Sonos play:1 low bass popping


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  • Contributor III
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Hi- I've been using my sonos play:1 for a month. I've noticed a low bass popping sound intermittently. I've used the trueplay calibration twice to no avail. I've also sent off a diagnostic. Is anyone else having the same problem?

An example track where this occurs is Coldplays track "magic".

Any tips would be most appreciated.

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44 replies

Turn off Trueplay, or try reducing the bass in the EQ settings. In my experience there's a corner case where Trueplay bass lift can under some circumstances cause slight clipping somewhere in the P:1 audio pipeline. I've witnessed it on a handful of P:1s and they can't all be bad hardware. Sonos have made substantial software improvements but it can still rear its head at times.
Userlevel 2
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Hello! I have two Play 1 in a room (stereo) and one in another room. With the Play 1 in stereo there is absolutely no popping. But with the another Play 1 AND ONLY WITH THUE TRUEPLAY there is horrible popping...
Noticed this bass popping on my play 1. Got a replacement as advised by support. The new play 1 is doing exactly the same bass pop/ distortion. Trueplay is on. Turning off trueplay helps but then the speaker sounds terrible. This is why we need a comprehensive EQ function not just a lame treble and bass EQ. Hopefully new updates can fix this issue with Trueplay and Play 1’s.
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I'm another +1 for the extended EQ options. Can you imagine being the OP...the time and effort it has taken to contact Sonos support, return 2 speakers, and still have the same issue? To think it could be fixed by a simple tweaking on the EQ is/would be extremely frustrating. It's fine to bury it deep in the OS so that most layman don't need to deal with it, but at least have it in there.

I have one set of stereo Play:1s in my bedroom, and one set in my kitchen. My kitchen pair have an unbearable popping with Trueplay turned on (the only solution is to turn it off), while my bedroom pair have never had any issues whatsoever. This seems to be an problem going on for years, and until Sonos can 100% correct it, they really should be offering other options.
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Dear friends


I have been testing this issue with Sonos over the phone for over a month and this is whats happening:

The Play: 1 and Sonos One are limited to the amount of bass they can produce due to their compact size. Sonos has added a limiter inside these speakers to prevent them from breaking. This popping/distortion is actually the limiter doing its job when it detects a bass tone to high for the speaker to produce. It's always been there. The reason we are all noticing it more now is that with Trueplay enabled the levels become different causing the limiter to usually trigger between 25% - 50% volume levels on these certain bass tones, anything over 50% the limiter is changing the bass tones altogether so you don't hear it just trying to stop a single bass tone.

So what now? I have just turned off Trueplay and I'm enjoying the way they sound without it. as for a fix, I have been told that a feature request for the way the limiter responses to bass tones have been written up, there was only one downside... I was told that it probably wouldn't happen right away unless a lot more customers were experiencing this issue. So If you experience this call it in and let them know you don't like the way the limiter is causing a popping/distortion sound in the Play: 1 and Sonos One.

I just got myself a new Play: 3 and it does not have this issue. This seems to be strictly a Play: 1 and Sonos One issue due to its size.

If anyone has any questions for me feel free to ask.

P.S. I still love these speakers by the way. Hopefully, Sonos will hear us and figure something out

I had the same problem with my Play1 in my Kitchen with Trueplay on. I moved it into my living room where my stereo pair is and re-tuned it. Brought it back to the Kitchen and the popping is gone. I’m convinced it’s a problem with the Trueplay calibration.

Probably better if you posted that number of the diagnostic here, so that the Sonos folks could look to see. In fact, I'd be tempted to call in and talk to them about this. You can find their customer support phone number here: www.sonos.com/contact
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Thanks. The diagnostic number is 7470831.
You're most welcome. Now we wait for a Sonos person to check it out.

But I'd be still tempted to try calling in, especially if you think it might be a hardware fault, which generally can't be dealt with on these boards.
Userlevel 3
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Check your source as well. I used to get popping sounds but only on Tunein radio. So I isolated the issue and had the Radio solve it.
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Hi Jitb,

I would recommend doing a factory reset of that PLAY:1 and setting it up as new.

During the setup process, there will be a step where it asks you to press two buttons on the PLAY:1 and listen for a chime. Let me know if the chime sounds distorted at all.

If not, please continue the setup and let me know if the sound still sounds off when playing audio.
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Update- so after speaking to the team over the phone I returned my play:1 and replaced it with the same model.

Unfortunately the issue still remains. I find it highly unlikely that it is due to a hardware problem. Surely two speakers cannot be faulty?

I'm using virgin media for my internet connection at 100Mb. IPhone 6. Have tried true play tuning with both my phone and my iPad. No difference.

This is getting annoying!!
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Hi Jitp, as unlikely as it sounds, an audio issue like a bass pop is almost always due to hardware issues. You could try using that player in another room to see if it might be an odd sound echo. To get this sorted quickest, it'd be best to give us another call. That way the team can make sure to get the replacement handled quickly, assuming it's a bad player.
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Thanks ryanS. I've tried this in my kitchen and in my living room with no improvement. I've also tried the unit with a wired Ethernet connection too. I'll give the team a ring tomorrow and see what they say. Thanks for the advice.

I've tried the player without trueplay and the popping stops, but the sound is now very flat and not of the quality I would expect from the player. I did get the replacement player from the same store, and I'm know wondering if there was a "bad batch"?
Is the popping still present at low volumes when Trueplay is enabled? A physical defect in the actual speaker would manifest at higher volumes.
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At low volumes it is not present. It starts when I get to approx 25-33% of the volume bar on my iPhone using the sonos app.
Note how loud it sounds at 33% with Trueplay enabled. Now disable Trueplay and increase the volume substantially, way past the previous level. Basically, play it loud without Trueplay. Do you still hear popping?
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Hi ratty. Ive just tried this and unfortunately I still hear the popping sound on the bass. Its almost as though the bass cuts out after the popping sound occurs, and then comes back in. Ive submitted 2 diagnostics- one with the trueplay on (7578841) and with the trueplay off (7578967).
I'm having the same bass popping problem with one of my Play 1s. I submitted diagnostic 7654428 just now in hopes the Sonos team could help find the problem.
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So I'm now on my 3rd replacement play:1. I still have the same issue. To be honest, I really like the interface and ease of use therefore I'm going to put up with it. It's a little bit disappointing but I can't see another solution.
1) I've tried the player in another room
2) I've tried it with an Ethernet connection
3) I've tried trueplay off- it's much better when off but the quality of the sound isn't as good
4) I've put in a powerline extender to boost the wifi signal in the room with the player and that's not made any difference either

I'm hoping that with ongoing use the speakers may just "bed" in a little better. I'm using a virgin media super hub 3, iPhone 6.

Hope this helps.
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Looks like this isn't the first time people are having this issue.

https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/floppy-bass-on-play-1-6764119

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/sub-popping-sounds-6765649
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New diagnostic sent 7661785. I'm I've listened to music all weekend with trueplay on and then a whole day with trueplay off. There is definitely less bass popping.

I'm thinking more and more that this is a software issue with trueplay.
Fascinating. I've had two pairs of Play:1s for a couple of years that I listen to all the time that have been TruePlayed since TruePlay came out. Never had a problem with any bass popping on them. Just out of curiosity, what's the music, and source of the music?
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I've been using a variety of sources including my own iPhone stored music, Apple Music and Amazon prime music.

I have a single play:1
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I've found a track that it distorts on throughout the track. George Ezra- don't matter now through Apple Music. Diagnostic sent 7661785