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No volume on certain levels when using max volume limit

  • 9 October 2023
  • 5 replies
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P

Hi,

With my Sonos Era 100, I have a problem with no sound on certain sound levels when using different max sound limits. I am using the Sonos app on Android for this. But I see the same behavior on the Windows Sonos app.

No problem with 100% max sound level:  

- Sound level 0 gives no sound (OK)
- Sound levels 1-100 gives sound (OK)

Problems with 50% max sound level:

- Sound level 0 gives no sound (OK)
- Sound level 1 gives no sound (Not OK)
- Sound levels 2-100 gives sound (OK)

Problems with 10% max sound level:

- Sound level 0 gives no sound (OK)
- Sound level 1-9 gives no sound (Not OK)
- Sound levels 10-100 gives sound (OK)

There seems to be a pattern depending on the max volume limit I set. Like it cuts off x amount of lower sound levels related to max volume level I set.

I expect to also hear sound on sound level 1 with 50% max volume.

Anything I can do about this? Or is this a hardware/software problem?

Regards, Tim

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Best answer by Mr. T 9 October 2023, 16:22

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5 replies

Mr. T
Userlevel 7

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.

ratty

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. 😁

P

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.

ratty

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.

P

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 :)

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