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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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C
Userlevel 2
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Experiencing same issue. 2:58 into Toy Story 3 is where I can really notice the problem. 
 

Wall mounted 

LG B9

L

Hi I am also getting the same problem almost sounds like speaker has blown when certain bass occurs (Netflix -star trek TNG intro final shot where ship does fly by is very very noticeable but have had with other sources or music also). Bit bummed 😔 hope this can be sorted 

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

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

I can’t tell if the addition of the Sub would elimitate the issue from the Arc, but that most likely won’t be the solution for the majority of us.

 

I tested the Arc grouped together with Play:5 and Ones, the other speakers do not create this bass sound, even if the audio source is playing directly over HDMI to the Arc. So the issue is clearly with the bass sound of the arc only.

H
Userlevel 6
Badge +7

A “first world problem” to be sure, but this is all very concerning to hear, especially now that I just woke up to the tracking number for my Arc. I know we’re only a day into this, but do we have any sense if this is a wholesale failure of the entire initial Arc production run?

I bought Arc on the strength of over a dozen GLOWING reviews so obviously Arc is capable of amazing sound. I find it exceptionally difficult to believe that not a single reviewer would have noticed and commented on the sort of issues being seen by so many here. So what changed? Did they get hand-built pre-production models? All reviewers seemed to be working on “pre-release” S2 apps, so maybe the “final” app has screwed up the Arc’s firmware somehow? Could this first shipping batch have simply gotten bad components in manufacturing that are out of spec? 

I’ve gotten irrationally excited planning for and thinking about my Arc purchase, my first Sonos and my first real sound upgrade in over a dozen years, so I absolutely feel for everyone who’s experiencing this…. and, no offense, but I hope I won’t be joining you as part of this particular group! 😳

Arc + Sub 3 + One SLs = Awesome and Loving It!
A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

A “first world problem” to be sure, but this is all very concerning to hear, especially now that I just woke up to the tracking number for my Arc. I know we’re only a day into this, but do we have any sense if this is a wholesale failure of the entire initial Arc production run?

I bought Arc on the strength of over a dozen GLOWING reviews so obviously Arc is capable of amazing sound. I find it exceptionally difficult to believe that not a single reviewer would have noticed and commented on the sort of issues being seen by so many here. So what changed? Did they get hand-built pre-production models? All reviewers seemed to be working on “pre-release” S2 apps, so maybe the “final” app has screwed up the Arc’s firmware somehow? Could this first shipping batch have simply gotten bad components in manufacturing that are out of spec? 

I’ve gotten irrationally excited planning for and thinking about my Arc purchase, my first Sonos and my first real sound upgrade in over a dozen years, so I absolutely feel for everyone who’s experiencing this…. and, no offense, but I hope I won’t be joining you as part of this particular group! 😳


Multiple people on Reddit have received scratched and dented product (on the plastic grill). There’s a possibility that the manufacturing screwed it up. If so, this is going to cost Sonos big time.

I am still hoping it’s a firmware glitch. 

P
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

‘Experiencing same issue. 2:58 into Toy Story 3 is where I can really notice the problem’

 

I take it back - after trying the following any volume over 40% sounds horrible like it’s blowing
 

 

 

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

A “first world problem” to be sure, but this is all very concerning to hear, especially now that I just woke up to the tracking number for my Arc. I know we’re only a day into this, but do we have any sense if this is a wholesale failure of the entire initial Arc production run?

I bought Arc on the strength of over a dozen GLOWING reviews so obviously Arc is capable of amazing sound. I find it exceptionally difficult to believe that not a single reviewer would have noticed and commented on the sort of issues being seen by so many here. So what changed? Did they get hand-built pre-production models? All reviewers seemed to be working on “pre-release” S2 apps, so maybe the “final” app has screwed up the Arc’s firmware somehow? Could this first shipping batch have simply gotten bad components in manufacturing that are out of spec? 

I’ve gotten irrationally excited planning for and thinking about my Arc purchase, my first Sonos and my first real sound upgrade in over a dozen years, so I absolutely feel for everyone who’s experiencing this…. and, no offense, but I hope I won’t be joining you as part of this particular group! 😳

Such a manufacturing issue for the first batch wouldn’t surprise me. The prototypes most likely arn’t from the same batch. Had a similar issue at my company when our supplier on his own just changed out the material he used, thinking we wouldn’t notice/mind. In the end the entire series was trash.

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

‘Experiencing same issue. 2:58 into Toy Story 3 is where I can really notice the problem’

 

I take it back - after trying the following any volume over 40% sounds horrible like it’s blowing
 

 

 


Give them a day or two to find out what’s the issue. Might be software related only. I can remember when Amazon launched some Echo speakers they often had the wrong firmware with a faulty sound tuning on them. They got that fixed within a day.

R
Userlevel 3
Badge

A “first world problem” to be sure, but this is all very concerning to hear, especially now that I just woke up to the tracking number for my Arc. I know we’re only a day into this, but do we have any sense if this is a wholesale failure of the entire initial Arc production run?

I bought Arc on the strength of over a dozen GLOWING reviews so obviously Arc is capable of amazing sound. I find it exceptionally difficult to believe that not a single reviewer would have noticed and commented on the sort of issues being seen by so many here. So what changed? Did they get hand-built pre-production models? All reviewers seemed to be working on “pre-release” S2 apps, so maybe the “final” app has screwed up the Arc’s firmware somehow? Could this first shipping batch have simply gotten bad components in manufacturing that are out of spec? 

I’ve gotten irrationally excited planning for and thinking about my Arc purchase, my first Sonos and my first real sound upgrade in over a dozen years, so I absolutely feel for everyone who’s experiencing this…. and, no offense, but I hope I won’t be joining you as part of this particular group! 😳


Multiple people on Reddit have received scratched and dented product (on the plastic grill). There’s a possibility that the manufacturing screwed it up. If so, this is going to cost Sonos big time.

I am still hoping it’s a firmware glitch. 

I am one of these people. Minor gripe, but my arc has some serious panel gaps on the ends. Also the whole body of the arc creaks when pushed on. 
 

 

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

A “first world problem” to be sure, but this is all very concerning to hear, especially now that I just woke up to the tracking number for my Arc. I know we’re only a day into this, but do we have any sense if this is a wholesale failure of the entire initial Arc production run?

I bought Arc on the strength of over a dozen GLOWING reviews so obviously Arc is capable of amazing sound. I find it exceptionally difficult to believe that not a single reviewer would have noticed and commented on the sort of issues being seen by so many here. So what changed? Did they get hand-built pre-production models? All reviewers seemed to be working on “pre-release” S2 apps, so maybe the “final” app has screwed up the Arc’s firmware somehow? Could this first shipping batch have simply gotten bad components in manufacturing that are out of spec? 

I’ve gotten irrationally excited planning for and thinking about my Arc purchase, my first Sonos and my first real sound upgrade in over a dozen years, so I absolutely feel for everyone who’s experiencing this…. and, no offense, but I hope I won’t be joining you as part of this particular group! 😳


Multiple people on Reddit have received scratched and dented product (on the plastic grill). There’s a possibility that the manufacturing screwed it up. If so, this is going to cost Sonos big time.

I am still hoping it’s a firmware glitch. 

I am one of these people. Minor gripe, but my arc has some serious panel gaps on the ends. Also the whole body of the arc creaks when pushed on. 
 

 

Bit offtopic to discuss this here. Suddenly after the launch date is over it seems there are many people with such an issue. Saw at least 5 such Photos now. I noticed the gap to the side cap also. Maybe it’s related to that...

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

A “first world problem” to be sure, but this is all very concerning to hear, especially now that I just woke up to the tracking number for my Arc. I know we’re only a day into this, but do we have any sense if this is a wholesale failure of the entire initial Arc production run?

I bought Arc on the strength of over a dozen GLOWING reviews so obviously Arc is capable of amazing sound. I find it exceptionally difficult to believe that not a single reviewer would have noticed and commented on the sort of issues being seen by so many here. So what changed? Did they get hand-built pre-production models? All reviewers seemed to be working on “pre-release” S2 apps, so maybe the “final” app has screwed up the Arc’s firmware somehow? Could this first shipping batch have simply gotten bad components in manufacturing that are out of spec? 

I’ve gotten irrationally excited planning for and thinking about my Arc purchase, my first Sonos and my first real sound upgrade in over a dozen years, so I absolutely feel for everyone who’s experiencing this…. and, no offense, but I hope I won’t be joining you as part of this particular group! 😳


Multiple people on Reddit have received scratched and dented product (on the plastic grill). There’s a possibility that the manufacturing screwed it up. If so, this is going to cost Sonos big time.

I am still hoping it’s a firmware glitch. 

I am one of these people. Minor gripe, but my arc has some serious panel gaps on the ends. Also the whole body of the arc creaks when pushed on. 
 

 

Bit offtopic to discuss this here. Suddenly after the launch date is over it seems there are many people with such an issue. Saw at least 5 such Photos now. I noticed the gap to the side cap also. Maybe it’s related to that...

I would get a replacement. This will hurt its resale value. You can ask Sonos to let you keep the product until the new one arrives.

C
Userlevel 2
Badge

‘Experiencing same issue. 2:58 into Toy Story 3 is where I can really notice the problem’

 

I take it back - after trying the following any volume over 40% sounds horrible like it’s blowing
 

 

 

Yeah it’s bad. Hope for a firmware update. Sounds better on my iPhone. 

B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

  • 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. 

    Watching bluray remux files with TrueHD, EAC3 6 or 8 ch audio codecs.  Anything from movie trailers (Top Gun Maverick, Avengers, Dolby Surround Testing - Trailers from https://thedigitaltheater.com/dolby-trailers/’) to random music.  It’s more so an issue while playing movies though when the bass hits harder, it sounds very muddy at that point… it feels like if I turn the volume up louder it would make the subs completely blow or start to make more of a vibrating noise rather than a low bass 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?

    I kept my volume rather conservative, maybe 30-40% max.  It shows up at most volumes, the lower volume the better.
     

  • Is your Arc wall-mounted?

    No.  It’s sitting on top of a TV stand.
     

  • 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 have tried using Trueplay.  It didn’t go away, for some reason it actually was sounding a little worse with the bass issue.
     

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

    I had the loudness off, treble up +2 or +3.  The bass was 0.  The only way it didn’t pop or sound muddy was when I turned the bass down to the point where you had no richness to the sound. 
     

  • 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.

    1994139411

 

My setup is Arc + 2 Sonos Ones surrounds.  I went from the Playbar + 2 Sonos One surrounds to this and the muddy/almost sounding like popping bass was immediately noticeable though.  I’m hoping it’s a break in period or something that can be fixed versus sending the product back for a replacement.

 

On a side note, I did try to play an Atmos trailer from Dolby using a USB stick to see if I could get DD+ Atmos to work on my 2017 Samsung (MU6500).  Surprisingly it worked, which is great news.  That being said I noticed the sound was a bit more clear and the bass didn’t seem to sound as bad as before.  

I also tried playing Jack Ryan on Prime with a few action scenes and noticed DD+ Atmos was working on the Nvidia Shield and the sound was better there too. 

I’m not sure if there is a ‘break in’ period or if this is just a bug in a new product released.  It was just very odd no reviewers noted this, hence the reason I created the thread on Reddit about this. 

It’s was the first day with the Arc yesterday, so I guess I’ll see if it continues today when I get a chance to watch a few more things on it.  

H
Userlevel 6
Badge +7

Such a manufacturing issue for the first batch wouldn’t surprise me. The prototypes most likely arn’t from the same batch. Had a similar issue at my company when our supplier on his own just changed out the material he used, thinking we wouldn’t notice/mind. In the end the entire series was trash.

This was honestly my first thought and, if so, Sonos is going to be looking at a lot of returned Arcs. I used to work for a company that manufactured small electronics (phone chargers and such), and would regularly hear the product Dev guys complain that the contract manufacturers in China had switched out components that were out of spec when we got T1 samples back. Sometimes they even made entire board layout changes without asking. Inevitably it was to make it easier for them to manufacture or because they wanted to use parts they had on hand. The only way around that was to have feet on the street at the factories. With the pandemic, maybe Sonos’s China team wasn’t able to be there for the start of production?

Again, total speculation and I’m absolutely willing to give Sonos the benefit of the doubt here because they quite obviously know how to make quality products. But I’ve already been wondering if Arc would be worth keeping if I can’t get Atmos out of it, and if mine displays this bass issue it will be heading straight back, no matter how excited I’ve been to receive it. Got to admit, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the Sennheiser Ambeo as a backup option if arc doesn’t work out. I dismissed it out of hand at first because of the seemingly crazy price, but now that I’ve talked myself into an Arc, a Sub, and a pair of Ones, the Sennheiser would only a few hundred dollars more… and I know for a fact I’ll be able to get Atmos out of it. 🤷‍♂️🧐😰

Arc + Sub 3 + One SLs = Awesome and Loving It!
B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

Anyone else get the firmware update out of the box? Could be the issue as well, I’d imagine reviewers would be running a different version which would help explain the discrepancy in reviews vs what we’re hearing 

Yes, I got the firmware update right away when I set it up… it had to update.  Your theory is possible when it comes to the reviewers.

B
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

I haven’t noticed this issue myself, but it’s possible I wasn’t driving the Arc hard enough.  But having read this thread, I’ll probably notice it now ;-)

 

P
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

I haven’t noticed this issue myself, but it’s possible I wasn’t driving the Arc hard enough.  But having read this thread, I’ll probably notice it now ;-)

 

Try the toy story 3 at 2:58 and 50-70% volume you will hear then for sure… hen play it back again at 20-% volume how it should soind

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

@Ryan S The issue seems widespread. Hopefully, Sonos would be able to fix it within the 45 days return window.

J
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Just adding my voice. I did the toy story test and it just bottoms out. 
 

just for clarity:

 

Toy Story 3 train scene explosion when train appears to fall down the ravine. 
 

Apple TV streaming from movies app. 
going via LG C9.

Sat on a TV cabinet about 50cm from wall. 
 

 

B
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Clarification please.  Does this problem go away if a sub is included because the problematic frequencies are directed to the sub?

H
Userlevel 6
Badge +7

Is there any way that anyone can share a recording of what this sounds like, somehow?

Arc + Sub 3 + One SLs = Awesome and Loving It!
P
Badge +2

Have similar issues I have arc 2x play ones sub gen 2 I’ve had to phone support two times already my arc seems to keep disconnecting then my app flags up that I have speakers configuration problem gone through everything setting up system about 10 times now. Even when the app says no arc connection it still plays without my sub and surrounds . But sounds dreadful. I’m connected to an LGc9 via Earc tv audio set to HDMI Earc enables and sound to pass theou

M
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Clarification please.  Does this problem go away if a sub is included because the problematic frequencies are directed to the sub?

Yes there is no issue when paired with the sub

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

Is there any way that anyone can share a recording of what this sounds like, somehow?

Here, have a listen, its the same song on Arc and Play5

Bass Drops by Bass Boosted Beats on Amazon Music

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c12advxtdhsj25f/Arc2.m4a?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/19ghgov1pnxxkr5/Play5.2.m4a?dl=0

V
Userlevel 2
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I do also notice the bass isn’t as tight and seems muddy, I was wondering why I wasn’t super impressed when I first listened to my ARC, given all the positive reviews. It is definitely is the bass that is holding it back. Hope they sort this out soon.

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