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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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    sebas1509
    Enthusiast II
    June 24, 2020

    Please have a look at this video:

     

    Seems like the initial problem has been fixed BUT there are new issues with the bass at different frequencies.

     

     

    @Ryan S please look at this. I confirmed the rattling sound at close to 100% on my arc. The previous issue was fixed but at 100% 40Hz still has this new rattling. Also, on my sonos one I definitely hear some wobbling (less bad than on Arc) at 40Hz at a range of volumes. So seems like there’s still work to be done. Definitely an improvement but bring this up with your team please

      MerlinNL
      Lyricist III
      June 24, 2020

      Try playing Dr. Carter by Lil Wayne at a 70% volume. 

      The bass in this song sounds horrid at 40%

      Although overall I’m still statisfied with the improvements, I experience exactly this at like 50%. Especially where the heart-beeping goes static. Also try Monate Mpolaye - Dj Sumbody. Deep tones don’t sound that well either.

      That being said: For general usage, the Arc is fine now, there were even (movie) scenes where I was: That’s what I’m talking about!

      Still, I believe buying an additional sub for crisp low tones shouldn’t be needed. Especially not with a 899 EUR soundbar. I know a soundbar can’t produce as much sound as a full set, however, it should be crisp at all times and never distort (okay, could be acceptable at the 80%+ volume levels). There are still examples where this is the case, unfortunately. I stick to my earlier statement: Great improvement, still not 100%.

      I actually tried to record this Dr.Carter track in order to upload an example, however, can’t really hear the rumbling / muddy sound when you record it with an iPhone 7 xD

      Also: I see some ppl claiming that the issue is resolved (also some very brand-loyal people claiming Sonos never let them down and they will undoubtedly fix this etc.). Good that you give your opinion, but please also let other people give theirs and ‘complain’ as long as they aren’t satisfied. This still is a premium product that comes with the highest expectations.

        MerlinNL
        Lyricist III
        June 24, 2020

        Anyone with RTINGS early access can see some prelim graphs on THD, Frequency Response etc.

        https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/sonos/arc

        Will be updated in a few days.

        Very interested in this!

          arpatil1
          Enthusiast II
          June 24, 2020

          Please have a look at this video:

           

          Seems like the initial problem has been fixed BUT there are new issues with the bass at different frequencies.

           

           

          @Ryan S please look at this. I confirmed the rattling sound at close to 100% on my arc. The previous issue was fixed but at 100% 40Hz still has this new rattling. Also, on my sonos one I definitely hear some wobbling (less bad than on Arc) at 40Hz at a range of volumes. So seems like there’s still work to be done. Definitely an improvement but bring this up with your team please

          What concerns me the most now is bass behavior between 70 Hz and 90 Hz. Going back to 40 Hz after that was awful. DSP is definitely going crazy here LOL. I tested these tones on my HomePod and they are perfect as they should be. 

          sebas1509
          Enthusiast II
          June 24, 2020

          Please have a look at this video:

           

          Seems like the initial problem has been fixed BUT there are new issues with the bass at different frequencies.

           

           

          @Ryan S please look at this. I confirmed the rattling sound at close to 100% on my arc. The previous issue was fixed but at 100% 40Hz still has this new rattling. Also, on my sonos one I definitely hear some wobbling (less bad than on Arc) at 40Hz at a range of volumes. So seems like there’s still work to be done. Definitely an improvement but bring this up with your team please

          What concerns me the most now is bass behavior between 70 Hz and 90 Hz. Going back to 40 Hz after that was awful. DSP is definitely going crazy here LOL. I tested these tones on my HomePod and they are perfect as they should be. 

          Yeah definitely they need to work on this. I now think this is a S2 issue because I noticed weirdness on my sonos one. 

          Masterpopper
          Lyricist III
          June 24, 2020

          It sounds like the speaker is being pressed up against something when trying to hit some frequencies. I fear that it might be a hardware issue on some units and we may never hear about it. Sonos will accept returns on those units and fix the production problem. Just a theory.. I will be returning my arc on Friday if there is no additional update to this. 
           

          @Ryan S please let us know what is going on from the Sonos side of things! Is it in any way possible a hardware issue?

            sebas1509
            Enthusiast II
            June 24, 2020

            Anyone with RTINGS early access can see some prelim graphs on THD, Frequency Response etc.

            https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/sonos/arc

            Will be updated in a few days.

            Very interested in this!

            Do you have this RTINGS preview? I am interesteed but now hope they wait a bit for these issues to be fixed

            ggmogollonAuthor
            Enthusiast II
            June 24, 2020

            Please have a look at this video:

             

            Seems like the initial problem has been fixed BUT there are new issues with the bass at different frequencies.

             

             

            @Ryan S please look at this. I confirmed the rattling sound at close to 100% on my arc. The previous issue was fixed but at 100% 40Hz still has this new rattling. Also, on my sonos one I definitely hear some wobbling (less bad than on Arc) at 40Hz at a range of volumes. So seems like there’s still work to be done. Definitely an improvement but bring this up with your team please

            What concerns me the most now is bass behavior between 70 Hz and 90 Hz. Going back to 40 Hz after that was awful. DSP is definitely going crazy here LOL. I tested these tones on my HomePod and they are perfect as they should be. 

            Yeah definitely they need to work on this. I now think this is a S2 issue because I noticed weirdness on my sonos one. 

            Can confirm. It is prevalent on higher quality sources such as Dolby Atmos. 

              bbalz
              Renowned Enthusiast I
              June 24, 2020

              Can confirm. It is prevalent on higher quality sources such as Dolby Atmos. 


              I can confirm this as well.  Also the testing he does in the video,  I get the same responses he did.  I’m glad this is getting attention because I was getting a little tired replying on here just to be told I’m wrong or my content is troublesome.

              I’m eager for Sonos to continue working on a solution and hope we can get another beta for testing sooner than later so this can be remedied.

              ggmogollonAuthor
              Enthusiast II
              June 24, 2020

              Can confirm. It is prevalent on higher quality sources such as Dolby Atmos. 


              I can confirm this as well.  Also the testing he does in the video,  I get the same responses he did.  I’m glad this is getting attention because I was getting a little tired replying on here just to be told I’m wrong or my content is troublesome.

              I’m eager for Sonos to continue working on a solution and hope we can get another beta for testing sooner than later so this can be remedied.

              Likewise, additional digging into this issue would be appreciated. 

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