Sounds are not properly balanced
Most sounds in Bedrock edition are very unbalanced compared to some other sounds. For instance, the sounds while walking are much louder compared to other sounds such as breaking a block, In Java edition, this issue of poor sound balance does not exist, as the walking sounds are very subtle while the block breaking sounds are most prominent.
Linked Issues
is duplicated by2
relates to5
MCPE-60799Block breaking sounds originate on the South-East corner of the blockConfirmedMCPE-168744Most sounds are too loud up close and/or too quiet a short distance awayConfirmedMCPE-35222Sounds of some entities do not fade or cut off, even if we are very far from themFixedMCPE-54356Raid horn is too loud for players when getting close to a raider during a raidFixedMCPE-85593Raid horn is too loud regardless of location on 1.16Fixed- Fixed
B- 23
- 5
- Confirmed
- 372599
- Windows
- Windows 10
- sound volume
1.16.30.57 RTX Beta - 1.16.100.59 Beta
1.16.30.57 RTX Beta 1.16.200.53 Beta 1.16.200.52 Beta 1.16.100.57 Beta 1.16.100.56 Beta 1.16.100.54 Beta 1.15.0.11 RTX Beta 1.16.100.52 Beta 1.16.100.51 Beta 1.16.100.50 Beta 1.16.20.54 Beta 1.15.0.9 RTX Beta 1.16.20.53 Beta 1.16.20.52 Beta 1.16.20.50 Beta 1.16.0.68 Beta 1.16.0.67 Beta 1.16.0.66 Beta 1.16.0.64 Beta 1.16.0.61 Beta 1.16.0.59 Beta 1.16.0.57 Beta 1.16.0.55 Beta 1.16.0.53 Beta 1.16.0.51 Beta 1.15.0.56 Beta 1.15.0.55 Beta 1.15.0.54 Beta 1.15.0.53 Beta 1.15.0.51 Beta 1.14.20 Hotfix 1.13.0.6 Beta 1.12.0 1.14.30 Hotfix 1.14.60 Hotfix 1.16.0 1.16.1 1.16.10 1.16.20 1.16.50 Hotfix (iOS) 1.16.40 Hotfix 1.16.61 (PS4) 1.16.100.59 Beta- 1.16.0.68 Beta 1.16.0
Created Issue:
Walking sounds are unbelievably loud compared to Java
The sounds while walking are much louder compared to other sounds that play when events are triggered. It's extremely annoying to have to lower the volume for walking sounds and every other sound is quieter.
is duplicated by
![[Mod] OcelotOnesie](../../../data/avatars/users/43220.png){kind=small}
The sounds while walking are much louder compared to other sounds that playwhen events are triggered. It's extremely annoying to have to lower the volume for walking sounds and every other sound is quieter.Most sounds in Bedrock edition are very unbalanced. For instance, the sounds while walking and breaking blocks are much louder compared to other sounds that play, such as opening doors. In Java, this issue of poor sound balance does not exist.
Walking sounds areunbelievably loud compared to JavaSounds are not properly balanced
Most sounds in Bedrock edition are very unbalanced compared to some other sounds. For instance, the sounds while walking and breaking blocks are much louder compared to other sounds that play, such as opening doors. In Java, this issue of poor sound balance does not exist.
![[Mojang] Mega_Spud (Jay Wells)](../../../data/avatars/users/92696.png){kind=small}
Most sounds in Bedrock edition are very unbalanced compared to some other sounds. For instance, the sounds while walking
and breaking blocksare much louder compared to other soundsthat play, such as opening doors. In Java, this issue of poor sound balance does not exist.Most sounds in Bedrock edition are very unbalanced compared to some other sounds. For instance, the sounds while walking are much louder compared to other sounds such as breaking a block, In Java edition, this issue of poor sound balance does not exist, as the walking sounds are very subtle while the block breaking sounds are most prominent.
![[Helper] Jack McKalling](../../../data/avatars/users/92859.png){kind=small}
is duplicated by
![[MCQA] Kinga Izdebska](../../../data/avatars/users/18949.svg){kind=small}
![[Mod] GoldenHelmet](../../../data/avatars/users/18951.svg){kind=small}
relates to
![[Bot] Arisa](../../../data/avatars/users/43007.png){kind=small}
relates to
- Some mobs like phantom, ghasts and possibly more entities always make the same amount of sound even when we are away from them and sound does not get any lower or we stop listening
Device: LG K10
Just a bit of information on ghasts: For some reason, ghast sound drop off over distance is very low. This means ghasts will likely sound the same or similar when going at survival speeds (walking, sprinting, flying with an elytra, or more related). The vanilla resource pack's sound.json file set all ghasts sounds to 600.0 volume, but this does not determine how loud the ghast actually is. It instead determines the distance where the sound will be completely cut off, not lowering the actual drop off at all. The equation for this is the following:
volume * 16 = sound distance
Anyone within that radius will have sounds play internally, no matter if the sound drop off permits it or not. However, that number for ghasts is way too high anyway. If my calculations are correct, that would mean that ghast sounds only cut off when the player is 9600 blocks away. To confirm this, running the command /summon ghast ~ ~-5000 ~ will still play ghast sounds. At this distance however, it's kind of hard to hear, but the fact that someone can hear it is likely not intended by Mojang.
It's just because the sounds are unbalanced on Bedrock vs Java. I have a ticket for that specifically too, MCPE-51049.
Thank you for your report!
We're actually tracking this issue now in MCPE-51049, so I've resolved and linked this ticket as a duplicate.
If you would like to add a vote and any extra information to the main ticket it would be appreciated.
If you haven't already, you might like to make use of the search feature to see if the issue has already been mentioned.
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@Kaylee Jones you may wish to add a comment about parrot sounds being too loud to MCPE-51049. It is probably because the parrot is on your shoulder and the game adjusts sounds for distance rather dramatically.
Nearly all sounds in Bedrock Edition attenuate too dramatically. They are too loud within a block or two of the player and too quiet when > 5 blocks away. For example, if you adjust your device volume up to clearly hear mob sounds at 10-15 blocks then the volume of things like taking hits, throwing tridents, or trading with villagers becomes uncomfortably loud. Some specific sounds have been adjusted in the past to make them less unpleasant (MCPE-14420 / 48919, MCPE-35222, MCPE-51049) or, conversely, more noticeable (MCPE-122296, MCPE-164935), but these ad hoc adjustments have failed to address the underlying issue of extreme default attenuation.
According to this detailed comment Bedrock Edition uses exponential attenuation while Java Edition uses linear attenuation.
Steps to reproduce
- Load Sound Attenuation Test.mcworld
- Stand on the Lapis Lazuli line and use each of the listening stations:
(a) glass automatically breaking from 1 to 15 blocks away
(b) villagers to trade with at 1 and 5 blocks away
(c) levers to flip at 1 and 5 blocks away
(d) minecart automatically moving back-and-forth between 1 and 15 blocks away
Expected result
Sound attenuates gradually with distance. Common sounds like block breaking and villager interactions are not overly load right next to you; sounds do not sound far off when they originate within interaction range at 5 blocks away; and you can hear the difference between 5 blocks and 15 blocks.
Observed result
Sound volume drops off steeply from 1 to 5 blocks and there is very little difference between 5 and 15 blocks. Common sounds like block breaking and villager interactions are uncomfortably loud if you have your volume up high enough to hear things 15 blocks away.
Please have a look at
MCPE-49613. Does it go away if you turn off Spatial Sound (in the taskbar Volume Control icon right-click menu)?I have spatial sound turned off
Ok, we'll keep this as a separate ticket then. Thanks!
The worst offender by far is
thunderlightning, it is ridiculously loud. The throwing sound for 🔱 is also ridiculously loud. The 🔱 is loud because it originates next to your head and, in general, there is far too much dynamic difference between sounds that are close and sounds that are far away. That’s also why your own steps are so loud. However, some sounds likethunderlightning and (I think) ghast noises have no distance factor but are not balanced against those that do. Ghasts aren’t too bad butthunderlightning seems to be at max volume, so it’s like it is occurring inside your ear.(Edited to correct references to thunder when I meant the lightning explosion sound.)
The 1.16.0.57 changelog states:
I though maybe this meant an attempt was made to fix this bug. Could we get some specific feedback from beta testers?
There does appear to be a massive difference between 1.14.60 and 1.16.0.57 and is huge step in the right direction.
There might be a few sounds that are still off but overall its in a much better place. Massive props to the team.
Oh, joy!
Even though some sounds were altered, all nether specific blocks except magma blocks, gravel, blackstone (and variants) and glowstone seem to be equal to Java values. In terms of pitch, breaking or placing anything will have a noticeably higher pitch than in 1.14.60 (even the Nether Update blocks).
By the way, here's the report about ghast sounds, if it's not a backwards duplicate:
MCPE-35222.I've been encountering this issue with volume balancing too and after some investigation made some interesting observations:
Hopefully that helps narrow down what the issues are so they can get fixed!
The corner issue is being tracked at MCPE-60799.
Just a bit of information on ghasts:
For some reason, ghast sound drop off over distance is very low. This means ghasts will likely sound the same or similar when going at survival speeds (walking, sprinting, flying with an elytra, or more related). The vanilla resource pack's sound.json file set all ghasts sounds to 600.0 volume, but this does not determine how loud the ghast actually is. It instead determines the distance where the sound will be completely cut off, not lowering the actual drop off at all. The equation for this is the following:
Anyone within that radius will have sounds play internally, no matter if the sound drop off permits it or not. However, that number for ghasts is way too high anyway. If my calculations are correct, that would mean that ghast sounds only cut off when the player is 9600 blocks away. To confirm this, running the command /summon ghast ~ ~-5000 ~ will still play ghast sounds. At this distance however, it's kind of hard to hear, but the fact that someone can hear it is likely not intended by Mojang.
The furthest playing sound in the game is lightning, coming in a volume level of 1000.0, making it heard from 16000 blocks away (very close to the distance where world rendering begins to fail). Being able to hear a ghast from well over half of that distance is definitely inconsistent.
The 1.16.0.63 changelog includes the line
I wonder if this helps with some of the issues covered in this report?
Most of the issues mentioned have been fixed for me in recent 1.16 betas.
The raid horn sound is still obnoxiously loud compared to anything else. It actually creates family conflict in my house because if someone is playing on the Switch and gets a raid the sound is disruptive to others (such as those working from home due to COVID and on a work call) and the player gets scolded repeatedly. But if you turn the volume down for a raid then everything else is much too quiet.
EDIT: the raid horn volume in 1.16 is being tracked at
MCPE-85593.In general I’d say the drop-off for most directional sounds is still too much (with a few exceptions like Ghasts), and/or directionality is too intense. It would be nice to have a compression setting or directional intensity mixer to blend directional with flat/mono sound output.
Resolving as Fixed based on changes made in 1.16.0. For ongoing issues please follow the open tickets already linked as "related" or search or create new reports for specific sound issues.