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Normalization methods for MP3 files?

N

Nebben

Senior member
I've heard of the normalizer programs that go through your entire MP3 collection and normalize the volume levels, but I'm a little weary of using them. If I understand correctly, you need to basically do everything at once in order to get the files all synced properly.

What if this screws my files up? I don't REALLY want to back it all up first. I'm probably worrying for nothing, but...

Any recommendations for the best way to do this? I've tried 'on the fly' plugins for Winamp and they don't seem to quite pull it off. They work somewhat, but they're not perfect. It often takes a bit until the next song is correctly normalized.

 
i think i outline what you fear HERE

Other than the issues I ask about in that thread, mp3gain does a good job with the "album" mode normalization.

mp3gain is HERE
 
Thanks, didn't see that thread.

I'm still a bit wary 🙁

I think there should be an industry standard volume level of some sort for producers to go by, that would at least stop this problem from continuing with future recordings.
 
Actually, from reading the FAQ for MP3Gain, it appears that you can easily revert to your original volume levels and thus there's no real concern with screwing up everything.

I think I'll take the plunge.

 
I agree with the "standards" thing.

If you're wary about using the program, you can run it in "analyze" mode (iirc) and see what it will do to the audio.
Typically, the only problem that comes up is clipping -- which I only get with mp3's I get from some other source than CDex.
"analyze" mode will show you if clipping is going to occur (or has already occured), before you commit it to alteration.

I've had the same paranoia... and backed up all my original mp3s before I started normalizing. But mp3gain has treated me well.
 
I've just been playing around with it a bit, and I am running into the clipping issue...

I'm not completely sure what clipping is, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's when the peak volume goes above a certain limitational point and you get, well, crappy audio?

Almost all of my MP3's are VBR made using EAC/Lame. Is this not the best method? Last I knew it was pretty much agreed upon that it was.

Not that it matters terribly, since my audio hardware sucks. But I'd like to get some nicer equipment someday, and I want to know the best way to go about doing things if I ever have the urge to rip all of my CDs again... *shudder*
 
The thing is that most of your music probably sounds fairly equal to each other even if they are not mathematically normalized. I would say just pick out the tracks that you can actually notice to be significantly louder or quieter than the rest, and normalize those only. That saves you time, and you run less chance of messing up a lot of files.
 
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