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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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R
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Ok I’ve done some additional testing and the “software bug” is definitely affecting my whole system. I can hear muddy and distorted bass on my Ones and Move, as well as my Play 5 (But to a lesser extent, perhaps due to the increased bass capability of the Play 5). 

 

@Ryan S - I am ok with being patient, as I know how complicated these issues can be, but can you please let the team know that the issue may be affecting all sonos products, not just the Arc? 

J
Userlevel 2
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Ok I’ve done some additional testing and the “software bug” is definitely affecting my whole system. I can hear muddy and distorted bass on my Ones and Move, as well as my Play 5 (But to a lesser extent, perhaps due to the increased bass capability of the Play 5). 

 

@Ryan S - I am ok with being patient, as I know how complicated these issues can be, but can you please let the team know that the issue may be affecting all sonos products, not just the Arc? 


I thought this too, but part of me just wonders if this has always been a characteristic of Sonos, but it was accidentally very pronounced on the arc which made us look out for it on other devices. 
 

has anyone reverted and of their setup back to S1 to see if the issues goes away on their old kit? I haven’t had a chance since I thought about doing it. 

A
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I’m not sure it’s possible to revert to S1 once you have changed to S2 is it? As far as I can tell as soon as I installed S2 it gave everything in my system an update which I’m thinking would prevent them working on S1.

Haven’t noticed any deterioration on mine though. In fact I found myself thinking everything sounded slightly better then decided I was almost certainly imagining it! 

E
Userlevel 4
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I’m not sure it’s possible to revert to S1 once you have changed to S2 is it? As far as I can tell as soon as I installed S2 it gave everything in my system an update which I’m thinking would prevent them working on S1.

I think if you install the S1 app, it will prompt you to re-update everything.  

Ok I’ve done some additional testing and the “software bug” is definitely affecting my whole system. I can hear muddy and distorted bass on my Ones and Move, as well as my Play 5 (But to a lesser extent, perhaps due to the increased bass capability of the Play 5). 

 

@Ryan S - I am ok with being patient, as I know how complicated these issues can be, but can you please let the team know that the issue may be affecting all sonos products, not just the Arc? 


I thought this too, but part of me just wonders if this has always been a characteristic of Sonos, but it was accidentally very pronounced on the arc which made us look out for it on other devices. 
 

has anyone reverted and of their setup back to S1 to see if the issues goes away on their old kit? I haven’t had a chance since I thought about doing it. 

I have 20+ Sonos products -- most of which I’ve had a long time (the only Sonos products I don’t have are the Play 5 and the Play 3).  I assure you, I have never heard anything like what people are reporting/recording on this thread.  That Sonos has acknowledged the issue suggests that it isn’t something normal.

I’ll add though that I have the Arc and have had no issues (but I have a sub connected to it).

A
Userlevel 2
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Perform an un-update? I guess it’s possible, although it wouldn’t work on the Arc as that is S2 only. 
I’m glad I dithered at this point and now cannot get one for at least another 6 weeks or so! 
 

So the most recent suggestion is now inferring that the glitch / mistake could be with the S2 software update on all devices??

S
Userlevel 3
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if y'all are so upset and think this is unacceptable, then return it. period. mistakes happen, if you stretched your budget so thin buying a luxury item you probably didn't need to get it anyways. this thing has been out for 5 days. give them some time and they will fix it. check back in a month and buy it again, easy.

If you think its ok that they release a $799+tax product without proper testing then that’s on you. In my opinion they rushed to market trying to capitalize on people sitting at home and said we’ll deal with the fallout later. How can something like this go unnoticed? This isn’t some isolated incident to be called “mistakes happen”. They released untested product. Something that costs the price of two beams should work from day one as intended. Just because the issue doesn’t bother you doesn’t mean that it’s ok for the issue to be there in first place. This is Sonos and this isn’t their first rodeo. Should not have happened, period. The product is used for AUDIO, that should be working flawlessly and not become unusable at over 50% volume. it’s like buying a car that can only go 50mil/hr but hey it’s ok they’ll figure it out later how to make it go faster.


Hi. I think this thread has been really civil so far. There are clearly some who are a little anxious about the situation and I think that’s ok. For some this will have been a really big purchase for themselves and being let down after having chosen to spend their money on this and not something else will result in a more pronounced disappointment. It was my main birthday present this year. 
 

let’s not start posting comments that judge people’s reaction to the issue. If someone goes a little too far, the best thing we can do is ignore it. 
 

If someone judges your comments in a clearly inciting manner then leave it. 
 

otherwise we risk this whole thread getting derailed. It won’t encourage Sonos to support this group. 
 

Please don’t bite  

 

Ok so he posts and judges people’s frustration and says that they didn’t need to get if it’s too expensive but somehow I am judging him? Which part of my response to him isn’t civil? Price isn’t an issue for me personally, but if something costs $799+tax you’d expect to work properly. Which part of that isn’t clear?

M
Badge +1

I might be the only one here but mine is absolutely fine? Is everyone who is having these issues using Arc or eArc? How many units have they sold and are out there working fine? I'm connected to an LG B9 with eArc I'm running without the sub I just have two Play 1s as surrounds I've done the Toy Story 2:58 test and played all of the suggested songs and even cranked the bass up to +10 and I get no distortion or popping like I've heard in this thread. I've watched F1 Drive to Survive on Netflix as it has Atmos and the sound is absolutely incredible the bass is very very good

S
Userlevel 3
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I might be the only one here but mine is absolutely fine? Is everyone who is having these issues using Arc or eArc? How many units have they sold and are out there working fine? I'm connected to an LG B9 with eArc I'm running without the sub I just have two Play 1s as surrounds I've done the Toy Story 2:58 test and played all of the suggested songs and even cranked the bass up to +10 and I get no distortion or popping like I've heard in this thread. I've watched F1 Drive to Survive on Netflix as if has Atmos and the sound is absolutely incredible the bass is very very good

I asked the same question about ARC vs eARC and asked asked if people tried a different cable. Have not gotten a clear answer. Have you tried pushing the volume past 50%?

A

I might be the only one here but mine is absolutely fine? Is everyone who is having these issues using Arc or eArc? How many units have they sold and are out there working fine? I'm connected to an LG B9 with eArc I'm running without the sub I just have two Play 1s as surrounds I've done the Toy Story 2:58 test and played all of the suggested songs and even cranked the bass up to +10 and I get no distortion or popping like I've heard in this thread. I've watched F1 Drive to Survive on Netflix as if has Atmos and the sound is absolutely incredible the bass is very very good

I asked the same question about ARC vs eARC and asked asked if people tried a different cable. Have not gotten a clear answer. Have you tried pushing the volume past 50%?

If we’re hearing this with music as well, why would ARC/eARC or the cable matter? I’ve tried TV, SiriusXM and Apple Music (both AirPlay and from the Sonos app). I hear terrible bass regardless. 

M
Badge +1

I might be the only one here but mine is absolutely fine? Is everyone who is having these issues using Arc or eArc? How many units have they sold and are out there working fine? I'm connected to an LG B9 with eArc I'm running without the sub I just have two Play 1s as surrounds I've done the Toy Story 2:58 test and played all of the suggested songs and even cranked the bass up to +10 and I get no distortion or popping like I've heard in this thread. I've watched F1 Drive to Survive on Netflix as if has Atmos and the sound is absolutely incredible the bass is very very good

I asked the same question about ARC vs eARC and asked asked if people tried a different cable. Have not gotten a clear answer. Have you tried pushing the volume past 50%?

Yeah and it sounded fine, I played a really bass heavy song Don Diablo - The Rhythm

S
Userlevel 3
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I might be the only one here but mine is absolutely fine? Is everyone who is having these issues using Arc or eArc? How many units have they sold and are out there working fine? I'm connected to an LG B9 with eArc I'm running without the sub I just have two Play 1s as surrounds I've done the Toy Story 2:58 test and played all of the suggested songs and even cranked the bass up to +10 and I get no distortion or popping like I've heard in this thread. I've watched F1 Drive to Survive on Netflix as if has Atmos and the sound is absolutely incredible the bass is very very good

I asked the same question about ARC vs eARC and asked asked if people tried a different cable. Have not gotten a clear answer. Have you tried pushing the volume past 50%?

If we’re hearing this with music as well, why would ARC/eARC or the cable matter? I’ve tried TV, SiriusXM and Apple Music (both AirPlay and from the Sonos app). I hear terrible bass regardless. 

Sorry I did not read the entire thread to see if the issue across all sources. Thank you for clearing that up.

B
Userlevel 5
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Not incredibly helpful information but I did uninstall Sonos S2 from my Android device and installed a few versions of the S2 beta I had still locally on my phone as I’m part of the beta. 

I heard no difference. 

The best difference I could do was still just enabling the sub.  Even if I had the sub at -15 it sounded night/day better to me. 

The moment I disabled the sub and let the Arc + surrounds stand alone, it was a muddy bass sound. 

I guess I was hoping to perhaps see a difference with the software with that but I also believe it’s more of the firmware that was updated on the Arc when you set it up out of the box, which I assume everyone had to do the first time they added the Arc to their Sonos system.

S
Userlevel 3
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Not incredibly helpful information but I did uninstall Sonos S2 from my Android device and installed a few versions of the S2 beta I had still locally on my phone as I’m part of the beta. 

I heard no difference. 

The best difference I could do was still just enabling the sub.  Even if I had the sub at -15 it sounded night/day better to me. 

The moment I disabled the sub and let the Arc + surrounds stand alone, it was a muddy bass sound. 

I guess I was hoping to perhaps see a difference with the software with that but I also believe it’s more of the firmware that was updated on the Arc when you set it up out of the box, which I assume everyone had to do the first time they added the Arc to their Sonos system.

Software on the phone would not cause this to happen this is either a firmware issue that’s on the unit itself or drivers not being able to handle the volume and frequencies. Sonos themselves posted that it is a firmware issue and are working on it. Which can also be the reason why reviewers did not experience those issue as they probably did not update the unit right away. Unless they were told not to expose the issue which I am really hoping is not the case here. When they do release the firmware update I just hope it is not just “crutch”. So people should pay attention to how the unit sounded pre update to post update and see if other things have changed.

buzz

For the record I”m not having any issues Arc or anything else. That said I have seen a few comments over the weeks regarding bass distortion on ONE’s. These seemed to be individual cases, not a widespread problem.

Likely, the reviewers’ units were produced in a different batch and were using beta software because the final software was released after the reviews were written. (Believe it or not, we are only a week into this) The batch that has been shipped to the public was probably fresh off the boat. Further, since some units don’t exhibit the issue, it could be tied to a particular production line, possibly corrupt software on a line. There are layers to the software in this sort of product. Not all layers are routinely updated in the field. If a fundamental layer is corrupt from the assembly line, a routine update will not fix this. In some respects it is like socks. It’s easy to put socks on while sitting at home, much harder to change socks while running. It is possible that the problem units will need a custom update.

T
Userlevel 1

My Arc was delivered today, and after a couple hours of testing I’m convinced that it is some sort of crossover software issue. It sounds great when the Sub is active but when it is not active it sounds like it’s trying to push the low Sub frequencies to the Arc and it just doesn’t have big enough drivers for that. Not sure the exact Hz but it needs to be lifted. Also put my surrounds on full music audio and turned them all the way up and I could hear the same rumbly  attempt at bass with the Sub off. My Play 5 Gen 2 which is also on S2 seems unaffected. 

W
Userlevel 5
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I understand the frustration from everyone, trust me, I’m there too. 

It’s a new product with raving reviews.  Clearly something changed since the reviews were done to the public release and that change likely isn’t hardware, but a software change.  

Before we start spreading word of panic, let’s just give Sonos a few more days and allow them to work on the issue and provide us updates.  Let’s not try to pick apart words in an update we’re being provided.  

Everyone can choose to handle their Arc individually but my decision is to wait for Sonos to release the update and see if it truly resolves the problem.  If it does, great!  If it doesn’t, then the other option is clear. 

I have faith that Sonos will fix this and fix it quickly.  It’s hard to ask for patience when you spend this much on a product but unfortunately we all have to be patient for the update.

 

Me too!! I do have faith in the company and the brand!

 

I’m in Asia and therefore my Arc is still yet to deliver… probably mid. July, and therefore I don’t have to think about any returning matters. The worst scenario maybe is to cancel the order and get my money back… So for me I’m not only worry about the Arc, but more than that is the reputation of the brand and company after this incident… How it’s going to be? Drop in business? And the Sonos products we already have for years? 

 

 Hope I just think and worried too much… 

L

I experienced the same. Setup my arc today and the first song I played made me feel that the arc is worse than the beam. Almost going to put it back in the box before I came online. Really need this to be fixed quickly otherwise I have to return it.

W
Userlevel 5
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I think the people who have been using SONOS products for years may have more patience and willing to give them some time to get it right, while especially those who bought Arc as their first SONOS product may not… It make lot of sense! 

S
Userlevel 3
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I think the people who have been using SONOS products for years may have more patience and willing to give them some time to get it right, while especially those who bought Arc as their first SONOS product may not… It make lot of sense! 

Nah that’t not it. I have been with Sonos for 2 years and my Beam had 0 issues since day one. People expect the same from a product that costs as much as 2 Beams. That’s not much to ask of a premium brand like Sonos. Consistency

W
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

I think the people who have been using SONOS products for years may have more patience and willing to give them some time to get it right, while especially those who bought Arc as their first SONOS product may not… It make lot of sense! 

Nah that’t not it. I have been with Sonos for 2 years and my Beam had 0 issues since day one. People expect the same from a product that costs as much as 2 Beams. That’s not much to ask of a premium brand like Sonos. Consistency

Yes, that’s true!

M
Userlevel 4
Badge +7

I think the people who have been using SONOS products for years may have more patience and willing to give them some time to get it right, while especially those who bought Arc as their first SONOS product may not… It make lot of sense! 

Nah that’t not it. I have been with Sonos for 2 years and my Beam had 0 issues since day one. People expect the same from a product that costs as much as 2 Beams. That’s not much to ask of a premium brand like Sonos. Consistency

Yes, that’s true!

I’m going to be patiently waiting to replace my Beam until I see further update on this.  I thinking that by December this kind of quirk should be fully resolved.  

This reviewer has been pretty reliable in his objective approach.  It may be worth following him.

 

 

Michael
T

Hello all,

I just want to clarify...is this issue only present in standalone ARC set ups?….so if the ARC is paired with the SUB this issue isn’t present?….I’m asking because I plan on purchasing the ARC and SUB but if this happens when paired together I may wait until this is all ironed out.

A

Hello all,

I just want to clarify...is this issue only present in standalone ARC set ups?….so if the ARC is paired with the SUB this issue isn’t present?….I’m asking because I plan on purchasing the ARC and SUB but if this happens when paired together I may wait until this is all ironed out.

Honestly I’d wait anyway. At this point this is a known issue with the product with no clear cause or resolution. The only updates we’ve had from Sonos is that it “seems like software” and the “team is investigating” with no estimated time for resolution. 

W
Userlevel 5
Badge +9

Hello all,

I just want to clarify...is this issue only present in standalone ARC set ups?….so if the ARC is paired with the SUB this issue isn’t present?….I’m asking because I plan on purchasing the ARC and SUB but if this happens when paired together I may wait until this is all ironed out.

 

I think even adding a SUB can mask the problem, it’s not acceptable because we cannot expect every single person who buy the Arc will also buy the SUB… Arc itself should be a product to deliver good quality.

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

I think the people who have been using SONOS products for years may have more patience and willing to give them some time to get it right, while especially those who bought Arc as their first SONOS product may not… It make lot of sense! 

Nah that’t not it. I have been with Sonos for 2 years and my Beam had 0 issues since day one. People expect the same from a product that costs as much as 2 Beams. That’s not much to ask of a premium brand like Sonos. Consistency

Yes, that’s true!

I’m going to be patiently waiting to replace my Beam until I see further update on this.  I thinking that by December this kind of quirk should be fully resolved.  

This reviewer has been pretty reliable in his objective approach.  It may be worth following him.

 

 


THIS is what surprises me the most. Wouldn’t the standard test for a speaker involve going through a test program with all the possible frequencies, recording the response and checking if everything is alright?

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