opposite of loud

[curiousmarcus]

Turning up the volume on a music player, I say, "I like the it loud."

What if I don't like it loud? Do I say, "I like it soft"? It sounds unnatural to me.

Also, if somebody's already turning up the volume for you, and you still want it louder, you say louder.

But if somebody is instead turning down the volume for you, and you still want it lowered, do you say softer? It sounds unnatural to me.

 

[GoesStation]

Soft and softer are the right words for those sentences.

 

[JMurray]

not a teacher

I agree with GoesStation. I would just add that in many situations like this it is sometimes more natural to stay with the "up" and "down" constructions.
For example, rather than say "I like it soft", a person is probably more likely to say "I like it turned down", or if they are making a request, "Down a bit, please", "Down just a little", or something similar.

 

[curiousmarcus]

not a teacher
For example, rather than say "I like it soft", a person is probably more likely to say "I like it turned down", or if they are making a request, "Down a bit, please", "Down just a little", or something similar.

Would you agree that for the opposite situation, I like it loud would probably be more likely used than I like it turned up, as well as Louder, please as opposed to Up a bit, please?

I gather this could be because soft could mean not loud as well as not hard, while loud has no ambiguity, could it not?

 

[curiousmarcus]

Another word that trips me up is the word quiet. Google says it's making little or no noise.

In the above example, would it be uncertain as to what you want (whether to completely turn off the music or just turn down the volume) when you say without context, "I like it quiet, please".

 

[JMurray]

not a teacher

I wouldn't want to be too specific about this because it varies a lot. I agree with your point that "soft" can mean something other than "quiet" in this sort of context. For example, "soft rock" is a type of pop/rock typically placing more emphasis on melody, harmony etc, and less on aggressive instrumentation or vocals. However, soft rock can still be played loudly. Whereas, "loud" music usually unambiguously indicates a high volume, or level of sound.

So, I feel it's more likely that someone would say, "I love this song, louder please", than "The stereo is too loud, softer please". In my opinion "…please turn it down" is more usual. But others may have a different experience.