Contributor I

Answered

Sub (Gen 3) - way too quiet

21 replies
6232 views

Hello!

Allow me to start mentioning that I am aware of similar threads in the community (this forum and reddit) but none of the proposed solutions worked for me. :(

I have been using ARC for over a year without any issue. I recently added a Sub (gen3) and the result is somewhat disappointing: The sub is too quiet. Less than volume 10 I cannot tell the difference it makes, and even at +15 it is not impressive.

My setup:
LG OLED CX
Arc connected via HDMI 2 (earc enabled, bitstream, passthrough)
I have multiple HDMI connected via Philips sync box (for the lights) - Apple TV 4k (2022) and a PS5.
I have tried removing the sync box completely and plugging the ATV / PS5 directly to the TV with the same results.
Sub (gen3)
All the cables are certified hdmi 2.1

The Sonos App tells me I am properly getting Atmos (ATV) or Dolby 5.1 (PS5). The sound is great, it is just the bass being underwhelming

I have tried placing the sub in different locations, true play on and off dozens of times, player with EQ bass and sub volume but nothing seems to change much. It is always the similar underwhelming results.

It is worth to mention that the “success” sound when adding the SUB together with the arc it is amazing! Very loud and the wall does tremble with that one - that’s the experience I am looking for but unable to replicate even at +15 in any of my devices.
If I tune the arc volume very high (50+ at 100%) I do feel the sub a little bit more, but sadly the arc is way to loud to be comfortable.

Any suggestion?

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Corry PAnswer

Sonos Staff

Hi @sberjano & @TomUK81

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

I am not aware of any ongoing issues with the Sub being inaudible, as @JeroenVR mentions in their reply.

Location is the first thing that should change when you have trouble hearing the Sub, but as you’ve already tried moving it, I will move on.

The fact that the Sub sounds great during it’s connection process implies that after that, either the Arc isn’t properly supplying the Sub with something to play, or the TruePlay tuning has somehow resulted in a much lower bass profile.

If you still have bass at +15, you may want to lower it before attempting a fix!

The first thing I would try is a reboot of the Arc - unplug it from power for 10 seconds or so, then plug back in and wait for a solid white light (the light may go off entirely if set to do so in the options) before testing.

If that doesn’t help, please try deactivating the TruePlay tuning profile - does the Sub then make it’s presence felt? If it does, I recommend you redo the TruePlay tuning again, perhaps with a different device, or leave it off altogether.

Finally, if things still aren’t better, I can only recommend you get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and what it reports.

I hope this helps.

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

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T

TomUK81

Lyricist II

Hi @Corry P,

I've submitted two diagnostic reports:

Watching Disney+ - 306250606

Watching 4K Blu-ray - 1411931147

Thanks for your help.

Tom

Corry P

Sonos Staff

Hi @TomUK81

Thanks!

The good news is that I see no amplifier faults on the Sub, and your Home Theatre system is configured as it should be.

I do see the Arc channel hopping quite a lot on the 5GHz links to the surrounds and Sub, which is a good indication of interference. Obviously, you have a TV near your Arc, but what else is? If you have a router or WiFi Access Point nearby, I recommend moving it to at least 1m away, but ideally further.

I hope this helps.

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

T

TomUK81

Lyricist II

Hi @Corry P,

Thanks for looking into it.

The Arc is on a sideboard with the TV behind it and there is a Blu-ray player below the Arc.

I've never had any issues with the surrounds, they always sound brilliant.

The router is in another room about 5m away.

Thanks for putting a note on the case logged with Technical Support - I guess they will still look into it, even if its not the known issue they previously thought it was.

Thanks

Tom

Airgetlam

Note that the surrounds and Sub do not directly connect to your router. They connect to your Arc via a ‘hidden’ 5Ghz signal. They do get IP address proxies from your router through the connection to your Arc.

Bruce

C

chandler-sf

Lyricist I

Wow I have literally the exact same issues reported by the original poster. It seems there's no fixes available. I've tried all the things suggested in this post to no avail. I am thinking I may return it because for $650 it makes almost no difference than if before when I had just the beam.

Airgetlam

What did Sonos support tell you when you called them for assistance?

Bruce

Corry P

Sonos Staff

Hi @TomUK81

To be clear, my putting a comment on your case will not change it’s current status, which is likely to be “waiting on customer” or “closed”. For staff at Sonos to look at your case again, you would need to reinitiate contact via phone, email or chat.

As for the issue, is the Arc on a glass or metal surface? If near a wall, is there anything on the other side of the wall?

Hi @chandler-sf

It seems there's no fixes available.

Who said that? In the vast majority of cases, the fix is particular to the environment that the Sonos system finds itself in, which is why you sometimes just need to get in touch with our technical support team to get answers.

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

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sberjanoAuthor

Contributor I

Thanks a lot @Corry P

I attempted to reset the Arc to factory settings and that helped, alongside disabling trueplay.

On PS5 now having the sub volume at 1-2 is equivalent to my old (10+).

With AppleTV 4k I have to put it at 4-5, yet still a much improved experience than before.

However all of this is always with trueplay disabled. Whenever I attempt to calibrate it, and I tried multiple things (whole room, just listening area, etc) the result is always a very low sub volume.

Are there any downsides of not using trueplay? Should I keep trying or it is fine to keep it deactivated?

S.

Corry P

Sonos Staff

Hi @sberjano

I’m glad to hear that you’re happier with your Sub now, though I cannot endorse factory resetting without explicit instructions to do so, unless you are selling the unit. If it worked, it worked, though.

There’s no huge disadvantage to not having TruePlay enabled - in fact, if you don’t happen to have an iOS device, you can’t do it anyway. A good part of the effect can be achieved with the balance, treble and bass controls, and the rest is spatial correction for unusual rooms - many people notice little difference. You could try with the Sub in a completely different location (same room, of course), but if it was me and I was happy with how it sounds now, I would leave it.

I hope this helps.

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

S

sberjanoAuthor

Contributor I

Sorry, not a factory reset. Just unplugging 10sec and plugging back in ;-)

For now I will leave it like this, and experiment a little bit with moving more and trueplay next week!

Thanks!

S.

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