen to well made any speaker or subwoofer. Bass doesn't distort the drivers on well-made products. The bass tones will roll-off past certain frequencies. The ARC straight up breaks when it has to handle lower frequencies. This is either a huge issue with the DPS or the drivers are just horribly designed. I don't think most people here understand how large of an issue this is as far as a straight-up design flaw and it is absolutely shocking to me a company like Sonos let this get through testing. Its a joke at this point. 

S
Userlevel 4
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If Ryan is gone I think the people who stil got issues can simply return their Arc immediately.

M
Userlevel 3
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If Ryan is gone I think the people who stil got issues can simply return their Arc immediately.

If you can even get thru to support over the phone to arrange. 

B

We have 45 days from shipping don’t we?  So a little time left for return?

C
Userlevel 1

luckily i got mine from bestbuy. Just packed it up, it’s going back tomorrow.

F
Userlevel 2
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If Ryan is gone I think the people who stil got issues can simply return their Arc immediately.

If you can even get thru to support over the phone to arrange. 

Just do it over the web.  I returned the wall mount this way no problem

A
Userlevel 2
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I find it very hard to believe that after their years of experience Sonos don’t know how to design drivers that can handle their load, AND managed to get it past multiple reviewers with flying colours, unless the production models are significantly different (and lower quality). 

P
Userlevel 4
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And… still nothing from Sonos - are they checking any threads? maybe we should start another one if we don't hear by tomorrow?

A
Userlevel 6
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If Ryan is gone I think the people who stil got issues can simply return their Arc immediately.

If you can even get thru to support over the phone to arrange. 

Just do it over the web.  I returned the wall mount this way no problem

How do you do that? @ftm 

M
Userlevel 2
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I ordered directly from Sonos here in the Netherlands, and having 100 day return option enables me to wait and see for some time. For now, I do recognize many of the complaints mentioned here. In my Arc + 2x One 5.1 setup I have the feeling the surround One's are generating most of the bass in the setup. I already sold my Playbar unfortunately, so I can no longer compare, but in general I have the feeling it had a much bigger ‘oomph’ compared to the Arc, where reviews prior to the release or just after were all cheering about the better bass… The overall soundstage of the Arc is better though…

M
Userlevel 3
Badge +3

I ordered directly from Sonos here in the Netherlands, and having 100 day return option enables me to wait and see for some time. For now, I do recognize many of the complaints mentioned here. In my Arc + 2x One 5.1 setup I have the feeling the surround One's are generating most of the bass in the setup. I already sold my Playbar unfortunately, so I can no longer compare, but in general I have the feeling it had a much bigger ‘oomph’ compared to the Arc, where reviews prior to the release or just after were all cheering about the better bass… The overall soundstage of the Arc is better though…

Because of the great bass reviews I had sold my Sub. It wasn’t picked up yet so I cancelled that deal (thank god)

F
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

If Ryan is gone I think the people who stil got issues can simply return their Arc immediately.

If you can even get thru to support over the phone to arrange. 

Just do it over the web.  I returned the wall mount this way no problem

How do you do that? @ftm 

If Ryan is gone I think the people who stil got issues can simply return their Arc immediately.

If you can even get thru to support over the phone to arrange. 

Just do it over the web.  I returned the wall mount this way no problem

How do you do that? @ftm 

Sign into sonos website scroll down to returns.  If usa it says 45 days if uk it says 100 click on link it then says return or replace. 

I'm UK.  You fill in details and they email you back with instructions to print off label and

M
Userlevel 3
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Curious, how many people that are now happy with the low end of the Arc have One’s connected for a 5.1 setup? 

B
Badge +3

The fact that I order both the ARC and Sub Gen 3….I’m assuming I’m ok with the sound? Most of the complaints I’m seeing are from just the soundbar, but when you add the bass...it seems to be good!

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

The fact that I order both the ARC and Sub Gen 3….I’m assuming I’m ok with the sound? Most of the complaints I’m seeing are from just the soundbar, but when you add the bass...it seems to be good!

There are also complaints about lacking midrange which the sub is not able to fix at the moment. The way Arc sounds right now, it should be priced at $500 TBH.

R
Userlevel 2
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Curious, how many people that are now happy with the low end of the Arc have One’s connected for a 5.1 setup? 

The Arc and a pair of One’s is NOT 5.1 

 

A

I was finally able to get a hold of someone at Sonos yesterday afternoon to help with a return (website wasn’t working for me). I sent mine back. Gonna stick with a Beam for now and might re-buy in the future. Paying for a “premium product” and feeling like a beta tester is not good. And now that it seems this thread has lost the attention of the support staff, who knows when the next update will come and what it will address. 

I’m also going to take some time and research other home audio products. This whole experience honestly put a bad taste in my mouth. Aside from the sub-par sound quality we’re experiencing, having to call and sit on hold various times for a week to get to a rep also isn’t acceptable. Things are definitely stretched thin with COVID, and I honestly don’t mind long hold times but their phone system abruptly disconnected me while I was in hold more than three times. It’s just not a great way to handle customers. 

M
Userlevel 2
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I was finally able to get a hold of someone at Sonos yesterday afternoon to help with a return (website wasn’t working for me). I sent mine back. Gonna stick with a Beam for now and might re-buy in the future. Paying for a “premium product” and feeling like a beta tester is not good. And now that it seems this thread has lost the attention of the support staff, who knows when the next update will come and what it will address. 

I’m also going to take some time and research other home audio products. This whole experience honestly put a bad taste in my mouth. Aside from the sub-par sound quality we’re experiencing, having to call and sit on hold various times for a week to get to a rep also isn’t acceptable. Things are definitely stretched thin with COVID, and I honestly don’t mind long hold times but their phone system abruptly disconnected me while I was in hold more than three times. It’s just not a great way to handle customers. 

 

I’m with you, I will be returning mine tomorrow. Keep us posted on your research, I was looking at the lg SL9YG or SN8YG, but the ideal solution would be for them to just fix the Arc..

 

ARE YOU HEARING US SONOS?! 

M
Userlevel 5
Badge +7

Curious, how many people that are now happy with the low end of the Arc have One’s connected for a 5.1 setup? 

The Arc and a pair of One’s is NOT 5.1 

 

adding a sub makes it 5.1 doesn’t it?

S
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

Could someone actually post a video of the issue? I got mine yesterday and doesn’t seem to be having this issue but I am not too sure. Also what is the hardware version for those with the issue, you can find that in the app under System/About My System? Thank you in advance.

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