Minimum Volume is too loud to enjoy background music

Unfortunately this doesn’t solve the issue. We have now a better accuracy to control low volumes but the minimum volume remains the same... Still too loud in a fully quiet room. Next update I hope.
I will continue to use AirPlay when I need very low volume.

GabrielLogan wrote:

Unfortunately this doesn’t solve the issue. We have now a better accuracy to control low volumes but the minimum volume remains the same... Still too loud in a fully quiet room. Next update I hope.
I will continue to use AirPlay when I need very low volume.

I think you are mistaken. Set the maximum volume to 25% in the relevant room. Slide the volume to zero then tap once on the volume bar. On my speakers this is just not audible in a quiet room. Without maximum volume limited, it is clearly audible, though faint. It makes a significant difference to minimum volume.

I may have to retract that last post. Experimenting further.
Edit: hmmm. It does indeed seem to jump from silent to the previous minimum volume. Thereafter you do get finer control, but I think @GabrielLogan is correct and it was I who was mistaken.

GabrielLogan wrote:

Unfortunately this doesn’t solve the issue. We have now a better accuracy to control low volumes but the minimum volume remains the same...

This is correct. The minimum volume itself doesn't change, but there's a bit flexibility control the scale at the lower levels. As a very simplistic example, if you set the max volume to 1% and you slide the volume bar up and down, it'll fluctuate from playing at 0% to playing at 1%, but you won't get 0.5% to play. However, if it's set to 10% as max (again, as a bit of a simple example), it'd be easier to get between the lower audio levels.

Ryan S wrote:

GabrielLogan wrote:

Unfortunately this doesn’t solve the issue. We have now a better accuracy to control low volumes but the minimum volume remains the same...

This is correct. The minimum volume itself doesn't change, but there's a bit flexibility control the scale at the lower levels. As a very simplistic example, if you set the max volume to 1% and you slide the volume bar up and down, it'll fluctuate from playing at 0% to playing at 1%, but you won't get 0.5% to play. However, if it's set to 10% as max (again, as a bit of a simple example), it'd be easier to get between the lower audio levels.

Yes. If we set the maximum volume at 10%, there is no sound from 0 to 10 increments. The sound start at 10 increments and it is equivalent to the sound at 1 increment with a maximum volume set at 100%.

So, to clarify Ryan, you've added news about the new update to this thread that is explicitly discussing the minimum volume being too high - yet it makes zero difference in that regard?
EDIT:typo

I'm sharing news about a new feature, that's related to this thread. Often times, people who think the players are too loud will also want to be able to make them play quieter at the top end too. We'll make sure to update this and other threads if there's any news about changing the minimum volume. What can I say, I'm excited about the feature, and I like to think someone in this thread may find it useful too.

Ryan S wrote:

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.

I’m afraid this doesn’t help. In my living room I have a Sonos playbar, sub and two play 5’s. I set the maximum volume to 20% and it still goes from zero to too loud. There is still no inbetween.

The max volume feature does nothing with regards to low volume. Personally, I don't understand why Sonos keeps adding these corner case features when there is a huge customer base asking for more fine grained control on lower volumes since 2014.

Unless the hardware isn't capable of delivering sound quality at lower than current minimal levels I could understand, but I assume this is just a volume scale between 0-100 that treats every step as equal. Treat the first 0-10 with more fine grained control and the other 90 with less accuracy. Quite simple solution and shouldn't take days to implement.

famschopman wrote:

The max volume feature does nothing with regards to low volume. Personally, I don't understand why Sonos keeps adding these corner case features when there is a huge customer base asking for more fine grained control on lower volumes since 2014.

Unless the hardware isn't capable of delivering sound quality at lower than current minimal levels I could understand, but I assume this is just a volume scale between 0-100 that treats every step as equal. Treat the first 0-10 with more fine grained control and the other 90 with less accuracy. Quite simple solution and shouldn't take days to implement.

"corner case"? "huge customer base"?

Google "site:https://en.community.sonos.com sonos volume limit"

1,970 results

Largest thread, 6 years old, 8 pages:

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/volume-limit-feature-4412144



Google "site:https://en.community.sonos.com sonos lowest volume too high"

217 results

Largest thread 1 year old, 4 pages:

https://en.community.sonos.com/wireless-speakers-228992/minimum-volume-is-too-loud-to-enjoy-background-music-6764717

So you have set the max volume to like 10% and then used the slider and half the slider doesn’t change volume at all. I haven’t tested just curious. You would have thought it would create finer steps. Maybe something they can implement next.

Ok I just don't find any validity to this. I went and set several of my speakers to 20% max volume. The slider then still slides all the way with much better fine tuning then of lower volume. I mean if I clicked up 1-2 notches I could barely hear the speakers. I really don't understand this being any issue - especially when people have said they have tried this.

I'm wondering if there's a level of "it has to be this loud in order to get the electronics to function" that people aren't getting past on this. I also tend to wonder why they just don't move the speakers further away. I get the possibility of it being too loud for certain things when it's next to the head, but not the whole "then just move it 10 feet away, and it won't be as loud" part as a non starter..

Playing from my music library or Napster my speakers (Play 5s, 3s and 1s) go so quiet I can barely hear them at a foot away. I'm curious what services folks are having too-loud issues with.

Fooling with the volume and volume limit gives very odd results. I do not have the best ears and my listening area is not very quiet but these results are what I'm hearing.

Try these tests on your systems, having two controllers handy, one on the Play / Queue screen and the other on the Volume Limit screen makes it a lot easier.

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With the volume limit at 100% If I press the volume down button (Paired Play 3s) until they go silent and then press it 5 more times a single press on the volume up returns the sound to the minimal level.

With the volume limit at 25% If I press the volume down button until they go silent and then press it down 5 more times a single press on the volume up does nothing, 5 more presses returns the sound to the minimal level.

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With the volume limit at 100% and sound at the last down push of the volume control where you can still hear music; Changing the volume limit changes the music volume by about half at all from 100% to about 15%, where it goes silent.

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With the volume limit set at 1% it takes a bunch of up-clicks (from the 100% silence level) to get the sound to appear but it seems to come back on at about the same level as with the limit at around 15%

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So what do your systems do?

My first click I could just here sound coming out of speaker if I held ear against

I have gone through the steps to set my volume on my play 1 to just 10%

it DOES NOT reduce the MIN VOLUME.

All this fix does is reduce the RANGE of possible volume, it DOES NOT make the min volume any quieter.

Shame

Any new information? I have Sonos Play 1 in a small bedroom and the volume set at level 1 (on the whole scale) and its too loud to fall a sleep.

This is one of those strange 'parallel universe' threads. The minimum volume (i.e., volume set to 1/100) on all my PLAY:1 and ONE speakers is so low as to be practically inaudible at close proximity, and my hearing is not _that_ bad!

So, either there are hardware differences out there, or folks are setting the volume using a different technique to me.

I tend to agree, pwt. But I also have to wonder how close the speakers are to the people's heads. I could see if it was within 12 inches, there might be a potential issue, but if it's more than that, it just doesn't make any sense to my experience.

Something is happening that is odd and different for different users. My lounge Play 5 Gen 2 sits a couple feet from my head, I sit between 2 Play 3s in my office that are under 3 feet from my face and I can turn them all down to where I can't hear what is playing, just a bit of sound from the louder sections playing from my library or Napster but if I put my ear right up to them there is still full sound.

About 3 clicks (in a quiet room) gives me barely enough volume to hear most of the tracks, 5 clicks is listenable but very low, 8 clicks is where I normally listen as background music.

I have two Play 1 in stereo on my desk and when the room is quiet (eg. no one else is around) the minimum volume is too loud to keep as background music (source is Google play music).
Would it be possible to lower the minimum output on individual Play 1 so when in pair the minimum perceived volume is at least half of what it is currently?

When wanting to sleep the volume of a one is to loud. Room is completely silent and I want to ay music on a lower volume then now possible on a one. When I am in the same room during the day minimum volume is not my first choose then it is to soft. 🙂 . Max volume setting only turns of first couple of settings one volumembar. What a weird discussion at some points please add a softer setting. People who don't need it don't have to use it, peoplewho do can use it...

henkvdwal wrote:

When wanting to sleep the volume of a one is to loud. Room is completely silent and I want to ay music on a lower volume then now possible on a one. When I am in the same room during the day minimum volume is not my first choose then it is to soft. 🙂 . Max volume setting only turns of first couple of settings one volumembar. What a weird discussion at some points please add a softer setting. People who don't need it don't have to use it, peoplewho do can use it...

I found I can get the volume a little lower using my phones volume button than with the sonos controls. Just have the Sonos app up.

Just bought a Play:1 yesterday and tried listening to it at night in an absolutely quiet room. It's too loud... Now it's early morning, still too loud.

Even if you set maximum volume for the room at anything below 100%, the first audible volume level remains exactly the same, even if I have to move the slider more – too loud. Below that minimum volume, the speaker is completely mute.

Looking forward to a system update that would fix this.

I agree. The first level is way too loud.

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