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Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

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1406 replies

F
Userlevel 2
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I'm second day in and don't think I will keep the arc as the bass is that bad.  It sounds like a cheap speaker exceeding its limits.

I am using it as my main speaker in the living room having had a play 5 in the same location.

Music on the play 5 sounds 100 times better than the arc.

Try the film Unbroken on Netflix in the aerial scenes.  From about 4mins 40secs when the machine guns are firing from inside the aircraft it just sounds like the speakers cant handle the bass making a totally uncomfortable sound and that's from volume 30 upwards.

It looks like a return from me

 

W
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

Sorry for my poor English as it's not my mother language... What I mean is so far I'm happy with Sonos products and I have been using them every day since 6 years ago... therefore I will still support them even the bass issue happened, because I do believe this will be resolved very soon.


But that’s not at all my concern. Ofcourse they will fix it in some way.

The problem is they are calling it a software issue - which just seems impossible for severeal reasons.

1: How has NONE of Sonos employes noticed this before it being reported? (They have a different batch then the ones just shipped ofcourse)

2: We are on the same software, how come this only affects some units?

And if that’s the case, and they wanna fix a hardware-issue with a software update, that means they are putting a bandage on something broken to make it work. I don’t want it to work if I compromise. Why would I?

I can’t buy a car, discover that it only has 3 wheels, and then accept that they just ship me a fat lady to have sitting in the back-seat as counterbalance to keep it running.

Yes you're absolutely right! 

P
Userlevel 3
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Were there any updates inside the beta app?

S
Userlevel 3
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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.

BMF
Userlevel 5
Badge +13

Clarification please.  Does this problem go away if a sub is included because the problematic frequencies are directed to the sub?

Yes there is no issue when paired with the sub

Although there may not be the same issue when paired with the sub, I am noticing that the sub does not hit anywhere close to where it was when paired with the Beam.  I do have TruePlay tuned, and it is soft when I turn this off as well.  

Interestingly enough, I just commented to my wife the other day how nice the bass sounded when we were listening to music.  Now that it is paired with the Arc, it is disappointing that it is not as strong.

@Ryan S Can you please confirm if this is being looked into even with the Sub added? Coming from a 5.1 setup (Playbar, Sub Gen 2, and 2 Play:1’s), replacing the Playbar with the new Arc has resulted in much lower bass (requiring me to add +5 to the Sub) and a flatter sound all around with both the music and movies mentioned in this thread. When listening to songs like “Collapse” by Tennyson via Spotify, the Arc sounds much softer with mids and highs and the bass is nowhere near as prevalent compared to when the Playbar was part of the setup.

I’ll let the team know what you’re seeing. If you can submit a diagnostic and let me know the confirmation number, I’ll get it to them.

@Ryan S

 

I have a 5.1 setup and noticed it sounds oddly EQ’d compared to Playbar and Beam in the same environment.

 

i have performed TruePlay twice and it does not seem as dynamic or well EQ’d with Arc.

 

without TruePlay the bass is too OTT

 

41439200 - Diagnostics 

B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

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

Agreed.

B
Badge

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. 

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 

 

adding a sub makes it 5.1 doesn’t it?

Yes but all that was mentioned was the Arc and One’s

E
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

“Q90R with sub and surround is $999,...”

Q90R’s surround speakers also include up-firing drivers which might increase the Atmos affect.  I’m hoping Sonos comes out with something like this eventually. Once they’ve addressed all the Arc problems of course...

The Arc has up-firing drivers already.  Not sure what the point of comparison is here...

D
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

Tested mine with eq bass +7 and volume on 40%. Bass is just fine


Do you have the sub?

B

This review may have already been posted here but one more but honest.  I'm surprised by the early reviews that did not notice anything, probably paid by sonos and I will always be critical in the future.  Check out this video. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4VZxAC4BdTE&feature=youtu.be

Sounds more and more like its not for me :sob:
Maybe i will just go with the Beam.

But i will wait a month or so, and see what sonos comes up with.

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

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. 

Yeah, that will just take away all the deep bass, rendering the product unusable. 

L

I experienced the same. Setup my arc today and the first song I played made me feel that the arc is worse than the beam. Almost going to put it back in the box before I came online. Really need this to be fixed quickly otherwise I have to return it.

A

I have new Sonos ARC, software version 12.0.5. I can confirm, that above 50% the bass is not acceptable. It sounds like something is wrong with the speaker, bass is distorted, and I’m not even listen to some bass-oriented music. I know, that it is soundbar, but I would like to be able to listen to music in 60-70% percent of volume… 

The true tone doesn’t change anything. I’m not using equalizer.

W
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

I think the people who have been using SONOS products for years may have more patience and willing to give them some time to get it right, while especially those who bought Arc as their first SONOS product may not… It make lot of sense! 

F
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

I can't see how any software fix will fix this.  The play 5 handles any bass heavy music alot better.  The reviews didn't mention this. Did they have different spec arc to consumer ones or were they manufactured with different components?

S
Userlevel 4
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Yeah, I’m not hearing it on the playbar or beam.  I know what I’m hearing is not how it’s supposed to sound.  The only way it sounds OK is if I turn the bass down drastically (which in reality, doesn’t sound great) or if I pair another $700 product with it.  

I’ve also played many different clips that I tested on launch day that I immediately noticed it on.  All of them present the same issue but some of the clips are better.

I guess I will wait to see what feedback they want on the next phase of the beta.

and maybe this is stupid to say, but I’ll be honest… when I got the playbar, I was pretty blown away and happy.  I can’t say the same with the Arc.  I didn’t want to spend $800 to listen to certain frequencies.  I wanted to spend $800 to unbox, plug it in, play movies and hear better than playbar sound, and that’s not what I’m getting right now. 

What next phase of the beta? It was widely released as the fix. Please include songs, source, timestamp, recording if possible. That is how you report an issue. This is way to wishy washy. Seems like you have a list of trouble content. Let us know 

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

I’d like to chime in that after trying out many songs people mentioned in this thread at ~50% volume, I don’t experience any issues with the bass. Not here to gloat or anything, but I just wanted to voice that not all Arc soundbars have this issue. And if you are on the fence about purchasing one because you are reading about this problem, you can still choose to roll the dice, see if you are affected and need to return. In fact my brand new CX TV’s built-in speaker has the exact issue with the bass which was what prompted me to buy the Arc in the first place. I am glad that my Arc doesn’t do this. 

So probably a hardware issue affecting a specific batch ?

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.

 

Did you watch this? It sounds good 90% of the time, but when loud movie scenes or songs hit certain frequencies it sounds like garbage.

 

Yes I have watched it. I also did a 40hz test on Youtube and it didn’t seem to have the static/crackling sound that he has in the video. I am skeptical though, that’s why I wanted someone to post a video of their unit while having this issue and the hardware version.

S
Userlevel 3
Badge +2

I think the people who have been using SONOS products for years may have more patience and willing to give them some time to get it right, while especially those who bought Arc as their first SONOS product may not… It make lot of sense! 

Nah that’t not it. I have been with Sonos for 2 years and my Beam had 0 issues since day one. People expect the same from a product that costs as much as 2 Beams. That’s not much to ask of a premium brand like Sonos. Consistency

V
Userlevel 2
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Same here, played the 40Hz test tone and bass is all good until volume is 50% and above, then the Arc farts loudly…..

 

Diagnostic confirmation number: 437538094

R
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

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.

Ha I had the exact same reaction. Playbar really was awesome. This Arc feels like an incomplete project. Hopefully the fix works and improves the overall sound balance. 
If not… this puppy goes back and I get myself a playbar again

Y
Userlevel 2

Nothing new but another review confirming the bass/tin sound issues that the users have been experiencing: Rtings Review

E
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

Had you tested out your previous Arc with the 12.0.1 update before returning it?  If so, and your new Arc doesn’t have the muddy bass problem, then this would point to a hardware problem--perhaps with a certain batch.  Unless the bass problem is really just being covered up by the 12.0.1 firmware.

 

Don’t the comments from Rtings (a few posts up) pretty much confirm that all Sonos did was “cover up” the bass issue with 12.0.1? That was my interpretation anyway.

I dont agree with this. An user here said that but don’t take that as a fact. RTINGS said very clearly the update improved things. Not sure was “cover up” means in this case. How do you cover up an issue by improving it? The user mentioned a bandgap filter which basically blocks out a range of frequencies, yet I am not sure were they're getting this information from. Anyways that is what DSP is, a bunch of processing and this goes into all SONOS Speakers. So the hope, if theres no hardware design issue, is that the final and intended DSP tweeks are able to filter out and undesired frequency response to flatten it out. 

 

In the plots I shared, this can be seen perfectly. The goal would be a flatter sound that doesn’t deviate from ideal performance, we know this is not possible or even a thing on any soundbar though. For example look at the Q90R samsung soundbar comparison. Now this is not a fair comparison because this shows performance with a subwoofer which will pereform much better in the lower freqs. I suspect the arc with the Sub look as good if not better than this red line (they haven’t tested it yet). Q90R comes with sub but it is pricier as well (not as pricey as sonos whole 5.1 system though)

Anyways there is clearly something weird going on in the 40 - 50 Hz range with the Arc (without a sub) it was improved with the update but still looks off.

That being said, the issues show up at MAX SPL which means max volume level, there is distortion. Most people, including me, wont really push the sound past 70% or so so they might not even experience these issues. However, we certainly expect more out of SONOS engineering. This is not acceptable, competitors or even other SONOS products can perform better at high volume. So that is where we set the bar for this new SONOS flagship

There is a belief that Sonos cut the bass significantly to eliminate the issue (i.e. if there is no bass, there is no distorted bass). See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VtO4Qc5NaY (see beginning at 7:00 minutes for a minute or so).  I think that was the quick fix while they continue to work on the issue, which makes sense.  I don’t think it’s a “cover up” or anything crazy like that.

W
Userlevel 2
Badge +3

Has anyone tried any of these songs or clips on the beam for comparison?

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