Volume change when converting FLAC to ALAC

[margidowiggen]

So i got myself and iPod and therefore had to convert all of my FLAC music into ALAC. (silly Apple :headbang
Everything seemed to be going somewhat okay, until I put the music on my iPod. The volume is way louder than the other audio files I have on my iPod (mp3). When the songs change, there is a loud POP! if the song goes from an mp3 to ALAC and I fear that it might give me hearing aids one time or another. Is there anything I am doing wrong in the convertion process, or do I have to use some sort of audio stabilization software in order to get the volume of the ALAC lowered?

[Spoon]

Re: Volume change when converting FLAC to ALAC

You can use the DSP effect Replaygain and set it to write the iTUNENORM tag.

[margidowiggen]

Re: Volume change when converting FLAC to ALAC

Great, trying it right now, thanks!

[BrodyBoy]

Re: Volume change when converting FLAC to ALAC

So i got myself and iPod and therefore had to convert all of my FLAC music into ALAC. (silly Apple :headbang

As someone who has straddled the Apple & non-Apple universes for years now, I'd like to throw in a suggestion for you to consider (and of course, ignore, at your discretion! :

Unless you're using an iPod Classic and/or your music library is relatively small, you're going to find that those ALAC files fill up your iPod very quickly. You might want to consider loading it up with high-bit-rate lossy AAC or MP3 conversions rather than ALAC. iPods have excellent audio capabilities, but not such that you'd ever be able to discern differences between lossless and high-quality lossy. And with the lossy versions, you're more likely to fit all your music on there and still have room for future growth.

[garym]

Re: Volume change when converting FLAC to ALAC

As someone who has straddled the Apple & non-Apple universes for years now, I'd like to throw in a suggestion for you to consider (and of course, ignore, at your discretion! :

Unless you're using an iPod Classic and/or your music library is relatively small, you're going to find that those ALAC files fill up your iPod very quickly. You might want to consider loading it up with high-bit-rate lossy AAC or MP3 conversions rather than ALAC. iPods have excellent audio capabilities, but not such that you'd ever be able to discern differences between lossless and high-quality lossy. And with the lossy versions, you're more likely to fit all your music on there and still have room for future growth.

+1. Time to make a nice mp3 or AAC lossy mirror of all your FLAC files for loading on your ipod. I have a FLAC library that I use for home stereo, but I use dbpa batch converter to create a mirror mp3 library (lame -v2) for use on my portable devices. 2 or 3 mouse clicks and the right setup and your mirror library has the same files, same metadata, same directory structure, but in lossy mp3 vs FLAC. Perfect for portable devices.

[margidowiggen]

Re: Volume change when converting FLAC to ALAC

Thanks for the tips, and I am surely aware of the great filesizes of ALAC, but as a proud owner of an iPod classic I think have about 160GB of storage. My music library is at 80-90GB, so there are no worries for me in that sort of way. I do not deny that I may have to change to another file type someday when my library gets too big. But I bought the iPod classic for the purpose of actually being able to fit my music on it. It's more the psychological aspect of using lossless on an portable device, than actually the real need of it though...

[garym]

Re: Volume change when converting FLAC to ALAC

Thanks for the tips, and I am surely aware of the great filesizes of ALAC, but as a proud owner of an iPod classic I think have about 160GB of storage. My music library is at 80-90GB, so there are no worries for me in that sort of way. I do not deny that I may have to change to another file type someday when my library gets too big. But I bought the iPod classic for the purpose of actually being able to fit my music on it. It's more the psychological aspect of using lossless on an portable device, than actually the real need of it though...

understand. :smile2: I'm thinking of my own library where I also have an ipod classic 160GB. But I have over 80,000 FLAC files (and I'm not done ripping my CDs yet either). So 160GB won't even hold my entire collection when I have a mirror library of ~192kbs mp3 files.....I still have to pick and choose and change occasionally.

edit: and use foobar2000 and the ABX component and ABX a few mp3 LAME -v2 files (about 192kbps) compared to FLAC lossless. This will allow you to rest easy with the thought of using lossy on your portables.

[margidowiggen]

Re: Volume change when converting FLAC to ALAC

80,000 FLAC files!? And that is not even all of them?! Good god, I can only wish for my collection to reach such a high amount one day. I've barely even begun!

[margidowiggen]

Re: Volume change when converting FLAC to ALAC

Is the ABX a sort of "plug-in" for testing the quality?

[garym]

Re: Volume change when converting FLAC to ALAC

Is the ABX a sort of "plug-in" for testing the quality?

Google abx test

Its a double blind test for comparing two versions of same track to see if you can reliably tell the difference.

And ive been buying albums since the 1960s and CDs since mid 1980s. So it adds up over time! 3 CDs a week for 30 years is almost 5000 CDs. And for much of the 1990s, I visited a used cd store after lunch everyday, so I was buying several used CDs EVERY DAY! I still pick up several CDs a week, although now mostly via online purchases. I have a friend who makes my collection look puny. It's an addiction. :D