normalizing volume for entire collection for iPod playback?

[scabble]

Hello, all- newb here. I have looked through the forums for help on this subject, but found no exact matches. It is possible I am simply a moron who is unable to find the answers. Help this moron, please.

I recently transferred my entire music library from my old Mac to my (less old) PC and it seems that the volume levels of my songs are all over the place. While still using the Mac, I used iVolume, which did a pretty good job with volume normalization- easy to use, too. Because of this I also know that all songs had ID3 tags, but now the levels are off.

I use iTunes to manage my library and lists. I play the iPod in my car using a headphone-jack-to-cassette cable, so the iPod volume setting is sort of a pre-amp/gain for the sound system.

I want to batch process all the mp3 files in my collection so that there is a consistent volume from song to song, and I want to do it in a way that least demands per file adjustments post processing. My library is a huge collection of mp3s that have come from a lot of different places, so there is no universal encoder used and sound quality varies quite a bit from song to song.

What I am looking for is step-by-step instructions (for dummies) that will tell me how to do this. I don't pretend I understand even half of what this software can do. I don't care if it takes 100 steps as long as I can make it happen. I also don't care if it take several days to process. I just want to stop adjusting the volume for every freaking song before I go mad or die in a fiery car crash.

I am a total newb with dbpowerAMP. I have figured out how to use the file selector to pick my collection and queue up a mass coversion that ALSO does the normalization with power pac, but I have also seen other options mentioned here on the forums regarding fidelity, bit rate conversions, silence, different types of ID tags, different methods for volume analysis, etc.

My life would seriously be enriched by some assistance. :komisch12

[xoas]

Re: normalizing volume of entire collection for iPod playback?

While I don't have time to do a rigorous walk-through, I will try to outline one way to accomplish what you want using dMC. Briefly, what I am recommending is that you sort your mp3 files by bitrate and convert them to mp3 files of the same bitrate with volume normalization added.

Briefly, browse your music folders in Windows Explorer and use Windows Explorer to show arrange these files by bitrate.
Select groups of files of similar bitrate, right-click and select "Convert To". This will open up dBpowerAMP Music Converter (dMC). Select mp3 as your output format. Select the same bitrate setting as the files are already in (a smaller bitrate setting will reduce quality, a larger bitrate will increase file size, you may lose a little quallity in this process but but this should be negligible in terms of changes you can actually detect).
Click on DSP effects and select the Volume Normalize dsp. Select Simple Normalization and set the normalization somewhere between 95% to 100%.
DO NOT select the option to Delete Source Files After Conversion. You want to first make sure your converted files are the way you want them. Then you can delete your original files.
Now proceed with your conversion.

Note that volume normalization works by boosting the volume of quiet sections of quiet tracks. It will not lower the volume of loud tracks (volume quieten will do this).

When volume normalization is applied, it affects the audio properties of the file regardless of the player being used. It sounds like iVolume is similar to a related PC feature supported only on some players called ReplayGain where the volume normalization is stored in the file tag (preserving the original audio properties of the file but allowing normalization to be applied to playback as long as your player supports ReplayGain).

Some users have also advocated using a program called Mp3Gain that is devoted solely to volume normalization of mp3 files on PC's. I have not had personal experience with this program but it has been highly recommended by some.

Best wishes,
Bill

[scabble]

Re: normalizing volume for entire collection for iPod playback?

I have downloaded MP3gain but haven't tried it yet. I did try Mp3gain for Mac but the results were extremely inconsistent, and in many cases exaggerated problems- quiet songs became more quiet, loud songs more loud.

iVolume was great, and made a noticeable improvement to the entire collection. It is very easy to use because it integrates with iTunes, allowing you to highlight what you want processed from within the iTunes pane and launch the process. It also indicates which files have problems due to ID tags (but doesn't help you select them). It DOES store the info in the ID tag, which is then used by the iPod by enabling "Sound Check" (which is crap by itself.) But iVolume is Mac only.

I have read different things about "sound check." Some say it auto adjusts levels (badly) but others say it only refers to the volume setting in the ID tag. All I know is that it worked great with iVolume.

Since the sound levels are now inconsistent, I suspect there are inconsistencies with how iTunes for Mac and Windows deal with the tag info, and am unclear what the best setup is. I did a reformat when I switched to the PC and don't know if anything changed.

I do know many of the files in my library have clipping.

Would it be better to run the lot with just normalization, or would it make more sense to run both the normalize AND the quieten filter? If I run both, which should I set first? I can see the benefit of standardizing the bit rate as step 1, but should I bump up to 24 bit, run the filter(s), then bump back down? I've figured out just enough to confuse myself.

I know the obvious answer is "try it and see" but as I said I have a lot of songs. 10,000+ of radically different styles, and qualities. I want to know the best general settings to run so that I won't have to do any per file adjustments, and sample lots don't cover the whole.

[xoas]

Re: normalizing volume for entire collection for iPod playback?

I would not bother with bumping up to 24 bit and bumping down again. I doubt you will see any difference but you will slow down your conversion.

I am non-conversant with iTunes for Windows (or Mac, for that matter). Perhaps another user could advise whether there is a similar feature for Windows along the lines of iVolume for the Mac. I have read that there can be some problems with using iPod Mac files with PC iPods but again I am not especially conversant on this issue either. I would doubt that the Mac iVolume tag data will be useful for a PC based iPod/iTunes set-up, but I really don't know for sure. Perhaps another user who has experience with iPod and iTunes could provide some advice.

If you have any files with clipping, the Volume Quieten DSP cannot correct the actual clipping in the original file. Personally, I would recommend just applying Volume Normalization and apply Volume Quieten only to whatever tracks seem way too loud. Either feature by itself will somewhat reduce the dynamic range of the original file and both together will do so even more.

My only other tip would be to use the same Volume Normalization setting for all of your files. I usually use 100% (on those occasions where I use this DSP). This should not produce clipping (or additional clipping) for even your loudest tracks. It will minimally affect loud tracks.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,
Bill

[scabble]

Re: normalizing volume for entire collection for iPod playback?

Thanks for the help Xoas