Reverse-engineering my speakers' API to get reasonable volume control

> Those methods either give me a tiny slider that I can only use 10% of or about 15 steps where the jump from step 3 to step 4 takes the speakers from “a bit too quiet” to “definitely bothering the neighbors” levels.

Volume controls need to be logarithmic, not linear.

To a first degree approximation, everybody gets this wrong.

Volume controls also shouldn't just be a flat wideband gain - they should respect how we actually perceive sound so the timbre doesn't change as the level changes (when you turn the volume down, you are typically left with just the stuff in the vocal frequency range, and lose all the bass etc).

Doing this stuff well is pretty hard (e.g. designing filters that can do that kind of volume adjustment is hard because you want to be constantly adjusting them, which means you need to be super careful with your filter state) but I have heard what it sounds like, and once you hear it you get angry at all other volume controls.

> Volume controls also shouldn't just be a flat wideband gain - they should respect how we actually perceive sound so the timbre doesn't change as the level changes (when you turn the volume down, you are typically left with just the stuff in the vocal frequency range, and lose all the bass etc).

The amp I'm upgrading from was interesting in this regard. In addition to the main volume knob, it had a loudness knob. The manual actually recommended keeping the volume knob fixed most of the time and using the loudness knob to set the listening level throughout the day.

From the manual:

> 1. Set the LOUDNESS control to the FLAT position.

> 2. Rotate the VOLUME control on the front panel (or press VOLUME +/– on the remote control) to set the sound output level to the loudest listening level that you would listen to.

> 3. Rotate the LOUDNESS control counterclockwise until the desired volume is obtained.

Yep. I was always using only the low end of the volume slider and having the same problem as OP that the steps were too coarse. So for Musium, I added a logarithmic volume control with a step size of 1 dB. That difference is on the border of being perceivable in the range I usually listen at, which is fine enough in practice.

https://docs.ruuda.nl/musium/loudness/

Even friggen Apple, who seem to have a rep for caring about such things. I'd say I'd need at least 5 more levels between off and the lowest volume on my iPhone. It's way too loud to use in a quiet room. I have to try to cover the speaker.

That's because most volume controls also affect the output impedance.

Amazing. This is probably the correct way do make amp controls. I'd say the volume should be a multi turn trim potentiometer in the back of the device so you don't have to brief your guests on correct operation.

My cheap Behringer NU1000DSP that I use as a subwoofer amp can do that to some extent with its dynamic EQ, and you can set it up via USB with a PC app which is a huge step up from some crummy little LCD and buttons.

I use Sonos speakers.

They let me set the maximum volume (about 50% of actual max). The increments in iOS then get smaller.

Yes, a stepped attenuator.