Sonos Sub Gen 3 crackling/static sound

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246 replies

Ken_Griffiths

I can clearly hear the WiFi/data transmission buzzing, like an old modem

Dunno then 🤷‍♂️ …are you able to perhaps grab/isolate it in a recording and post it online? I’m not hearing/noticing such a sound here. Maybe others will then chime in here too.

Perhaps it’s a sound/frequency your hearing has become sensitive too - it’s hard to say without hearing/knowing what I’m looking for, but will happily listen out for it if you post it online. I’m happy to explore these things.

I’ve had my Wife listening for sounds from the Sub too and she isn’t hearing anything either, she says, other than the obvious/usual low-level frequencies.

buzz

My guess is that this is a power supply issue. Some power supplies will emit mechanical noises. In some cases a high frequency noise will be emitted and the description of the noise can vary -- possibly based on the age of the observer. (young ears are more sensitive to very high frequency sounds) 

You may be able to locate a “spot” where the noise seems to be concentrated. It is also possible that the surface under the unit will effect the noise level. Carpet might be quieter than hardwood floor.

buzz

I’m curious. For some esoteric reasons that I don’t think that I could explain, it is possible that this noise will change from time to time, possibly correlated with time of day and/or with large appliance and air conditioning use. Is anyone observing this sort of correlation? Are you in a 120V or 220V area?

D
Userlevel 1

@buzz Im in the UK, so on a 240v system.

 

T
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

Just got an email from the escalation support team, it seems that they are able to reproduce the issue on their end as well.

 

“Thank you for going over the details with me today.

As this is an unexpected reproducible issue, I have met with few of our hardware and electrical engineers to review the diagnostics and videos gathered from your case. We have so far determined the issue to not be with your home electrical wiring based on the specific tickling/hissing noise level, and currently we are waiting for the one that you have already shipped back to confirm if the issue is at the hardware or software(drivers) level. 

Having stated the above, a power conditioner/filter device will not help with this issue. Please bear with us as we are currently working on investigating this abnormality. 

I will notify you via this email as soon as any updates become available in the following couple weeks.”

This is a significant update! My thanks again for keeping the rest of the community posted. Hopefully it’s on the software level somehow. But interested to see what they will tell you next regardless. Glad to hear it’s been officially acknowledged. 

andrewchiu1st
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

Accidentally “best answered” the thread and can’t seem to undo that… :confused:

andrewchiu1st
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

Just got an email from the escalation support team, it seems that they are able to reproduce the issue on their end as well.

 

“Thank you for going over the details with me today.

As this is an unexpected reproducible issue, I have met with few of our hardware and electrical engineers to review the diagnostics and videos gathered from your case. We have so far determined the issue to not be with your home electrical wiring based on the specific tickling/hissing noise level, and currently we are waiting for the one that you have already shipped back to confirm if the issue is at the hardware or software(drivers) level. 

Having stated the above, a power conditioner/filter device will not help with this issue. Please bear with us as we are currently working on investigating this abnormality. 

I will notify you via this email as soon as any updates become available in the following couple weeks.”

Excellent work from andrewchiu1st and SONOS support team.

I am holding back my purchases until we get more update from the support team. But alas, I already sold my Sub gen 2… :joy:

Andrewchiu1st, can you provide your sonos sub gen 3 hardware / version / build number so that we know which batch to avoid when buying again.  

Its great to see the support team still working hard after the 12% culled.  

@brolin

Man, that’s brutal, 12%, it’s definitely a trying time now!

I have the information copied here:

Sub: Living Room
Serial Number: 54-2A-**-**-**-**:*
Sonos OS: S2
Version: 12.0.1 (build 58178090)
Hardware Version: 1.32.1.4-1.2
Series ID: A200

 

**Moderator Note: Please censor personal information when posting.**

P
Badge +2

You perfectly presented the current situation, I may add that it is really bad given the Sonos positioning and the premium prices.

I’m currently stuck with a chirping sub that I had to disconnect from the system.

 The support just forwarded my case to the US engineering team, but I’m not so confident there is  a flawless unit being manufactured right now.

 

 Wondering if the sub mini (a part from the plastics/assembly problems) suffers from the chirping and standby issues

Sadly, yes, I can report that my partner’s Sub Mini has been similarly plagued (all 3 of them…).

W

Morning all from the UK, thought I would throw my name in the hat to this (2 years later). 
 

Not long had my system (Arc, Play 1’s, Sub and Beam), noticed yesterday this was happening whilst the sub was idle. Had no clue what the noise was until I followed it straight to the sub. 
 

Quick Google brought me here. I’ll be phoning Sonos today to start whatever process has to be started. Series number for me is A202. Once again forums to the rescue. 

R
Userlevel 2
Badge +3

Update: contacted Sonos support and sent them a video of the noise, they decided to replace the unit, so will see what happens with the new unit.

Ken_Griffiths

@Vanx,

I could only see one audio file (size: 607kb) in the link. I listened to that ’clip’ several times over headphones here. Your bass audio recording sounds terribly muffled at the start and then, when all goes quiet, I hear a cricket/static-like sound. So was that audio clip done in your recording studio? I had my player volume set really high here to listen to it aswell.

Was it recorded with a mic close-up to the Sub itself, or was it placed a certain distance away, across a room? Maybe it’s me, but I find the recording quite poor, truth be told.

I definitely do not hear such a (cricket/static-like) sound from the Sonos Subs I have here. Are you sure it’s not related to the ‘conditioned’ power supply at your studio, which you mentioned earlier?

Also have you tried the Sub bonded to a different Sonos product, just in case that has any bearing on what you are hearing?

Maybe others here will listen to the posted ‘clip’ too and chime in with their thoughts.

My after-thoughts are,  maybe you are hearing the Subs built-in switching power supply perhaps🤔? …but I know I don’t hear these things generally speaking from such quiet power sources, so your hearing is perhaps sensitive to these things? - My hearing just mostly hear the core music frequencies, so perhaps it’s outside my hearing range and I might only pick-up on such sounds when recording close up with a mic and then playing back the sound at a much higher volume level. I doubt I would hear such noise in a natural listening environment, but let’s see what others say/think about the audio ‘clip’.

B
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

They sent me a replacement but it was refurbished Gen 2 sub instead LOL! back to Sonos support, what a nightmare, bit disappointed with this, mistakes happen but a bit frustrating when you're spending this kind of money.

Was it Best Buy or Sonos that sent the replacement?

W
Userlevel 2
Badge +3

I have one on order… is this affecting all of them? If so I might just cancel for now and wait until this is resolved?

R
Userlevel 2
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I don't think it's everyone, Peter Pee a Youtuber who focuses on reviewing and testing Sonos products said he’s not hearing this noise on any of his subs, so may not be widespread issue.

B
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

I’m not experiencing this problem.  If I put my ear right up against the top of the sub, I think I hear an extremely faint “whining” noise.  It’s barely audible.  I hear nothing if I put my ear in front of the sub’s opening and nothing while I’m standing near it.  So either I don’t have the problem or my hearing is just that shot ;-)

G

Hi guys,

I received a new sub g3 today (just sent old one just two days ago!!!) and it is just pristine. No issues at all. Zero cracking / noises whatsoever. Double checked with multiples sources, like tv, AirPlay, streaming via sonos app and everything’s fine.

 

thanks Sonos support team!

W
Userlevel 2
Badge +3

Well that’s disappointing, what’s funny is I had bought a Gen 2 sub originally with my new Sonos arc since the gen 2 was on sale for $150 off at Best Buy but then quickly decided I’d rather spend more and invest in the gen 3 for future proofing and updates.  The gen 2 had no issues and sounded the same to me despite the gen 3 having updated internals.  May just return the gen 3 now and grab the gen 2 and save that $150 again.  I’m probably being really picky because I really can only hear the noise if I get very close to the sub but once you know about it, you can’t forgot it or Unhear it and it makes  me a little upset that a product at this price and the new generation at that has an issue when the previous gen at less money is perfect,  

I just canceled my gen 3 order, not really overly concerned with the issue but Best Buy has the gen 2 now versus waiting until August sometime and it’s a good chunk cheaper.

andrewchiu1st
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

Hi guys, I have some terrible news.

I received my replacement from Sonos yesterday. Excellent customer service, quick turnaround with the replacement, but all the great service doesn't change the fact that the new unit is the same as before. Which leads me to conclude that it’s a design flaw.

Now why is this apparent flaw not bigger news online that it currently is? Because not everyone will be capable of hearing the noise. I wouldn't call myself an audiophile in any way, but the noise is obvious to me, making it irksome, my partner says he can’t hear it unless she’s 1 foot away.

I assume that many people will be blissfully unaware of this flaw, until someone with more attuned hearing points it out the them, and then it becomes something you can’t un-hear.

The bass that comes out of the Gen 3 sub is rich, deep and everything you’d want it to be. Unfortunately for me, the electro-static ticking noise, ruins the enjoyment I should be getting out of this £699 premium product.

Am still a Sonos fan, just a little less than I was before.

@dropper

Yeah, I agree, the reason that I pre-ordered both the Arc and Sub Gen 3 is because I thought they always get things right and I didn’t really have any problems with Sonos’ products before. Totally wasn’t expecting all these hassles and times lost just to get something that should have been caught before the product is shipped to the end users.

I’m keeping it because I do believe that the team will eventually resolve the issue and send me a new perfectly functioning SUB, but not sure how long that’s going to take and they can’t seem to commit to any timeline for now.

andrewchiu1st
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

I bought a sub gen 3 with this issue at a bestbuy store. Got it replaced the same day at another bestbuy that had the sub gen 3. The new unit still has the same issue...

Hmm, did you buy and replace it only recently? If so, I think there are actually a lot more people with this issue and they just haven’t noticed it yet.

My last contact with the support team was on July 7 so I’m thinking to follow up with them in August and see if they are able to make any progress on the issue by then or as least give me an update.

C
Userlevel 2
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@andrewchiu1st Thanks for the reply. You received your replacement unit and it exhibited the same issue, correct? Has Sonos committed to replacing your replacement once they have ironed out the hardware issues? I would be happy with that option for my situation moving forward.

andrewchiu1st
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

@cstyow 

Yes, exactly and it also happened to other guys in this thread. I told them I don’t want another replacement with the same issue as it’s just more work for me to return the problematic units.

The escalation support team did guarantee that once they iron out the issues, they will send me one with perfect condition. But they can’t commit to any timeline right now.

You should contact them and log your case, you can cite my case number, I’ll DM that to you as Sonos community moderator always hide that for security reason.

Ken_Griffiths

I 

Have you contacted the global sales team? If not, then perhaps give them a call. Here is their contact details:

https://support.sonos.com/s/global-sales-help

Thanks mate I contacted them this morning; turns out my replacement hasnt even been organised and nobody seems to really know whats going on. I was so dissappointed. 

The agent has now escalated it to the warehouse team who should be back in touch ‘between now and Monday’, again shocking. 

I asked about their complaints escalation procedure and the guy had no idea, referred me to the forums and told me to email their CEO. He said he would try to organise a call back but seemed very non-commital about it. You pay thousands for a system and the aftercare is this bad, I don’t think so. 

I’m really dissappointed in SONOS I expected so much better. 

Ah it sounds like something must have gone awry on this occasion - it’s not something I see often mentioned on these boards but I guess that’s no satisfaction in your case. At least it sounds like the matter is now back in hand and being sorted by the Staff. So hopefully you will get your Sub soon.

S
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

Hi Guys,

 

Update on my side again.

I contacted Sonos support via a phone call here in the Netherlands and demanded a solution. I did not want to wait for another software update to fix the ticking noise, which I believe can’t be fixed with software. There was still no update on the “investigation” so I told them I wanted to receive a replacement unit. From here on all went well, even got a quick return service.

Next day the new Sub arrived, plugged the unit in straight away and no ticking sound audible. The static sound is there, but only on a level of 5% compared to the 100% of the previous unit. I think the static is coming from the power line here in our house (not a single house has perfect clean electricity). 

For now I’m satisfied with the service I received with my last call with Sonos Netherlands, will keep an “ear” out on the sub! If the problem will appear again after some usage, I’ll update again.

By the looks of it not a problem they can solve with software, try to get your affected units replaced.

A7ibaba
Badge

I dont know from which source you get idea that power line can cause static noise in sub or speaker. If you have any static it is caused by internal component inside of the unit. There is to many options what causes that. Shielding or power unit ...

S
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

I dont know from which source you get idea that power line can cause static noise in sub or speaker. If you have any static it is caused by internal component inside of the unit. There is to many options what causes that. Shielding or power unit ...

By my experience as an audio engineer for the past decade.

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