HomePod Sound Check - Anyone Else Having Problems?

[boltjames]

For those who don't know, Sound Check is a feature that normalizes the volume levels in music so that you don't have to scramble for the volume controls when a song recorded quietly is followed by a song recorded loudly. I've been using it for the last 10 years on my iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, and HomePod.

In the last few months it's stopped working for me. Can't explain why. I listen to most of my music these days on HomePod and CarPlay, and I'm suddenly needing to increase/decrease the volume every few songs for unknown reasons.

Anyone else experiencing Soundcheck problems? Any fix? I've tried resetting my iPhone, HomePods, and Apple TV.

 

[sterumbelow]

For those who don't know, Sound Check is a feature that normalizes the volume levels in music so that you don't have to scramble for the volume controls when a song recorded quietly is followed by a song recorded loudly. I've been using it for the last 10 years on my iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, and HomePod.

In the last few months it's stopped working for me. Can't explain why. I listen to most of my music these days on HomePod and CarPlay, and I'm suddenly needing to increase/decrease the volume every few songs for unknown reasons.

Anyone else experiencing Soundcheck problems? Any fix? I've tried resetting my iPhone, HomePods, and Apple TV.

I have exactly this problem. Doesn’t seem to be a fix for it. Running the latest software.

 

[boltjames]

I have exactly this problem. Doesn’t seem to be a fix for it. Running the latest software.

After several frustrating months of having the problem as I described above, it mysteriously went away. I can’t explain why. I didn’t check or uncheck any Soundcheck boxes that I hadn’t tried checking or unchecking 1000 times before then. But about three weeks ago it just stopped.

Longshot but it may have had something to do with my Apple TV and AirPlay. Now that I think of it, my HomePods started behaving when I added them to my Apple TV in AirPlay settings. Prior to that they were visible in the Apple TV but they weren’t actually conjoined via AirPlay settings on Apple TV itself. I doubt that’s the reason though. But it’s the only thing I touched in months.

 

[sevenleaf]

Hey Bolt, I was searching in Google and stumbled across this thread. I thought I would weigh-in to respond to your theory about why SoundCheck wasn't working. In short, SoundCheck doesn't affect ALAC or AAC music files. When you use AirPlay or Bluetooth, the audio files get converted to AAC and so SoundCheck doesn't work with Bluetooth or Airplay. Hope that helps.

 

[boltjames]

Hey Bolt, I was searching in Google and stumbled across this thread. I thought I would weigh-in to respond to your theory about why SoundCheck wasn't working. In short, SoundCheck doesn't affect ALAC or AAC music files. When you use AirPlay or Bluetooth, the audio files get converted to AAC and so SoundCheck doesn't work with Bluetooth or Airplay. Hope that helps.

Thanks for responding, but that can't be possible. AAC files have been the Apple standard since iTunes opened for business 15 years ago and SoundCheck has been around since then too. And when one takes an Apple Music song offline it is in AAC format.

I don't use Bluetooth or AirPlay for streaming purposes; everything I listen to on HomePod, Apple TV, and AirPods is from Apple Music.

 

[sevenleaf]

I just checked and you’re right about AAC being compatible but ALAC is not. Only MP3, AAC, WAV, and AIFF are compatible with Sound Check.

AirPods are a Bluetooth connection.

 

[TonyC28]

Sound check seems basically useless for me. Especially with Disney songs that my daughter listens to. For whatever reason they are always quieter than other music.

 

[boltjames]

I just checked and you’re right about AAC being compatible but ALAC is not. Only MP3, AAC, WAV, and AIFF are compatible with Sound Check.

AirPods are a Bluetooth connection.

AirPods are Bluetooth from the iPhone to your ears, but Apple Music is streaming the AAC's to your iPhone, not the AirPods. There is nothing about AirPods that has anything to do with SoundCheck. AirPods play whatever the iPhone tells them to.

 

[Howard Brazee]

Still doesn't work.

 

[SalisburySam]

Sound check seems basically useless for me. Especially with Disney songs that my daughter listens to. For whatever reason they are always quieter than other music.

Hmmm, possibly because Disney songs are the most annoying? Just a guess here.