Answered

Sonos Arc Muddy/Bottoming out Bass

G
Userlevel 5
Badge +2

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. 

icon

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

View original
This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

1406 replies

R
Userlevel 2
Badge +3

Honestly, as pro SONOS as I am - I do wish I had read these posts - my ARC gets here tomorrow - they sent it ground instead of 2 business days - Maybe so they could get an update out before it arrived 🙂 - Anyway, staying positive and added another Play Five to the stable - wife thinks I have too many speakers - who can have too many speakers ? Go to have a pair in every room - and three outside :)

 

P

I’ve had my ARC installed for a week and I am experiencing the same bass issue. I hope the software update addresses this. The frustrating thing is if it doesn’t, it forces owners into purchasing a sub to address a manufacturing error. Let’s see the results. Makes me wonder why the ARC wasn’t bundled with a sub from the get-go if it can’t handle bass. 

Even with a Sub the bass from there Arc is not 100% perfect. The update needs to address it. if it doesn’t and there are still issues, the answer shouldn't be spending more money on a Sub. The answer should be returning the Arc. 

I have to agree, I have the Arc, Sub (gen2) and two play:1’s for the rears and the bass is worse and not as deep compared to when I have the Playbase set up with my sub and both play:1’s. Definitely looking forward to the update when it comes out to see if the Arc performs just as well as when I had the Playbase. I’ve had no complaints from the neighbours since upgrading to the Arc 😂😂

A

I just got an App and system update on iOS. 

BMF
Userlevel 5
Badge +13

I just got an App and system update on iOS. 

Nice!

what are the version numbers for App and Arc etc?

A

I just got an App and system update on iOS. 

Nice!

what are the version numbers for App and Arc etc?

Everything is on 12.0.1. 

Ryan S
Userlevel 7
Badge +26

Hi everyone,

We released a software update today to address a bug that resulted in audio distortion for some customers listening to bass-heavy content at higher volumes on Arc.

Make sure you’re updated to 12.0.1 to get the latest release.

Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
A
Userlevel 6
Badge +6

Hi everyone,

We released a software update today to address a bug that resulted in audio distortion for some customers listening to bass-heavy content at higher volumes on Arc.

Make sure you’re updated to 12.0.1 to get the latest release.

Thank you @Ryan S . Will report back with the findings later today.

A

Hi everyone,

We released a software update today to address a bug that resulted in audio distortion for some customers listening to bass-heavy content at higher volumes on Arc.

Make sure you’re updated to 12.0.1 to get the latest release.

Thanks @Ryan S. Sounds better so far. 

A
Badge

I’ve had my ARC installed for a week and I am experiencing the same bass issue. I hope the software update addresses this. The frustrating thing is if it doesn’t, it forces owners into purchasing a sub to address a manufacturing error. Let’s see the results. Makes me wonder why the ARC wasn’t bundled with a sub from the get-go if it can’t handle bass. 

Even with a Sub the bass from there Arc is not 100% perfect. The update needs to address it. if it doesn’t and there are still issues, the answer shouldn't be spending more money on a Sub. The answer should be returning the Arc. 

 

Agreed . Though the sub is just phenomenal  (sadly given its price tag ...)

H
Userlevel 6
Badge +7

Hi everyone,

We released a software update today to address a bug that resulted in audio distortion for some customers listening to bass-heavy content at higher volumes on Arc.

Make sure you’re updated to 12.0.1 to get the latest release.

Awesome, @Ryan S! Thanks to you and the team for the quick turnaround on this issue and for the transparency. Looking forward to seeing how well it performs now! 

Arc + Sub 3 + One SLs = Awesome and Loving It!
S
Userlevel 5
Badge +10

I was playing Pink Martini through my Arc with sub and rear Ones then saw this update. Applied the update and turned Pink Martini back on. Wow! Sounds much better in general. More full and maybe even more detail. I usually want two channel stereo for music but this is just fine for general listening.

C

Mine is sounding better. No more bottoming out. 

D

Just tested Penetrator and it doesn’t bottom out, it sounds like they muted/limited the bass more to solve it

B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

Mine is better but still resulting in some bottoming out.  It’s not as bad as it was previously though. 

I still have to adjust the EQ and loudness off to make sure it doesn’t bottom out as much.  It’s significantly better than before but there are still times during movies it sounds bad.

Hope more tweaks continue to come.

Example:  The Greatest Showman opening scene.  If I have the loudness on, it’s ok but seems to be on the verge of sounding bad.  If I put the bass to +2 with loudness on it seems like it just pops and the bass over steps and sounds muddy again, it sounds like something is still wrong with it.  Trueplay also seems to make it worse.  I did use an iPhone 6 that we have sitting around just for this purpose, so it’s not an issue with the newer microphones people have reported.

:disappointed:

Only solution for me until this gets resolved is to keep my sub temporarily moved into the living room at -13 so I don’t annoy the neighbors.  Feels like such a waste when I can have it in another room with the beam at 0 and enjoy it.  I really hope adjustments keep coming and coming quickly because I feel $800 for the Arc is really hard to swallow.  Thankfully there’s a 100 day window in the US if you ordered from Sonos. 

M
Userlevel 1
Badge

Hi everyone,

We released a software update today to address a bug that resulted in audio distortion for some customers listening to bass-heavy content at higher volumes on Arc.

Make sure you’re updated to 12.0.1 to get the latest release.

Good stuff, now for that LPCM update... 🤗

K
Userlevel 1

Yes, also disappointed to find that while it's not quite as severe, it's still present and just slightly more muted now. Why does the Beam still sound better?

S
Userlevel 5
Badge +10

Anyone else with a sub and or rears noticing anything  besides me?

A

Yes, also disappointed to find that while it's not quite as severe, it's still present and just slightly more muted now. Why does the Beam still sound better?

Yep. It does sound good/better but the more I listen the more it’s still not great/fantastic. Something is up with the Arc. 

M
Badge +1

Update has worked. Tried 40hz test tone by Bass Junkie through Spotify and even at 100% volume there is no distortion

A
Userlevel 2
Badge

Hi everyone,

We released a software update today to address a bug that resulted in audio distortion for some customers listening to bass-heavy content at higher volumes on Arc.

Make sure you’re updated to 12.0.1 to get the latest release.

Thanks @Ryan S . But I can tell for sure the issue is not 100% gone. Bass is definitely better than before but issue is still there. I still hear crackling sounds playing lose yourself to dance on YouTube at volume 34+. Something is wrong with Arc.

A
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Hi everyone,

We released a software update today to address a bug that resulted in audio distortion for some customers listening to bass-heavy content at higher volumes on Arc.

Make sure you’re updated to 12.0.1 to get the latest release.

Thanks @Ryan S . But I can tell for sure the issue is not 100% gone. Bass is definitely better than before but issue is still there. I still hear crackling sounds playing lose yourself to dance on YouTube at volume 34+. Something is wrong with Arc.

Agree entirely. Applied update. Bass to zero. Issue is slightly less but still there

M
Badge +1

What do you guys mean it's still there? If you run a 40hz test tone at max volume and get no distortion how can the issue still be present exactly?

B
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

What do you guys mean it's still there? If you run a 40hz test tone at max volume and get no distortion how can the issue still be present exactly?

 

Just because it’s not there for the 40hz test, doesn’t mean it’s gone. 

My first test was the beginning scene of The Greatest Showman or really any action movie and turn the loudness on and have the bass at 0 or 1-2 like many would do… it bottoms out still.  It’s not as bad as it was previously but the issue still exists.

If you download any Dolby Digital trailers for movies and watch them, whenever a loud scene happens with action/cars/planes, etc you will hear it.  

The only way it doesn’t sound muddy/bottom out is if I turn the loudness off and the EQ for bass down. 

At least that’s just been my experience.  

A
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

What do you guys mean it's still there? If you run a 40hz test tone at max volume and get no distortion how can the issue still be present exactly?

Just tried that Mike. Getting distortion, cracking and popping. 
Don’t know what’s going on. 

M
Badge +1

What do you guys mean it's still there? If you run a 40hz test tone at max volume and get no distortion how can the issue still be present exactly?

 

Just because it’s not there for the 40hz test, doesn’t mean it’s gone. 

My first test was the beginning scene of The Greatest Showman or really any action movie and turn the loudness up and have the bass at 0 or 1-2 like many would do… it bottoms out still.  It’s not as bad as it was previously but the issue still exists.

If you download any Dolby Digital trailers for movies and watch them, whenever a loud scene happens with action/cars/planes, etc you will hear it.  

The only way it doesn’t sound muddy/bottom out is if I turn the loudness off and the EQ for bass down. 

At least that’s just been my experience.  

Do you really think Sonos engineers haven't tested every single frequency though? I've only listened to music so far but personally it's tons better already. 

I'll have to see how it sounds when I watch a Dolby Atmos movie as they have some very loud thumping scenes

Terms & ConditionsCookie settings