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Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

G
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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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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

Thanks for posting. Exact same sounds coming from my arc. 

A
Userlevel 6
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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

That’s very awful. Bottoming out big time. 

B
Userlevel 5
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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

 

This is exactly what is happening for me.

A
Userlevel 6
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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

 

This is exactly what is happening for me.

Can you guys post some more media files if possible? This will help @Ryan S some more to communicate with the engineers.

B
Userlevel 5
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https://thedigitaltheater.com/2019/10/10/top-gun-maverick-2020-trailer-1-4k-1080p-dts-hd-ma-and-ac3-5-1/

This is the trailer I played for my first test.  The first ‘boom’ when Paramount shows up (6-7 seconds) my Arc immediately gives that bottoming out sound.  Throughout the trailer it continues to do it as well.

(It used the ac3 audio and showed 5.1 Dolby Digital in the Sonos app.)

Other trailers I tested were found here: 

https://thedigitaltheater.com/dolby-trailers/

I tested the DD+ Atmos ones as I don’t have eArc.

A
Userlevel 6
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https://thedigitaltheater.com/2019/10/10/top-gun-maverick-2020-trailer-1-4k-1080p-dts-hd-ma-and-ac3-5-1/

This is the trailer I played for my first test.  The first ‘boom’ when Paramount shows up (6-7 seconds) my Arc immediately gives that bottoming out sound.  Throughout the trailer it continues to do it as well.

(It used the ac3 audio and showed 5.1 Dolby Digital in the Sonos app.)

May be, they will issue a patch that will limit all the woofers from reaching their max excursion. Just may be!

R
Userlevel 2
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It would seem to me that if the “fix” is to apply a high pass filter To cut off the frequencies below 60- 70 Hz (the frequencies which are apparently causing the problems), the Arc end up being very bass light. I am not confident That a software fix will Magically make the device more capable if the individual components are not up to the task. 

A
Userlevel 6
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https://thedigitaltheater.com/2019/10/10/top-gun-maverick-2020-trailer-1-4k-1080p-dts-hd-ma-and-ac3-5-1/

This is the trailer I played for my first test.  The first ‘boom’ when Paramount shows up (6-7 seconds) my Arc immediately gives that bottoming out sound.  Throughout the trailer it continues to do it as well.

(It used the ac3 audio and showed 5.1 Dolby Digital in the Sonos app.)

 

 

 

F
Userlevel 2
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I'm second day in and don't think I will keep the arc as the bass is that bad.  It sounds like a cheap speaker exceeding its limits.

I am using it as my main speaker in the living room having had a play 5 in the same location.

Music on the play 5 sounds 100 times better than the arc.

Try the film Unbroken on Netflix in the aerial scenes.  From about 4mins 40secs when the machine guns are firing from inside the aircraft it just sounds like the speakers cant handle the bass making a totally uncomfortable sound and that's from volume 30 upwards.

It looks like a return from me

 

A
Userlevel 6
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It would seem to me that if the “fix” is to apply a high pass filter To cut off the frequencies below 60- 70 Hz (the frequencies which are apparently causing the problems), the Arc end up being very bass light. I am not confident That a software fix will Magically make the device more capable if the individual components are not up to the task. 

Yeah, that will just take away all the deep bass, rendering the product unusable. 

R

I’d like to chime in that after trying out many songs people mentioned in this thread at ~50% volume, I don’t experience any issues with the bass. Not here to gloat or anything, but I just wanted to voice that not all Arc soundbars have this issue. And if you are on the fence about purchasing one because you are reading about this problem, you can still choose to roll the dice, see if you are affected and need to return. In fact my brand new CX TV’s built-in speaker has the exact issue with the bass which was what prompted me to buy the Arc in the first place. I am glad that my Arc doesn’t do this. 

F
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I can't see how any software fix will fix this.  The play 5 handles any bass heavy music alot better.  The reviews didn't mention this. Did they have different spec arc to consumer ones or were they manufactured with different components?

A
Userlevel 6
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I’d like to chime in that after trying out many songs people mentioned in this thread at ~50% volume, I don’t experience any issues with the bass. Not here to gloat or anything, but I just wanted to voice that not all Arc soundbars have this issue. And if you are on the fence about purchasing one because you are reading about this problem, you can still choose to roll the dice, see if you are affected and need to return. In fact my brand new CX TV’s built-in speaker has the exact issue with the bass which was what prompted me to buy the Arc in the first place. I am glad that my Arc doesn’t do this. 

So probably a hardware issue affecting a specific batch ?

S
Userlevel 4
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I’d like to chime in that after trying out many songs people mentioned in this thread at ~50% volume, I don’t experience any issues with the bass. Not here to gloat or anything, but I just wanted to voice that not all Arc soundbars have this issue. And if you are on the fence about purchasing one because you are reading about this problem, you can still choose to roll the dice, see if you are affected and need to return. In fact my brand new CX TV’s built-in speaker has the exact issue with the bass which was what prompted me to buy the Arc in the first place. I am glad that my Arc doesn’t do this. 

So probably a hardware issue affecting a specific batch ?

Seems so, I’ve read some other people on reddit who say they don’t notice it either. Hardware issue might be a bad thing though, that definitely gonne cause a lot trouble with all the sending back etc. Especially since the Arcs are backordered.

S
Userlevel 4
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My previous recording has a bit low volume, so it’s not too easy to hear. I’ve remembered the perfect song to find out if your unit is affected:

Fort Minor - Remember the Name (feat. Styles of Beyond)

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/de1v8v8heunhxqi/RememberTheName-PLAY5.m4a?dl=0

 

Arc 50% Volume.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/il1m9kt134k9rsq/RememberTheName-ARC.m4a?dl=0

 

G
Userlevel 5
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yVm7Pc7fqjpm8sGegQKgPvQPyzByZxVH/view?usp=sharing

Penetrator at 50% volume. True play on and bass at zero. Recorded from 1m away on an ipad pro. Songs without vocals help nail the issue because the sound can get lost in the vocals. 

S
Userlevel 4
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yVm7Pc7fqjpm8sGegQKgPvQPyzByZxVH/view?usp=sharing

Penetrator at 50% volume. True play on and bass at zero. Recorded from 1m away


Damn, that sounds even worse than mine, or your phones mic is much better. I was like 10 centimeters away.

A
Userlevel 6
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yVm7Pc7fqjpm8sGegQKgPvQPyzByZxVH/view?usp=sharing

Penetrator at 50% volume. True play on and bass at zero. Recorded from 1m away

That’s really really bad !

A
Userlevel 6
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yVm7Pc7fqjpm8sGegQKgPvQPyzByZxVH/view?usp=sharing

Penetrator at 50% volume. True play on and bass at zero. Recorded from 1m away

That’s really really bad !

K
Userlevel 1

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yVm7Pc7fqjpm8sGegQKgPvQPyzByZxVH/view?usp=sharing

Penetrator at 50% volume. True play on and bass at zero. Recorded from 1m away


Yes, that is exactly how mine sounds.

G
Userlevel 5
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yVm7Pc7fqjpm8sGegQKgPvQPyzByZxVH/view?usp=sharing

Penetrator at 50% volume. True play on and bass at zero. Recorded from 1m away


Damn, that sounds even worse than mine, or your phones mic is much better. I was like 10 centimeters away.

It’s harder to hear when mixed in with vocals, so I chose a song without them. recorded with an ipad pro

G
Userlevel 5
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yVm7Pc7fqjpm8sGegQKgPvQPyzByZxVH/view?usp=sharing

Penetrator at 50% volume. True play on and bass at zero. Recorded from 1m away


Damn, that sounds even worse than mine, or your phones mic is much better. I was like 10 centimeters away.

It’s harder to hear when mixed in with vocals, so I chose a song without them. recorded with an ipad pro

A
Userlevel 6
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yVm7Pc7fqjpm8sGegQKgPvQPyzByZxVH/view?usp=sharing

Penetrator at 50% volume. True play on and bass at zero. Recorded from 1m away


Thats terrible. My airpods are far better.

K
Userlevel 2
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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

Although there may not be the same issue when paired with the sub, I am noticing that the sub does not hit anywhere close to where it was when paired with the Beam.  I do have TruePlay tuned, and it is soft when I turn this off as well.  

Interestingly enough, I just commented to my wife the other day how nice the bass sounded when we were listening to music.  Now that it is paired with the Arc, it is disappointing that it is not as strong.

B
Userlevel 2
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I’ll just throw this out there for consideration.  If this problem does turn out to be hardware and not fixable via software, returning the Arc is certainly one option.  However, I might be willing to accept buying a Sub to address the issue as long as a very steep discount is provided.  I realize that this will not be acceptable to folks who don’t want a Sub for various reasons.

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