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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And they are all of them effectively mono, unless the listener is no more than a few feet away from them. Once further away, the speakers become point sources. Which is why JBL offer stereo pairing as an option if one needs that and is willing to buy two units.
Good points you raise there Kumar, although i definitely find that having stereo in the speaker makes a difference to the depth of the sound. I may well have to go for the Play 3 (which is more than i wanted to spend) but to have the quality of the Sonos interface I think it's my only option! 1st world problems eh? haha.
Having stereo in two, physically separated speakers will give far better imaging than a single "stereo" speaker can ever achieve. I'm only aware of one BT speaker product (there may be others) that is capable of pairing; the Libratone Zipp. It costs more, and does not sound as good as the Play:1.
http://www.whathifi.com/libratone/zipp-2015/review
http://www.whathifi.com/libratone/zipp-2015/review
The JBL flip 3 I bought does stereo pairing too; but because I can't be bothered setting up two speakers when travelling/by the pool or on the beach means it isn't worth it, even though a pair will cost less than one 1. And no single box speaker can be anything but mono out of doors, at the usual listening distances that prevail there, even if it is a stereo unit. The only convenient way to get stereo outdoors is via earphones, as far as I know.
If you listen to something like Christine and the Queens iT. It has distorted bass samples throughout the song. Is this the sort of distortion you have been hearing on other songs?
Correct
Just listened to that, and that has an intentional distortion throughout it, but no my issue does not sound the same as that.
Have you contacted Sonos support and if so, what do they say? I have 4 play units in different parts of the house and they have been/are brilliant music makers; Trueplay did little to change that, probably because I had taken some care over their placement in the first place. It certainly did not add even a hint of distortion; actually I have found that the biggest impact of Trueplay is of dialling down/smoothing the bass response arising from poor placement and logically this ought to reduce the chances for any distortion to arise.
But working with Sonos Support is the way to go, I suggest.
But working with Sonos Support is the way to go, I suggest.
Yep, They were very helpful, and we spent a while on the phone placing the speaker in other places and retuning etc... They did tell me something which doesnt seem to be true though. He said if i move the speaker, the Play 1 will know it's moved as it has an internal microphone which will sense it's in a different room and then disable TruePlay. This didn't happen and it remained on.
But anyway, it appeared while i was on the phone that the issue was resolved by re-tuning, but on further listening the issue was still there.
I should also point out i have had others listen to the Play 1's who also commented on the issue and the poor sound quality from them, so it's not just something I'm hearing, lol.
In fact one persons words were: "I dont know how much you paid for that, but i'd be sending it back as it sounds crap" :(
Anyway, maybe this thread will grow with others with the problem over time, we shall see.
But anyway, it appeared while i was on the phone that the issue was resolved by re-tuning, but on further listening the issue was still there.
I should also point out i have had others listen to the Play 1's who also commented on the issue and the poor sound quality from them, so it's not just something I'm hearing, lol.
In fact one persons words were: "I dont know how much you paid for that, but i'd be sending it back as it sounds crap" :(
Anyway, maybe this thread will grow with others with the problem over time, we shall see.
But anyway, it appeared while i was on the phone that the issue was resolved by re-tuning, but on further listening the issue was still there.
This doesn't sound right - I can't see Support making such a silly mistake in connection with the supposed mic in the play 1 unit. And the unit won't disable Trueplay on its own by some magic if relocated - it can't - but on moving the speaker, the tuning will become inaccurate and the best options would be to retune, or if that isn't possible, turn Trueplay off. AFAIK, Trueplay only gets turned off automatically if you change speaker configuration like stereo pair it, or bond it to a Sub. Very odd, what you are reporting - are you sure you were talking to Sonos Support?
And Support cannot retune - they can only suggest that you do so. Did you? And if the problem was resolved, did it automatically resurface with no other user input or location change?
But anyway, it appeared while i was on the phone that the issue was resolved by re-tuning, but on further listening the issue was still there.
This doesn't sound right - I can't see Support making such a silly mistake in connection with the supposed mic in the play 1 unit. And the unit won't disable Trueplay on its own by some magic if relocated - it can't - but on moving the speaker, the tuning will become inaccurate and the best options would be to retune, or if that isn't possible, turn Trueplay off. AFAIK, Trueplay only gets turned off automatically if you change speaker configuration like stereo pair it, or bond it to a Sub. Very odd, what you are reporting - are you sure you were talking to Sonos Support?
And Support cannot retune - they can only suggest that you do so. Did you? And if the problem was resolved, did it automatically resurface with no other user input or location change?
That's a bit odd to me as well. The PLAY:1 doesn't have a microphone. They never did, even going back to the beta versions. I'll pull up the notes there and take a look at the incident.
Just out of curiosity, and if I missed it here please let me know, have you tried factory resetting one of those units, then adding it back in and testing the audio before Trueplay? If you do this, does it still have any sort of bass distortion?
Guys, of course I was speaker to Sonos support! I'm just going through with what they told me, I knew it didn't sound right what he was telling me, but I didn't push him on it, as call center staff in general are quite often loose with the truth.
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.
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.
Eh?! I just moved a PLAY:1 several feet, turned it upside down and facing the wall. Trueplay was, as expected, still active.
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
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.
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.
Except Sonos still supports hardware sold 10+ years ago with software updates. Apple, well ... 😉
Well the release lifecycle for phones is a bit different! lol, but you get what I mean.
Same problem. 6490835 is my confirmation number. Thanks!
What is the exact message you're getting? And on what room.
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.
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.
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.
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 🙂
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?
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.?
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