Best answer by Ryan S
View originalIt’s been FOUR years of topics like this and still no solution. This is terrible. 1% is simply to loud for background music.
Wikipedia:
The 'log pot', that is, a potentiometer has a resistance, taper, or, "curve" (or law) of a logarithmic (log) form, is used as the volume control in audio power amplifiers, where it is also called an "audio taper pot", because the amplitude response of the human ear is approximately logarithmic. It ensures that on a volume control marked 0 to 10, for example, a setting of 5 sounds subjectively half as loud as a setting of 10.
I live in rural area where my ambient noise is 25 dB (measured)
For decades a logarithmic volume control was used so that low volume had more fine control than high volume. There is a reason for that…
Just adding a +1 on this issue. I’m relatively new to Sonos (six One SLs and a Beam Gen 2) and very disappointed that the One SL (stereo pair) minimum volume level is too high for falling asleep, or even for background for reading, using Spotify or Pandora. I have the bedroom speakers past the foot of the bed, so they’re not even close to me, but in a silent room it’s too much. I have used Trueplay and tried volume limit after volume limit. The minimum volume level, even if it takes more “clicks” to get from zero to 1 depending on the volume limit percentage, does not change, and continues to be too loud. Turning off Loudness and setting the bass and treble sliders to their lowest helps *very* slightly but is not enough (and also makes the music sound worse).
Sonos! Is there any way we can please have a lower minimum volume? Even one “step” between 0 and 1 would be helpful - more than one between them would be a dream come true. It seems a lot of us would be incredibly grateful!
It seems this is now solved on new devices such as the Roam. I just bought it and the minimum volume can be very very low. That’s so bad that I cannot reach the same low level on my 2 Sonos One second gen.
I have three speakers in the bedroom, a Beam & surrounds (One’s) and even with 1% volume and set to ‘ambient’ I struggle to hear the playing music at that level, so I don’t think the volume needs to be any lower than it is. I do not consider myself to be ‘hard of hearing’ even in the slightest and the surrounds are placed close-by on bedside tables and within 3-4 feet away of my listening position, with the Beam set about 8 feet away. So I guess that Sonos need to cater for all users when setting the lowest volume available. Anyhow I’m fine with the lowest 1% volume (on the scale of 0-100%) as it currently stands and more often than not set it to higher than that setting. Had it been too noisy at 1% I would have toggled off the surrounds anyway, but that has never been necessary in my own use-case.
It’s pretty clear from this thread that there are a lot of people for whom the lowest volume is too loud, and it is an issue, though.
Given how much I paid to opt for Sonos as a home theatre solution, it seems slightly ridiculous that I would have to turn off the rear speakers, or cut out frequencies using night mode during the day, just to avoid an issue that my previous non-Sonos HT system did not suffer from. I don’t really want to have to sell this kit, but it’s looking like an option currently.
It seems that the volume currently only allows whole 0-100 values, and cannot do decimals. At the lowest end it’s either 0 or 1. When you set a volume limit it just reduces the number of available values, and spreads those numbers across the slider (hence if you were to set the volume limit to 5%, the speakers will be muted until the slider is at 20%). It really should be the case that when a volume limit is set the slider decreases the upper volume limit AND recalculates the volume sent by the slider to allow for extra granularity with the same number of steps (eg. If the default top end is 100, with increments of 1, but I set a volume limit that reduces this to 10, the volume should go up in 100 increments of 0.1, rather than 10 increments of 1).
This is why the ‘Best Answer’ here is not actually helpful, it mentions the additional granular slider control provided by a volume limit, but it doesn’t solve the fact that the granularity of volume control doesn’t actually change. 1% is still the lowest it goes, and that it’s too loud for some users.
If the software cannot handle volume values with decimals for some reason (presumably this is the case as the Sonos Developer docs only allow setVolume to be an integer from 0-100), then an attenuation checkbox (or even better custom input/slider in the settings alongside the upper volume limit) to reduce overall db output by -20db or similar would also help solve this issue.
I use the lightdims for the mic LED, as that allows the mic to be on with no light visible at night - Otherwise I can’t switch that feature off without losing voice control. I have three speakers in the bedroom, a Beam & surrounds (One’s) and even with 1% volume and set to ‘ambient’ I struggle to hear the playing music at that level, so I don’t think the volume needs to be any lower than it is. I do not consider myself to be ‘hard of hearing’ even in the slightest and the surrounds are placed close-by on bedside tables and within 3-4 feet away of my listening position, with the Beam set about 8 feet away. So I guess that Sonos need to cater for all users when setting the lowest volume available. Anyhow I’m fine with the lowest 1% volume (on the scale of 0-100%) as it currently stands and more often than not set it to higher than that setting. Had it been too noisy at 1% I would have toggled off the surrounds anyway, but that has never been necessary in my own use-case.
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!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/LightDims-Original-Strength-Electronics-Appliances/dp/B00CLVEQCO
Maybe my english skills are not the best, but you didn’t understand a word.
Why do you think I have a problem with the LED and post a link for LED covers???
I wrote that the LED can be switched off in the SONOS app and that this is a great
feature for bedroom use, but also a joke if on the other side the minimum volume is too loud
for bedroom use.
And this ongoing “move your speker further away” advice is just annoying.
Imagine some people have rooms that do not a allow an other placement and/or
have mounted the speakers to the wall (like me) and/or like a specific placement
because they care about room design.
The problem is the speaker/app itself, not any use scenario.
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!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/LightDims-Original-Strength-Electronics-Appliances/dp/B00CLVEQCO
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!
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.
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.
+22
What music source are you using?
Can you send a diagnostic and post the number here with it set to the minimum non-silentvolume?
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).
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.
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!
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.
What solved the issue for me was setting the eq (Bass & Treble) to the minimum (-10) & disabling Loudness.
As I have said many times, it takes a few taps before I hear anything from my play 1 units, with no reductions in max volume set for it.
Sonos Support are therefore best qualified to see what is going on with people that experience something very different.
The slider in the controller app. You know how Sonos support recommends sliding the slider all the way to the left, then tapping once on the right side of the slider to increase the volume one increment. When I do that the “one increment” is too loud. If the max volume is set to 50%, then I have to tap the right side of the slider “two increments” before the music comes on too loud (at the same volume as when the max volume was set to 100%)
Also, I turned off “loudness” under EQ, that brought the overall volume down a tiny bit. And I turned off Trueplay and tried sliding the treble and bass all the way down. Neither of those items made a difference.
I also tried setting my volume settings to “quite” in Spotify, but that didn’t help either.
Tapping the hard switch on the unit or the slider in the controller app?
I also have this issue with my Sonos Move. The lowest possible volume (one tap from mute) is too loud. I tried setting the max volume to 50%, but all that did was mean I have to tap 2 times from mute before the music comes on too loud again. It did not make the lowest setting lower. If I set the max volume to 30% then I have to tap 3 times from mute before the music comes on too loud.
It’s crazy this issue has not been addressed by Sonos. I only have a Move, I don’t have other Sonos speakers in a surround sound configuration. I guess Sonos expects us to cover the speaker with pillows or stuff it in a drawer and let it run off battery?
This is a “problem” that has baffled me from the time it was first reported. In my play 1 units, once the slider is moved all the way to the left to mute, it takes more than one tap to the right of the button in the app to hear anything from the speaker.
For those facing it perhaps a solution is to set max volume to maybe 80% and then the additional granularity may help.
In my case, I see no issues even without using this feature.
PS: new visitors may find that the first two pages of this thread give them some useful insights. Perhaps. Nothing lost in reading them once, though.
Honestly that's not the point nor a solution. You expect from a 200eur speaker that you can let it next to your bed and read in peace with some background music. Even if I set it further it will disturb my wife or kids. It is simply too loud at minimum volume. And it still amazes me that sonos is absolutely ignoring one of the longes and oldest issue reported on their forums. Now if you want we can also put a pillow on the speaker or put it in the drawer of my nighttable... But again that should not be the workaround...
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