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Contributor I
Nov 29, 2024 3:30 PM UTC
Answered

Arc ULTRA - lack of bass with sub gen 3

Hi!

I owned a Arc + 2xEra 300 + Sub gen 3 setup and it was overwhelming on cinematic performance and average on music - I was missing the middle lows in music performance (which are very present on the demo sounds of sonos, so it's likely a DSP thing not hardware).

As Arc Ultra promised better bass due to the new sound force technology, I made the upgrade and... well... I am not satisfied at all. Everything sounds the exact same as before. I did trueplay tuning (tried all three variants), EQ setup etc etc.

I get even a little better performance turning the sub off in the mid los but then the deep subs are missing of course.

I don't get why my SONOS system is performing so bad on mid-lows but only on music... All is perfect on movies... If sonos would only give us more control over music EQ :(

 

That being said, I was asked by ​@Corry P to create a diagnostic. I created even three and made some troubleshooting:

First try: Old system - everything as usual. I made a diagnostic with it playing a song. - Diagnostic ID ends with ...998

Second try: Ultra with 2x ERA 300. Very good sound quality. Definitely better than “old” Arc. Just missing the sub a bit :) - Diag ID ...753

Last try: Added the sub to Arc Ultra. Mid-Bass is much lower now. Even lower than with OG Arc. I also tried enabling/disabling sub and whenever I disable sub, the mid-lows get much better. Diag ID ...929

 

No trueplay involved at all on the ultra.

 

Maybe you can see anything.

 

I am already on the 81.1-58210 firmware which should be bass-fixed :D

 

Similar topics I found (partially trueplay involved)

 

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Corry P
Corry PAnswer
Sonos Staff
Feb 23, 2026 4:31 PM UTC

Hi ​@S.Ag 

I just spoke to my colleague who did the investigation and it seems we are unable to reproduce the issue. It seems that what we spotted was a discrepancy in how things were reported in the diagnostics, rather than there being an error in the functionality, as was previously thought.  As a result, I recommend that anyone affected please gets in touch with our technical support team for further assistance.

I hope they are able to help.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

16 replies

Lyricist II
Feb 14, 2026 6:38 PM UTC

So this was clearly acknowledged as a software bug by Sonos staff over a year ago, then backtracked, likely bc they deprioritized it as a fix, even though there are countless complaints about it over the last year all over the web, only to finally be reacknowledged as a bug with vague next steps.  Meanwhile we’ve had a subpar sub experience on a $2k sound system for over a year.  Do we get some sort of refund for that time?  

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Lyricist II
Feb 14, 2026 6:44 PM UTC

And now I also see “this matter [was] considered resolved” over a year ago.  So much gaslighting. Honestly I didn’t get behind all the hate on this brand and the S2 rollout, but it’s starting to feel inevitable.  Prime time for a challenger brand to make a mark, they haven’t yet, but they will. Sonos is setting itself up for obsolescence.

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Stanley_4
Grand Maestro
Feb 14, 2026 8:21 PM UTC

Did you call Sonos support and ask? We other users have no say in reimbursements. 

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Lyricist II
Feb 14, 2026 8:30 PM UTC

Yeah dude I’m not expecting other users to provide me with reimbursements lol.  It was a rhetorical comment.  And my point was that Corry P is Sonos Staff.

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Contributor I
Feb 23, 2026 11:19 AM UTC

Hi ​@Corry P 

As few weeks have passed since detected, do we have more info on the issue with sub 3?

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Corry P
Corry PAnswer
Sonos Staff
Feb 23, 2026 4:31 PM UTC

Hi ​@S.Ag 

I just spoke to my colleague who did the investigation and it seems we are unable to reproduce the issue. It seems that what we spotted was a discrepancy in how things were reported in the diagnostics, rather than there being an error in the functionality, as was previously thought.  As a result, I recommend that anyone affected please gets in touch with our technical support team for further assistance.

I hope they are able to help.

Translate
"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein