Why does 0.5 linear volume not sound half as loud?

Human hearing is logarithmic, not linear. A linear volume of 0.5 corresponds to roughly -6 dB, which sounds about 70% as loud, not 50%. To sound half as loud, you need approximately -10 dB, which is a linear value of about 0.316. This is why most audio systems use a decibel scale.

Audio Volume Calculator

Convert between linear volume, decibels, and perceived loudness. Preview the curves and grab engine-ready code.

Game audio volume is confusing because there are three different scales: linear (0 to 1), decibels (logarithmic), and perceived loudness (how loud it actually sounds to the player). A linear value of 0.5 is not half as loud. This calculator converts between all three scales and shows you the curves so you can set volume levels that feel right.

Volume Converter

Linear0.5000

Decibels-6.0 dB

Perceived loudness0.7071

Volume Curves

LinearDecibel (normalised)Perceived loudness

Common Volume Presets

Code Output

audioSource.volume = 0.5000f; // Linear
// Or using AudioMixer (dB):
audioMixer.SetFloat("MasterVolume", -6.0f);

Reference Table

dB	Linear	Perceived	Description
0	1.000	1.000	Maximum
-3	0.708	0.841	Barely noticeable reduction
-6	0.501	0.708	Noticeable reduction
-10	0.316	0.562	Half as loud (perceived)
-20	0.100	0.316	Quiet
-40	0.010	0.100	Very quiet
-60	0.001	0.032	Nearly silent
-80	0.0001	0.010	Silence threshold

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