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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Userlevel 3
+7
I find truplay works and sound fantastic with the 5.1 setup, playbar, 2 play 1s and the sub. I have two play 5s and when truplay is turned on you can hear it tone down the bass and makes it sound flat, which doesn't sound as good,the same as the 2x2 play 1s setup i have upstairs. so i have truplay turned off for my stereo pairs.
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.
My Play:1 distorts religiously and predictably. The amount of bass in the song is irrelevant. I am on an Android device and there is no Trueplay option anywhere in the room settings.
It is odd some people have this problem and others don't. I can't imagine there is any other explanation than Q/A and/or manufacturing defects Sonos refuses to address. Loudness on or off is irrelevant. Leaving the EQ flat also irrelevant. Volume level, irrelevant.
This bad boy distorts with savage glee and I get the business decision not to call this spade a spade and admit this product has huge problems in the real world. It's unethical, but I get it.
$30 Bluetooth waterproof speaker blows this distorting mess away. LOL @ the poor guy that moved the speaker all over his house to try and "fix" it. I wonder if the boys in Sonos customer service were messing with him or honestly trying to fix it?
Back to best buy you go as clearly Sonons customer support has firm marching orders to pretend this problem doesn't exist. Unreal!
It is odd some people have this problem and others don't. I can't imagine there is any other explanation than Q/A and/or manufacturing defects Sonos refuses to address. Loudness on or off is irrelevant. Leaving the EQ flat also irrelevant. Volume level, irrelevant.
This bad boy distorts with savage glee and I get the business decision not to call this spade a spade and admit this product has huge problems in the real world. It's unethical, but I get it.
$30 Bluetooth waterproof speaker blows this distorting mess away. LOL @ the poor guy that moved the speaker all over his house to try and "fix" it. I wonder if the boys in Sonos customer service were messing with him or honestly trying to fix it?
Back to best buy you go as clearly Sonons customer support has firm marching orders to pretend this problem doesn't exist. Unreal!
Yeah, the distortion is just insane. I have 4x Play1s and they are all trueplay tuned and they all do it. Right now I'm listening to a live bootleg album and even at 1/3 volume there's a massive, massive, massive insanely huge popping from the speakers. I turned the bass down to 1/4 and its still there but better.
Can we just get a low end cutoff fix? I don't need a small speaker to try to go down to 50hz or whatever. They sound fantastic otherwise but this sounds like someone blowing into a microphone on every bass drum hit. It's extremely distracting, makes the tracks unlistenable, and will probably destroy something in the speaker eventually.
Can we just get a low end cutoff fix? I don't need a small speaker to try to go down to 50hz or whatever. They sound fantastic otherwise but this sounds like someone blowing into a microphone on every bass drum hit. It's extremely distracting, makes the tracks unlistenable, and will probably destroy something in the speaker eventually.
So I went back to the speakers and moved them to a different location and reconfigured the settings. Everything seems fine now. The problem was that I put the speaker in a corner and it was really messing everything up. Once I put them in the center of the room, everything seemed to clear up.
I am having the same problem as it is described often. Songs with trueplay sound weird on the play 1's bass. Without trueplay it seems to hold it way better (sometimes it stil has difficulties). I understand that some songs contain a too heavy bass for such a small speaker, but in my opinion it should be possible to program the play 1 a little better if we look at its bass? (programmed in a way that it uses a little less bass to make it sound nicer?)
Thank you @sonos if you could look into this problem of the play 1!
Thank you @sonos if you could look into this problem of the play 1!
Userlevel 7
+22
Of course. If you call Aonos and then Agee to a replacement hey will do an RMA.
If you give them your card number they will ship the replacement before they receive the return and then you can use that box. If not just pack in other box but do a good job.
If you give them your card number they will ship the replacement before they receive the return and then you can use that box. If not just pack in other box but do a good job.
Yeah, they seem off. I contacted support. I guess my other problem... I threw out the boxes and bought them on Amazon. If you throw out the boxes is it still possible to return?
@GBlackman _ what you are describing in terms of bad sound quality doesnt seem right. The play1 are pretty much universally well regarded. Sound quality is subjective, but still - might be a problem with your speaker. I would either exchange at retail for a new one or if not possible contact support and see what they say.
Hi, I'm a long time Bose user (Headphones, Sound System, Portable - you name it). I recently bought Sonos thinking it was on the same level and that the company is very forward thinking (I'm on the latest everything techwise.) I've been reading through this thread and I'm getting exactly the same problem. I'm getting a popping, or a (thuuup) sound that if often mistimed or just downright distracting. It happens on almost every song when the volume is turned up and wanes when the sound is turned down. The sound quality is also sub-par compared to my other audio sources. It's unfortunately at the level of something cheap I could buy from Best Buy and connect via Bluetooth. Since I listen to a lot of melodic trance or dance music, you could imagine that this is incredibly distracting and unusable long term. I also exclusively stream all of my music and it really does sound like it's coming from a radio and not a digitized format.
I've tried re-tuning it several times, unplugging, and fiddling with presets in both the app and spotify. The problem still exists. Especially when the volume is turn up higher. I'd love to add more to the system, but so far I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. Is there something you can do to help? I'm on these speakers all day and they'll have to go soon if we can't fix it.
Thanks
I've tried re-tuning it several times, unplugging, and fiddling with presets in both the app and spotify. The problem still exists. Especially when the volume is turn up higher. I'd love to add more to the system, but so far I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. Is there something you can do to help? I'm on these speakers all day and they'll have to go soon if we can't fix it.
Thanks
I contacted Sonos support for exactly the same reason, distorted bass, popping sound, clipping whatever you want to call it, as it sounds terrible. They were very good & talked me through a factory reset, & initially I thought it had cured the problem but it hadn't. They offered to replace the unit but I returned it to the shop & the replacement is exactly the same.
The worst combination is true play & loudness both turned on & turning either one off reduces the problem. The only way to eliminate it altogether is to turn off true play & loudness but I think the sound is then very average & the bass particularly poor.
My friend has 2 x play 1's (which is why I bought one) but he doesn't have the true play option, as it's unavailable on an android phone, but when he played the same tracks he still has exactly the same problem. He'd never noticed it till I pointed it out to him, & again by turning off the loudness it seems to stop the problem.
So that's 4 x play 1's I can say I've heard with this problem & as someone else commented I can't believe relatively few people have noticed this, but then again my friend hadn't until I pointed it out to him.
I feel there's definitely a problem with this product but I'm going to contact Technical support again, as they were very good to be fair, but looking at how long this has gone on I don't think this is going to be resolved any time soon.
My plan is to buy another play 1 & pair them for stereo listening but I can't live with this problem & if it can't be resolved I will reluctantly have to replace it with an alternative brand.
The worst combination is true play & loudness both turned on & turning either one off reduces the problem. The only way to eliminate it altogether is to turn off true play & loudness but I think the sound is then very average & the bass particularly poor.
My friend has 2 x play 1's (which is why I bought one) but he doesn't have the true play option, as it's unavailable on an android phone, but when he played the same tracks he still has exactly the same problem. He'd never noticed it till I pointed it out to him, & again by turning off the loudness it seems to stop the problem.
So that's 4 x play 1's I can say I've heard with this problem & as someone else commented I can't believe relatively few people have noticed this, but then again my friend hadn't until I pointed it out to him.
I feel there's definitely a problem with this product but I'm going to contact Technical support again, as they were very good to be fair, but looking at how long this has gone on I don't think this is going to be resolved any time soon.
My plan is to buy another play 1 & pair them for stereo listening but I can't live with this problem & if it can't be resolved I will reluctantly have to replace it with an alternative brand.
I have the same issue with a pair of play 1's.They are in a small bathroom, mounted on the wall. After reading all the comments I turned "true play" off... Seems to have helped the issue. Any comments / feed back from Sonos if they are acknowledging true play could be a issue under some circumstances.?
Yup, I have exactly the same problem. All my stereo paired 1's are fine, just my single 1 that is like this. Switch trueplay off and it's fine - albeit sounds very flat compared to trueplay. I've turned the bass right down after trueplay - it stops the distortion or banging / popping, but sounds rubbish! Has anyone actually had a resolution on this?
Stuart_W - I've gone back and fourth on this thread enough, so don't need to justify my experience any further, it's merely a report on the overall issues with the Play:1 (and support approach/lack of feedback) which will hopefully help others going through the same thing (There's plenty on this thread).
Excellent, now we're all happy, and peace is restored 🙂
Excellent, now we're all happy, and peace is restored 🙂
So....the solution? I have just purchased a Monitor Audio S200 (£169 I paid) http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/products/airstream/s200 and all i can say is wow. The sound quality is amazing, it really is night and day to the Play:1. Very clear and detailed sound, with absolutely no distortions going on. The downside is, it's outside of the Sonos EcoSystem which I really like, but that also has some pros.
But it goes to show there are other options out there for the same price, hopefully one day there will be a revised version of the Play:1 that resolves these issues.
Good for you to finally get a satisfactory resolution. However since "these issues" aren't common across the user base, I am not sure what a revised version of the speaker will achieve to address what seems to be a unique problem in your case. For example, my play 1 units can hold their own against speakers like KEF Q100s/Dali Zensor 1/Quad 11L, and I don't think my experience is rare.
Userlevel 7
+22
I guess it depends on how you look at things really doesn't it? I can see why you'd feel that you've been "led around the houses" but I'd prefer to see at is "being remarkably pro-active and going the extra-mile" to help the customer. Obviously you're feelings are coloured by the outcome - I'm sure you don't doubt they would have told you had they been able to identify an issue with the speakers and you do say they made an agreement which they honoured (albeit they may have dropped the ball slightly on that).
It may just be that for some reason you don't get on with the Play 1 and the sound it produces. I guess these things happen but if you ask me Sonos have bent over backwards and then some.
It may just be that for some reason you don't get on with the Play 1 and the sound it produces. I guess these things happen but if you ask me Sonos have bent over backwards and then some.
Hi guys,
Just a bit of an update where I am with this now. After deciding something was definitely not right with the Play:1 (After trying 3 of them) and the sound being very poor, I decided to take it back to the shop. However, just prior to this Sonos Support contacted me again to carry out a set of further tests, which included putting the Play1 in a number of different rooms and taking recordings of various music. I did this, but made it clear these tests were now not for my benefit, but I was happy to do them to help Sonos find out what the problem is with their Play:1's. I submitted the results, waited a week or so and they asked me to carry out the tests again, which I did. I informed them as time was getting on for when I can get a refund from the shop, you'll have to agree to refund me for the speaker yourselves as I'm carrying out these tests on your behalf. After a bit of back and fourth they agreed.
After submitting a 2nd set of results I was still kept in the dark on what the results were, and Sonos Support requested i send the speaker back to them for testing, which i did.
So after over a month in totally back and fourth, and spending all that time testing all I got back was a response back from Sonos Support saying they couldn't find any issue and they were sending the Play:1 back to me! I promptly responded informing them of the agreed refund which they then honored.
In summary, I can't say i'm very happy with the whole process I had to go through to help them, and I was hopeful I wold at least get offered a bit of money off a Play:3, but no, I don't even think I got a thankyou.
So....the solution? I have just purchased a Monitor Audio S200 (£169 I paid) http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/products/airstream/s200 and all i can say is wow. The sound quality is amazing, it really is night and day to the Play:1. Very clear and detailed sound, with absolutely no distortions going on. The downside is, it's outside of the Sonos EcoSystem which I really like, but that also has some pros.
But it goes to show there are other options out there for the same price, hopefully one day there will be a revised version of the Play:1 that resolves these issues.
TL;DR - Sonos Support led me around the houses just to tell me they don't think there's a problem so I bought a Monitor Audio S200 which sounds awesome.
Just a bit of an update where I am with this now. After deciding something was definitely not right with the Play:1 (After trying 3 of them) and the sound being very poor, I decided to take it back to the shop. However, just prior to this Sonos Support contacted me again to carry out a set of further tests, which included putting the Play1 in a number of different rooms and taking recordings of various music. I did this, but made it clear these tests were now not for my benefit, but I was happy to do them to help Sonos find out what the problem is with their Play:1's. I submitted the results, waited a week or so and they asked me to carry out the tests again, which I did. I informed them as time was getting on for when I can get a refund from the shop, you'll have to agree to refund me for the speaker yourselves as I'm carrying out these tests on your behalf. After a bit of back and fourth they agreed.
After submitting a 2nd set of results I was still kept in the dark on what the results were, and Sonos Support requested i send the speaker back to them for testing, which i did.
So after over a month in totally back and fourth, and spending all that time testing all I got back was a response back from Sonos Support saying they couldn't find any issue and they were sending the Play:1 back to me! I promptly responded informing them of the agreed refund which they then honored.
In summary, I can't say i'm very happy with the whole process I had to go through to help them, and I was hopeful I wold at least get offered a bit of money off a Play:3, but no, I don't even think I got a thankyou.
So....the solution? I have just purchased a Monitor Audio S200 (£169 I paid) http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/products/airstream/s200 and all i can say is wow. The sound quality is amazing, it really is night and day to the Play:1. Very clear and detailed sound, with absolutely no distortions going on. The downside is, it's outside of the Sonos EcoSystem which I really like, but that also has some pros.
But it goes to show there are other options out there for the same price, hopefully one day there will be a revised version of the Play:1 that resolves these issues.
TL;DR - Sonos Support led me around the houses just to tell me they don't think there's a problem so I bought a Monitor Audio S200 which sounds awesome.
Userlevel 3
+2
What is the exact message you're getting? And on what room.
Same problem. 6490835 is my confirmation number. Thanks!
Well the release lifecycle for phones is a bit different! lol, but you get what I mean.
Except Sonos still supports hardware sold 10+ years ago with software updates. Apple, well ... 😉
That's great you guys are stamping down on any mis-information, please listen to the call logs if that's necessary, although my intention was not to get anyone in trouble, as I say the support guy was very helpful, and I have no issues with Sonos support whatsoever. It's one of the reasons I pay for Sonos, as in my opinion I compare you guys to Apple.
Edit: I've also replied back to the support agent so he can call me anything if this needs to be discussed further. In fact I've still got the Play:1 here packaged in its box ready to be returned, I could always send this back to a central Sonos test team to investigate (for a refund) If it helps you get to the bottom of this? I'm happy to assist there if needs be.
Edit: I've also replied back to the support agent so he can call me anything if this needs to be discussed further. In fact I've still got the Play:1 here packaged in its box ready to be returned, I could always send this back to a central Sonos test team to investigate (for a refund) If it helps you get to the bottom of this? I'm happy to assist there if needs be.
Userlevel 4
+3
He said it has a built in microphone which would sense the unit was moved and disable the TruePlay tuning, as he had tested this himself and even moving the unit by 1 inch disabled the TruePlay as it was that sensitive.
He also talked me through re-tuning the Play 1 myself, I didn't suggest that he did this for me.
Call reference was: 160728-001121, and also note he was very good on the phone, he was helpful, patient, and took me clearly through the whole process, so I cant fault him on that at all.
Guys, I don't really know where we're going with this thread now, I only wanted to add on here that I too have experienced problems with the Play 1 in hope it adds some weight that there could be some issue that needs fixing. I've accepted that the Play:1 is not the speaker for me, and may purchase a Play:3.
Our Technical Support agent reached out via email to get in touch with you to resolve this matter.
Userlevel 7
+22
He said it has a built in microphone which would sense the unit was moved and disable the TruePlay tuning, as he had tested this himself and even moving the unit by 1 inch disabled the TruePlay as it was that sensitive.
He also talked me through re-tuning the Play 1 myself, I didn't suggest that he did this for me.
Call reference was: 160728-001121, and also note he was very good on the phone, he was helpful, patient, and took me clearly through the whole process, so I cant fault him on that at all.
Guys, I don't really know where we're going with this thread now, I only wanted to add on here that I too have experienced problems with the Play 1 in hope it adds some weight that there could be some issue that needs fixing. I've accepted that the Play:1 is not the speaker for me, and may purchase a Play:3.
Ryan S will doubtless check the call logs and probably attempt to talk to the operative but let's be clear that if you were told that information about the Play 1 OR you drew that conclusion from the information you were given it is TOTAL and UTTER nonsense.
It's not just untrue it is NOT possible
Eh?! I just moved a PLAY:1 several feet, turned it upside down and facing the wall. Trueplay was, as expected, still active.
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