[sancco]

Hello all, I'm after a bit of assistance.
 
I have an album that is too quiet.  I have to double my volume when any track comes on.  I'm wondering how I can normalize the album as a whole, but keep the differences in volume between tracks the same.  There are some filler tracks that would be too loud if normalized as single tracks along with the rest of the album.

For example
Track 1 = -6db
Track 2 = -3db
 
I want to make it so
Track 1 = -3b
Track 2 = 0db
 
Not
Track 1 = 0db
Track 2 = 0db
 
Anyone know any nifty little programs that might do this for me?
 
Many thanks!

 

[jaddie]

What playback software are you using?

 

[sancco]

iTunes.  I want to permanently normalise the album though, so it would work no matter what program I use.

 

[jaddie]

I've used ReplayGain Scan, but I don't see the "album" feature, though it does a better job at loudness analysis than SoundCheck. 
 
I haven't tried it, but take a look at this:
 
http://www.mani.de/en/ivolume/index.html

 

[mistanoize]

I'd suggest you use MP3Gain (freeware) which is an [size=12.727272033691406px]implementation of [/size][size=12.727272033691406px]ReplayGain[/size]...
 
MP3Gain Express (port for Mac OS X)  Download page
 
MP3Gain (Windows installer version)  Download page
 
MP3Gain (portable version via Portable Apps.com)  Download page
 

 

[Neccros]

Not trying to thread jack, but in MP3Gain, what are the differences between Track Gain and Album Gain??? 
 
And whats an ideal dB level to normalize to?? or does it vary???

 

[Nylerb]

Use MediaMonkey.
 
You'r welcome.

 

[mistanoize]

Quote:

Not trying to thread jack, but in MP3Gain, what are the differences between Track Gain and Album Gain??? 
 
And whats an ideal dB level to normalize to?? or does it vary???

 
Taken from the MP3Gain help contents...
 

MP3Gain analyzes mp3 files to determine how loud they sound to the human ear. It can then adjust the mp3 files so that they all have the same loudness without any quality loss. This way, you don't have to keep reaching for the volume dial on your mp3 player every time it switches to a new song.
MP3Gain operates in two modes, Track and Album:

1. Track mode volume-corrects a mix of unrelated songs to a selected level. MP3Gain calculates the volume level for each song individually. It then corrects each song to make its volume level match the Target Volume.
   For example, if you have 3 songs that have volume levels of 86, 91 and 89 dB and you use Track Gain to convert them to a Target Volume of 92 dB, they will all be at approximately 92 dB.  
2. Album mode volume-corrects a collection of related songs (as they would appear on a CD, or "album") relative to other collections of songs. Applying Album gain is like adjusting the volume knob once for each CD you put in your CD player. The overall volume of the album is adjusted to the Target Volume, but the volume differences between the mp3s in the album are preserved.
   For example, if you have 3 songs that have volume levels of 86, 91 and 89 dB, then the overall volume of this "album" will probably be around 89 dB. If the Target Volume is set to 92 dB, then when you apply Album Gain MP3Gain will increase the volume of each of these songs by +3 dB. With Album mode, you want some songs to be noticeably quieter than other songs, just like they are on an album. If you're playing a classical CD, you expect the track with the flute solo to be quieter than the track with the big full-orchestra finale. Album mode allows you to correct an entire album while keeping each song's volume level relative to the other songs.

MP3Gain can also make changes based on the peak amplitude of the mp3, ignoring how loud the mp3 actually sounds to the human ear.
This peak adjustment is what most audio programs mean by "normalizing". To differentiate between "peak" normalizing and "loudness" normalizing, I use the term "maximizing" when talking about peak normalizing.
Maximizing can be used to make an mp3 as loud as possible without clipping. This can be useful, but keep in mind that this will not make your mp3s the same volume. In fact, if you maximize every track on a CD, some of the original quiet tracks can become louder than the original loud tracks  
 

 
Also...
 
 
 
 

Lossless Gain Adjustment
The bad news: MP3Gain can only adjust the volume of your mp3 files in steps of 1.5 dB.
The good news: 1.5 dB is a small enough step for most practical purposes. Most humans can just barely hear a volume change of 1 dB.
The other good news is that this volume adjustment is completely lossless. In other words, if you adjust an mp3 by -6 dB and then change your mind, you can adjust it again by +6 dB and it will be exactly the same as it was before you made the first adjustment.
Here's the technical reason why it's lossless, and also why the smallest change possible is 1.5 dB:
The mp3 format stores the sound information in small chunks called "frames". Each frame represents a fraction of a second of sound. In each frame there is a "global gain" field. This field is an 8-bit integer (so its value can be a whole number from 0 to 255).
When an mp3 player decodes the sound in the frame, it uses the global gain field to multiply the decoded sound samples by 2^{(gain / 4)}.
So if you add 1 to this gain field in all the frames in the mp3, you effectively multiply the amplitude of the whole file by 2^(1/4) = 119% = +1.5 dB.
Likewise, if you subtract 1 from the global gain, you multiply the amplitude by 2^(-1/4) = 84% = -1.5 dB.

 
So far as I know there is nothing else available that can do the job better, though I'm keen to hear if anyone knows different.
 
As shown above the programs help contents are quite explanatory, so perhaps check out the portable version for more information. And see if it improves your listening experience.

 

[vertical]

Good info
Thx