Sonos's sound articles center on Trueplay and the EQ. Trueplay measures how sound reflects off walls, furniture and other surfaces and fine tunes the speaker to the room; it takes about 3 minutes. Most products need an iOS device for advanced tuning, while the Arc Ultra, Beam Ultra, Era 100, Era 100 Pro and Era 300 also offer quick tuning on iOS or Android that uses the product's own microphones, standalone, as a stereo pair or as a home theater with surrounds and a Sub, provided the microphone switch is on for every product.
For a good advanced tuning minimize noise, cover as much of the room as you can with smooth movements from head to waist, and do not touch the volume while the tuning sound plays. If nothing changes after tuning, Sonos says a speaker already well placed only needs subtle adjustment, so compare with Trueplay toggled off and on and use the EQ. The EQ (Settings, choose the product, Sound, EQ) has Bass for low frequencies, Treble for guitar and vocals and Loudness, which boosts bass at low volumes; Balance appears on a few products. Trueplay is not supported on the Port, Connect or Roam SL.
Differential
Likely causes of “Sonos home speakers and soundbars sounds distorted, muffled or unbalanced”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
The speaker is poorly placed
What separates it Boomy bass against a wall or a hollow sound in a corner
How to confirm Move the speaker to a better place, and run Trueplay again
- 2
Trueplay was tuned in noise
What separates it The tuning sounds wrong because Trueplay was tuned in a noisy room
How to confirm Re-tune in a quiet room without touching the volume
- 3
The mic switch was off during quick tuning
What separates it Quick tuning fails because the microphone switch was off
How to confirm Turn the mic switch on for every product
- 4
EQ is at an extreme
What separates it The sound is muddy or thin because the EQ is at an extreme
How to confirm Reset Bass, Treble and Loudness to neutral, and listen again
- 5
Trueplay is already close to ideal
What separates it There is no audible change because Trueplay is already close to ideal
How to confirm Toggle Trueplay on and off, to compare the sound with and without it
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- The products and whether they are paired or in a home theater set
- Where each sits in the room and how close to walls
- Whether Trueplay is on and which tuning you used
- The EQ settings and the source you are judging by
Try in this order
0 of 7 completedPlace the speaker
ReversiblePlace the speaker, moving it away from walls and corners if the bass is boomy.
Run Trueplay
ReversibleRun Trueplay, by going to Settings, choosing the product, Sound, Trueplay, and Trueplay Tuning, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Choose the tuning
ReversibleChoose the tuning, either Advanced on iOS, or Quick tuning on the products that offer it.
Keep it quiet
ReversibleKeep the room quiet, and do not touch the volume while the tuning runs, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Compare
ReversibleCompare by toggling Trueplay off and on, to hear the difference it makes, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Use the EQ
ReversibleUse the EQ, and adjust Bass, Treble and Loudness in Settings, Sound and EQ, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Contact Sonos
ReversibleContact Sonos if the sound is distorted at neutral settings, giving them the model, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- Trueplay by model
- Sonos says quick tuning is available for the Arc Ultra, Beam Ultra, Era 100, Era 100 Pro and Era 300 as standalone speakers, stereo pairs or a full home theater; other products use advanced tuning on iOS.
- Balance
- Sonos lists a Balance slider for products such as the Five, Port, Amp and Play:5, not the Era range.
- Other models this page answers
- These steps also fit models Arc soundbar, Beam (Gen 2), Ray soundbar, Era 100 speaker, Sub (Gen 3), Sub Mini.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If the sound is distorted at low volume with neutral EQ and no Trueplay, contact Sonos Support
- !If Trueplay cannot complete on a supported product, contact Sonos
- !If one speaker of a pair sounds different, check the pair and reboot
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Advanced and quick tuning, the three tips and microphone use.
Quick tuning with the built-in microphones.
Subtle changes in a well-placed speaker and using EQ.
The EQ settings and the EQ shortcut.
The company and its products.
Exact questions
Common questions
What does Trueplay do?+
It measures how sound reflects in the room and tunes the speaker to it.
Do I need an iPhone?+
Advanced tuning needs iOS; quick tuning on the Arc Ultra, Beam Ultra, Era 100, Era 100 Pro and Era 300 works on Android too.
What does quick tuning use?+
The built-in microphones, with the mic switch on for every product.
Why did nothing change?+
If the placement is already good, Trueplay makes subtle adjustments.
What is Loudness?+
It boosts certain frequencies including bass at low volumes.
Which products do not support Trueplay?+
Sonos lists the Port, Connect and Roam SL.
Can I turn Trueplay off?+
Yes, from the same Trueplay menu.
Does the volume matter during tuning?+
Do not adjust it while the sound plays.