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StefSonos
Contributor I
January 27, 2017
Answered

Minimum Volume is too loud to enjoy background music

The minimum volume on a Play 1 for instance (volume level 1) is too loud to let the music play as background.
It's "no music" or "too loud music" on volume level 1 Nothing in between. Ideally I could lower the music volume like an old amplifier. It's as simple as that. We use the Sonos system on the lowest volume side and the minimum volume is just way too high. I'm surprised that nobody else raises this.
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    Ryan S
    Ryan SAnswer
    Retired Sonos Staff
    October 9, 2018
    Hi everyone, starting today with Sonos 9.2 there's the ability to use the mobile controller for Android or iOS to set a maximum volume for each of your Sonos players. The reason I bring it up in here, is that if you have the maximum volume set at 50%, the whole volume bar will still go from 0-100, but 100% will now reflect what your volume limit is set to. This has the added benefit of being able to get more granular control of players at low volume, as the volume steps will scale up or down with the max volume.

    So, if you never set your players above a certain volume, this is a great chance to improve the control at lower volumes. Play around with it and see if this helps.
    Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
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    maestrosound
    Lyricist I
    November 23, 2020

    What solved the issue for me was setting the eq (Bass & Treble) to the minimum (-10) & disabling Loudness.

    Tomasz_FK
    Contributor I
    November 29, 2020

    It depends how loud is the recording.

    I have two Sonos Ones 4 meters away from me. I set volume limit to 25%, loudness off, bass -10, treble -10 and lowest volume level.

    Diana’s Krall “Live In Paris” is ok so it is possible to play more quiet even when you loose some quality, but for example Jon Spencer Blues Explosion “ACME” is way too loud.

    Background noise is about 35dB and when I turn on the ACME it goes to 44dB and it couldn’t be more lowered. Moving volume bar in Sonos app even one pixel to the left is turning music to mute.

     

    Yes. There is lot of room for improvement here.

     

      User713159
      Contributor I
      February 2, 2021

      This feature doesn’t help on my Amp where ‘1’ on the volume slider is still too loud late at night for the TV. The volume limiter affects upper volumes but not the lowest. That’s really unhelpful!

        benhodgson
        Contributor II
        March 1, 2021

        Just wanted to add a +1 to this. I have an Amp (Powering a pair of 88dB/W/m, 15 - 90Watt, 4 - 8 Ohm bookshelf speakers), a third-party sub, and 2 x One SL rear speakers. ~4 meters distance between the fronts and rears.

        The system goes from silence straight to 60db average in the middle of the room, it’s impossible to have it quieter than this without hacking around with the EQ settings to bring it down, or cutting out the One SLs (which still isn’t enough).

        The volume slider literally operates like an on/off switch at the quiet end, where it goes from silence to loud, there’s nothing in between. The accepted answer here also doesn’t help, the additional granularity just moves the point at which the system switches to silence away from the furthest end of the slider.

          chuckvvd
          Enthusiast I
          April 19, 2021

          Strongly supportive. I have a pair of one SL on my desk and the volume at minimum is still way too loud for background music while working.

          I would love the EQ. to offer a “level” option to turn down the minimum volume by 50%. Adjusting bass, treble or loudness strongly affect the tone (as it should).

            Stanley_4
            Stanley_4
            Grand Maestro
            April 19, 2021

            What music source are you using?

            Can you send a diagnostic and post the number here with it set to the minimum non-silentvolume?

            Thorium Prime
            Trending Lyricist I
            May 4, 2021

            It's troubling that there isn't a software fix for this.

            I had issues that my Play 1 was too loud, stupidly I went and got a couple of Ones, and it turns out they are even worse. 

            I wish there was a finer step in the volume control, or just an -20dB switch that could be activated. 

            I guess my only option is to open up the speakers and physically add an attenuator that I can switch in and out. An ugly hack, but it would work.

              Thorium Prime
              Trending Lyricist I
              May 5, 2021

               

               

              This is also true for a pair of Sonos One. If you set the volume to the minimum it is still to high for a lot of users. If then you set the balance to the right speaker then the left speaker can provide very low volume. Why could not we reach this very low volume on a One itself?

              Just to say this is not hardware limitation but software only! And then very easy to fix for Sonos! What the problem to reduce minimum volume?

              That's an excellent point. If we change the balance the volume drops. So if you can afford to buy an extra speaker, disconnect the speaker element and use it as a phantom channel in a virtual left/right setup, you are all sorted. As long as you like mono. But it seems extreme to have spend that money and resources to accomplish something that basic.

              tesox
              Lyricist I
              July 25, 2021

              Hi! I spended a lot of money to “improve” the sound system in our bedroom and just realized
              that it is totally useless. I’m so ##!++!#  Wish I would have found this thread before I bought this crap.

              It’s like SONOS is making fun of us. There is an option to switch of the LEDs. I read this before
              I decided to buy SONOS speakers and thought:  Wow, finally a company wich is aware of annoying LEDs in dark rooms, how great is that. And now I realized that I can’t fall asleep because the first volume step is way too loud, regardless wich setting, tweak or workaround I tried. But my bedroom is pitch black dark thanks to the switched off LEDs… 

              Thank you SONOS, good prank!

                Ken_Griffiths
                Ken_Griffiths
                July 25, 2021

                Hi! I spended a lot of money to “improve” the sound system in our bedroom and just realized
                that it is totally useless. I’m so ##!++!#  Wish I would have found this thread before I bought this crap.

                It’s like SONOS is making fun of us. There is an option to switch of the LEDs. I read this before
                I decided to buy SONOS speakers and thought:  Wow, finally a company wich is aware of annoying LEDs in dark rooms, how great is that. And now I realized that I can’t fall asleep because the first volume step is way too loud, regardless wich setting, tweak or workaround I tried. But my bedroom is pitch black dark thanks to the switched off LEDs… 

                Thank you SONOS, good prank!

                • Perhaps try moving your speaker further away.
                • LED’s can be resolved with LightDims as sold online at Amazon and similar retailers or just use a small piece of electrical tape.

                https://www.amazon.co.uk/LightDims-Original-Strength-Electronics-Appliances/dp/B00CLVEQCO

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