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Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

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A
Userlevel 2
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The bass issue has not been fixed by the beta update. Pity. 

L

Hi just updated mine and can report the sound / bass issue still remains and it just sounds awful ☹️, looks like this is going to be returned or replaced.

Source - Netflix sttng intro last part where ship does final fly by sounds awful like the speakers blown . Also noticed on few bass heavy films ie avengers endgame etc 

C
Userlevel 1

I just received my 2nd Arc. First one was purchased through Bestbuy. I was having the same problems everyone was having in this thread. Decided to return it and re-purchase it through Sonos. Waited a month and finally received it today. All the problems i was having previously is gone, the new one sounds good, i purposely set the bass to 10 to test it out and it doesn’t bottom out anymore. So it’s definitely the arc itself and not software. For everyone that’s having problems with theirs, just return it and re-purchase it again.

So this is like lottery with the returns, some with the same problem some r completely fixed 

I wonder if this user updated to the “fix” firmware before returning. I have not seen anyone else the bass improved after a return. And I am thinking he might have updated the app but not the firmware.

I did. I used it for 2 weeks before returning it. I literally waited til the last day before returning it to Bestbuy cause i was trying everything people suggested. Such as using different phones to trueplay it. Just because you don't hear it doesn’t mean it can’t happen. There are so many people happy with their Arc on reddit. But of course you’re only gonna hear about the bad ones. People that are happy with it are not gonna go around complaining about it obviously.

B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

https://thedigitaltheater.com/2019/10/10/top-gun-maverick-2020-trailer-1-4k-1080p-dts-hd-ma-and-ac3-5-1/

This is the trailer I played for my first test.  The first ‘boom’ when Paramount shows up (6-7 seconds) my Arc immediately gives that bottoming out sound.  Throughout the trailer it continues to do it as well.

(It used the ac3 audio and showed 5.1 Dolby Digital in the Sonos app.)

Other trailers I tested were found here: 

https://thedigitaltheater.com/dolby-trailers/

I tested the DD+ Atmos ones as I don’t have eArc.

T
Userlevel 1

My Arc was delivered today, and after a couple hours of testing I’m convinced that it is some sort of crossover software issue. It sounds great when the Sub is active but when it is not active it sounds like it’s trying to push the low Sub frequencies to the Arc and it just doesn’t have big enough drivers for that. Not sure the exact Hz but it needs to be lifted. Also put my surrounds on full music audio and turned them all the way up and I could hear the same rumbly  attempt at bass with the Sub off. My Play 5 Gen 2 which is also on S2 seems unaffected. 

D

Quick Update as I have not written in a while. After engaging support they finally agreed to replace my Arc. I got a discount so I don’t want to lose it.

They will be shipping me the new one before I return the old one, if the new one sounds better I will do a comparison and report back. 

I have started the work of returning mine within the 100 day limit. the idea is to buy a new one again ... or what do all think?

P
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

I think some people , like the guy that uploaded the Drive video to youtube should ask for a replacement from Sonos. Mine doesnt sound like that at all.

‘‘Twas me who uploaded the drive video… and that is the replacement my first one had a build ate March 2020 this had maybe 2020 and sounds identical. 
 

@Krishma M 

 

I run a setup with no sub but a pair of play 1s as tears are you saying there is still an issue in this setup or this should be resolved and i should seek help too as I have faulty gear? Please clarify.

 

many thanks 

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

https://thedigitaltheater.com/2019/10/10/top-gun-maverick-2020-trailer-1-4k-1080p-dts-hd-ma-and-ac3-5-1/

This is the trailer I played for my first test.  The first ‘boom’ when Paramount shows up (6-7 seconds) my Arc immediately gives that bottoming out sound.  Throughout the trailer it continues to do it as well.

(It used the ac3 audio and showed 5.1 Dolby Digital in the Sonos app.)

May be, they will issue a patch that will limit all the woofers from reaching their max excursion. Just may be!

A

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.

Mind posting the link?

The link just opens up an email window with what appears to be his legit email address: Partick.Spence@sonos.com 

 

I emailed him as well. 

G

Well all I can state is that my experience with it post update, is it’s slightly better. 

The Greatest Showman scene plays better for me when I turn the loudness on, bass +1 or 0 but the key is turning OFF trueplay.  It still isn’t perfect and I think the playbar handled it much better and my beam + rears plays it much much better overall than the Arc + rears right now. 

If I turn trueplay back on, it is much much worse for the Arc though.  It’s a significant difference in the amount of bass hitting too low and sounding like it’s bottoming out. 

When it comes to music, I think it’s better than before.  I don’t notice it much at all unless it’s a very heavy bass song and only certain bass frequencies in songs. 

Perhaps Sonos is focusing on the music fix first, they did after all ask to test songs and not movie clips that are readily available, so maybe the next phase of the tweaks will focus on downloading clips to plug into your TV via USB or something.  Not sure but it would make logical sense to do that but wish they would communicate this to people.

Again this is just my experience, I know everyone’s ears are different but coming from the playbar + rears to arc + rears… right now I would recommend the playbar but I’m hoping that changes very soon while Sonos continues to tweak the Arc.

There’s no such thing as movie/music audio difference though. If there’s an issue playing low frequency sounds it will show up across all content. Including test tones (hence why those tests show the issue AND the fix). Also, I am now wondering if the source content some are playing isnt good. I’ve heard the bass on the beam before, and the bass on the playbar I don’t understand how someone can claim the Beam has more clarity and bass than the arc or playbar. Not sure what is going on here. Maybe you have to re-tune your setup? There’s another possible issue with the Arc and trueplaying on some newer iphones

Trueplayed by an iPhone XR definitely makes the overall performance way worse. 

R
Userlevel 2
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It would seem to me that if the “fix” is to apply a high pass filter To cut off the frequencies below 60- 70 Hz (the frequencies which are apparently causing the problems), the Arc end up being very bass light. I am not confident That a software fix will Magically make the device more capable if the individual components are not up to the task. 

J
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Hope this gets sorted and proves to be a winner and surpasses my Beam + Sub combo which works very well indeed.

 

M
Userlevel 3
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https://support.sonos.com/s/?language=en_US
 

Want to email our CEO, Patrick Spence, directly? Click here
 

Patrick.Spence@sonos.com

S
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My first impression was damn! I have wasted money and Playbar was awesome. I thought it was just me. hope it’s just the software that can fix the issue.

M
Userlevel 3
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Don’t think you need eArc for Atmos. Currently most services offering Atmos will work with normal HDMI Arc. I think eArc might be needed for some Blu-ray movies though, and in the future it might become more widely used. But by then you’ll have a new TV anyway! 

You need eARC for proper, lossless dolby atmos. Through regular ARC, you can get compressed Atmos, wrapped as dolby digital plus. This is what many streaming services support but it's lossy and not a patch on the sound you get from dolby atmos/truehd from a 4k bluray. 

Exactly. Dolby Atmos is nothing more than some sort of metadata. The audio can either be wrapped in Dolby TrueHD or in Dolby Digital Plus. TrueHD is the BluRay format (and also applicable for br-rips). DD+ is what streaming services use, as you mentioned before. Dolby states: ‘TrueHD is able to deliver audiophile quality equivalent to uncompressed PCM without impacting HD picture quality or limiting the value-added extras that content providers may wish to include on the disc.’

(e)ARC is the abbreviation of (extended) Audio Return Channel. Don’t make the wrong assumption that this is an input port on your Sonos, it’s actually an input port on your TV with a specific band through which audio is returned to your audio device, in this case your Arc.

eARC has more bandwidth in order to be able to stream TrueHD alongside 4K (and the ability to stream it backwards via eARC. ‘Problem’ could be that the TV needs to be able to passthrough this format and most tv’s aren’t able to. There have been a couple on the market since 2018 but they are still in the premium price class.

So, without eARC on your TV, no TrueHD Atmos sound on your soundbar. Sonos could have added an input HDMI with passthrough on the shoundbar (like competative brands do) but has decided not to. Not sure why, because the whole eARC thing is kind of futuristic, however, I believe that most customers would use streaming services anyway (and therefore only DD+ Atmos, which works fine). 
 

Hello All,

I was going to place an order for Arc (my first Sonos device) but I am impressed by the negative with all this problem related to AUDIO in a device of this price.
My Samsung TV does not have HDMI eARC so I will not be able to enjoy the Dolby Atmos function by now.
For the price difference (€ 899 vs € 699) I would like to know your opinion\advice if I will be better served  by buying the Playbar + 2 OneSL instead of Arc (buying the Sub on a later stage).

Or probably wait until all this issues to be resolved, properly tested and then move to the Arc?

For all the discussion I have read here it seems to me that Arc does not seem to be mature enough as announced by Sonos (“featuring eleven high-performance drivers for crisp highs, dynamic midranges, and surprising bass”)  and it wouldn't be nice to have a device that looks “incomplete” and patch-dependent

 

Remember people with negative feedback are ALWAYS more vocal than those satisfied and happy with their products. There’s MANY that got their Arcs played their music and movies and didnt push the volume or bass level too high and never noticed any issues. The Arc sounds great it does have a brighter sound signature than the Playbar but for movies and tv it sounds better IMO. The bass issue is going to be rectified.

 

I think it all depends on what you value if you want to future proof your system (* you will get an eARC TV in a few years probably) and you want alexa, airplay 2.0 and better looks (more modern). Or you dont care about atmos or any of that and just want a good soundbar


I don’t agree with you. You make the assumption that people with ‘negative’ feedback (I’d say critical but whatever) ​pushed their volume or bass too high. If you took your time in reading what people are actually giving feedback about, you would read that this issue occurs also at low sound volumes (yesterday I played Suicide Squad with bass -6, still the issue occurred). There is also a difference for some people between video (Let’s say eac3 DD) and audio (Spotify) playback, which may be managed by different balancing profiles. Not sure though.

Also, this video I believe says it all. It’s proof of a way the Sonos Arc processes a certain bandwidth, other than it should as you can see on a comparative device. 


Therefore, there is an urgency to fix this, as people want to enjoy their premium soundbar as they would expect. Above that, in case it’s not a software issue, people want to be able to return their product within the returning period.


 

if you set a volume limit of 50% the issue seem to disappear - and the bass can be set normally have you tried this?


example:

Netflix - Stranger Things S03E01

bass / treble 0

volume 30%
 

Check out the opening scene. Right around the explosion it’s all distorted sound (in my setup)

B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

Well all I can state is that my experience with it post update, is it’s slightly better. 

The Greatest Showman scene plays better for me when I turn the loudness on, bass +1 or 0 but the key is turning OFF trueplay.  It still isn’t perfect and I think the playbar handled it much better and my beam + rears plays it much much better overall than the Arc + rears right now. 

If I turn trueplay back on, it is much much worse for the Arc though.  It’s a significant difference in the amount of bass hitting too low and sounding like it’s bottoming out. 

When it comes to music, I think it’s better than before.  I don’t notice it much at all unless it’s a very heavy bass song and only certain bass frequencies in songs. 

Perhaps Sonos is focusing on the music fix first, they did after all ask to test songs and not movie clips that are readily available, so maybe the next phase of the tweaks will focus on downloading clips to plug into your TV via USB or something.  Not sure but it would make logical sense to do that but wish they would communicate this to people.

Again this is just my experience, I know everyone’s ears are different but coming from the playbar + rears to arc + rears… right now I would recommend the playbar but I’m hoping that changes very soon while Sonos continues to tweak the Arc.

There’s no such thing as movie/music audio difference though. If there’s an issue playing low frequency sounds it will show up across all content. Including test tones (hence why those tests show the issue AND the fix). Also, I am now wondering if the source content some are playing isnt good. I’ve heard the bass on the beam before, and the bass on the playbar I don’t understand how someone can claim the Beam has more clarity and bass than the arc or playbar. Not sure what is going on here. Maybe you have to re-tune your setup? There’s another possible issue with the Arc and trueplaying on some newer iphones

Yeah, I have no clue.  I’m honestly grasping at straws because I felt like I was doing a good thing upgrading from the Playbar to the Arc and my expectations would be a Playbar on steroids with a wider sound stage.  

I’ve retuned my setup multiple times and use an iPhone 6, so it’s not an issue with the mic that some report on the newer iPhones.  We keep this one just for the sole purpose to Trueplay tune. 

I’ve also removed/added a sub to the Arc + Surrounds and Beam + Surrounds. Obviously the sub really helps the Arc drastically but it really doesn't 100% fix it, it masks it pretty good though. Needless to say, I've removed and re-added speakers 5-6 times so I've gone through a complete setup many times.

All my content is bluray remux files, so the audio is good.  I am more of a movie watcher on my Sonos systems than a music listener.  I don’t turn the music up crazy loud but I do notice a night and day difference from my Playbar to the Arc when it comes to playing content.

I just hope they continue to ask for feedback and tweak things so that everyone is getting the same experience and that all the raving reviews we all read are what we all experience.

D
Userlevel 2
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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..…

Why, its advertised as a standalone home theatre? 

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.

Obviously £800 means a lot less to you than it does me, perhaps you have money to burn? For that amount of money I do expect a speaker to not distort at 50% volume and even on films and TV, although it sounds good, it distorts on that too sometimes as low as 30-40% volume

If you are not satisfied gfo with another soundbar with a sub. That is my advice or grab a playbar with sub.

Bit harsh, I won't blow smoke up Sonos's ass for what I see as a inadequate "expensive" product

 

W
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

I understand the frustration from everyone, trust me, I’m there too. 

It’s a new product with raving reviews.  Clearly something changed since the reviews were done to the public release and that change likely isn’t hardware, but a software change.  

Before we start spreading word of panic, let’s just give Sonos a few more days and allow them to work on the issue and provide us updates.  Let’s not try to pick apart words in an update we’re being provided.  

Everyone can choose to handle their Arc individually but my decision is to wait for Sonos to release the update and see if it truly resolves the problem.  If it does, great!  If it doesn’t, then the other option is clear. 

I have faith that Sonos will fix this and fix it quickly.  It’s hard to ask for patience when you spend this much on a product but unfortunately we all have to be patient for the update.

 

Me too!! I do have faith in the company and the brand!

 

I’m in Asia and therefore my Arc is still yet to deliver… probably mid. July, and therefore I don’t have to think about any returning matters. The worst scenario maybe is to cancel the order and get my money back… So for me I’m not only worry about the Arc, but more than that is the reputation of the brand and company after this incident… How it’s going to be? Drop in business? And the Sonos products we already have for years? 

 

 Hope I just think and worried too much… 

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

What do you guys mean it's still there? If you run a 40hz test tone at max volume and get no distortion how can the issue still be present exactly?

Forget 40hz test tone. I don't know what that is. Just try it out with real content like the song I referenced. I want my arc to sound good distortion free at respectable volume like 40-50 with movies and songs not with 40hz test tones.

Forget it 😂 it's literally a bass test tone to test a speaker, mine sounded absolutely awful before the update and had major bass wobbles now it has a steady tone and sounds great

Do you listen to single frequency tones in your free time or songs? I am curious.

I listen to songs you weirdo. It's a test tone I used to test if the bass wobbled because I seen it in a video. It did pre update it now doesn't end of discussion

Test more then, you genius. Passing 40 Hz test is not a proof of concept. Play the movies in which you actually noticed the issue. I did, and issue is not 100 % gone (I would put my money on it). I can still hear the crackling. 

Maybe play different test tones until you find which is the frequency that generates this issue. It might be tedious but what you are hearing on the movie is a low frequency sound, so try to find that. 

A

Amazing bought arc and gen 3 sub yesterday. After listening and reading reviews  Not a single review mentioned about any problems. The sub just does not have any punch at all . Tried reset and re locating the sub. Still no luck . Arc on its on has bass problems as mentioned in above posts. Not even going to bother calling the customer support after reading thro the post. Read topics with promo have issues with sub. Surprisingly even after an year long thread here there are no troubleshooting steps or mention on Sonos support section. Comes across as a bad and poor product marketed as high end product and sold at premium price. this product not worth the hassle after pay so much money.

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

https://thedigitaltheater.com/2019/10/10/top-gun-maverick-2020-trailer-1-4k-1080p-dts-hd-ma-and-ac3-5-1/

This is the trailer I played for my first test.  The first ‘boom’ when Paramount shows up (6-7 seconds) my Arc immediately gives that bottoming out sound.  Throughout the trailer it continues to do it as well.

(It used the ac3 audio and showed 5.1 Dolby Digital in the Sonos app.)

 

 

 

I
Userlevel 2
Badge +3

I am still awaiting arc, gen 3 sub, and two OneSLs.  They are sending out the arc and OneSLs on monday while my sub isn’t scheduled until late June.   First time Sonos owner, so pretty stoked.  


I have an LG OLED B8 series TV which only has ARC, but seeing people say they are getting Dolby Atmos with it, seems kind of strange, but I will not complain if it works.
 

I have been reading through all of this about the bottomed out bass and it being software issue. Are we talking firmware in each speaker, the Mobile app software, or combination of both?

 

thanks… looking forward to receiving the 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?

P
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

When was your new one made, manufacturing date?

K
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

My replacement Arc arrived today. Original was a June 2020 build, with the replacement being a December 2020 model. Setup is standalone bar with no sub or surrounds. 
 

After having enough of constantly adjusting volume and bass EQ during movies, I’d finally gotten to a point where I contacted Sonos support and sent them a video. They agreed to swap it out but alas, no change. Trueplay on or off makes little difference to the booming bass. One would think that this level of distortion can’t be good for the drivers long term.

 

Only hope is that firmware can correct this now.  
 

 

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