iTunes question

[Reechard D Taylor]

Does anyone know if it is possible to normalize the volume level of a playlist that you are burning to a cd? So far, I haven't been able to figure it out. What's particularly frustrating is that, if you right click each song in a playlist, then click options, you will see a volume control for the song. But this volume control only affects playback as you're listening to iTunes and does not alter the volume level of these same songs when you burn a playlist to a cd. So basically, I can't make a proper mix cd using iTunes. Wonderful.

[markie]

When you rip or import into itunes it gives you an option of normalizing levels.....
 
 It doesn't seem to work very well for me.
 
 
 But I dont find it to be the end of the world to adjust the volume for listening pleasure, either.

[brennser]

I too, have volume levelling issues in itunes

[kosmo vinyl]

i've been using Jam on the MAC to create mix cds and even with that it's a pain to get the volumes set... part of the problem is the sound on newer CD are so compressed that regardless of how i adjust the volume it still sounds louder then a old less compressed CD.  CD are currently recorder and mastered  to compress as much sound as possible into a track.  even remastered CDs tend to get overcompressed.  
 
 i saw a great graphic awhile back that compared the levels of an old cd with a new cd.  where as the old track had peaks and valleys in the signal, the newer cd was a solid bar.  this requires graphics to explain fully, which i will try to find

[kosmo vinyl]

Ok found the graphics i was looking for...
 From
  http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/10109
 
    <img src="http://gfx.cdfreaks.com/img/1089584355" alt=" - " />
 
 
 
 There is very little dynamic range in today's recordings, which leads to volume differences between newer and older cds

[Reechard D Taylor]

Originally posted by Miss MaRpIe:
  When you rip or import into itunes it gives you an option of normalizing levels.....
 
 It doesn't seem to work very well for me.
 
 
 

I tried doing this and it didn't work at all. I re-imported an old song from the aforementioned playlist, gave it a new name and cranked the volume control all the way up to 11, but still no difference. What would Nigel Tuffnel say?

[Justin Tonation]

Adjusting volume levels among sets of completely different songs is one of the most problematic issues with any music software. Old school audio engineering sought to preserve dynamic range while new school values loudness, usually created by compressing the dynamic range. Subsequently, CDs made in the past ten years or so are noticeably louder than early CDs. This includes reissues and remasters, even of CDs that were already available.
 
 There's a compression plug-in for iTunes called  Volume Logic that helps with playback, but not with CD burning.
 
 If you want to make a good mix CD with songs in your iTunes folder then you probably would want to use sound editing or restoration software to even out the levels between the songs (use your ears and good headphones). You can use iTunes to convert AACs and MP3s to WAVs that can be edited/restored. After changing the levels of the songs, just burn a CD of the WAVs--you can still use iTunes to do that.
 
 Hope this helps....

[kosmo vinyl]

are you using windows?  did you ever give the Acoustica SW a trail run... when i was looking a couple years back, i found it to be the most straight forward mix cd creation program for windows.  most of rest had all those beat matching bells and whistles for electronica mixing.  i didn't end of adopting it because my ancient windozed machines choked and sputtered under the strain.  have been using jam on the mac instead...

[pip]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  Ok found the graphics i was looking for...
 From
    http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/10109  
 
      <img src="http://gfx.cdfreaks.com/img/1089584355" alt=" - " />
 
 
 
 There is very little dynamic range in today's recordings, which leads to volume differences between newer and older cds

It seems like the issue that's raised by the article you linked to is that recording engineers are trying to use too much dynamic range, i.e. more than is available. A CD, old or new, gives you 96 dB of dynamic range (16 bits at 6 dB per bit) and if they push that limit too high, the sample values will saturate and clip, which seems to be the situation with the Oasis track. That's usually undesirable since it causes information to be lost and introduces high frequency noise. Of course, not using the full dynamic range causes the music to sound quieter which is also a bad thing. It's fairly easy using software (like the kind that comes free with your computer's sound card) to get exactly 96 dB of range without clipping but it's a mystery to me why recording engineers don't always do that.

[Reechard D Taylor]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  are you using windows?  did you ever give the Acoustica SW a trail run... when i was looking a couple years back, i found it to be the most straight forward mix cd creation program for windows.  most of rest had all those beat matching bells and whistles for electronica mixing.  i didn't end of adopting it because my ancient windozed machines choked and sputtered under the strain.  have been using jam on the mac instead...

Yeah I did try Acoustica but I couldn't figure it out. I ended up paying for the software but then never using it again after several failed attempts at getting it to work for me. I'll be the first to admit though that I'm not that technologically inclined. I just wish iTunes had a normalizer button you could push that would instantly make a playlist roughly the same volume level.
 
 One friend told me I should look into the Nero software, but that looks a little too complicated for me.

[Reechard D Taylor]

Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
  Adjusting volume levels among sets of completely different songs is one of the most problematic issues with any music software. Old school audio engineering sought to preserve dynamic range while new school values loudness, usually created by compressing the dynamic range. Subsequently, CDs made in the past ten years or so are noticeably louder than early CDs. This includes reissues and remasters, even of CDs that were already available.
 
 There's a compression plug-in for iTunes called  Volume Logic that helps with playback, but not with CD burning.
 
 If you want to make a good mix CD with songs in your iTunes folder then you probably would want to use sound editing or restoration software to even out the levels between the songs (use your ears and good headphones). You can use iTunes to convert AACs and MP3s to WAVs that can be edited/restored. After changing the levels of the songs, just burn a CD of the WAVs--you can still use iTunes to do that.
 
 Hope this helps....

What sound editing/restoration software do you recommend?  Is there anything out there that is fairly easy to use without having to be a techie?

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

the other bad thing about mix CDs made from Itunes, or any other MP3 player, is there is an audible degradation in sound quality because of the compression.  
 
 It's funny, when CDs first came out they were hailed as the ultimate in high fidelity, but in recent years sound quality seems to have moved far down the priority list for most people.

[Justin Tonation]

Originally posted by Friend O' Guy Chadwick:
  What sound editing/restoration software do you recommend?  Is there anything out there that is fairly easy to use without having to be a techie?

For editing I'm partial to Cool Edit. Unfortunately, Adobe acquired CE a couple of years ago and killed the basic two-channel version   :mad:  They rebranded Cool Edit Pro (multi-track) as Adobe Audition; I think the non-upgrade version is around $300.
 
 But there's also Sound Forge. Full-on SF costs hundreds but the pared-down "Studio" version (Studio being a line of home a/v software from Sony) lists for $70.
 
 SE also sells an expensive "Noise Reduction" add-on. There's also Magix's "Audio Cleaning Lab" for around $40 that sounds promising, and may even be an all-in-one solution (editing, remastering, burning). But I've never used it. I'll probably get it eventually and try it with Pylon's "Hits" CD, which has volume levels that are all over the place.

[joeavrage]

Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
   

Originally posted by Friend O' Guy Chadwick:
  What sound editing/restoration software do you recommend?  Is there anything out there that is fairly easy to use without having to be a techie?

For editing I'm partial to Cool Edit. Unfortunately, Adobe acquired CE a couple of years ago and killed the basic two-channel version    :mad:   They rebranded Cool Edit Pro (multi-track) as Adobe Audition; I think the non-upgrade version is around $300.
 
 But there's also Sound Forge. Full-on SF costs hundreds but the pared-down "Studio" version (Studio being a line of home a/v software from Sony) lists for $70.
 
 SE also sells an expensive "Noise Reduction" add-on. There's also Magix's "Audio Cleaning Lab" for around $40 that sounds promising, and may even be an all-in-one solution (editing, remastering, burning). But I've never used it. I'll probably get it eventually and try it with Pylon's "Hits" CD, which has volume levels that are all over the place. [/b]

I use Audacity  when I edit stuff. It is free and seems to work quite well and as long as your source file is decent, there shouldn't be too much degradation (if any).