Bose NC 700 sound volume inconsistent

[yannis_kkv]

When connected to a Dell laptop with Windows 10, sounds are way too loud for the first 1 second after a quiet part of a video / song / call, then volume stabilises to the correct level.

This doesn't happen when connected to an android mobile device.

Headphones on latest firmware and brand new.

Anyone else has this issue?

[Keith_L]

Hi yannis_kkv,

Welcome to the Community, thanks for posting!

As you are only hearing this volume change when connected to the computer, it is likely that this is being caused by a setting on your computer itself. One thing that can cause this is the Loudness Equalization setting on Windows that automatically balances volume levels for the computer's audio.

You can change this setting by pressing the Windows key on your laptop and typing "Manage Audio Devices" and click the result that comes up. On the window that this opens, right-click on your headphones in this list and select "Properties". This will open a new window where you need to select the "Enhancements" tab, then untick the box next to "Loudness Equalization". The image below shows what these screens will look like for you.

Let me know how you get on!

[yannis_kkv]

Hello,

It appeared "Headset - Hands Free" was my default setting. Changing to "Headphones - Stereo" improves sound significantly when listening to music.

When on a call though, the sound comes from "Headset - Hands Free" again, I guess to make use of the microphone? So, in a call I still get variations in volume.

I have tried deactivating enhancements in the "Headset - Hands Free" properties, but no change.

Anything more I can try?

Cheers

[Keith_L · Accepted solution]

Thanks for letting me know that yanis_kkv!

You are correct that the "Headset - Hands Free" is used when making calls as this setting is needed for the microphone to be active. When using the "Headphones - Stereo", the microphone is disabled, so there is a higher Bluetooth bandwidth for the audio signal which is why you will be getting better quality audio when using this setting.

It's interesting that there was no change after disabling the enhancements for the headset. As it is only happening when the microphone is active, what software have you been using the microphone with on your computer? It's possible that there is a setting in this software that is adjusting the volume rather than on the computer itself.

[yannis_kkv]

I have been using Microsoft Teams. It appears I can customise it to send sound over the "Stereo" protocol, which might improve things.

Thanks!