Bose Soundbar 500 rattle/crackle with Dolby Digital Source

[Foggy]

Below is an email I just sent to support, was curious if anyone else saw this and if they did whether it tied up with a software update.. I wonder if they changed Dolby Digital processing at all recently. I forgot to mention the TV im using is a sony KD 43x8305c (fairly old but has been an awesome tv) ;

"

Good Afternoon,

My bose soundbar 500 has developed a fault with either its built in sub or right end speaker. I can't quite tell which. Whenever I play a source with dolby digital 5.1 it crackles when there are bassy/ low frequency parts in a program. I have tried multiple sources, netflix, skybox and its only the content with dolby digital 5.1 that causes the issue. Now on the sky box I can mediate this by disabling dolby digital on the settop box but netflix is built into my sony android tv and always passes through the source audio format so I can't change it.

Steps to try bypass the issue: [Factory Reset(no change)], [HDMI cable swaps(no change)], [Set all levels to 0 and turn off adaptive IQ(no change)] [Rerun adaptive IQ, after factory reset(no change)] [switch to optical, (no change)] I also borrowed a Sony HT-SF150 from work which does not exhibit the issue.(all be it it doesn't sound as good)

*SNIP*

I can loan a Quantum Data 780 series hdmi analyzer which might help to see what signal the bose isn't coping with but might need assistance from one of your engineers to setup the capture. (even though i think its probably a hardware fault)

I have also uploaded some images and videos up a public google drive account for you to review: *Edited by Moderator* its clearly audible in the videos as a rattle/crackle. *SNIP*

help appreciated

"

cheers,

[Tegan_M]

Hello Foggy,

Thank you for your comment, I am sorry to hear you are having this audio quality issue with your Soundbar 500.

May I ask which firmware version your Soundbar 500 is updated to? This can be checked within the product information section of your Bose Music App. 

I look forward to hearing from you, I would love to get this resolved.

Kind regards,

Tegan M - Community Support  

[Foggy]

Hi Tegan,

Thanks for getting back to me so quick, its currently on FW version 4.0.8-6566+a79e183.

Its always connected to the internet so hopefully its up to date. I use IOS for the bose music app and that seems to be up to date according to the app store.

cheers,

[Tegan_M]

Hello Foggy,

Thank you very much for confirming this.

We are aware of this issue and we are working diligently to ensure this is resolved and have stated this issue to be a high priority. 

There are a couple of other troubleshooting steps I would like you to also attempt for me please. 

Within your Bose Music App, can you please turn Dialogue mode on and then back off. This can be found by tapping the My Bose Icon in the upper-left and selecting your product, the Dialogue Mode settings are under 'Audio'. 

Secondly can you please attempt adjusting the Bass and Treble within the app also.

Please let us know if this provides any improvements. I would like to reiterate that we are trying to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. 

Many thanks,

Tegan M 

[Foggy]

Hi Tegan,

I've done a bit of testing, there is a new folder in my google drive link called "Testing_request" that has 6 different configurations. direct link here :https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-9l6Mx-5nAbAwrCqfA-HethEYGuXX9Yn

Its safe to say in all the configs the cracking is still present with only minor adjustments. Turning on dialouge mode does have an effect but it just sharpens the crackle. FYI the video source under test is the newish tv show Chernobyl aired on Sky Tv recently, episode 3/5 just over 13 minutes in. It can also be heard in AO on netflix and I noticed it on the last few episodes of Game of thrones.. anything with Dolyby Digital audio source as I mentioned.

Test summary: 

TEST1
Audio:
adaptiq on
dialoug mode on
Soundbar:
center channel 0
bass 10
treble -10
BASSMODULE:
ON , +20

TEST2
Audio:
adaptiq on
dialoug mode OFF
Soundbar:
center channel 0
bass 0
treble 0
BASSMODULE:
ON , +20

TEST3
Audio:
adaptiq on
dialoug mode OFF
Soundbar:
center channel -10
bass 0
treble -20
BASSMODULE:
ON , +20

TEST4
Audio:
adaptiq on
dialoug mode OFF
Soundbar:
center channel -20
bass -10
treble -30
BASSMODULE:
ON , +20

TEST5
Audio:
adaptiq on
dialoug mode ON
Soundbar:
center channel -20
bass -10
treble -30
BASSMODULE:
ON , +20

TEST6
Audio:
adaptiq on
dialoug mode Off
Soundbar:
center channel -30
bass -20
treble -40
BASSMODULE:
ON , +20

thanks for the support its appreciated,

[Zoe_C]

Hello Foggy,

Thanks for reaching out again and testing the product further. Could you answer the following questions please:

- Does the issue occur when you're streaming audio from Bose Music application Wi-Fi sources, such as TuneIn, Spotify, Amazon music or Pandora?

- When the Soundbar 700 is not powered on and actively playing, do you still receive crackling audio to the surround speaker?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Kindest regards,

Zoe C

[Foggy]

Hi Zoe,

I regularly use spotify with no issue.(i've tested a few chemical brothers , prodigy songs with no issue, these have lots of low frequencies) I have spotify set to extreme and I use the spotify app on my phone to engage the speaker over wifi but I expect this is audo format is stereo, not dolby digital.

I can only reproduce this with a dolby digital audio source. Content on netflix or my external sky tv box that does not support dolby digital sounds fine but it it says Dolby digital in the audio track its most likely audable.

When the unit is powered off there is no crackle, when I use a different sound bar, there is no crackle, if I leave the unit powered on but set the audio output to tv speakers there is no crackle and the sound comes out of the tv clear as anything.

Its a soundbar 500 not 700.

Hope that helps.

[Zoe_C]

Hello Foggy,

That's really helpful for the team investigating the issue thank you, I will log all this information for you. As soon as we have an update on the situation we will inform the community.

Should you need anything else then please get in touch.

Kindest regards,

Zoe C

[Foggy]

One last note, The android TV that i have has three global digital audio out options,

Auto1 (output compressed audio without change.)

Auto2 (output only compressed audio for multi-channel content without change)

PCM Always output in PCM

By default the tv is Auto1 (factory reset, issue present), Auto 2 has no effect but if i set it to PCM the crackling almost fully disappears on all sources. I believe this drops some audio channels and leaves you with just stereo. (on this tv model atleast) It certainly sounds a flatter sound stage and not spatial.

who thought another HDMI standard (arc) would be so complex? 😉

good luck and thanks for the help,

[Zoe_C]

Hello Foggy,

Thanks for reaching out again with more information it is greatly appreciated! We have sent you a direct message here on the community with a few questions we would like you to answer when you get a spare moment. 

Thank you and have a great day!

Kindest regards,

Zoe C