Volume normalization

“It's on the music services to integrate volume normalization....”

Is that true Smilja? Idk how Spotify and Sonos work together.

Is that true Smilja? Idk how Spotify and Sonos work together.

Since Spotify is the source of the music, it would stand to reason that any volume normalization values would have to originate with Spotify.

At least for Spotify, their normalization does not cross onto their web player or third party apps/speakers/etc. Why? I'm not that smart and have no idea. But this is from Spotify's website:

What is Loudness Normalization and why is it used?

Audio files are delivered to Spotify from distributors all over the world and are often mixed/mastered at different volume levels. We want to ensure the best listening experience for users, so we apply Loudness Normalization to create a balance.
It also levels the playing field between soft and loud masters. Louder tracks have often been cited as sounding better to listeners, so Loudness Normalization removes any unfair advantage.
Note: The web player and Spotify apps integrated into third-party devices (such as speakers and TVs) don’t currently use Loudness Normalization.

Source: https://artists.spotify.com/faq/mastering-and-loudness#my-album-is-deliberately-mastered-to-have-some-tracks-softer-than-others

Could Spotify and Sonos work together to make it happen? Prolly? Hopefully they'll find a way because even when playing from a Spotify playlist, some songs are very quiet and some are very loud and fiddling with the volume control all the time is annoying.

Hopefully they find a solution!

Thanks AGH 🙂

I have to wonder if there isn’t enough memory available on older speakers to implement something like this.

Normalisation has been operative for local library tracks -- after a rather incomplete fashion -- since the very earliest players. Memory isn't a factor. What's missing for tracks streamed from online services is the requisite gain factor to make the volume adjustment. Either it isn't in the stream metadata or Sonos has no agreed way to extract it.

Huh, was completely unaware of that. Thanks, sir, for the additional information!

When I switch on my Sonos-system from the TV to a radio-station and then to a Spotify-playlist and then to a Sonos-playlist and then to a podcast, I HAVE TO CHANGE THE SONOS VOLUME EVERY TIME. CHILDREN OR NEIGHBOURS ARE WOKEN UP IN THE FEW SECONDS WHILE CHANGING VOLUME.

This is something that Sonos has to solve, not the providers.
If Sonos detects the minimum and maximum during a certain service, they can start the new service with the same minimum and maximum. The user can change if he wants, but the change of service will not be detected by the neighbours!