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Author Topic: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")  (Read 3607 times)

jmone

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I'm not clear where we ended up on this and what the recommended settings are.  I have the usual combinations of both:
Type 1 Traditional Albums - eg Std CD's where all the tracks are from one the Album and are tagged as "Artist/Album"
Type 2 "Mix" Tapes - eg Top 40 Compilations where the tracks are from different sources and are tagged as (Multiple Artists)

I'd like to have Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume work so that:
Type 1 Traditional Albums - inter track volume differences are preserved
Type 2 "Mix" Tapes - all tracks are played at the same level

This needs to be for both Audio and Music Video Clips.

I saw some discussions from last year that if the Type 2 "Mix" Tapes were tagged as (Multiple Atrists) or Varions Artists then the tracks would be leveled else it would be done on a per album basis.  If that is true great, but I tend to find on my Type 2 "Mix" Tapes I'm still reaching for the Vol Control to balance SPL.

Thanks
Nathan
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jmone

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2015, 03:51:00 pm »

Bump - any thoughts (or was the above Gibberish?)
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Arindelle

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2015, 02:45:56 pm »

if I'm following you Nathan, I thought that would be part of a zone switch tweek .. why dsp setting are by zone in audio options??. Doesn't seem to be explained anywhere though .. maybe I missed something in the summer but not sure anything has changed yet.

You aren't talking about the mix tape version automatically leveling any cd with Multiple or Various Artists in the Album Artist tag?? That would squash the dynamics on any compilation or soundtrack that was already mastered for different artists' tracks, wouldn't it?

On a smartlist from different albums or creating your own "Mixtape album" I want want you want  but I like the idea of keeping a choice to keep quieter songs quieter (why the two modes I thought). I was hoping for a change to zoneswitch so it could switch back and forth without stopping playback based on whether or not the current playing now has non-sequential tracks in it. You can sort of do this now, but without having different choices like only Volume Levelling or only VL+Adaptive. One to level everything, one to more or less keep the dynamics.

I end up having a lot of playlists with more than -20db corrections in levelling ... this is ok I guess, but I end up cranking up the volume and then going back to my "normal playing zone ... +20db can be a lot for my tweeters and/or neighbors, if you forget to turn things down :D.  I't would be cool if the JR pre-amp eq could adjust automatically, and then reset itself.  Can't see how to do that via the eq manually as you might have a -5db average or a -20db;  less of course if you use adaptive mode.

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blgentry

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2015, 03:08:44 pm »

Let's see if I understand what's supposed to happen with Volume Leveling enabled:

1.  Add several albums to Playing Now and shuffle them.  When played, all tracks should have Volume Leveling applied equally with no consideration of albums, as they are all shuffled.
2.  Add a full album, in order to this same mixed list of songs.  Now all of the original tracks from #1 will play Volume Leveled per song as before.  But when it gets to the new Album that is sequentially listed, Volume Leveling should be applied across the album as a whole, preserving track to track volume level differences.  So just one Volume Level adjustment applied to all of the tracks in that Album.
3.  Go back to #1.  Add 2 tracks from an album.  Say tracks 4 and 5 (sequential tracks).  When it gets to these tracks 4 and 5 how are they leveled?  Individually, or as a whole album?  I.E., one volume leveling for each track, or one volume leveling for the pair of tracks?

If #3 turns out to do volume leveling just like #1 (one per song), then simply shuffling your "mix tape" album should level the songs individually.

I have no idea what the answer is, but I've wondered how MC deals with #2 and #3 for a while now.  I think I'm right about #2, but I'm not totally sure.

Brian.
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Hendrik

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2015, 03:18:45 pm »

All 3 options would appear to be correct. It'll use album mode for any consecutive list of tracks from the same [Album] and [Album Artist (auto)] - they don't need to be sequential tracks either, just from the same Album (so instead of 4 and 5, it could be 3 and 7)
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Arindelle

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2015, 04:22:38 pm »

All 3 options would appear to be correct. It'll use album mode for any consecutive list of tracks from the same [Album] and [Album Artist (auto)] - they don't need to be sequential tracks either, just from the same Album (so instead of 4 and 5, it could be 3 and 7)
might not have gotten what jmone was on about then, but if it shifts for a couple of songs and goes in and out of album mode, this would explain why Nathan has to adjust the volume, wouldn't it? Also doesn't it make a difference using VL+adaptive/peak mode rather than just Volume leveling alone if keeping the sound level the same is the goal and rather than preserving the dynamics?
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jmone

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #6 on: August 26, 2015, 05:59:25 am »

Thanks to all for the feedback and did some testing in light of Hendrik's post & I think I get what is happening.  

Attached is a pic of a (Multiple Artists) music video Top "40" style album.  As you can see each track has been analysed and have different values yet if I watch the details in the DSP studio the adjustments for volume all remain identical and do NOT change between the tracks.  This seems to be the same for me regardless
- Album Artist is set to (Multiple Artists) or a single Artist
- If it is Audio or Video.

Conversely, If I have a mix of tracks with different Album names then the Vol adjustments do change but only when the Album changes between the tracks (sequential tracks keep the same vol adjustments).

... just as Hendrik says.

The problem - As my (Multiple Artist) compilations have the same Album Artist and Album name I'm getting "Album Mode" but.... as many of these are in fact from different sources the vol is not level and I have to keep reaching for the Vol control to manually adjust.

In looking at my collection of (Multiple Artists) I do have in fact a mix of:
- purchased (Multiple Artist) CD rips where keeping the vol adjustments the same over the Album makes sense but... more
- created (Multiple Artist) from different sources where I need the vol adjustments to be made on a track by track basis

I'm not sure there is an easy way out of this unless you can flag if you want track based or album based vol adjustments to be made but my preference would be Track Based for (Multiple Artist) if I could only have one.

Open to suggestions

Thanks
Nathan

Edit - another option would be to use the existing "Playback Info" field to tag tracks for Album or Track based vol adjustment
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jmone

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2015, 04:45:31 pm »

This subject has been touched on a few times last year.  eg:

Coming back to the custom mix albums that want track based leveling..

I don't think Album Type is something good to use, since its automatically handled and that might cause headaches.
On the other hand, I don't really like a on/off boolean option either (we don't even have a boolean type field, so it would end up being an integer, or a list field with 2 possible values)

This turns out to be a rather annoying issue.

... don't know that we progressed to a soln however...
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blgentry

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2015, 06:18:20 pm »

I misunderstood.  Your issue isn't with compilations that you've purchased?  It's only with the compilations that you've built for yourself?

Hmm.  One part of me says you are creating your own problem by "making albums".  Playlists were pretty much designed for this express purpose:  Grouping together songs in a way that the end user enjoys hearing together.  Would a playlist made from the original albums not solve your problem?

On the other hand, this is the Land Of JRiver where the Mighty Choices roam.  So you can do whatever you want.  :)  What benefit do you see from creating your own albums in this way?  Just curious; not trying to interrogate you.

Brian.
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jmone

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #9 on: August 27, 2015, 04:05:06 pm »

I could do that but I'd end up with 1,000s of single track albums in MC which is very messy.   
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blgentry

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #10 on: August 27, 2015, 04:08:02 pm »

Thousands?!?  Holy Wow.

I keep forgetting that I'm a little junior collector compared to a lot of you.  I only have ~300 full albums in my collection and less than 10 that are incomplete.

Brian.
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jmone

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Re: Q on Volume Levelling & Adaptive Volume (Albums vs Mix "Tapes")
« Reply #11 on: August 27, 2015, 04:15:02 pm »

I don't have many, say 9,000 tracks but 3,200 are (Multiple Artists) and I guess 2/3rds are in stuff like VA chart compilations like "2014 Top 100" etc
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