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Tampadoug
Contributor I
April 22, 2018

Volume normalization

  • April 22, 2018
  • 142 replies
  • 21397 views
Sonos needs volume normalization. Even services that have it such as Spotify pandora and Apple Music are not normalized when playing on Sonos.
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    jacobmilton
    jacobmilton
    Contributor I
    June 11, 2020

    This is a no-brainer

     

    SONOS; you have to fix audio normalization, period! We want to listen to playlists without a volume roller coaster-experience. This is way past due and should not be an issue in 2020.

    I’m invested in these products and I think you’ve done a great job, except this issue; and it’s not a small one. You’re bleeding costumers and new ones will think twice when they hear about this.

    Please don’t give us another generic answer. Give us real and honest communication; and whatever you need to do - get it done now!

    I’m usually a composed character but this ludicrous drives me crazy. Probably because I’m an engineer and appreciate thought through-solutions; which is why I bought your products in the first place.

     

    get it done!

      jasonisme
      Lyricist I
      June 13, 2020

      Add me to the list of folks clamoring for this.

      One of the big selling points for me to go with Sonos was the ability to switch between different music sources with ease. So, I build playlists/queues using Spotify, Bandcamp, my own local library and a couple other sources. I love being able to switch between these sources so a normalization that worked across different sources is what I’m looking for.

      I only have a playbar so far, but really want to invest in more Sonos equipment for around the house, this is literally the single issue that gives me pause to invest further.

      Seeing how long this discussion has been going on, I really think Sonos needs to either get off the pot and do whatever it takes to add this feature or they need to let us know it’s not possible for whatever reasons so that we can move on from the discussion.

        Vincenzo44600
        Lyricist III
        June 14, 2020

        Be careful what you wish for! If you want the best audio quality then you probably don’t want to be using any automatic gain boosting or limiting. Probably fine for background music, but I would imagine it would be a poor compromise on hardware and software like Sonos which streams content from lots of different sources. Spotify know in advance what they are streaming as they benchmark every song as they encode it and send the volume data along with the music file. Sonos would no doubt have to use a very blunt instrument to achieve the same result with many different sources.

        Please stick to factual truth, what you are expressing is wrong as for spotify volume normalization. Metadata files do not impact the audio quality rendering.

        Vincenzo44600
        Lyricist III
        June 14, 2020

        Why would this butcher music? If the only thing this does is play around with gain, from one track to the next? 

        Well said. The spotify audio metadata files do not lose any bit of audio data. All info are avail online, kindly refrain from expressing false opinions and stick to facts to build this thread on solid grounds. 

        AbSoNic
        Contributor I
        June 20, 2020

        TLDR:

        Hi

        Convinced normalization was a feature in the Sonos 1 app but has disappeared from the new Sonos 2 app. Would love to see it reinstated please. Having major volume issues with the new app.

        Many thanks 

        ratty
        ratty
        June 20, 2020

        TLDR:

        Hi

        Convinced normalization was a feature in the Sonos 1 app but has disappeared from the new Sonos 2 app. Would love to see it reinstated please. Having major volume issues with the new app.

        Many thanks 

        No, it wasn’t. Nothing’s changed in that regard.

        It can never be a feature of a controller or, more specifically, the players unless normalisation tags are provided along with each track. The services don’t offer this to Sonos, and the solution for local music library files has been half-baked for years and years.

          AbSoNic
          Contributor I
          June 20, 2020

          It can never be a feature of a controller or, more specifically, the players unless normalisation tags are provided along with each track. The services don’t offer this to Sonos, and the solution for local music library files has been half-baked for years and years.

          Thanks for clarifying. I think I was thinking of Amazon Music.

          kaosnews
          Lyricist III
          June 24, 2020

          Yes ridiculous that this option is not present - that’s why I use Logitech Media Server (LMS) with Sonos (UPnP bridge). Music volume is normalized (this is an option in LMS), the mobile site for controlling is excellent (Material Skin) and it contains a lot more apps. Also a big advantage is that you can control a huge local music library. I know this is not a path most people are willing to take - but sometimes you need to take drastic measures :)

            Vincenzo44600
            Lyricist III
            June 26, 2020

            Yes ridiculous that this option is not present{..}

            Thanks for your tips kaosnews. I presume this works only with local libraries and not with any major streaming services? Or am I wrong thinking so?

            Tschus 

            kaosnews
            Lyricist III
            June 26, 2020

            Yes ridiculous that this option is not present{..}

            Thanks for your tips kaosnews. I presume this works only with local libraries and not with any major streaming services? Or am I wrong thinking so?

            Tschus 


            The normalization works indeed on local libraries and it works for me with Deezer (don’t know it it works Spotify etc.). Downside to use Logitech Media Server is that you need to install this server on your computer or NAS (I use it on my NAS), but it got tons of features I miss with Sonos (I’m long time Logitech Squeezbox user, still use it btw).

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