I recently set up Trueplay on a couple of Play:1s that I own. When testing out the post-Trueplay calibration sound I discovered bass distortion once I dialed up the speaker to about half-way on the volume bar (my EQ had bass and treble right in the middle and Loudness was turned off). At first I thought it was an issue with my speaker, but turning off Trueplay removed the distortion issue. The best way to describe the distortion is that it is a deep popping bass sound like occurs intermittently (maybe once every couple of seconds, but that depends on how bass heavy the song is).
Anyone else having this issue with a Trueplay-tuned Play:1?
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I’ve had the same issue on my kitchen play 1. Rang support in Australia 3 times over the last 6 months about it. Each time I rang I was told “wow we have not heard of this issue before.”
The second and third calls were taken by the same guy..... :/
Sonos don’t care. They already have our money.
The second and third calls were taken by the same guy..... :/
Sonos don’t care. They already have our money.
+1
My diagnostics number is 8308181.
Playing Breathe (Nora En Pure remix) - SeeB, the bass blows after each beat. I've tried re-tuning but the only way to reduce the bad effect is turning off loudness or trueplay.
Playing Breathe (Nora En Pure remix) - SeeB, the bass blows after each beat. I've tried re-tuning but the only way to reduce the bad effect is turning off loudness or trueplay.
+1
Same for me on a new Play one. Bass blowing out after Trueplay tuning.
I have the same issue, just bought my first play one to see what it was like before buying a second.
Has anyone found a solution for this yet. I just bought a play 1 and came across this problem. If no solution is there a walk around?
Trueplay still broken on the Play 1 in this latest update. 😞
Yes hopefully Sonos fix this Trueplay issue in a software update. Trueplay seems to ‘overdrive’ the bottom end resulting in these bass pops. I wish Sonos would implement a proper ten channel EQ. I ran my Mac through my Play 5 line in and used the iTunes EQ. The Play 1 sounded great with none of the bass pop and a sparkling treble range. The music didn’t sound muddy as it normally does just using the Sonos EQ. Such a shame the potential of this speaker is locked out of reach of the customer. Fingers crossed for that update .??
Trueplay on my Sonos 1 worked for a while without distortion but I recently moved it to another room and after re-tuning the bass clipping / distortion is back. I tried re-tuning a number of times but no luck.
I just turn Trueplay off for the Play 1 and use the manual EQ instead.
Not ideal but workable.
I just turn Trueplay off for the Play 1 and use the manual EQ instead.
Not ideal but workable.
A proper EQ is needed badly, you should be able to tune the sound to your liking, I wish they would put a proper EQ on it, and lose the bass and treble controls.
There is clearly a problem with Trueplay and the Play 1. I exchanged my previous Play 1 with a new one, only to find Trueplay creates the exact same bass pop issue. I don't understand why Sonos doesn't fix this problem in the next software update. Without Trueplay, the Play 1 sounds muddy and flat. No matter how much you adjust the Treble and Bass. Trueplay reduces that mud but gives you the bass pop. I couldn't recommend the Play 1 to anyone.
This problem would be fixed if Sonos gave the customer a comprehensive EQ not just a Treble and Bass. It is embarrassing that the Play 1 potential is locked. Please let us have a proper EQ.
This problem would be fixed if Sonos gave the customer a comprehensive EQ not just a Treble and Bass. It is embarrassing that the Play 1 potential is locked. Please let us have a proper EQ.
I have a jbl extreme I replaced My play one with it, it has much better sound at much higher volumes. But if they sorted the play 1’s little distortion hick then the play one would smash the extreme easily, it’s a real shame, the play one has great potential for good sound at higher volumes, if only they sorted it out.
I am new to Sonos. I bought a total surround sound system PLAYBAR/SUB/2-play 3’s/ and a ONE. The TV room was set up with all speakers except the ONE, and it sounds good. The ONE is set up portable, and it has the bass distortion everyone is referring to. At low volume the speaker sounds decent, but with any volume or bass, it distorts horribly. I noticed the distortion within 10 minutes of setting it up.
I just bought the system to replace my JBL extreme (which sounded great) and an cheaper Samsung home theater system (which wasn’t very good). The Alexa feature is nice but the distortion for a $200 speaker is unacceptable. Considering you need to have two to sink in stereo I am glad I bought the two play 3’s (so far no distortion). I may just return the ONE and get a DOT and use the TV room setup and the JBL extreme as a portable.
Based on others comments, not sure the ONE or play 1’s are worth it. I know others have positive comments, but sure are a lot of similar issues for a suposidly high sound quality speaker.
I just bought the system to replace my JBL extreme (which sounded great) and an cheaper Samsung home theater system (which wasn’t very good). The Alexa feature is nice but the distortion for a $200 speaker is unacceptable. Considering you need to have two to sink in stereo I am glad I bought the two play 3’s (so far no distortion). I may just return the ONE and get a DOT and use the TV room setup and the JBL extreme as a portable.
Based on others comments, not sure the ONE or play 1’s are worth it. I know others have positive comments, but sure are a lot of similar issues for a suposidly high sound quality speaker.
Yes it does, I was curious if it did it or not, so I moved it. I have given it to my daughter now as they don’t care what the sound is like, lol
Userlevel 7
+26
If you factory reset that PLAY:1 and use it in a different room does it have that same audio issue? If so, it could be a hardware issue with that player.
Mine does the popping sound with Trueplay turned on or off, it seems to slowly raise the bass levels then it pops and turns the bass down, it then slowly raises bass again then pops again, I have already submitted diagnostics a while ago, but sonos couldn’t say what was wrong, we just have to put up with it I’m afraid, shame really because when the bass raises it has a real nice sound
I too was having bass distortion issues on my play 1. Today I decided to try turning TruePlay off and then on again and my issues have vanished. Not sure why this worked, but it worked for me.
Just a quick follow up to my previous message.
Good news: I have managed to use Trueplay on the Play 1 without resulting in bass distortion. I am not sure why it works after my previous attempts. I had not tried Trueplay for 2 months but tried it again last night and it seems to work. It reduces (to some extent) the bass bloat which is the default Play 1 sound but the real magic is with the midrange and vitality of the sound. The bass bloat need further manual EQ adjustment after Trueplay (2-3 clicks additional reduction in bass) but the great news is: No more bass distortion :-)
I love the resulting sound.
My advice is to try again and to repeat the process a few times. Also, if you have any case (no matter how minimal) on the iPhone try removing it.
Cheers
Good news: I have managed to use Trueplay on the Play 1 without resulting in bass distortion. I am not sure why it works after my previous attempts. I had not tried Trueplay for 2 months but tried it again last night and it seems to work. It reduces (to some extent) the bass bloat which is the default Play 1 sound but the real magic is with the midrange and vitality of the sound. The bass bloat need further manual EQ adjustment after Trueplay (2-3 clicks additional reduction in bass) but the great news is: No more bass distortion :-)
I love the resulting sound.
My advice is to try again and to repeat the process a few times. Also, if you have any case (no matter how minimal) on the iPhone try removing it.
Cheers
Just to add to the thread, I have always had the bass distortion issue with my Play 1's. I have had 4 Play 1s over the past 3 years and currently own 2 units which were purchased about 3 months ago. The speakers were / are positioned in different ways and in different locations. Trueplay tuning (done it many many times) always resulted in bass distortion (bass popping and clipping even at low volumes). My only solution to the problem was and remains: Turn off Trueplay. I do not get bass distortion once I disable Trueplay on the Play 1. This is a shame of course because Trueplay works great on my Play 5. I am using the manual EQ to tweak the Play 1 sound.
I find the default Sonos sound (Play 5 Gen 2, Play 1) to be very bass heavy anyway. This is exacerbated if the speaker is close to walls but the bass bloat remains even if the speaker is placed well away from walls and in big rooms. Loudness (on by default) adds to that problem. I managed to get a more balanced sound by reducing the bass by quite a few clicks (between 3-5).
So to summarise, like others, I have always had the Trueplay bass distortion problem with all my Play 1 speakers (past and present). I have accepted that unfortunately this is not going to be fixed but I can achieve good sound by disabling Trueplay and manually tweaking the EQ.
I find the default Sonos sound (Play 5 Gen 2, Play 1) to be very bass heavy anyway. This is exacerbated if the speaker is close to walls but the bass bloat remains even if the speaker is placed well away from walls and in big rooms. Loudness (on by default) adds to that problem. I managed to get a more balanced sound by reducing the bass by quite a few clicks (between 3-5).
So to summarise, like others, I have always had the Trueplay bass distortion problem with all my Play 1 speakers (past and present). I have accepted that unfortunately this is not going to be fixed but I can achieve good sound by disabling Trueplay and manually tweaking the EQ.
How strange! I have several Play 1's (although bonded in a pair with a Sub) but the one which has the distorted bass issue has an identical set-up to yours. I tried your trick and amazingly it has sorted the issue! I uncoiled the cable and moved the speaker away from the socket and did a retune. After the retune, I coiled the cable back up and moved the Play back to its original position and it continues to play without any distortion. Thanks for the advice.
I have had this problem for some time, two Play 1's but only one experiencing poor bass response or 'clipping' even at relatively low volumes. This happens whether using TruePlay tuning or not and with identical EQ settings on both units. Not sure if this is the case for anyone else but the solution was very simple for me. The unit affected was on the worktop in the kitchen, within close proximity to the power socket. As such I coiled the power cord and cable tied it in a nice neat bundle out of sight behind the unit. It occurred to me that the only difference between the kitchen unit and the unaffected living room unit was this cable arrangement. I've uncoiled the cord and done another TruePlay retune and hey presto, nice deep bass (deep for a Play 1 anyway) with no clipping/popping even at much higher volumes. The units now seem very much aligned in terms of sound quality. I assumed units like these would be shielded from electrical interference but clearly not where a cable is coiled and so close to the rear of the unit. Hope this is of some help to others.
I have the exact issue of "popping" on bass for my Play 1's (2 of them) and Play 5. Is there any actual answer on how to fix this yet??
Curious to see if the new one cracks and pops.
I know in new residential construction there are some different electrical codes and standards in place.
That points to a speaker defect and not a Trueplay driven issue that this thread is about.
Nonetheless...the new one should not behave the same way, Sonos does not need special kind of mains power to work, just the normal stable kind that is utility provided, as long as that means that old, and well established quality standards have to be met before a construction is released for residential use.
It is odd some people have this problem and others don't.
Very odd. I have 4 units bought at different times since early 2014 and all perform very well.
I found that there are close to 3000 reviews on Amazon, and even in the eighty odd one star reviews that are very critical of the feature set, something like this doesn't find a mention.
Something definitely smells.
I exchanged mine and will hook it up later and report back.
I can 100% promise you I am not making this up. Any song with any kind of bass produced a crackling noise from the speaker. If I turned loudness on or turned the bass up, it was worse.
On some hip hop songs I have to turn the bass down to 1/4 and regular pop songs can distort/crackle at the default levels.
I agree its not a more prevalent issue in the reviews. If this new unit (from bestbuy) crackles, then I will try it in another house or office. This is a brand new house and maybe there is some odd issue with the electrical current. Makes no sense I understand, but this was hands down the worst audio product i've ever purchased.
Curious to see if the new one cracks and pops.
I know in new residential construction there are some different electrical codes and standards in place. No idea if this is the problem but i'd say there is some chance it is. Since Sonos is headquartered in the land of no-new-construction-ever, I don't see this problem ever being resolved. The noises I heard were real and they were real annoying.
Userlevel 3
+7
Almost every room response DSP does this; but since people most are used to a bloated bass, it sounds flat to start with. In time one gets used to what is a more balanced sound signature and the true play off mode feels artificial. At times all that is needed is to bump up the Sub output level a little from the centre position at which Trueplay tuning leaves it.
But if personal preference remains for True play off, Sonos also makes this very easy to accomplish. End of the day, whatever floats your boat is best for you.
Yes it is down to personal preference,the difference is night and day with my play 5s.The Quality is definitely better with truplay off on mine.
Almost every room response DSP does this; but since people most are used to a bloated bass, it sounds flat to start with. In time one gets used to what is a more balanced sound signature and the true play off mode feels artificial. At times all that is needed is to bump up the Sub output level a little from the centre position at which Trueplay tuning leaves it.
But if personal preference remains for True play off, Sonos also makes this very easy to accomplish. End of the day, whatever floats your boat is best for you.
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