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andrewchiu1st
andrewchiu1st
Enthusiast II
June 15, 2020

Sonos Sub Gen 3 crackling/static sound

Hi guys,

 

I just bought the Sonos Arc and the new Sub Gen 3 and I paired them with 2 Sonos One (Gen 1) speakers for the surround setup.

Yesterday I noticed that while idling and playing, there are some tiny constant crackling/static/electric current sounds coming from the brand new Sub and I found it quite irritating. So what I did first was to make sure that the connection with the power cord is secure, which it was. Then I tried to remove the Sub from the group, factory reset it and added it back to the system. But the same issue persists.

I don’t suppose this is normal, right? Does anyone has a similar issue with the new Sub?

I’ve checked my Sonos Arc, One and Beam and none of them has this issue.

Since I just bought it from Best Buy last week, should I return it and get a new one to see if it’s something wrong with the one I’ve got? 

It’s not a cheap device and I don’t want to compromise on its quality.

 

Thank you all!

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    246 replies

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    ghflow
    Trending Lyricist I
    October 29, 2020

    recently got the arc and gen 3 sub and here is what i’ve discovered after some testing:

     

    -when watching netflix directly through the app on the new LG smart TV or through an Apple TV box on an old Sony LED TV, there is the ticking sound described by everyone else.  Likewise when I watch youtube/amazon prime directly through the apps on the LG smart TV, I can also hear the ticking sound.  The ticking sound is audible as long as the videos are playing, even if I turn the volume all the way down.

    -when watching netflix through my laptop plugged into my TV via HDMI, or when watching youtube through my iPhone via airplay, or when listening to music using the Sonos app, the ticking sound disappears .  when watching cable tv directly on my old sony LED tv, the ticking sound also disappears.  likewise, when watching an old dvd through a dvd player on my laptop, plugged into the tv (which has audio passthrough), there is no ticking sound.  There is still a slight electric buzzing sound that is audible from the sub under these scenarios, but it is steady and faint and is not the ticking sound described earlier.  

     

    I can’t speak for everyone, but from my experience the issue seems to be how audio files are streamed. it seems more prevalent the higher the quality being streamed (atmos or 5.1, as opposed to airplay from iPhone).  can anyone else test and confirm my findings?

    I pretty much observed the same phenomenon. Only that the hissing did not completely disappear when playing through Sonos app or airplay, it became much quieter but still noticeable. Also, when playing content through tv, the noise sub makes is like a tickling noise. When playing music through airplay, the noise’s frequency is much higher.

      andrewchiu1st
      andrewchiu1stAuthor
      Enthusiast II
      October 30, 2020

      Here is the update from the Sonos Escalation Team,

      “Thank you for the check-in. While it is not going at the expected pace, we are still in the process of implementing a fix to address this issue with the existing SUB units. 

      In the meantime, we could process another exchange for your current SUB as we have not had any further reports outside of the initial one from the community.”

      I’m a bit nervous to ask for another exchange because it seems like people who just bought the device recently also have the same problem?

        ghflow
        Trending Lyricist I
        October 31, 2020

        Here is the update from the Sonos Escalation Team,

        “Thank you for the check-in. While it is not going at the expected pace, we are still in the process of implementing a fix to address this issue with the existing SUB units. 

        In the meantime, we could process another exchange for your current SUB as we have not had any further reports outside of the initial one from the community.”

        I’m a bit nervous to ask for another exchange because it seems like people who just bought the device recently also have the same problem?

        Based on my experience, I would say it’s a quite widespread problem, and it will possibly occur in the replacement unit. The best way to deal with this right now is probably to wait for  Sonos to come up with an actual solution.

          Nickkettt
          Nickkettt
          Contributor I
          November 2, 2020

          Hi there. 
          Im “in part glad” that Im not the only one with this issue with the SubG3  

           

          My Serial # 54-2A-1B .…

           

          Diagnostic: 956776400

           

          I hope Sonos fix this soon !!! 
           

           

            A7ibaba
            A7ibaba
            Lyricist III
            November 3, 2020

            My sub 3 is working flawlesly , but build number is starting with 6038

            Mitchellsx
            Renowned Enthusiast II
            November 4, 2020

            I have just requested my exchange of my gen 3 sub, due to clicking noise, but from what im seeing here that won’t resolve it! fingers crossed

              SweBob
              Lyricist II
              November 6, 2020

              Hey all,

              Just thought I’d give you an update from my end:
              I got my replacement unit today and I used the option to send my old one to Sonos within 14 days = I have both at home right now.

              After som testing I can conclude that they are both having the exact same problem.
              One thing that I found out during testing was that it does matter what the Sub is paired to.
              I tested to pair it to: Sonos One, Sonos Five, Sonos Arc and Ikea Symfonisk bookshelf.

              Conclusions:
              When paired to One, Five or Symfonisk - the sub has one specific crackling/hissing sound - mainly crackling. The volume of this noise is not too bad

              When paired to the Arc, the Sub has a much louder, high pitch hissing noise. This I can hear from 3 meters away.

              Contacted support again, sent them my findings, and their response was so send me yet another Sub.
              If this 3rd Sub exhibits the same problem I will not bother accepting any more exchanges.


              A Dropbox link to my recordings of the sound when paired to different speakers:
              https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ntb6uwjl08vhzyk/AAC2gHkIpnHsVgm_b7YZ7ZK6a?dl=0

               

              Note: When I made the recordings I had music playing to the speakers, but volume muted.
              That is when this problem occur. When there is nothing playing, there is just a very faint crackling which does not bother me at all.

               

              Could anyone with an Arc confirm my findings that the problem is worse when the Sub is paired to Arc compared to any other speaker?

                ghflow
                Trending Lyricist I
                November 7, 2020

                Hey all,

                Just thought I’d give you an update from my end:
                I got my replacement unit today and I used the option to send my old one to Sonos within 14 days = I have both at home right now.

                After som testing I can conclude that they are both having the exact same problem.
                One thing that I found out during testing was that it does matter what the Sub is paired to.
                I tested to pair it to: Sonos One, Sonos Five, Sonos Arc and Ikea Symfonisk bookshelf.

                Conclusions:
                When paired to One, Five or Symfonisk - the sub has one specific crackling/hissing sound - mainly crackling. The volume of this noise is not too bad

                When paired to the Arc, the Sub has a much louder, high pitch hissing noise. This I can hear from 3 meters away.

                Contacted support again, sent them my findings, and their response was so send me yet another Sub.
                If this 3rd Sub exhibits the same problem I will not bother accepting any more exchanges.


                A Dropbox link to my recordings of the sound when paired to different speakers:
                https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ntb6uwjl08vhzyk/AAC2gHkIpnHsVgm_b7YZ7ZK6a?dl=0

                 

                Note: When I made the recordings I had music playing to the speakers, but volume muted.
                That is when this problem occur. When there is nothing playing, there is just a very faint crackling which does not bother me at all.

                 

                Could anyone with an Arc confirm my findings that the problem is worse when the Sub is paired to Arc compared to any other speaker?

                I agree with you, it seemed to me that when I play music through TV, which is connected to ARC, the sub makes a louder crackling sound. 

                Mayur
                Lyricist I
                November 10, 2020

                I also have the same issue reported in this thread. Only bought the sub gen 3 a month ago.

                  ivan5150
                  Lyricist III
                  November 13, 2020

                  Hi all, can you guys please confirm 1st gen does NOT have this issue? I’ve found a 1st gen Sonos Sub at a good price and would like to know if this generation is affected by this issue…

                  Thank you very much

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