MC11.0.316 ships (downloads) with a default setting of:
Playback Options > Audio Settings > Switch Tracks: Cross-fade (aggressive) -4s
Alex B's suggestion of using the "Gapless" setting did solve the problem with "Live at Leeds", thanks Alex
[P.S. MC11.0.316 comes with - Tools > Devices > Audio CD > Use Digitial Playback is checked (on)]
but this setting makes a recording such as Audioslave's self titled album skip the normal gap between songs, as one would expect from the term "gapless", making the playback sound rushed. the 'Gapless" setting, does not, in fact, present us with a playback option that plays the CD the way a CD player would.
experimenting with Audio Settings > Switch Tracks > Standard (gapped) - 4s to similate what seemed like the 4 second gap (rough calculation) one hears on a CD player or using Windows Media Player, between track #s 2 and 3 of Audioslave. the Standard setting requires the user to choose the number of seconds of silence to insert between tracks. if you then try to play the "Live at Leeds" album with this setting, the result is every track is trunkated by a seconds or two and 4 seconds of silence are placed between, which for this album is all wrong.
now, i do realize Playback Settings has an "Alternate Mode Settings" area, where one could store choices for gapless (for example) when playing an recording that is suited to that selection, but this misses my point.
why doesnt MC11 offer a setting that just plays the album as it would be played by a standard CD player - in other words - VANILLA? a user may choose to manipulate song gaps and silence for ripping purposes, but as i said in my original post, this should be built on standard normal playback of the CD. The Beatles, Yes, and other rock, electronic and jazz groups, and ofcourse much of classical recordings, have produced albums through the years often include tracks that segue into eachother, or seem to end with long gaps of silence only to start up again. take an album such as Abby Road side 2 for examples of all those features.
Jim H wrote:
It sounds like you have cross fade set for track switching. Please try some of the other options.
Did you try ripping the CD to see what happens when you play it from a hard disc?
i realize part of the purpsose of the MC product line is for taking cumbersome physical media (CDs, etc) and transforming them to more flexable formats where they can be organized into convienient and accessible libraries. the first step, before ripping a CD, is accurate playback. MC has to get that right first. there will be times when i will need/expect MC to just play a CD for me. will it be necessary for the user to anticipate MC settings for each individual CD in order for it to be played back normally? (by normally here, i mean how it would be played back by a CD player)
my apologies if i sound a bit rough trying to hammer home this point, but why cant i play a CD from begining to end with MC11 and have it sound like it does on any CD player, just as it was recorded and intended to be heard? in my mind, i should just have to hit PLAY to hear a classical or other gapless album, and standard tracked pop record, just as it would play anywhere else. no intervention should be required, as far as setting go. IF the user wanted to tweak the gaps or lengthen the duration of the silences, fine! added features are welcome and extra effort is expected.
the fact that MC offers a wide variety of tweaking flavors and options is a huge plus and will be useful. please dont get me wrong. but at the beginning, im looking for vanilla ... in this case vanilla CD playback. Jim H or anyone, can you direct me to it?
thanks again.
[edit - added digital playback setting info]
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Topic: MC11 CD playback: overaggressive track switching? (Read 1988 times)