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Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

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M
Userlevel 5
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After the update, I don’t know if I’m going mad, but find my Sonos Beam still has better bass coming from it, I played the same few tracks on both and found the Beam sounded better..

J
Userlevel 4
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going back. 

 

@sebas1509 If we bought the Arc in the US before May 31st, do we get 100 days return window?

 

I got an email that said so but I am not 100% sure. maybe someone else has gotten confirmation from support.

@Bumper the answer for a “defective” device isn’t a return window, it’s a warranty claim. You have 1 to 2 years depending on your region. Yes you’re totally free to return. I was just mentioning if you sold your previous soundbar it just makes more sense to keep the Arc. But that’s on every person.

 

No, the the answer for a defective item is to return it if your return window is still open. 

 

Agreed - who would keep a defective item and send it in for warranty repair if they could still return it??  That makes no sense.

No, I am not saying you have a defective instance of the Arc. I am saying if there is a bug, it will be fixed. IF you happen to have a defective product (which we do NOT know and saying otherwise is speculation) then you can get a warranty exchange. Also, SONOS wouldn’t give you a refurbished product. Refurbished products are returns or slightly defective products that were fixed. For example, Some people are even getting Fives as replacements for Play:5s. Even past their warranties (read some instances of people having defective WIFI cards past warranty) and Sonos shipped them Fives right away.Also, saw some people that had the weird sub ticking noise, and got replacements right away. So don’t bring that BS because we all know Sonos has backed their products throughout the years… We are not talking about a random startup here... come on!

 

As I said if you want to keep doing a roulette and returning arcs and rebuying them even before you know if there is an actual issue or it will be patched in a week go ahead. If you want to return your arc and not have a soundbar for a while go ahead! But all I am saying is warranties exist for a reason… I had a Vizio 5.1 system the sub then refused to connect to the soundbar. I checked amazon it was plagued by people trashing the reviews complaining etc. Contacted vizio they instantly sent me a new soundbar, I checked the serial number seems like they had a revision B fixing this issue. The fixed it past my warranty. That worked very well, even sold it to get my play bar at a discount. So you guys do you .

 

Responding to “ Agreed - who would keep a defective item and send it in for warranty repair if they could still return it??  That makes no sense.” 

Uhm.. are you aware the arc is backordered for at least a month and out of stock most places. Some people haven’t even received their preoders. Many people here said they already sold their beam/playbar to upgrade. So I commented on that saying you dont have to worry because we are backed by a warranty. That is the point of my post. I for one am not about to spend 1+ months without a soundbar while a wait for a mythical hardware fix that might or might not exist so I can play EDM music on my arc at 100% volume without distortion. Will patiently wait for it to be improved/fixed the DSP issues. IF they dont progress and update within a reasonable amount of time will ask for a replacement once the arc is not backordered for a month

 

There are a lot of people who cannot afford to or would prefer not to waste $800 on something that sounds inferior to a $400 alternative.  And there are a lot of people who are tired of companies rushing buggy products to market before they are ready.  I tend to be one of these people who votes with my wallet when a company releases something prematurely that doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to.  I’ve returned plenty of buggy products that performed unsatisfactorily vs. holding out for a fix that may or may not come.  Sometimes the manufacturer ironed out the kinks over time, other times they did not.

Yes, Sonos MAY improve/fix the Arc so that it sounds better than the Beam/Playbar.  But until they do, I certainly am not going to fault anyone for returning it vs. holding out hope that Sonos makes it work properly in a timely matter.  Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.  But a lot of people don’t want to take that chance with their hard-earned money and I can’t blame them.  You have a different philosophy and there’s nothing wrong with that.  To each their own.

I
Userlevel 1
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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 

B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

Since I do not have arc arc, sub, and OneSLs yet, to make sure I am all of this correctly, the muddy bass issue is with the arc itself, and not the sub?  

Thanks…

The sub helps mask the issue for the most part but the issue is still there. At least in my opinion.

K
Userlevel 1
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You don’t have to be part of a beta in order to know that most companies run A/B tests on their customers.

 

Group A could be getting a potentially more experimental fix, for which they need more data to confirm if it comes with side effects.

While Group B could be getting a confirmed fix, which might, however, also come with known issues or compromises.

 

If group A is successful, it will be the one that gets released. If Group A fails (in which case you’ll get beta testers yelling around the internet that the patch did not work), they will either go for Group B’s solution or do another version/patch upon Group A.

 

What I am trying to say is, it is good to follow the NDA and not jump to conclusions right away. They might have purposely given you an experimental version to see what can go wrong.

 

Enough about it I’d say. Is there any official news regarding the patch? 

 

Ps. I am in no way confirming this is the case for SONOS. This is simply an assumption that is based on my own personal experience working in the tech branche.

Game programmer and music enthusiast
A
Userlevel 2
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Unsure why some report it still has issues. Had noticed the issue before with the test tones, and in some certain scenes. Toystory 3 2:58 showed the issue. I have a playbar to compare to and definitely crackled/farted a bit during this scene. After the update issue is gone. Turn up to 100 percent with 40Hz tone, played bassy music (hiphop) and played the toystory scene all sound good.

 

Remember guys this is a soundbar. the bass wont compete with a subwoofer or bigger system. Maybe you are expecting different bass from what the arc is supposed to produce. Right now Arc sounds great. I turned off my surrounds and sub for these tests.

I dont think a thing as “step in the right direction” is even a thing. This wasn’t tuning was likely a bug with the DSP that was fixed to avoid this issue from happening.

 

However, just as a comment I’ve seen people on here and reddit claiming their SONOS one sound bad and distort horribly. Even shared clips. I cant hear much on the clips from my phone, or headphones. I wonder if these people are new to sonos and expecting home theater experience with the arc and sonos ones?

Okay I own a beam, Sonos ones etc. I do know how a distorted bass sounds like vs good one. I am not expecting the bass to compete with subwoofer. Also I am not expecting a different bass, don't know what that means. The bass coming from this Arc for CERTAIN songs/ movie scenes is definitely making crackling noise aka distortions even at volumes 34. Never had this issue with beam at same volume level or higher. Remember BEAM also is just a sound bar.

If you don't hear any such distortions maybe you are lucky but that doesn't mean all is well with Arc and we actually hearing it wrong.

B
Userlevel 5
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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. 

A
Userlevel 2
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Although the new update did fix the bass issue and I was happy for that short period of time assumed all is well, then the more I listen to Arc the more I am realizing something is certainly off. The bass issue certainly gone but now the bass comes out like it is pressed against something so that it won't blow off. It is missing that well-rounded richness it used to have albeit distortions before the update. The more I listen to Arc the more I am appreciating my beam. Sure beam doesn't have that big soundstage, Atmos capabilities like its big brother Arc but it just sounds so good and warm for its size.

Made my mind, packed the Arc ready to go back to store today.

A
Userlevel 2
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Give them a chance! The Sonos guy posting on here has made it fairly clear that they have identified an issue and are working on the solution as we speak. Not sure what else they could be doing at this point. Presumably if they think the issue might be affecting other components in the range then they will do the same for them, or release a software update that is applicable to all devices. 

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

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

Happy that the bass distortion will get fixed, but still concerned about overall sound balance. Highs, mids, and lows have no harmony. Everything feels overly crisp. Tried EQ, doesn’t help very much. I should probably start another thread for this?

R
Userlevel 3
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Give them a chance! The Sonos guy posting on here has made it fairly clear that they have identified an issue and are working on the solution as we speak. Not sure what else they could be doing at this point. Presumably if they think the issue might be affecting other components in the range then they will do the same for them, or release a software update that is applicable to all devices. 

I am giving them a chance. That’s why I haven’t returned it yet :)

R
Userlevel 3
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Could be just me but there’s also a significant lack of mid-range even with the Sub 3.0.  I hear the “bass” issue when I turn off my sub leaving the Arc to play by itself.  The fullness of sound returns when the sub is on but the Arc ends up sounding like just a bunch of tweeters coupled to a bass bin … not something I’m used to even with my Five and several Play 1s.

Ended up calling Sonos service yesterday before jumping on here and they’re very reluctant to return or exchange.  Hope this is fixed by next week.

… For other’s with 5.1 Arc + Sub set ups … just me??

Completely agree. As of right now, this thing just doesn’t sound all that good. I’m willing to wait for the fix, but the reviews that claimed the arc didn’t need a sub are WAY wrong. If you can’t afford the sub there are MUCH better options out there. 

V
Userlevel 2
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Hey guys, also check to make sure your night mode is not automatically turned on. Somehow on my unit, it was automatically turned on and it also affected my music playback. I though it sounded like crap unit yesterday I went in the app and found out night mode was On… when I turned it off, everything sounded much fuller on tv and on music playback.

 

It’s most definitely a bug since when activating night mode in tv, and the listening to music, it shouldn’t carry over, but it was “stuck” in night mode on all sources.

 

could this be the metallic sounding arc people were reporting?

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

My previous recording has a bit low volume, so it’s not too easy to hear. I’ve remembered the perfect song to find out if your unit is affected:

Fort Minor - Remember the Name (feat. Styles of Beyond)

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/de1v8v8heunhxqi/RememberTheName-PLAY5.m4a?dl=0

 

Arc 50% Volume.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/il1m9kt134k9rsq/RememberTheName-ARC.m4a?dl=0

 

M
Userlevel 3
Badge +3

I might be the only one here but mine is absolutely fine? Is everyone who is having these issues using Arc or eArc? How many units have they sold and are out there working fine? I'm connected to an LG B9 with eArc I'm running without the sub I just have two Play 1s as surrounds I've done the Toy Story 2:58 test and played all of the suggested songs and even cranked the bass up to +10 and I get no distortion or popping like I've heard in this thread. I've watched F1 Drive to Survive on Netflix as it has Atmos and the sound is absolutely incredible the bass is very very good

It has nothing to do with Arc or eArc… When just listining to music (Spotify) it’s also there. Adding a sub makes it better, because it takes away bass from the Arc

B
Userlevel 3
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So I am starting this by saying I have decided to keep my Arc. I am still not 100% satisfied, but I am getting closer. It has replaced my beam under the TV. 

I have a Sub, Play:1 Surrounds as well. 

With the update it does sound better yet compared to the beam I don’t think bass handing is correct yet. It lacks the ‘oomph’ I was expecting. I will say that compared to the beam the sound is more expansive, details and has more spatial volume (not loudness). Actual loudness does not seem huge compared to beam but again that may be more due to lack of low down grunt. 

I need to do more testing, use trueplay to tune it (oldest apple device in my house is an iPhone XR) etc. But out the gate, the Arc (inc Sub/Surrounds) lack oomph. I would watch a movie with the beam/sub/surrounds and my living room would be a wall of sound, with bass rippling though the experience. Not so much now, sub and all. 

I have also noticed some of my other speakers around the house seem to lack bass precisions/depth but I am not wondering if it is psychosomatic. 

Here is a thought that is off not practical benefit but my Sonos systems just feel little underwhelming since S2. S1 has years and years of refinement and I think some of that has been lost? It’s like I’ve gone from HDR/Dolby Vision back to regular 4K. Still good, but not… ‘wow’

So why am I keeping it….because I feel it can be fixed, and I refuse to believe reviews are so off the mark. And if there is a hardware issue, 100 days or not, Sonos should remedy with a replacement. I have a certain amount of faith in Sonos, let’s see if it is well places. 

Beam. 2x Play:1 - 2x Play One (gen 2) - Sub - 2x Play 5 - Move
S
Userlevel 4
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Could be just me but there’s also a significant lack of mid-range even with the Sub 3.0.  I hear the “bass” issue when I turn off my sub leaving the Arc to play by itself.  The fullness of sound returns when the sub is on but the Arc ends up sounding like just a bunch of tweeters coupled to a bass bin … not something I’m used to even with my Five and several Play 1s.

Ended up calling Sonos service yesterday before jumping on here and they’re very reluctant to return or exchange.  Hope this is fixed by next week.

… For other’s with 5.1 Arc + Sub set ups … just me??

Completely agree. As of right now, this thing just doesn’t sound all that good. I’m willing to wait for the fix, but the reviews that claimed the arc didn’t need a sub are WAY wrong. If you can’t afford the sub there are MUCH better options out there. 

Feel like a little kid that just opened an NES system on Christmas day then immediately told I can’t play it until I finish my vegetables :(.

Still very curious if anyone has a working Arc and happy with the sound??

Maybe you should create a different troubleshooting topic for this. This post refers to the muddy bass issue. And that is being addressed by Sonos. IF there is a different issue (not saying there is) but IF then you create a different topic and everyone with that issue will show up there/

 

I am a bit confused by this because I had the playbar and I think the Arc sounds better. The bass is definitely stronger on the Arc as well ( when I dont push it to loud volumes I dont have any muddy issues). Are you mostly listening to music? For movies and TV the voices are very clear and loud. After trueplay of course. The details are there too. I think it sounds pretty good. Waiting for my sub to arrive today which I heard improves things further

S
Userlevel 4
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I retuned TruePlay several times because I thought it was too nasally in 5.1 with sub and play 1 rears.

 

I am sure they will sort it out.

BTW some people mentioned when you do trueplay make sure to wave the phone in front of the speaker for a bit and not too far away either. This helped with those that feel like the tuning was harsh. Try that out

D
Userlevel 2

Same issue here. The bass response is terrible. My beam at about 50% volume has a smoother And cleaner response. This is terribly disappointing and so glad I read this thread. I thought it was me. 
 

The Highs and mids are incredibly detailed and crisp though. It is a LOT louder when compared to the beam. 
 

The bass for me was poor while listening to music (Spotify and Apple Music), watching inception on Netflix was great until the bass kicked in and same muddled response. Plugged in the PS4 Pro to play some call of duty and yet again same experience. My sub has yet to be delivered, but thinking of cancelling both and sticking with the beam (much better value for money). 
 

I have the arc placed on my wooden tv unit with the tv behind it. This is the same location I had the beam with no issues at all. All running through HDMI Arc. Not using optical. 
 

Hope a software update fixes the issue otherwise, bye bye Sonos Arc. 
 

 

Once you have the sub, you will not have any issues...

Great! A $700 solution for an $800 problem. 

D
Userlevel 2

Same issue here. The bass response is terrible. My beam at about 50% volume has a smoother And cleaner response. This is terribly disappointing and so glad I read this thread. I thought it was me. 
 

The Highs and mids are incredibly detailed and crisp though. It is a LOT louder when compared to the beam. 
 

The bass for me was poor while listening to music (Spotify and Apple Music), watching inception on Netflix was great until the bass kicked in and same muddled response. Plugged in the PS4 Pro to play some call of duty and yet again same experience. My sub has yet to be delivered, but thinking of cancelling both and sticking with the beam (much better value for money). 
 

I have the arc placed on my wooden tv unit with the tv behind it. This is the same location I had the beam with no issues at all. All running through HDMI Arc. Not using optical. 
 

Hope a software update fixes the issue otherwise, bye bye Sonos Arc. 
 

 

Once you have the sub, you will not have any issues...

Great! A $700 solution for an $800 problem. 

He said he already bought the sub before he knew of the problem.  The point is that given that he already wanted the sub, and having a sub means there is no problem, he will have no problem after it arrives.  He won’t have to wait for the software fix. 

Or will he? The context of my reply included other posts in this and other threads experiencing issues WITH the Sub when compared to prior performance with Beam’s and Playbar’s. A Sub may mitigate the mud, but the truth is we (customers) don’t have any idea what kind of problem this is (firmware for the Arc, S2 issues, both, hardware….) and how it will be solved, yet. 

C
Userlevel 1

You’re mentioning the audio team. So that means that there is actually a hardware dependent variance in our speakers which needs to be adressed with a slightly different sound tuning? We are not talking about a failed update or a wrong firmware being used?

Do you mean the team that’s investigating? That would be the audio software team. At the most basic level, make the software that tells the speakers what sounds to produce, and they do a whole lot more. Though there are other teams involved too to various degrees. I know in threads like this on these sorts of topics the conversation can get out of control with speculation, so let’s try to taper that down where we can. The right teams are investigating this already and we’ll let you know as soon as there’s a resolution or more details to share.


@Ryan S Can you confirm this is a software issue? You originally said it was but now your response only says your team is working on a software fix. 
 

I think most of us are willing to wait for this fix if we have confidence this isn’t hardware related but with the big price tag and limited time to return, we need to know ASAP. Thanks 

While it’s under investigation, I’m hesitant to say it’s anything specific. This looks to be software related, but let’s give the team some time to work on this and if I can share more with you later, I will. 

How much time are we talking? This week, next, or a month from now? I understand they’re working on it but this is insane given the price of the ARC. 
Purchased from Best Buy, and quickly closing in on the return period. 

D
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

That’s terrible to hear the issue is still present on a July build soundbar. I’ve said it b4 I’m fine with lack of bass from the stand alone Arc. But I’m not fine with the quality of the bass. It’s flubby and distorted.

I should only have to buy a sub if I want more bass, NOT to fix distorted bass. Many people have reported the Beam and Playbar don’t have this issue without a sub. I still think something wacky is going on with the DSP / Crossover.

Frustrating.

B
Userlevel 3
Badge +4

Sonos really need to get on top of this now. What HiFi say this: “There are vast quantities of deep, weighty and tuneful bass, but the lower frequencies never overwhelm and even at its loudest and deepest, the Arc remains remarkably composed” yet the rtings review highlights the bass issue (pre-firmware) that we all notice. It’s still not right with the new firmware. 

The what hi-fi review is so good. As where many many others. What was different other than firmware and/or production issues with customer units? 

Something is amiss and Sonos have been too quiet about this. Someone need to stand up and publicly say there is an issue, and they will fix the firmware and/or replace hardware if needed. Even if its just on the community site. 

I had a 24hr delay on a $60 wall mount in March. I never complained and it did not bother me. But I got 20% discount Code from Sonos anyway. That is customer service. I was singing their virtues. I recommended them and commented on how they have great customer service. I know they are just a company but they always seemed to come though. 

June this happens and… next to nothing. Seriously. What a change. 

My folks want to buy some play fives as their B&O Zeppelin is getting old. I just told them to wait or look elsewhere.

Beam. 2x Play:1 - 2x Play One (gen 2) - Sub - 2x Play 5 - Move
M
Userlevel 3
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Been having a long email conversation with Sonos customer support. A lot of similar questions and actions reported on here. They have said it might. That’s might, be a hardware issue. They are replacing my Arc. It comes on Thursday. 
I hope this fixes things. Will report back. 
 

Definitely keep us posted. That would be best case for most of us with this issue. Will they let you have them side by side for comparison?

J
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

Sonos should be RMA’ing these Arc units and comparing the returned units to “known good units” to determine if there is a hardware problem/bad batch or if they are performing as designed/intended.  Any other response is unacceptable IMO.


“Just wait...we may or may not release a software update that fixes your problem.  Meanwhile your return window will have passed by that point” is not an acceptable solution.  

 

Demand more people!

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