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More => Old Versions => Media Jukebox => Topic started by: latinbone on March 10, 2009, 12:57:23 am

Title: why does music go down real low when volume level is press
Post by: latinbone on March 10, 2009, 12:57:23 am
hello can someone tell me why the music i'm playing goes down real low when i press the volume level in dsp. also when i go to burn a disc will the music come out low like that. i just want to do a simple click of a button and level my songs out when burning my cd, can someone please give me step by step help, like i said i'm a musicmatch jukebox fan and all you had to do was put a check in the box where it said volume level and it did the rest, why is this so complicated in here. help please because if i can't level my songs then i can't use this software.

thank you
Title: Re: why does music go down real low when volume level is press
Post by: JimH on March 10, 2009, 07:11:37 am
Try switching your playback options between DirectSound and Wave Out.  Try other playback options.

Volume leveling isn't applied to CD burning unless you burn a WAV file first.  Search the forum and our wiki for more info.  Search for "replay gain" also.
Title: Re: why does music go down real low when volume level is press
Post by: latinbone on March 17, 2009, 05:04:52 am
i just wanted to know when i burn my cd's will the songs play at the same level or almost the same level. how do i accomplish this task.
Title: Re: why does music go down real low when volume level is press
Post by: Doof on April 09, 2009, 11:41:36 am
Very simplistic explanation:

Volume leveling works by making every song in the playlist play at the same volume level. In order to do this, it has to adjust the volume of each file so that they all reach the same level. The only safe way to do that is to move the volume of everything down to a specific level. If it moved it up, then you'd run into clipping problems and many songs would sound like crap. I forget what target db the ReplayGain specifies, but it's most often quieter than the normal volume of most music produced today. So while it sounds quieter than without volume leveling turned on, the end result is that all of you music plays back at the same volume and all you really have to do is turn the volume up on your speakers to make up the difference.

If you want a more detailed explanation, google the terms/phrases "ReplayGain" and "loudness war". I think those two topics will pretty much cover it.
Title: Re: why does music go down real low when volume level is press
Post by: Alex B on April 09, 2009, 12:45:38 pm
Step by step

1. Preparation

Analyze your music files. Auto-importer does this automatically by default (it is possible to disable the "analyze" option).

Some of your files may already have compatible replay gain tags. These files will not be analyzed anymore.

To make sure that all files are analyzed you can select all files and start the analyzer tool: right-click > Library Tools > Analyze Audio...  The tool will analyze only previously unanalyzed files (by default). This is a rather heavy task because the analyzer decodes the files and measures the volume levels. You may want to do it when you don't need your PC for other taks. Once done the measured values are stored in the library and also in the file tags when possible.

2. Playback

After the files are analyzed you can use the Volume Leveling feature properly. You can select Track or Album Replay Gain and also adjust the volume level.

The "Automatic based on current playlist" adjustment setting works nicely if you always have lots of tracks in the Playing Now list.

If you usually have only one or maybe a couple of tracks in the PN list the automatic setting does not work well. You may want to try the "Fixed" setting instead in case you want to raise the average volume level. As Doof said, the played files may produce clipping distortion when the volume is raised too much, but you can keep the Overflow Handling setting set to "Clipping Prevention" and it will reduce the volume level automatically when needed.

3. Audio CD burning

You can use your favorite volume leveling settings when you burn Audio CDs. The options are in the burn window: Options > Burn settings > Cross-fade and DSP settings > DSP Studio > Volume Leveling.