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"Lowest Volume"?? I cannot be the only one...

T
Userlevel 1

The Lowest Volume on my Sonos One and One SL is too loud. 
The amount of volume difference from 1% to 0% is insane. I cannot be the only one who has this issue or thinks this is a problem. 
I am trying to watch TV at night, and just having these speakers on at 1% is way too loud. 
I have messed with every setting, even played with the volume limit of my paired Beam, but still, the stark contrast from when the speaker literally has absolute zero volume, to just the very next and very first step is wayy too much. 

I have wrapped them in towels, even acoustic sound absorbing panels, but there has to be a better way.. 
It just literally makes no sense why the volume control is so weak

[Which then brings up another question/thought: What do you guys normally set your volume to? I don’t believe I have ever even remotely went past 65% on purpose, and my tv is regularly set in that 12-18 range.]  

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Best answer by Jamie A 10 April 2023, 11:20

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36 replies

Jamie A
Userlevel 7
Badge +15

Hi @tmessy, welcome to the Sonos Community!

Sonos speakers can get very loud, though if the lowest volume that isn’t 0 is too loud, then it’s possible the surround speakers themselves are too close to your listening position. Are you able to move your surround speakers to a different location?

You mention TV being too loud, but does this also happed with music?

As you have already set a volume limit on the speakers, I would also recommend changing the TV/Music level in the home theater surround settings.

If you have done this as well and the volume is still too loud, then please submit a diagnostics and reach out to our support team, as they have the tools necessary to troubleshoot this issue with you.

J
Userlevel 2
Badge +4

Hi,

 

you’re not the only one. Check this topic:

and check the “Best Answer”

T
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

There is a bug in the latest system update 15.2 which I posted about immediately after the update was released - Volume levels too high after 15.2 update | Sonos Community

So far the response from Sonos has been absolutely terrible and I’m losing my faith in them. I currently can’t use my Sonos system properly and it’s evident this is affecting many more people.

Who knows when they’ll fix it? Sonos don’t seem to care at the moment.

M

I have the same problem.  I usually have music playing at night while we sleep.  I used to play at level 5; now level 1 is too loud to leave on at night.  Just general listening, the max volume I can use is about 2.  This is inconsistent with the experience I’ve had with Sonos over the past several years.  Any idea when this issue will be resolved?

P
Userlevel 2

Same problem here, sound is still way to loud. Even at sound settling 1. 🤔

Firmware 15.3

 

E

I am stunned at how bad volume control is on Sonos. This is a perennial problem. I have tried adjusting the “Volume Limit” to 50%. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. It just depends on how Sonos feels that day, or if the update messes it up. I wish the Sonos management could address this since it is one of the MAIN thing that matters. Here I am trying to play music at 4% in the office and everyone is getting blasted by high volumes.

 

...I like the Sonos response, “move the speakers further away”. I will have my lawyer call them to arrange for them to move the walls of the office out by ten feet. Or,… and I know it’s a CRAZY idea, but maybe Sonos wants to fix the f’ing volume problems internally so we don’t all have to buy bigger offices/houses??? I get that I’m asking for WAY too much given they are only 21 years (!!) into developing the software. Sonos is to volume as Microsoft is to well-designed software. The managers and engineers must be doing some serious “resting and vesting” on mattresses under their desks. Their stock is down 33%+ since the IPO in 2018… I have NO IDEA why. None, at all. Spend the week on this issue and fix it already and stay on top of it!!!

M

Please SONOS: fix the minimal volume. Your Speakers are not cheap, and i don’t understand why you can ignore this?

E

Still waiting!

Y
Userlevel 1

Just tried playing some nice quiet music on my One in the bedroom. Volume 1 is sooo loud.

Ken_Griffiths

Just tried playing some nice quiet music on my One in the bedroom. Volume 1 is sooo loud.

What is the dB level you’re hearing? - perhaps try with a suitable mobile App and report back.

In my main bedroom I get between 17dB and 30dB depending on the playing audio source. I’m probably fine with anything up-to 40dB, personally speaking.

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Y
Userlevel 1

Just tried playing some nice quiet music on my One in the bedroom. Volume 1 is sooo loud.

What is the dB level you’re hearing? - perhaps try with a suitable mobile App and report back.

In my main bedroom I get between 17dB and 30dB depending on the playing audio source. I’m probably fine with anything up-to 40dB, personally speaking.


That reading is appropriately 2 feet away from speaker to head (on pillow).

 

 

Y
Userlevel 1

Just tried playing some nice quiet music on my One in the bedroom. Volume 1 is sooo loud.

What is the dB level you’re hearing? - perhaps try with a suitable mobile App and report back.

In my main bedroom I get between 17dB and 30dB depending on the playing audio source. I’m probably fine with anything up-to 40dB, personally speaking.


That reading is appropriately 2 feet away from speaker to head (on pillow).

Just found the “loudness” button in the equaliser and have turned it off. Much, much quieter now!

 

 

 

Ken_Griffiths

@Yanno 

Ah it’s not all that loud then - what you might call ‘quiet room’ average noise level similar to a ticking clock in the room - I would perhaps try to move the speaker further away if your head is only 2 feet away from it. That should (hopefully) improve things for you. 
 

I get around 30dB from Apple Music ‘Pop Hits’ type playlist on a Sonos Beam/Surrounds/Sub Mini. That’s from 6 feet away, just as a comparison. I’m okay with that output level. I’d be fine upto 40dB but would just move the speaker to another (more distant) location to solve the matter anyway, or play something that’s naturally quieter at night.
 

 

J
Userlevel 1

Stop trying to justify why they haven’t fixed it yet. A speaker should have granular volume control. If I want to sleep with music I expect to be able to do so without disturbing others, I’ve had complaints from neighbors about this. It’s very frustrating how some of you think people are that inept at tech that they can’t even lower the volume correctly. It’s without a doubt way too loud for these scenarios. Try setting your phone on lowest volume and tell me if any sonos speaker can get that low. It should, but it can’t. I’ve waited years for this. It’s not firmware specific. 

Ken_Griffiths

Stop trying to justify why they haven’t fixed it yet. A speaker should have granular volume control. If I want to sleep with music I expect to be able to do so without disturbing others, I’ve had complaints from neighbors about this. It’s very frustrating how some of you think people are that inept at tech that they can’t even lower the volume correctly. It’s without a doubt way too loud for these scenarios. Try setting your phone on lowest volume and tell me if any sonos speaker can get that low. It should, but it can’t. I’ve waited years for this. It’s not firmware specific. 

This has already gone forward as a feature request, but as the Staff mention in the below link these things are currently ‘by design’ and it may not be changed - the answer is to perhaps position yourself further away if you find it too loud at 1% - personally speaking I’m okay with it in our main bedroom HT setup with Beam, Ones and Sub Mini. The dB level is 30 or often less, on average. 

 

J
Userlevel 1

As a software developer, I know that things that are ”by design” are often a result of a codebase that is too deep into development to change core functionality without much effort. What we see here is that Sonos does not care to meet customer dissatisfaction with a solution that caters to this group of people. Others and myself included deem the volume too high at 1%. This has been an issue before 15.2. Stop being ridiculous and defend a company the size of Sonos and try to tell me that they cannot provide a lower volume if even the cheapest Bluetooth speakers from AliExpress can, absolutely despicable.

ratty

Others and myself included deem the volume too high at 1%.

In near-field listening situations, such as a bedside speaker or even a desktop, 1% can indeed be too much. The problem is that when Sonos added the volume limit/scaling feature they didn’t increase the granularity. Set the limit to 10% and the volume slider to 9% and the resulting 0.9% is rounded down to 0%. 

H
Badge +1

The “answer” is insulting to the OP. Sonos really needs to address their volume setting issues. The sliders are horrible, especially on a phone.  If I’m trying to set the volume to less than 10%, in the process of lifting my finger, the setting can easily change from, say, 6% to 9%. I would suggest a “low volume” toggle. That way the volume control can be made much more precise for low volumes. On my Android phone, I have found that I can sometimes use the phone’s volume controls to move the Sonos sliders 1% at a time, which is helpful. It doesn’t seem to work on my iPad, though.  I have Sonos products throughout my home. I most often use it for background music. I rarely need concert-level volumes.  I don’t recall this being a problem in years past.

jgatie

The “answer” is insulting to the OP. Sonos really needs to address their volume setting issues. The sliders are horrible, especially on a phone.  If I’m trying to set the volume to less than 10%, in the process of lifting my finger, the setting can easily change from, say, 6% to 9%. I would suggest a “low volume” toggle. That way the volume control can be made much more precise for low volumes. On my Android phone, I have found that I can sometimes use the phone’s volume controls to move the Sonos sliders 1% at a time, which is helpful. It doesn’t seem to work on my iPad, though.  I have Sonos products throughout my home. I most often use it for background music. I rarely need concert-level volumes.  I don’t recall this being a problem in years past.

 

To adjust low volume, slide all the way to the left, then tap to the right of the slider to adjust by a single increment at a time.

ratty

I would suggest a “low volume” toggle. That way the volume control can be made much more precise for low volumes. 

 

You can reduce the sensitivity of the slider at low absolute volumes by using the ‘volume limit’ feature in room settings.

It’s just that, as noted, the lowest steps of the slider will then deliver silence...

W

Found the solution !!

Although counter intuitive, the solution really lies at the Volume Limit setting. I played arround with the setting and moved that slider all the way to 10%. Then my soundbar started to produce some volume at volume 6. The granularity of the volume is now much better to my liking.

Best regards, Wopke

V

I would love to see an update on the new Sonos app to lower the minimum volume level (1). In my living room I just saw 57 DB on volume 1 while 8’ away from the nearest speaker. I have $5000 of Sonos speakers which can’t be used for low level background listening. This applies to my living room, office, bedroom etc. 

 

The speakers themselves are capable of much quieter output (at least my older speakers were) while using the S1 app. However I recently purchased a few thousand dollars of the latest speakers which require the new Sonos app. (I have used the S1 app without issue for 8 years and would continue to use it if the new speakers would allow). The new app forces my newest speakers as well as my older ones to have a much too high of an output on the lowest setting. This tells me the issue is in the app software and not the speakers themselves.

 

If Sonos is able to update their app to solve this volume issue, I would give Sonos a 10/10. However  it’s hard to currently recommend a sound system that can’t be used for anything but medium to loud listening.

Dogdad
Userlevel 5
Badge +14

I would love to see an update on the new Sonos app to lower the minimum volume level (1). In my living room I just saw 57 DB on volume 1 while 8’ away from the nearest speaker. I have $5000 of Sonos speakers which can’t be used for low level background listening. This applies to my living room, office, bedroom etc. 

 

The speakers themselves are capable of much quieter output (at least my older speakers were) while using the S1 app. However I recently purchased a few thousand dollars of the latest speakers which require the new Sonos app. (I have used the S1 app without issue for 8 years and would continue to use it if the new speakers would allow). The new app forces my newest speakers as well as my older ones to have a much too high of an output on the lowest setting. This tells me the issue is in the app software and not the speakers themselves.

 

If Sonos is able to update their app to solve this volume issue, I would give Sonos a 10/10. However  it’s hard to currently recommend a sound system that can’t be used for anything but medium to loud listening.

And some think the volume is too low at lower settings. 

Airgetlam

It would be interesting to know what source you were streaming, and which speaker you measured this 57 db at 8 feet distance.

I’m pretty sure the software that runs on Sonos is the same, no matter how much money, or number of speakers you may have. To my knowledge, there’s no callback to the Sonos servers to check to see what ‘kind’ of customer you are. There are lots of people who have spent less, and some who may have spent more.

As a rule, Sonos doesn’t discuss what they’re working on, but perhaps this occasion might be different. 

Bruce
V

I should have mentioned that the 57 Db was measured while listening to Apple Music through the S2 app. It’s possible that other music services might play at lower volumes, but I have not tested this as I solely use Apple Music with Sonos.
 

I’ll clarify that with my Play 3’s, Play 1’s, Play 5’s etc I was able to use the S1 app which has great low volume control. When I recently purchased Era 100’s, 300’s, and Five’s to add to the setup I then had to switch to the S2 app, as the latter speakers will not operate on the S1 app. Now both the older speakers and the newer ones all are operated through the S2 app so that I can group all the speakers in my home together. The older speakers are now forced to run at higher volumes than before due to using the S2 app.


I would think this is a relatively simple update?

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