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Topic: Normalize/Level Volume for Playlist to burn CD (Read 8585 times) previous topic - next topic
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Normalize/Level Volume for Playlist to burn CD

I am running Windows Vista and am looking for CD burning software that I can easily normalize the volume on a playlist that I want to burn to CD. Most of the songs are close enough that you don't need to adjust the volume control during playback, however there are 2 or 3 songs that were apparently recorded at a much lower volume and makes it annoying when listening to. I am a newbie at this kind of stuff, so keep it simple please. I rip all of my CDs to flac using dBpoweramp or EAC to an external drive for archiving purposes, then use dB Music Converter to encode to mp3s (LAME) on my main drive for regular use. I know very little about Replay Gain and how it works nor do I know much about mp3Gain. I certainly wouldn't want all of my classical or jazz to be at the same level for obvious reasons, but some kind of simple normalization for rock or country music is what I'm looking for so that all songs on a compilation CD will be reasonably close in volume.

Normalize/Level Volume for Playlist to burn CD

Reply #1 –
I'm sure this will bother some but I take the tracks into Adobe Audition and adjust the gain usually targeting -15 to -17 dB average RMS level with LIGHT clipping for popular music. If it was fairly compressed already I'll target -15 to -17 and no peaks clipped, maybe even peak levels some dB below FS. For classical music the determining factor is to LIGHTLY clip a FEW peaks without regard to average RMS levels. These are for play in my car. Older material may get some noise reduction and if I don''t like the sound I might blend the channels a little and maybe change the EQ a bit and on really dirty material, some reverb can cover a lot of crap. Vaughn Monroe's 'Let It Snow' got all of that plus click and pop removal as it came from a 78 disc to the CD I bought. That reverb can also make a pleasant fake stereo from a mono source which I find far less objectionable than some of the 'synthesized stereo' I've heard commercially.

G²

Normalize/Level Volume for Playlist to burn CD

Reply #2 –
Ehm, Glenn Gundlach that's what we have Replaygain for.

texasflood just use some app that can apply replaygain to the files before burning (foobar2000, Burrrn, etc.)

Normalize/Level Volume for Playlist to burn CD

Reply #3 –
When using foobar2000 you can do it here in the converter dialog:

Converter -> [...] -> Processing ->
  • ReplayGain processing




    Then in the options ("..." button), you have to choose "track" gain, if you want to have something like a party mix of tracks from different albums and equal loudness for those tracks. In case you copy whole albums exclusively to the disc, you rather want to choose "album" here. It gets a bit complicated if you have both. One solution would be to make two conversion jobs, first select all single tracks that are taken out of an album, and choose tracks, then convert all whole albums choosing "album".




    Of course the tracks must be ReplayGain scanned before. Or else the volume gain as seen in the last pic under "Without RG info" will be applied which is by default +/- 0dB, i.e. nothing. And of course the relative loudness difference between the tracks will also be the same, if you manipulate that slider.

Normalize/Level Volume for Playlist to burn CD

Reply #4 –
When using foobar2000 you can do it here in the converter dialog:

Converter -> [...] -> Processing ->
  • ReplayGain processing

    Fandango,

    I don't know if you are familiar with dBpoweramp's Music Converter, but it has DSP's for Replay Gain. One calculates the gain (I've been using that), while the other applies the gain (I have not been using that). From your descrirtion and screenshots of Foobar, it looks like I could do the same thing with Music Converter as with Foobar. Is that correct? The reason I ask is that I have not yet been able to figure out foobar (but I plan on trying it out again in the very near future, as I learn more about this kind of stuff). Also I tried to use Burrrn, but couldn't get it to work on vista. Then I read it uses cdrdao.exe for burning. Is that something I have to download seperately like Lame's DLL in EAC, and if so what folder do I install it in? Sorry for the dumb questions, but I'm very new to this.

Normalize/Level Volume for Playlist to burn CD

Reply #5 –
Quote
Also I tried to use Burrrn, but couldn't get it to work on vista. Then I read it uses cdrdao.exe for burning. Is that something I have to download seperately like Lame's DLL in EAC, and if so what folder do I install it in? Sorry for the dumb questions, but I'm very new to this.


I haven't used Burrrn, but I just downloaded and installed it...  CDRDAO.EXE was automatically installed in C:\Program Files\Burrrn.  So no, I didn't have to download it separately.

Another FREE burning program is ImgBurn.  It's supposed to run on Vista.  (I don't have Vista, and I haven't used ImgBurn to make an audio CD.)

Normalize/Level Volume for Playlist to burn CD

Reply #6 –
Quote from: DVDdoug on
Quote
Also I tried to use Burrrn, but couldn't get it to work on vista. Then I read it uses cdrdao.exe for burning. Is that something I have to download seperately like Lame's DLL in EAC, and if so what folder do I install it in? Sorry for the dumb questions, but I'm very new to this.


I haven't used Burrrn, but I just downloaded and installed it...  CDRDAO.EXE was automatically installed in C:\Program Files\Burrrn.  So no, I didn't have to download it separately.

Another FREE burning program is ImgBurn.  It's supposed to run on Vista.  (I don't have Vista, and I haven't used ImgBurn to make an audio CD.)


I just downloaded CDBurner XP and it has an option to apply Reply Gain calculations (which I add to the flac files when converting them to mp3 using  a DSP in dBpoweramp's Music Converter). I haven't had time to try it yet, but I'm thinking this should work for my purpose.

Normalize/Level Volume for Playlist to burn CD

Reply #7 –
If you add the ReplayGain via a DSP then the MP3s should not have any more RG information or if they do they would sit around 0dB. The digital sound processor, you have applied has already done what you wanted.

You sure you want to burn and audio CD or a data CD? Because that option of CDBurner XP sounds like it does the exact same thing as the Music Converter, because it is also going to burn those MP3s as a regular Audio CD... I thought that's not what you wanted... 

Normalize/Level Volume for Playlist to burn CD

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Fandango on
If you add the ReplayGain via a DSP then the MP3s should not have any more RG information or if they do they would sit around 0dB. The digital sound processor, you have applied has already done what you wanted.

You sure you want to burn and audio CD or a data CD? Because that option of CDBurner XP sounds like it does the exact same thing as the Music Converter, because it is also going to burn those MP3s as a regular Audio CD... I thought that's not what you wanted... 


There are 2 ReplayGain DSPs on Music Converter. One that tags your music file with the calculations (that's the one I've been adding) and one that actually applies the gain. I haven't been using that one because I don't want all of my mp3s normalized or leveled or whatever the proper term is. I only want to use it during the process of burning a compilation of songs to an audio cd from various albums that have different volume levels, so that when I listen to it in my car or where ever the sound doesn't fluctuate to such extreme degress that I have to adjust the volume every other song. Media Monkey has columns that shows the volume levels (dB) for both the track and album, but I think you need the paid version to do any normalizing. I say that because I hit the option to normalize the playlist and the songs that played lower than the others still did, so I didn't burn it. That's when I started looking for some advice on this forum.