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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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    anujgoel83
    Trending Lyricist I
    June 27, 2020

    That’s the problem though guys all the reviews said it has so much bass it doesn’t need a sub unless you are listening at high volumes and as you have rightly said the bass isn’t much more than a beam - and the beam doesn’t distort… so why is this over twice the price for a little extra length?

    I agree with you, as a standalone, I would expect WAY more, anybody that says a sub isn't needed really hasn't heard the it, it isn't even slightly comparable, and it isn't just the bass, the mids are smoother and better articulated.

      anujgoel83
      Trending Lyricist I
      June 27, 2020

      Found a new problematic film please can someone who claims the issue has gone try it? Go on Netflix and find their film ‘DRIVE’ I think it’s Bollywood anyway 35:00 listen around 30% the right bass sounds good how you’d expect it - now up to 60% it sounds worse than the original toy story sound? Can someone try this except me? Cheers

      Just tried this and its absolutely faultless, actually sounds pretty phenomenal. Guys this HAS to be a hardware problem. Im actually anxious about updating to the latest s/w version as I bet it will make it worse.

       

       

      With sub I can push up to 80% with ease (eq bass +6) when watching 6 Underground intro. No problem at all, also with music, . Turn the sub off → problems

      Did you update?, if so any difference with sub and surrounds?

      maurice.pothoven
      Trending Lyricist II
      June 27, 2020

      Found a new problematic film please can someone who claims the issue has gone try it? Go on Netflix and find their film ‘DRIVE’ I think it’s Bollywood anyway 35:00 listen around 30% the right bass sounds good how you’d expect it - now up to 60% it sounds worse than the original toy story sound? Can someone try this except me? Cheers

      Just tried this and its absolutely faultless, actually sounds pretty phenomenal. Guys this HAS to be a hardware problem. Im actually anxious about updating to the latest s/w version as I bet it will make it worse.

       

       

      With sub I can push up to 80% with ease (eq bass +6) when watching 6 Underground intro. No problem at all, also with music, . Turn the sub off → problems

      Did you update?, if so any difference with sub and surrounds?

      Yep I did update. But i still think the Arc is missing midrange.

       

      surrounds sound just fine with the sub turned on. 

      yyzjyu
      Lyricist II
      June 29, 2020

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

      craigski
      Local Superstar
      June 29, 2020

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

      Review was before 12.0.1 update, also without a Sub.

      yyzjyu
      Lyricist II
      June 29, 2020

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

      Review was before 12.0.1 update, also without a Sub.

      Yup - hopefully they will update the review soon.  However, it’s the first time I’ve seen a reviewer acknowledge the bright/metallic sound signature.

      pyro225
      Enthusiast II
      June 29, 2020

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

      Review was before 12.0.1 update, also without a Sub.

      And? It should be able to stand up without the sub as so many of the original reviews and reviewers said? Also the Playable which it replaces had phenomenal bass in comparison and didn't have these issues.

       

      The 12.0.1 fixed one frequency band but the issue is still massively prominent. watch Drive on Netflix without a sub 35:00 exactly 60% volume, you will see it was not fixed just temporarily botched.

       

       

       

        yyzjyu
        Lyricist II
        June 29, 2020

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

        Review was before 12.0.1 update, also without a Sub.

        And? It should be able to stand up without the sub as so many of the original reviews and reviewers said? Also the Playable which it replaces had phenomenal bass in comparison and didn't have these issues.

         

        The 12.0.1 fixed one frequency band but the issue is still massively prominent. watch Drive on Netflix without a sub 35:00 exactly 60% volume, you will see it was not fixed just temporarily botched.

         

         

         

        I can confirm this - huge difference in bass response when I turn off the sub.

        craigski
        Local Superstar
        June 29, 2020

        And? It should be able to stand up without the sub as so many of the original reviews and reviewers said? Also the Playable which it replaces had phenomenal bass in comparison and didn't have these issues.

        In comparison to 12.0.0 or 12.0.1? Have you read the Playbar review on rtings site?

         

        pyro225
        Enthusiast II
        June 29, 2020

        And? It should be able to stand up without the sub as so many of the original reviews and reviewers said? Also the Playable which it replaces had phenomenal bass in comparison and didn't have these issues.

        In comparison to 12.0.0 or 12.0.1? Have you read the Playbar review on rtings site?

         

        I’m not sure what you mean but I am saying 12.0.1 still is riddled with issues, yes it fixed a particular frequency i.e the toystory bass issue but its still heavily prevalent when you don't have a sub, Eminem - Without Me over 50% for example and the film I mentioned. But I watched rampage yesterday any deep explosion scene the bass just caves and sounds horrible even if it is only a couple of seconds at a time.

         

         

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