With thanks to @ratty’s post on another thread.

Essentially the problem is that the player volume varies in integer steps of 1%. The volume limit feature doesn’t help, because a scaled volume of less than 1% rounds down to zero.

For example, if a volume limit of 25% is chosen, to try and improve the granularity of the volume slider, the first 3 clicks up from zero yield no sound at all. It’s only when the slider is at 4% that there’s any sound, because 4% * 25% = 1%, the lowest volume value that the internals can deal with.

This is apparently inherent in the way the player deals with the volume control in rounded-down integer increments.

The ‘volume limit’ is a scaling factor.

So for example a limit of 25% means that full scale on the slider equates to 25% in absolute terms.

16% on the slider then equates to a level of 4%.

4% on the slider equates to a level of 1%.

3% on the slider equates to a level of 0.75%…except that this is rounded down to 0%. 

Interestingly the player knows that this is above zero, so the mute light doesn’t illuminate. The volume control however isn’t so smart.

For years some of us have been beefing about the internals’ inability to deal with volume in real numbers. It essentially means that at the bottom end the lowest playable volume is fixed at 1% of the absolute scale, whatever one sets the volume limit figure to. 

EDIT: My longer post crossed with @Mr. T re-posting an earlier comment of mine. 

Thanks for the replies. That explaines it. This is also ties in with that the sound is still too loud when set to sound level 1.

Strange Sonos has not done something about this. Especially while this issue isn't new. Good sound control should be at the base of a sound product.

Should be easy to fix something like this right?

Let's hope Sonos will fix this someday. Rather sooner than later.

If you read the latter part of the post which @Mr T referenced, you’ll see that I resorted to a somewhat ludicrous arrangement using a Port to improve the volume granularity on my Era100s for near-field background music.

On other, non-Sonos, kit I’m pleased to experience digitally-controlled volume steps of 0.5dB. It’s a shame Sonos can’t do this.

Yes, I read that part, but my speakers are not near my laptop or other desktop. Just want play music at background music level wirelessly :)