iTunes audio processing

[stace]

Is anyone aware of an app or pc based program that will process your playlist in real time. I can't stand the difference in levels of the songs on my iTunes playlists

 

[RadioMan203]

There is the SRS Labs iWow audio processor, which I believe is a software-based compressor.

 

[Lazy J]

Do you have the "Sound Check" box turned on? Go to Edit / Preferences / Playback and check the Sound Check box. When you load any song into iTunes, it automatically analyzes the audio and gets a sound reference level. Then, the sound checker uses that reference level to keep it all even.

It's not perfect, but it tends to work pretty well.

 

[Lazy J]

I also like to use a program called mp3gain. It is a batch normalizer that will analyze all of your mp3s and set them to a reference audio level. I usually normalize all my mp3s before I load them into iTunes.
http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/
It's completely free and easy to use. It's not exactly what you were looking for but a little effort on the front end makes your playlist sound better on the back end.

Just a side note though... this caught me by surprise. If you have already loaded the songs into iTunes, and you run mp3gain, the iTunes reference level for each file will now be wrong. You will either have to turn off "Sound Checker" or you will have to remove and re-add all of you songs so iTunes sets a new reference level for each mp3.

 

[Fieldtech1]

Ill cast a vote for Breakaway Audio Enhancer, its 29.99 but really can improve all the audio on your PC. There is also a 30 day demo.

http://www.claessonedwards.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=135

 

[chriscollins]

Since you use iTunes (probably for an iPhone), I would use sound check. It works and if you are already in the Apple 'ecosystem', you should go ahead and use their features.

 

[frankberry]

The basic problem is that some songs are recorded with volume compression/limiting. Some are not.
Even if you normalize the peak levels, the average levels will be far different.
One solution (which I don't like) is to apply compression to all of the songs.
A better solution is to look at the "average" loudness of each song and increase or decrease the levels accordingly.
I use Adobe Audition to process my music before I put it on my iPhone. If the song is too loud, I merely normalize the song to a lower audio level.
Of course, the entire process is subjective but the results are better than nothing.

 

[chriscollins]

You see Frank, I don't have that problem, because for the content I listen to, the labels decided to master it to maximum loudness and a flat clipped waveform. All of my stuff is equally loud and distorted in any format

 

[rrsounds]

The basic problem is that some songs are recorded with volume compression/limiting. Some are not.
Even if you normalize the peak levels, the average levels will be far different.
One solution (which I don't like) is to apply compression to all of the songs.
A better solution is to look at the "average" loudness of each song and increase or decrease the levels accordingly.
I use Adobe Audition to process my music before I put it on my iPhone. If the song is too loud, I merely normalize the song to a lower audio level.
Of course, the entire process is subjective but the results are better than nothing.

I think one of the things they are (finally!) discovering with TV loudness control is that, while the overall average level is important, it's the abrupt transitions that are the real irritants. Same goes with music, too.

The tools and methods to control transitions to make them more pleasant have been around for decades. It's just a question of using them properly.

Kind Regards,
David

 

[satech]

The basic problem is that some songs are recorded with volume compression/limiting. Some are not.
Even if you normalize the peak levels, the average levels will be far different.

Apple's "Sound Check" attempts to normalize according to RMS (average) loudness, rather than peak level, so that modern pre-squashed songs do not sound drastically louder than older, more dynamic songs. It's not as good as ReplayGain, but it's still much better than nothing, and you can set a manual playback gain for each song within iTunes if you'd like to do additional tweaking.

 

[WNTIRadio]

Sound check sounds like crap to me. I keep trying to use it on my iPod, but it always flattens out the transients. It sounds like a wideband compressor set on slow attack, slow release and an infinity:1 ratio. I'd rather mess with the volume control than be annoyed by bad "processing". I guess I'm spoiled, but I expect level control to sound better than that. Somehow, someone needs to figure out how to put an Ariane on a chip and stick it in my car stereo, iPod, Bose headphones, Blackberry........

 

[satech]

Sound check sounds like crap to me. I keep trying to use it on my iPod, but it always flattens out the transients. It sounds like a wideband compressor set on slow attack, slow release and an infinity:1 ratio. I'd rather mess with the volume control than be annoyed by bad "processing".

Are you sure you're not using the "Maximum Volume Limiter" or whatever Apple calls it? Sound Check is not a dynamics processor; it just sets the playback gain of the audio file.