--- title: "Sony Headphones Too Quiet on Mac: What to Check" description: "Sony WH-1000XM4 or other 1000X headphones too quiet on your Mac? Check the Mac's volume, the app's own volume, the headphones, balance and the equalizer." url: https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-low-volume-mac language: en --- # Sony headphones too quiet on a Mac When Sony headphones sound quieter on your Mac than on your phone, the volume is usually being turned down in one of several places along the way. Applies to: [MDR-1000X](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/mdr-1000x), [WH-1000XM2](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xm2), [WH-1000XM3](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xm3), [WH-1000XM4](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xm4), [WH-1000XM5](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xm5), [WH-1000XM6](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xm6), [WH-1000XX](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xx) · Updated 2026-11-03 ## Short answer If your Sony headphones are too quiet on a Mac, check each place the volume can be turned down: 1. **The Mac:** press the volume-up key or use the slider in **Control Center → Sound**, with the headphones selected as the output. 2. **The app:** music, video and call apps have their own volume slider; turn it up. 3. **The headphones:** use their own volume control as well. 4. **The equalizer:** a preset that cuts most bands sounds quieter; try **Off** or a flat curve. ## Check the Mac's volume and output 1. Open **Control Center → Sound** and check that your headphones are the selected output. If another device is selected, the volume keys change that device instead. 2. Drag the volume slider up, or press the volume-up key a few times. 3. In **System Settings → Sound → Output**, select the headphones and check the **Balance** slider is in the middle. If one ear sounds quieter, an off-center balance is the likely reason. Depending on the headphones and the connection, the headphones' own volume control either moves the Mac's slider or adds to it separately. Either way, if both are low the result is quiet, so turn up both. ## Check the app's own volume The Mac's volume is only the last step. Music apps, web video players, Zoom and Teams each have their own volume, and some lower loud tracks on purpose: - Turn up the volume inside the app or the web player. - In streaming apps, a volume-normalization setting can make music quieter overall. In Apple's Music app it's called **Sound Check**. - If only calls are quiet, check the call app's speaker volume. Call audio also uses a different Bluetooth mode with less detail; see [bad call audio](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-bad-call-audio-mac). ## Check the headphones - **Their own volume:** use the headphones' volume control (a swipe or a button, depending on the model and its settings) to turn them up. - **Fit:** loose ear cups let bass and level escape. Adjust the headband so the cups seal around your ears. - **Noise canceling:** in a noisy place, outside sound makes music seem quiet. Turn on noise canceling, which lets you listen at a lower volume. With Open Sound Connect it's on **My Device** (⌘1) or ⌥⌘N; see [noise canceling on a Mac](https://opensoundconnect.app/features/noise-cancelling). - **Speak-to-Chat:** on the WH-1000XM6 and WH-1000XX, Speak-to-Chat lowers the volume when it hears you talk, and on the WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5 it pauses or mutes. If the music drops when you speak or hum, turn it off on the **Voice** page (⌘3). ## Check the equalizer The equalizer runs inside the headphones, and it changes loudness as well as tone. A preset or a curve that pulls most bands down sounds quieter, even if the Mac's volume is the same. - Choose the **Off** preset if your headphones list it, or open the **Sound** page (⌘2) and choose **Flatten** to set every band to 0. - On models with **Clear Bass** (WH-1000XM2 to WH-1000XM5), a little of it adds weight without raising every band. - Large boosts can make loud passages distort, so raise bands in small steps. The [equalizer page](https://opensoundconnect.app/features/equalizer) explains each control, and the [preset library](https://opensoundconnect.app/presets) has curves to start from. The MDR-1000X has no equalizer, so this doesn't apply to it. ## What Open Sound Connect can and can't do Open Sound Connect has no volume control for your music: volume stays with macOS, your apps and the headphones. The only level it changes is the **Voice Guidance** volume on newer models, which is for the headphones' spoken announcements, not for what you're listening to. It can help indirectly, through noise canceling, Speak-to-Chat and the equalizer above. ## Listen safely It's tempting to turn everything up to the maximum. Prolonged loud listening can damage your hearing, so raise the volume only until you can hear comfortably, use noise canceling instead of volume to drown out a noisy room, and take breaks. If the headphones still sound unusually quiet after all of the above, try them with your phone; if they're quiet there too, contact Sony support. If there's no sound at all rather than too little, see [connected but no sound](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-connected-no-sound-mac). ## Common questions ### Why are my Sony headphones louder on my iPhone than on my Mac? The two keep separate volume levels, and apps on each have their own. Check the Mac's slider, the app's slider and the equalizer you're using; settings stored in the headphones, like the equalizer, apply on both. ### Can I boost the volume beyond the maximum? Not with Open Sound Connect, which has no volume control. Equalizer boosts make some frequencies louder, but large boosts tend to distort, so raise them in small steps. ### Why is one side quieter than the other? Check the **Balance** slider in **System Settings → Sound → Output** and the fit of each ear cup. If it's the same with every device, the headphones may need service. ## Where to next - [Connected, but no sound](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-connected-no-sound-mac): When the Mac says Connected but nothing plays: the output device, app settings, volume, other devices and reconnecting. - [Equalizer and Clear Bass](https://opensoundconnect.app/features/equalizer): Sony's presets, your own band curve and Clear Bass, set in the headphones from your Mac. - [Mac troubleshooter](https://opensoundconnect.app/troubleshooter): Choose a symptom and get the checks to try, in order, with a link to the full guide. --- Open Sound Connect is independent software. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sony. Sony, DSEE, DSEE Extreme and LDAC are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Group Corporation or its affiliates. Apple, Mac, macOS, Finder, Safari, Xcode and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. 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