Volume Control and Sonos

Audio Products Sonos
#1

Hi all, I’m new to Roon and currently trying to get to grips with it in my system. I’m going to be porting over to new software/hardware from a largely Sonos installation, which is currently used for causal listening. I love the Sonos and have done for many years, but now want something that’s higher fidelity throughout my home and not just in my dedicated listening room.

I can’t migrate from Sonos all in one go, so will be using Roon to control some existing Sonos ZP100 devices.

In this instance, is there any advice on controlling volume so that maximum fidelity is maintained? Somewhere along the line with both Roon and the Sonos controlling volume, I fear I’m losing some of what isn’t much resolution in the first place!

Thank you!

#2

Roon uses the same mechanism to control Sonos speaker volume that the Sonos app does, and in fact it should be possible to control the volume visible in Roon with the Sonos app or the volume buttons on the ZP100.

So there aren’t two separate volume controls, and just doing the simple thing of enabling the ZP100 in Roon and using Roon’s volume buttons will give good results.

#3

Thank you Ben.

I first checked the volume controls on the ZP100, and they track with the controls in the Sonos app but not in Roon. This is with the latest versions of all software, so I just assumed two sets of volume control were in play.

Similarly, I’ve just taken a look at controlling the Sonos with Roon and the Sonos app. If I change the volume in the Sonos app, the volume displayed by Roon does not change, but the other way around - controlling the volume via Roon - does change the volume in the Sonos app.

I guess I’ll live with it until I can replace some of the Sonos players.

#4

That seems like a good assumption given the behavior we seem to have here.

I think this is a bug in Roon, where it doesn’t correctly track Sonos volume. It’s something that I got working several times, so it should work, but clearly it’s not. Confusingly, it works on one of the two Roon systems in my office right now, but not the other. Hopefully I will find the time to get it tracked down and fixed.

Anyway, I’m glad I could help clarify things, even if they’re not working as they should be. Please let us know here or in the support section if you have any other questions or difficulties.

#5

@ben Thank you for the helpful reply, and for looking into this. It’s great to know that issues can be so quickly tested and identified, so I hope you’re able to get to the bottom of it soon.

It’ll be a while before all my Sonos gear is updated, I’m struggling to find good (affordable) replacements with all the functions I need… but that’s a story for another thread.

#6

@ben - FYI I see the same behaviour on my Sonos Move connected to Roon as a Sonos Streaming device as opposed to an Airplay device. (I haven’t tried the Airplay option.) On my setup I also don’t see changes in volume made via using the vol-up/down buttons on my device reflected in the volume readout for the device shown in Roon Remote on my iPad.

#7

Hi Ben
It is not always the case as I can see in my system. After a while, Roon “loses” the volume control set in the Sonos app. Do you have any idea on how to fix this? Many thanks

However when Sonos are controlled via Airplay, there is no bug in the volume control. What is shown in Roon is in fact what it is in Sonos and vice versa.

Hope this can be fixed soon.