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Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

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1406 replies

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. 

E
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

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. 

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. 

E
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

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. 

What are the issues with a sub? 

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. 

What are the issues with a sub? 

You can learn of these issues if you read all of the posts here and venture into other threads in the troubleshooting forum.

For some, performance with the Sub and Arc isn’t as good their previous Sub with Beam and Playbar setups even if the mud is reduced. 

And the real issue is regardless of having a Sub or not.. the Arc isn’t ready for prime time for some reason. Combine that with almost universal reviewer approval it makes you wonder if reviewers were testing a version of the Arc that is different from what we are currently able to purchase. 

ant0
Badge

Hi there, I just got my Arc 20 minutes ago in Melbourne - Australia, sadly I have to report the same issue, I knew the song to try, Daft Punk - Loose Yourself To Dance. I had it at 50% volume with the Bass at +5 and the rumble it makes is not a normal sound, I would describe it as if one of the driver received to much gain or something, it actually crackles (not sure if this word make sense).

I also have a Beam to compare, the Arc sound much better in every other regard but even if I increase the Bass to +10 on the Beam does not do what is happening with the Arc.

 

  • What are you watching or playing that you’re hearing this on? I just tried this with Music for now with Daft Punk - Loose Yourself To Dance

  • What volume do you experience this at? 50% and Bass EQ increased to +5

  • Is your Arc wall-mounted? No

  • Are you using Trueplay, and does it go away if you turn Trueplay off? I am using Trueplay, it is less discernible without it but if I increase the Bass EQ it is still there

  • Do you have the Bass EQ setting flat or adjusted in some way? Adjusted

  • If it’s possible, can you share an image of the setup? Tv and Arc are on a regular TV Bench, not wall mounted

  • Please submit a diagnostic from the system with it happening and let us know the number. 1386646161

Cheers

 

K

I purchased 2 Arcs, subs and have a few other sonos products. I was playing music on groups today after setup of the 2nd Arc and one of the Subs wasn't connected for some reason but hell it sounded bad for a moment. 
 

I immediately got the sub that wasn't connected for some reason but my subs were definitely masking the issue others have experienced with the bass issues.  

I’ll be keeping an eye on this one for sure.

S
Badge

Mine is ok. I played Toy Story 3 at 2:58 at 75%, connected to my c9. Arc sounds fine. I don't have iOS to true play though. No sub. 

F
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Mine is ok. I played Toy Story 3 at 2:58 at 75%, connected to my c9. Arc sounds fine. I don't have iOS to true play though. No sub. 

Mine seems to have a mid volume band where the bass sounds bad.  At low volumes it's ok then bad at mid then better when high volume as it drowns out the bass.

I was watching Fury on Netflix last night in 5.1 dd.  Where the Sherman's have a battle with the Tiger tank the sound starts off great then is muffled then whe  the rumbling of the Tiget tank started.   I just got the same awful popping sound out of the arc.  As describes by others it's like the speakers are blowing and seems more prevalent from the middle speakers.  It sounds like the sound of a car tyre when you have a blow out or the wind hits a microphone.

I've sent a diagnostic 462880529

 

M
Userlevel 1

Help me understand how it can be a software problem, if only some users are seeing this problem.

 

It’s not like we’re on different software here?

 

And wouldn’t all employees at Sonos be on that exact software and have discovered this before it being reported by the community? ...almost as they themself, ofcourse, have a previous production batch.

D
Userlevel 1

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...

No offense but the sub and bar are sold independently of each other. The bar should work perfectly at 800 dollars or 900 euros without a sub. While we don’t expect thundering bass like a 10 inch subwoofer it was sold as being good without.

I have a Samsung soundbar from 2017 without a subwoofer ( MS-750) that kills the ARC right now in bass precision and zero distortion. The soundfield of the ARC is definitely wider and heightened, Highs and  Mids are great but the lows are terribly inaccurate and ugly at certain frequencies. Sounds like the speaker is about to blow or blown.

just add the 700 dollars sub and it will be fixed 😂. Not that I can’t but I don’t want to inside my apartment. 

 

P
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

Wait a minute - I was just listening to some music on my One in my kitchen and the woofer sounded like it was bottoming out at very reasonable volume levels. I haven’t done any critical listening, but has anyone else checked their other speakers? Did the update that installed affect all the EQ of all Sonos speakers? Or just the Arc? My Play:5 sounded OK earlier, but I wasn’t listening for anything out of the ordinary. 


this has been going on for years and there is still no fix…

https://en.community.sonos.com/wireless-speakers-228992/sonos-play-1-low-bass-popping-6787879/index2.html

 

Habbas
Badge

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. 
 

 

And just to add the issue does go away slightly when I turn loudness off. Have a try and see if that helps until there’s a fix? 
 


 

 

D
Userlevel 1

I invite my English speaking friends to read this French review. You can use google translate if you wish but the important graph/image is in the Audio section.

 

you can see the harmonic distortions with and without the sub. (With sub in red, black without the sub).


 After 110hz and below the ARC without the sub is pathetic.

 

seems like a scam to get you to buy the Sub... 

 

https://www.lesnumeriques.com/enceinte-home-cinema/sonos-arc-p57755/test.html

C
Userlevel 6
Badge +11

 


 After 110hz and below the ARC without the sub is pathetic.

 

https://www.lesnumeriques.com/enceinte-home-cinema/sonos-arc-p57755/test.html

@Dauda  Does it say what volume level they used to measure the THD? I did English translation but couldn’t see they mentioned the volume level. Need some context to understand the graph, as if the graph was really bad, how come the review still says 4 stars out of 5 for Audio?

J
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

I invite my English speaking friends to read this French review. You can use google translate if you wish but the important graph/image is in the Audio section.

 

you can see the harmonic distortions with and without the sub. (With sub in red, black without the sub).


 After 110hz and below the ARC without the sub is pathetic.

 

seems like a scam to get you to buy the Sub... 

 

https://www.lesnumeriques.com/enceinte-home-cinema/sonos-arc-p57755/test.html


the review is still a positive one, with some referred to imperfections in the high and low end. 
 

I do hear the issue, but I have tried a lot more since I reported it and I see it as a minor one. 
 

there is a reason we have subs and insanely expensive separates systems. 
 

I don’t expect perfect Atmos and flawless quality from an £800 soundbar without a Sub woofer. 
 

the issue is then, could it better handle the issue it has in the toy story type example and I think yes. 
 

others keep referring to a batch, but Sonos have confirmed they can replicate the issue and believe it is software related. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. 

M
Userlevel 1

I invite my English speaking friends to read this French review. You can use google translate if you wish but the important graph/image is in the Audio section.

 

you can see the harmonic distortions with and without the sub. (With sub in red, black without the sub).


 After 110hz and below the ARC without the sub is pathetic.

 

seems like a scam to get you to buy the Sub... 

 

https://www.lesnumeriques.com/enceinte-home-cinema/sonos-arc-p57755/test.html


the review is still a positive one, with some referred to imperfections in the high and low end. 
 

I do hear the issue, but I have tried a lot more since I reported it and I see it as a minor one. 
 

there is a reason we have subs and insanely expensive separates systems. 
 

I don’t expect perfect Atmos and flawless quality from an £800 soundbar without a Sub woofer. 
 

the issue is then, could it better handle the issue it has in the toy story type example and I think yes. 
 

others keep referring to a batch, but Sonos have confirmed they can replicate the issue and believe it is software related. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. 

 

Again, if this isn’t a batch, but a software issue. How is this not affecting everyone? We’re all on the same damn software.

J
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

I invite my English speaking friends to read this French review. You can use google translate if you wish but the important graph/image is in the Audio section.

 

you can see the harmonic distortions with and without the sub. (With sub in red, black without the sub).


 After 110hz and below the ARC without the sub is pathetic.

 

seems like a scam to get you to buy the Sub... 

 

https://www.lesnumeriques.com/enceinte-home-cinema/sonos-arc-p57755/test.html


the review is still a positive one, with some referred to imperfections in the high and low end. 
 

I do hear the issue, but I have tried a lot more since I reported it and I see it as a minor one. 
 

there is a reason we have subs and insanely expensive separates systems. 
 

I don’t expect perfect Atmos and flawless quality from an £800 soundbar without a Sub woofer. 
 

the issue is then, could it better handle the issue it has in the toy story type example and I think yes. 
 

others keep referring to a batch, but Sonos have confirmed they can replicate the issue and believe it is software related. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. 

 

Again, if this isn’t a batch, but a software issue. How is this not affecting everyone? We’re all on the same damn software

We all assume we are doing it exactly the same way and that we are all as sensitive to it. 
 

I listened to some of the tracks on my arc for example and hear no issue, but definitely have it with toy story. 
 

music was via airplay and toy story was via iTunes movies, through a LG C9. 
 

the point being that mine appears to have it in one instance and not in another (or I am not sensitive to it). 
 

I’m not an audio engineer but the fact that Sonos could replicate it gives me comfort that it’s not a hardware issue: I am assuming that they tried it against various arcs of course. 

M
Userlevel 1

I invite my English speaking friends to read this French review. You can use google translate if you wish but the important graph/image is in the Audio section.

 

you can see the harmonic distortions with and without the sub. (With sub in red, black without the sub).


 After 110hz and below the ARC without the sub is pathetic.

 

seems like a scam to get you to buy the Sub... 

 

https://www.lesnumeriques.com/enceinte-home-cinema/sonos-arc-p57755/test.html


the review is still a positive one, with some referred to imperfections in the high and low end. 
 

I do hear the issue, but I have tried a lot more since I reported it and I see it as a minor one. 
 

there is a reason we have subs and insanely expensive separates systems. 
 

I don’t expect perfect Atmos and flawless quality from an £800 soundbar without a Sub woofer. 
 

the issue is then, could it better handle the issue it has in the toy story type example and I think yes. 
 

others keep referring to a batch, but Sonos have confirmed they can replicate the issue and believe it is software related. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. 

 

Again, if this isn’t a batch, but a software issue. How is this not affecting everyone? We’re all on the same damn software

We all assume we are doing it exactly the same way and that we are all as sensitive to it. 
 

I listened to some of the tracks on my arc for example and hear no issue, but definitely have it with toy story. 
 

music was via airplay and toy story was via iTunes movies, through a LG C9. 
 

the point being that mine appears to have it in one instance and not in another (or I am not sensitive to it). 
 

I’m not an audio engineer but the fact that Sonos could replicate it gives me comfort that it’s not a hardware issue: I am assuming that they tried it against various arcs of course. 


My guess is they can replicate it because they got hold of a faulty unit.

There is NO way this could be missed by all those people untill the community reported it, I mean, it’s sounds like the God damn bass is puntured

K

Whats the game plan here Sonos? Is this software or hardware? A software fix to a hardware issue isn't acceptable. 
 

Do I need to start the return process on my 2 Arcs and supporting speakers or not?

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

Whats the game plan here Sonos? Is this software or hardware? A software fix to a hardware issue isn't acceptable. 
 

Do I need to start the return process on my 2 Arcs and supporting speakers or not?

It seems to be a hardware issue since some users are not expecting it. That does not mean that they can’t fix it to your satisfaction with software. There might be a batch of the Arcs being equipped with a slightly different speaker. That would just need them to retune their speaker curves. You might not be able to notice a difference from the two batches afterwards.

Anyway, I wouldn’t accept it either if the software fix has other downsides. I saw there are some people who have two Arcs, one with the issue and one without. Those people will be able to tell us if we need to send ours back or if the fix is creating equal quality on both.

D
Userlevel 1

Whats the game plan here Sonos? Is this software or hardware? A software fix to a hardware issue isn't acceptable. 
 

Do I need to start the return process on my 2 Arcs and supporting speakers or not?


it would be nice to get a response today by the Team to get some clarification on the issue.

 

i know it’s Friday but if there is no update on such a blatant mishap in quality control whether software or hardware it would be disappointing. 
 

Most people probably won’t pay attention to this but hopefully Sonos does not make their products for the lowest common denominator…

 

as a first time Sonos buyer, it sucks to be disappointed ☹️ like this. My old budget and Mid-end soundbars could push better bass without much or any distortion without a subwoofer.

 

I want to hear about a solution in terms of the product getting called back or an update if it truly is a software issue.  And if a software fix to a hardware issue is the solution I want none of it !

B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

They have already replied stating they are working on a software update.  

https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/sonos-arc-muddy-bottoming-out-bass-6842379?postid=16438889#post16438889

D
Userlevel 1

They have already replied stating they are working on a software update.  

https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/sonos-arc-muddy-bottoming-out-bass-6842379?postid=16438889#post16438889

Hi,

 

We will see but since this affects a lot of users that do not have the subwoofer. I’m pretty sure most users without a sub if they test the soundbar thoroughly , it would be nice to get an update and statement from the company. It is just strange that this just gets discovered now. I have heard recordings of people with the same issue and it’s the exact same sound issue with low frequencies.

 

As I stated before, from a product at this price and the reputation of the company it is disappointing for first time buyers like myself.

 

Im hoping that the issue will be fixed because I still think the soundstage and height of the bar are amazing and I was initially impressed.

B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

They have already replied stating they are working on a software update.  

https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/sonos-arc-muddy-bottoming-out-bass-6842379?postid=16438889#post16438889

Hi,

 

We will see but since this affects a lot of users that do not have the subwoofer. I’m pretty sure most users without a sub if they test the soundbar thoroughly , it would be nice to get an update and statement from the company. It is just strange that this just gets discovered now. I have heard recordings of people with the same issue and it’s the exact same sound issue with low frequencies.

 

As I stated before, from a product at this price and the reputation of the company it is disappointing for first time buyers like myself.

 

Im hoping that the issue will be fixed because I still think the soundstage and height of the bar are amazing and I was initially impressed.

It's possible that the most recent update caused an issue.  I can't speak for everyone but I had an update immediately after setting up the soundbar.  Perhaps reviewers didn't, perhaps everyone didn't, perhaps everyone has different expectations or ears.

I was one of the first to report this on launch day.  Trust me in disappointed but there are many times on a new product launch where some bugs happen.  The fact they've replied already and are working on it is a great thing.  Not all companies would be so quick to act.

I'm hopeful in a day or two we will see an update and hear the Arc in all of its glory and have the same reactions that the early reviewers had.  

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