Whether you change the settings to high (defaulted) with normal house noise you will not hear it. The whole point of a timer is to be able to hear it while you are in the kitchen with preheat or in another room while cooking. I have a sound meter on my phone and it registers 23-28 decibels at 6 feet away in an extreme quiet room. Low, medium, high volume all register in the "whisper" category range, whether I am at oven door, 6 feet away, or 12 foot away. (a car starting next door only raised the db to 29-30) You will need to use your own independent timer. I have not used the oven enough to speak about the other features but timers are meant to be heard and are essential.