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Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

G
Userlevel 5
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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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Best answer by Scott - Sonos 3 July 2020, 01:04

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1406 replies

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

Same issue here. Bass sounds incredibly distorted and makes music totally unlistenable. 

It cannot be overstated just how unlistenable music is with an Arc and two Ones. 

Dang! I am going to have the same setup. It sounds worse than just 2 sonos ones in stereo?

gregmelnyk
Userlevel 2
Badge

Same issue here. Bass sounds incredibly distorted and makes music totally unlistenable. 

It cannot be overstated just how unlistenable music is with an Arc and two Ones. 

Dang! I am going to have the same setup. It sounds worse than just 2 sonos ones in stereo?

Unfortunately, yes. 

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

Same issue here. Bass sounds incredibly distorted and makes music totally unlistenable. 

It cannot be overstated just how unlistenable music is with an Arc and two Ones. 

Dang! I am going to have the same setup. It sounds worse than just 2 sonos ones in stereo?

Unfortunately, yes. 

I am already frustrated with how Sonos is handling the pre-orders. This isn’t helping. Hopefully, they fix the issue with a software update within 30 days. 

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

Hi Ryan, 

Thank you for the prompt review and response! Here are my details and findings: 

There is what sounds like woofer over excursion and bass muddiness with all sources. I noticed it first on Tidal and Spotify and then heard it as well on my LG native apps as well including Netflix and on my Apple TV 4k. This includes dolby atmos content coming through the ARC port on my TV. I have my Sonos Arc connected with HDMI to the ARC port on my LG and it permits atmos over HDMI 2.0. Turning loudness on or off makes a small difference at the volume level where the effect is noticeable but regardless it starts around half volume. I have my Arc on a table that my TV is on as well, no wall mounting. My room is fairly good for speakers as it is 15x15 with 8ft high ceilings and the Sonos Arc is roughly 5ft from the ceiling. I have true played the device 3x to ensure it wasn’t an issue with my setup and the problem persisted with all three attempts. I have my KEFs flanking the Sonos Arc just behind it (not obstructed) and they have no issues with bass. Furthermore, the Arc is placed roughly 1.5ft from the backwall in an attempt to minimize reverberations from the backwall. Happy to share additional details about my room and setup if needed. Thanks again!

Edit: Very low frequencies are not problematic its more the 50-80hz range where bass drivers experience the most excursion in the frequency response range. If a song test is needed, I recommend Penetrator by Pleasurekraft, it showcases the problem.

 

Can you try running a frequency sweep to see if it reveals anything unusual?

Ryan S
Userlevel 7
Badge +26

Thanks for all the great details everyone. The engineering team is looking into this right now. We really appreciate what you’ve shared so far.

If anyone else is experiencing this issue, the more you can share the better as it really helps pin what’s happening down, and also helps the team recreate the issue in their own homes.

The following questions are the sort of details that would help the most:  

  • What are you watching or playing that you’re hearing this on? Be as specific as possible please and let us know if it’s only with music. For music, it helps us build a list of tracks and sources that we can recreate the issue with. 

  • What volume do you experience this at? Does it only show up after a certain percentage or do you notice it most of the time?

  • Is your Arc wall-mounted?

  • If wall-mounted, does removing the speaker from the wall bracket and setting it on a credenza or table improve the issue?

  • Are you using Trueplay, and does it go away if you turn Trueplay off?

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

  • If it’s possible, can you share an image of the setup?

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

I’m going to mark this response as the “best answer” for this thread so that everyone sees it, but we’ll mark a new best answer when there’s more to share. Just because it says “Solved” doesn’t mean the team has stopped looking at it.

Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
G
Userlevel 5
Badge +2

Just ran the sweep. The most problematic portion of the frequency range for the speaker is between 45 and 55hz. The aforementioned muddy bass occurs at half volume. Moving up the range to 65hz, it occurs around 70% volume and is not very discernable above 75hz. It tapers off and requires higher volume to hear as you increase hz from the 55hz baseline.

Ryan, as for above I also wanted to mention my bass eq setting is flat and I sent my diagnostic number in with a new open case for the issue. Thanks again for the support, hopefully we can resolve this. Attached is a picture of my setup. 

 

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

Thanks for all the great details everyone. The engineering team is looking into this right now. We really appreciate what you’ve shared so far.

If anyone else is experiencing this issue, the more you can share the better as it really helps pin what’s happening down, and also helps the team recreate the issue in their own homes.

The following questions are the sort of details that would help the most:  

  • What are you watching or playing that you’re hearing this on? Be as specific as possible please and let us know if it’s only with music. For music, it helps us build a list of tracks and sources that we can recreate the issue with. 

  • What volume do you experience this at? Does it only show up after a certain percentage or do you notice it most of the time?

  • Is your Arc wall-mounted?

  • If wall-mounted, does removing the speaker from the wall bracket and setting it on a credenza or table improve the issue?

  • Are you using Trueplay, and does it go away if you turn Trueplay off?

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

  • If it’s possible, can you share an image of the setup?

  • Please submit a diagnostic from the system with it happening.

I’m going to mark this response as the “best answer” for this thread so that everyone sees it, but we’ll mark a new best answer when there’s more to share. Just because it says “Solved” doesn’t mean the team has stopped looking at it.

Will report back with detailed answer soon. Thanks.

Ryan S
Userlevel 7
Badge +26

Thanks so much guys! We really appreciate your help tracking this down

Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
gregmelnyk
Userlevel 2
Badge

  • What are you watching or playing that you’re hearing this on? Be as specific as possible please and let us know if it’s only with music.
    I selected action-y sequences of several movies once I set things up and Trueplayed. Tbh, nothing really wowed me. Mad Max Fury Road, Into the Spiderverse, Jurassic World, John Wick 3, Bohemian Rhapsody. The intro to Top Gun sounded the worst. The part with opening credits while jets take off and Danger Zone plays in the background. Ready Player One car race scene sounded best. 

  • For music, it helps us build a list of tracks and sources that we can recreate the issue with. People of the Sun by Rage Against the Machine has always been a goto when testing various frequencies on new audio equipment. The only way I can describe the sound is thin and small. The opposite of full sound.

  • What volume do you experience this at? Does it only show up after a certain percentage or do you notice it most of the time? Things sound better above 60%, but below 72% only because the highs and mids are so good. Lows still sound muddy, poppy, or underwhelming  

  • Is your Arc wall-mounted? No.

  • Are you using Trueplay, and does it go away if you turn Trueplay off? I am using Trueplay, and turning it off seems marginally better. Turning off Loudness helps more.

  • Do you have the Bass EQ setting flat or adjusted in some way? I’ve tried adjusting bass and treble to no avail. Increasing the bass makes it sound like I’m ruining the woofers so I’m leaving these setting flat until I learn more.

  • If it’s possible, can you share an image of the setup? I’ll send a photo later.

  • Please submit a diagnostic from the system with it happening and let us know the number. Top Gun diag: 1482497118 Music diag: 2050429632

N
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

Some more feedback for you on this issue @Ryan S 

 

I got my Arc today. I moved from a Playbar + Sub + Two One’s as rear channels to an Arc with the rest of the speakers the same. I use a BDI 8167 media cabinet which has a dedicated soundbar shelf. The following examples are with volume at around 50%.

 

On the music side, with Music playing via Airplay 2 (Apple Music) there’s definitely something strange going on with the bass. I used 2Pac ‘Changes’ (good repetitive bass beat) as a demo track. With Trueplay on there is a lack of depth (the type that rattles the heart) to the bass but a lot of clarity in the mid and higher ends and vocals are crystal clear. With Trueplay off the bass is much better at the cost of everything sounding more muffled; mids, highs, lows and vocals. There is a significant difference with Trueplay on and off.

 

On the TV side I’m using a Sony A1E OLED which supports DD+ without Atmos. Regular TV audio is very crisp and clear especially vocals. It was the first thing I noticed out of the box. But again missing depth. I also tested the native Netflix App on the TV which outputs DD+. The film I tested was ‘6 Underground’. Immediately I noticed the bass was off. The opening Netflix Logo Thunk sounded incomplete on the bottom end whereas on the Playbar you would get the complete dynamic range. Intro of the movie was great on mids, highs and vocals but the low end lacks depth, yet again.

 

Hopefully this is just a software issue that can be ironed out. I hope this helps.

 

P.S. Loudness setting makes little to no difference when on or off for me.

 

Diagnostic Sent: 1014096985

 

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

To me it’s almost like this thing is stuck in “I’m paired with a sub mode.” The mid level bassline before it really drops low in 6 foot 7 foot by Lil Wayne makes it want to cry. When I add my sub back it it’s great. 
 

and yes I have gone through true play. 

I also think the same. “Paired with sub” mode alwon. 

R
Userlevel 4
Badge +8

Same issue here. The beam it replaced sounded better. I have a white arc and two symfonisk lamps for surround. Hope this can be fixed with firmware.

Not cool. My Arc purchase is in processing as we speak and was getting ready to move my Beam to the bedroom. This is sad sad news. 

N
  • What are you watching or playing that you’re hearing this on? Be as specific as possible please and let us know if it’s only with music. For music, it helps us build a list of tracks and sources that we can recreate the issue with.   
    -While watching music videos using Apple Music app on my 2019 Samsung Q70r connected with HDMI (ARC).  

    PLAYLIST
    • Slide (ft YG) by H.E.R. 
    • Heartless by The weekend  
    • Hair down ( feat. Kendrick Lamar) by SiR
  • What volume do you experience this at? Does it only show up after a certain percentage or do you notice it most of the time —Experiencing it above 50% Volume 

  • Is your Arc wall-mounted?
    -No

  • If wall-mounted, does removing the speaker from the wall bracket and setting it on a credenza or table improve the issue? 
    -N/A

  • Are you using Trueplay, and does it go away if you turn Trueplay off?  
    -Yes, using trueplay, Does not change when on/off. 
  • Do you have the Bass EQ setting flat or adjusted in some way? 
    • Flat

  • If it’s possible, can you share an image of the setup?  

  • Please submit a diagnostic from the system with it happening and let us know the number. -697212610

update - just started watching black panther via Disney+ figured that’s what Sonos promoted with this soundbar, 1 minute into the movie I started hearing the mudded bass as well.
 

diagnostic - 1301785653

 

 

I

Hello,

I am also reporting the same issue. Only when using Atmos otherwise other content sounds okay. Reported using Tidal and Netflix on Apple TV 4K. Switching between songs that do and don’t have Atmos you can hear a significant drop in volume and muddied sound when it is Atmos content.

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

I’ve noticed a very deep grumbling sound in some movie trailers. They probably overuse the bass. I’ve tried several and I am sure now that the sound must be created by the ARC, since not all the movie trailers would include the same sound. The grumbling keeps sounding after the actual expected bass sound is already over, it sounds almost like the motor of a sports car.

 

  • What are you watching or playing that you’re hearing this on? Be as specific as possible please and let us know if it’s only with music. For music, it helps us build a list of tracks and sources that we can recreate the issue with. 
    Native Disney Plus App on LG C9, Trailers for:
    Captain Marvel
    Star Wars Story: Solo
    others too

  • What volume do you experience this at? Does it only show up after a certain percentage or do you notice it most of the time?
    It’s there on lower volume too when you know what to listen to, noticing it eay when it gets loud, 50%+

  • Is your Arc wall-mounted?
    No

  • If wall-mounted, does removing the speaker from the wall bracket and setting it on a credenza or table improve the issue?
    It is seated on three IKEA Lack Tables, in front of the C9 LG TV. Worth the mention that the room is in the attic, so Trueplay might have a hard time with the room acoustics.

  • Are you using Trueplay, and does it go away if you turn Trueplay off?
    I only noticed it with Trueplay ON, but I’ve noticed that the bass is increased very much with Trueplay on, so it might only be noticeable due to tha.

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

  • If it’s possible, can you share an image of the setup?
    Currently not

  • Please submit a diagnostic from the system with it happening and let us know the number.
    Can’t, it times out.
     

@Ryan SI think this is either a general issue or a software thing. But if you can’t reproduce it, my Arc is coming back to you guys anyway, because of that plastic scratch issue.

A
Userlevel 2
Badge

I’ve had the same experience and have been messing with settings over the past few hours trying to figure this out. Music sounds particularly terrible. Movies have great highs and mids, but the low end sounds muddy and like the speaker is about to blow. 

I have an AppleTV 4K connected to my TCL 65R615. Arc and two Sonos Ones...no sub. Atmos is not supported with my tv so my Atmos content shows Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. 
 

Im baffled. This Arc is replacing the Beam that I’ve been using for close to a year with this same setup. I’m tempted to switch back to the Beam at this point. 
 

 

TCL r617 will support Dolby Atmos via Dolby digital plus passthrough using HDMI arc. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.digitaltrends.com/tv-reviews/tcl-6-series-55r617-review/%3Famp

https://www.tclusa.com/products/home-theater/6-series/tcl-55-class-6-series-4k-uhd-hdr-roku-smart-tv-55r617 (look for audio in specifications)

 

I have tcl 55r615. After doing a good amount of research and confirming that my TV supports Atmos passthrough , I have ordered Sonos arc.

G
Userlevel 1

I have the same issue. 
Watched „John Wick“ (Part 1). DD 5.1 with LG B7 over HDMI Arc and Apple TV 4K. 
Bass sounded wrong.
In many action scenes (fight scenes) the bass „popped“ as if the speakers tried too hard.

Was afraid that it would break something... 

Volume was about 40% - 50%. 
This is with a wall mounted ARC and two Ones as sourrounds. No Sub. EQ flat. Trueplay ON. 
Hopefully this can be fixed. My former Beam sounded better in this regard...

D

  • What are you watching or playing that you’re hearing this on? Be as specific as possible please and let us know if it’s only with music. For music, it helps us build a list of tracks and sources that we can recreate the issue with. 
    I’m noticing it specifically with music. But I think it’s noticable with every source at the moment the bass gets too loud. I mainly used Spotify and the track Penetrator bij Pleasurekraft is a good example. At 60% volume or above it sounds like the drivers can’t handle it at all and are being pushed too far out (overexcursion). 

  • What volume do you experience this at? Does it only show up after a certain percentage or do you notice it most of the time?
    I’ve only noticed it at 60% and above.

  • Is your Arc wall-mounted?
    No

  • If wall-mounted, does removing the speaker from the wall bracket and setting it on a credenza or table improve the issue?

  • Are you using Trueplay, and does it go away if you turn Trueplay off? I am using Trueplay but turning it on or off doesn’t make a difference.

  • Do you have the Bass EQ setting flat or adjusted in some way? Flat, when turned up higher it gets a lot worse.

  • If it’s possible, can you share an image of the setup? Not currently but the room has nothing to do with this issue. It’s the Arc and it’s  drivers. When you stand in front of it, it’s really noticable.

  • Please submit a diagnostic from the system with it happening. 983803014

P

Same issue for me. Bass is horrific but I have a sub on route in hope of resolving. 
Also hearing nothing in the way of Atmos but I may only have my shelf to blame, Sean Connery gag and real problem in one…

 

K
Userlevel 1

Just had my ARC delivered, and set up using TruPlay. Also affected.

 

Easiest way to make it occur is to play Penetrator by Pleasurekraft, above around 35-40% volume, it happens instantly and is very noticeable. No other testing necessary.

 

Arc is sitting on TV stand (very sturdy, no vibration) in front of TV.

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

@Ryan S 

I’ve sent you some audio recordings of the same song on the Arc and Play:5s to your community@sonos.com address.

B
Userlevel 1
Badge

Hi all.

Experiencing exactly the same issues here I’m afraid. Having had the Playbar for many years now, I was expecting to be more or less “blown away” by the performance of the new Arc. Due to also having the Sub (Gen 2) and two One’s I immediately paired them together and was happy with the overall results.

That is, until a friend of mine was complaining about (utter) lack of bass compared to his two Playbars. Afterwards I disabled both the sub and the ones, and started running back and forth comparing the Arc’s performance against my Beam (located in my second livingroom)

Although the Arc should have a wider soundstage (due to the size, and number of speakers), the Beam has much(!) more punch in the bass. And that even for half of the price of the Arc…:disappointed:

Adjusting the Bass-level of the Arc does not seem to make things noticeably better and only end up in even more muffled bass. Even though “feeling” the bass/low-ends may not necessarily represent “good” bass, it definitively gives an impression of how capable the speaker is. Initially my thoughts pointed towards the Arc having a more “robust” housing and therefor not giving away so much of the sense of bass, and that the Beam only felt more powerful.

In the end, I’m not all that impressed with the Arc as of now, but hope that Sonos will investigate this matter further and hopefully come with a firmware-update solving this issue. A Sonos Arc double the price of an Beam should definitively defend it’s price-point :rolling_eyes: As others have stated, it seems like the Arc thinks it is working together with a Sub, when it is not...

  • What are you watching or playing that you’re hearing this on? Be as specific as possible please and let us know if it’s only with music. For music, it helps us build a list of tracks and sources that we can recreate the issue with. 

    • Generally noticed this during listening to music via Spotify.

    • No track in particular, but in general it seems to have much less bass compared to i.e. the Beam

  • What volume do you experience this at? Does it only show up after a certain percentage or do you notice it most of the time?

    • Everything above 40-50% where I would expect the Arc to really “shine”

  • Is your Arc wall-mounted?

    • No

  • If wall-mounted, does removing the speaker from the wall bracket and setting it on a credenza or table improve the issue?

    • N/A

  • Are you using Trueplay, and does it go away if you turn Trueplay off?

    • Yes, I’m using Trueplay, and disabing it does not resolve the issue

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

    • EQ-setting set to +3 on both Treble and Bass

    • Adjusting the level of Bass does not solve the issue

  • If it’s possible, can you share an image of the setup?

    •  

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

    • 1248568820

W
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

Just would like to know if this happens only with the Arc alone? What about the setup with Sub and surrounds?

K
Userlevel 1

Just had my ARC delivered, and set up using TruPlay. Also affected.

 

Easiest way to make it occur is to play Penetrator by Pleasurekraft, above around 35-40% volume, it happens instantly and is very noticeable. No other testing necessary.

 

Arc is sitting on TV stand (very sturdy, no vibration) in front of TV.


Just to add in, like others too, Bass is also severely lacking compared to the Beam I had before.

P
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

I am getting this by so much on films but I have not set up trueplay, however when I play back music with a bit of a bass line anything over 50% the bass speakers start muddying/farting… nothing like my play 5 which was tight all the way to full volume. Less than 50% it seems fine

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