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ggmogollon
Enthusiast II
June 10, 2020
Answered

Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

Beyond thrilled to receive the new Sonos Arc. True played my room and I have loudness on as well connected to LG B8 using Tidal and Spotify. Most of the sound range is phenomenal, aside from the bass. At even half volume the woofers are extremely muddy and sound terrible. Not sure if this is because I have under two hours of use but I wasn’t expecting to have to break-in the speaker. I own set of speakers next to it in the same room (KEF LS50W) and the difference is night and day. There have also been posts on Reddit regarding this issue. It is interesting given no reviewers have mentioned this issue but more than a few recipients have. Has anyone else experienced similar issues? Turning loudness off helps but it is disappointing for such a highly anticipated product. 

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    Scott - SonosAnswer
    Sonos Product Management
    July 2, 2020

    Hello everyone. I’m a product manager at Sonos. Thank you for sharing your experiences with Arc. The development team is monitoring this community and listening to your feedback. 

    As we do with all Sonos products, we’ll continue to improve the experience for Arc through numerous software updates into the future. Last week we issued our first update (12.0.1) to fix a bug some customers were experiencing with low-frequency distortion at higher volumes. 

    If you have specific music tracks or timestamps for TV shows and movies that you want to bring to our attention, please use this form. It is helpful if you can submit a diagnostic when you’re listening to the content. Instructions for doing so can be found here.

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    arpatil1
    Enthusiast II
    June 23, 2020

    After the update I would say it's better but it still doesn't sound like an £800 soundbar.

    I know the play 5 is a dedicated speaker but it cost half the price.  I would at least expect the arc to handle bass as clearly but it cant.  

    I'm beginning to think that this is indeed a hardware issue.  Were the reviewers given the same hardware to give such glowing reviews?

    At 6 mins onwards in Unbroken the machine guns from inside the aircraft sound bizarre like the speaker is still bottoming out when they fire.  Or when the plane crash lands.

    It's so disappointing for a highly rated and expensive product.

    I've got a sub being delivered tomorrow but now I'm not sure whether to open it or just return it with the arc

     

     

    Man the play 5 is tuned for music and only worries about that. The Arc needs to have surround capabilities, atmos capabilities. Mulitple woofers and tweeters etc. Also the volume for the woofers is smaller. Of course the play 5 will have better bass its physics! You are citing the price for the Arc but it is consistent with SONOS pricing. It is high for sure, but delivers good sound for movies and TV. That is what it has to work on, not just low end but clarity, spacious sound, good soundstage, atmos effects, clear crisp voices etc. if you are looking for good low end bass youre probablty better off with any 2.1 soundbars out there with a dedicated sub

    I agree here. Play 5 has got 3 big woofers. You cannot beat Physics with DSP. Play 5 also does not have to worry about movies like @sebas1509 said. I would never compare the Arc with Play 5. Apples and oranges.

    ftm
    Trending Lyricist I
    June 23, 2020

    After the update I would say it's better but it still doesn't sound like an £800 soundbar.

    I know the play 5 is a dedicated speaker but it cost half the price.  I would at least expect the arc to handle bass as clearly but it cant.  

    I'm beginning to think that this is indeed a hardware issue.  Were the reviewers given the same hardware to give such glowing reviews?

    At 6 mins onwards in Unbroken the machine guns from inside the aircraft sound bizarre like the speaker is still bottoming out when they fire.  Or when the plane crash lands.

    It's so disappointing for a highly rated and expensive product.

    I've got a sub being delivered tomorrow but now I'm not sure whether to open it or just return it with the arc

     

     

    Man the play 5 is tuned for music and only worries about that. The Arc needs to have surround capabilities, atmos capabilities. Mulitple woofers and tweeters etc. Also the volume for the woofers is smaller. Of course the play 5 will have better bass its physics! You are citing the price for the Arc but it is consistent with SONOS pricing. It is high for sure, but delivers good sound for movies and TV. That is what it has to work on, not just low end but clarity, spacious sound, good soundstage, atmos effects, clear crisp voices etc. if you are looking for good low end bass youre probablty better off with any 2.1 soundbars out there with a dedicated sub

    I agree here. Play 5 has got 3 big woofers. You cannot beat Physics with DSP. Play 5 also does not have to worry about movies like @sebas1509 said. I would never compare the Arc with Play 5. Apples and oranges.

    Fair point but it's in my living room as my main speaker.  If I was going to have to have a soundbar and a speaker I wouldnt have bought a soundbar that was £800 then the sub for another £700.

    If I turn the trueplay off the arc sounds a bit like my £30 transistor radio I use at work.

    AndrewLC
    Enthusiast I
    June 23, 2020

    The above might be the case perhaps, but there are plenty of reviews out there suggesting that the Arc has such good bass that there’s no need for a Sub. All of the recent user reports make a mockery of this. I agree that a Play 5 might have slightly better bass but a £800 Soundbar should be better then this. One of the  most impressive things about even the smallest Sonos speakers is how much decent bass they put out for their size. 

      sebas1509
      Enthusiast II
      June 23, 2020

      The above might be the case perhaps, but there are plenty of re Jews out there suggesting that the Arc has such good bass that there’s no need for a Sub. All of the recent user reports make a mockery of this. I agree that a Play 5 might have slightly better bass but a £800 Soundbar should be better then this. One of the  most impressive things about even the smallest Sonos speakers is how much decent bass they put out for their size. 

      Oh god I was going to stop reading when you said Jews. I really hope you meant reviews for the sake of everyone here… geez

      On the other hand it might depend on your room man. I am in a smaller room. And I swear testing this at 50 percent I am already overwhelmed with the bass level coming out of the Arc. It has plenty of punch for movies. Not sure what people were expecting for music listening but I can NEVER push pass 50 percent volume on any content and be comfortable with the level produced by the arc. I actually just capped the max volume at 50%. Now if you are in an open floor plan with super open space you might not feel this bass as much. This is when you just need a sub or a bigger speaker there’s no arguing against that man.

       

      I think people need to understand what the arc is it isn't a party speaker to play EDM music at full volume in an outdoor (or super open environment). Yes it is expensive I understand that. But think about it like comparing an iphone to a DSLR camera. you could say $1500 for an iphone 11 pro MAX! Are you insane? I take pics out of this and doesnt even touch my $600 DSLR. Yeah because the iphone has to do many other things than just take pictures and it physically does not have the sensor size of a DSLR camera. It comes down to that. 

       

      The complaints about bad mids and wobling bass I can understand but people say the arc has no bass i just can’t agree. To me sometimes its even too much. Now thats given my smaller room size and such.

       

      EDIT: Those that say but playbar or playbase had “better bass" I had a playbar not sure I agree with that I felt like it has less bass. But regardless it is also a bigger soundbar the playbar is about 30 percent more in volume I believe and depending on the woofer sizes that could be the explanation. I read somewhere even though the arc has more drivers the woofers are smaller. This is a design decision. They went towards creating a great movie experience and a less than good bass heavy edm music experience.

      I tried looking at some of the sources that some of you listed here: ozark, captain america etc. Honestly at 50 percent as I sad I was overwhelmed by the bass thought it was a bit too much for my room. 

        arpatil1
        Enthusiast II
        June 23, 2020

        The above might be the case perhaps, but there are plenty of re Jews out there suggesting that the Arc has such good bass that there’s no need for a Sub. All of the recent user reports make a mockery of this. I agree that a Play 5 might have slightly better bass but a £800 Soundbar should be better then this. One of the  most impressive things about even the smallest Sonos speakers is how much decent bass they put out for their size. 

        Oh god I was going to stop reading when you said Jews. I really hope you meant reviews for the sake of everyone here… geez

        On the other hand it might depend on your room man. I am in a smaller room. And I swear testing this at 50 percent I am already overwhelmed with the bass level coming out of the Arc. It has plenty of punch for movies. Not sure what people were expecting for music listening but I can NEVER push pass 50 percent volume on any content and be comfortable with the level produced by the arc. I actually just capped the max volume at 50%. Now if you are in an open floor plan with super open space you might not feel this bass as much. This is when you just need a sub or a bigger speaker there’s no arguing against that man.

         

        I think people need to understand what the arc is it isn't a party speaker to play EDM music at full volume in an outdoor (or super open environment). Yes it is expensive I understand that. But think about it like comparing an iphone to a DSLR camera. you could say $1500 for an iphone 11 pro MAX! Are you insane? I take pics out of this and doesnt even touch my $600 DSLR. Yeah because the iphone has to do many other things than just take pictures and it physically does not have the sensor size of a DSLR camera. It comes down to that. 

         

        The complaints about bad mids and wobling bass I can understand but people say the arc has no bass i just can’t agree. To me sometimes its even too much. Now thats given my smaller room size and such 

        Big upvote for the iPhone camera and DSLR analogy @sebas1509 ! Software (night mode, smart HDR) can only do so much. Bigger and quality sensor has no match. Same with the speakers. DSP can only push it so far, but the driver size holds it back.

        Arc definitely has plenty of bass. For my living room, I am not even remotely thinking about getting a sub. I just need Sonos to work a bit more on the bass to make it sound clean. Considering this is a new product, they will get it right somewhere down the line.

        ftm
        Trending Lyricist I
        June 23, 2020

        The above might be the case perhaps, but there are plenty of re Jews out there suggesting that the Arc has such good bass that there’s no need for a Sub. All of the recent user reports make a mockery of this. I agree that a Play 5 might have slightly better bass but a £800 Soundbar should be better then this. One of the  most impressive things about even the smallest Sonos speakers is how much decent bass they put out for their size. 

        Oh god I was going to stop reading when you said Jews. I really hope you meant reviews for the sake of everyone here… geez

        On the other hand it might depend on your room man. I am in a smaller room. And I swear testing this at 50 percent I am already overwhelmed with the bass level coming out of the Arc. It has plenty of punch for movies. Not sure what people were expecting for music listening but I can NEVER push pass 50 percent volume on any content and be comfortable with the level produced by the arc. I actually just capped the max volume at 50%. Now if you are in an open floor plan with super open space you might not feel this bass as much. This is when you just need a sub or a bigger speaker there’s no arguing against that man.

         

        I think people need to understand what the arc is it isn't a party speaker to play EDM music at full volume in an outdoor (or super open environment). Yes it is expensive I understand that. But think about it like comparing an iphone to a DSLR camera. you could say $1500 for an iphone 11 pro MAX! Are you insane? I take pics out of this and doesnt even touch my $600 DSLR. Yeah because the iphone has to do many other things than just take pictures and it physically does not have the sensor size of a DSLR camera. It comes down to that. 

         

        The complaints about bad mids and wobling bass I can understand but people say the arc has no bass i just can’t agree. To me sometimes its even too much. Now thats given my smaller room size and such 

        My room is around 8m x 4m.  The arc struggles on some movies at 30% volume on Netflix at 5.1

        sebas1509
        Enthusiast II
        June 23, 2020

        The above might be the case perhaps, but there are plenty of re Jews out there suggesting that the Arc has such good bass that there’s no need for a Sub. All of the recent user reports make a mockery of this. I agree that a Play 5 might have slightly better bass but a £800 Soundbar should be better then this. One of the  most impressive things about even the smallest Sonos speakers is how much decent bass they put out for their size. 

        Oh god I was going to stop reading when you said Jews. I really hope you meant reviews for the sake of everyone here… geez

        On the other hand it might depend on your room man. I am in a smaller room. And I swear testing this at 50 percent I am already overwhelmed with the bass level coming out of the Arc. It has plenty of punch for movies. Not sure what people were expecting for music listening but I can NEVER push pass 50 percent volume on any content and be comfortable with the level produced by the arc. I actually just capped the max volume at 50%. Now if you are in an open floor plan with super open space you might not feel this bass as much. This is when you just need a sub or a bigger speaker there’s no arguing against that man.

         

        I think people need to understand what the arc is it isn't a party speaker to play EDM music at full volume in an outdoor (or super open environment). Yes it is expensive I understand that. But think about it like comparing an iphone to a DSLR camera. you could say $1500 for an iphone 11 pro MAX! Are you insane? I take pics out of this and doesnt even touch my $600 DSLR. Yeah because the iphone has to do many other things than just take pictures and it physically does not have the sensor size of a DSLR camera. It comes down to that. 

         

        The complaints about bad mids and wobling bass I can understand but people say the arc has no bass i just can’t agree. To me sometimes its even too much. Now thats given my smaller room size and such 

        My room is around 8m x 4m.  The arc struggles on some movies at 30% volume on Netflix at 5.1

        Please confirm you haev the new firmware build (not Ios app 12.0.1 but the new build) also, as I understand you mean your Arc bass is muddy and bottoms out? 

        Another theory is it could be due to tuning there might be bugs with the new Trueplay? That could be an explanation for this.

        Tall Paul
        Lyricist III
        June 23, 2020

        Will check the update in a bit, slightly confused as the app updated then checking for updates to Sonos said no update was required and ‘about my system’ also reports it’s on 12.0.1, so not sure what happened but it definitely didn’t update or run the process to the speakers.

         

        I believe it relates more with the Arc hardware build, if you go into the System-->About My System, what does your Arc build report back with?

        Mine is updated from the weekend and we had to make sure we were on build 58178180.  I believe 12.0.1 is the iOS or Android app update but the build/firmware update for the Arc is probably more critical to verify that you are indeed on the updated build/firmware.

        Oh yeah! Cheers for that, looked right past it (been a long day) All the play 1’s are on 58178090 the arc is on 58178080.

          ftm
          Trending Lyricist I
          June 23, 2020

          The above might be the case perhaps, but there are plenty of re Jews out there suggesting that the Arc has such good bass that there’s no need for a Sub. All of the recent user reports make a mockery of this. I agree that a Play 5 might have slightly better bass but a £800 Soundbar should be better then this. One of the  most impressive things about even the smallest Sonos speakers is how much decent bass they put out for their size. 

          Oh god I was going to stop reading when you said Jews. I really hope you meant reviews for the sake of everyone here… geez

          On the other hand it might depend on your room man. I am in a smaller room. And I swear testing this at 50 percent I am already overwhelmed with the bass level coming out of the Arc. It has plenty of punch for movies. Not sure what people were expecting for music listening but I can NEVER push pass 50 percent volume on any content and be comfortable with the level produced by the arc. I actually just capped the max volume at 50%. Now if you are in an open floor plan with super open space you might not feel this bass as much. This is when you just need a sub or a bigger speaker there’s no arguing against that man.

           

          I think people need to understand what the arc is it isn't a party speaker to play EDM music at full volume in an outdoor (or super open environment). Yes it is expensive I understand that. But think about it like comparing an iphone to a DSLR camera. you could say $1500 for an iphone 11 pro MAX! Are you insane? I take pics out of this and doesnt even touch my $600 DSLR. Yeah because the iphone has to do many other things than just take pictures and it physically does not have the sensor size of a DSLR camera. It comes down to that. 

           

          The complaints about bad mids and wobling bass I can understand but people say the arc has no bass i just can’t agree. To me sometimes its even too much. Now thats given my smaller room size and such 

          My room is around 8m x 4m.  The arc struggles on some movies at 30% volume on Netflix at 5.1

          Please confirm you haev the new firmware build (not Ios app 12.0.1 but the new build) also, as I understand you mean your Arc bass is muddy and bottoms out? 

          Another theory is it could be due to tuning there might be bugs with the new Trueplay? That could be an explanation for this.

          Yes I have the new build 

          Seeky
          Prominent Collaborator II
          June 23, 2020

          Some people here reporting that they can play the 40Hz tone without any issues, while others can. That would either indicate a trueplay/room acoustic issue or simply a hardware issue which results from a high variance of the speakers used in the product.

           

          I expect that the gargling bass is cleaned up, if they can’t do that for all Arcs they should replace the few remaining Arcs which can’t be fixed by higher software tolerance.

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