Hey!

If there is anyone around here with mastering knowledge, I wonder if you could help me out please.
Basically what I would like to do is the following:
I have a compilation that I made, which is kinda cool to listen to, but it's rather annoying that all tracks are at very different volume levels. One songs goes on a level, call it normal, the next song is very quiet, then normal again, then very loud, and it kinda ruins the mood of the CD. So what I'd like to do is make them to be on the same volume level without losing quality if possible.
I have the songs in FLAC, would like to keep them lossless.
First of all: is it possible? The tracks are obviously mastered already, but can you use a mastering software or something to get it done?
Thanks!

there are software that can normalize the volume when burning! Try this one http://www.poikosoft.com/ might work, might not!

FOR THE TECHIES (Neorev .... etc) - AND FOR ALL WHO CARE

The lossless / hi-res audio discussion leads me to post some stuff, all relating to the PLAYBACK of hi-res music, I agree that PRODUCING music can be done at 24bit/192kHz.

So let's go - what does 24bit/192kHz mean anyway?

We're talking about bit depth (24bit) and sampling rate (192kHz)

Bit depth: Number of bits of information per sample

24bit = 16,777,216 "steps" / sample

Each bit gives you 6 db. So 24bit * 6 = 144 dB = Dynamic Range (most silent to most loud sound) - be aware that the human ear has a pain threshold at ~130dB , everything above is no fun to listen to anymore. Classic Orchestra music is said to have the highest Dynamic Range ... which is about 60-80 dB. Pop music, and electronic music might have even a lower Dynamic Range at about 15 dB (remember, that is not the loudness of sound, but the difference between highest and lowest sound)

you see the difference in dynamic range here clearly:

https://documentation.apple.com/en/finalcutpro/usermanual/index.html#chapter=52%26section=5%26tasks=true

Sampling rate: The number of digital samples taken of an audio signal each second

192kHZ: 1 kHz = 1000 samples/second, 192 kHz = 192.000 samples/second

The human ear can hear sound ~ between 20hz and 20kHz

Nyquist Theorem: For lossless digitization, the sampling rate should be at least twice the maximum frequency responses - So the 44,1 kHz Sampling Rate of a CD is more than twice as the highest audible sound (20kHz) which should be quite sufficient for a good quality recording.

The theoretical 144 dB Dynamic Range and 192kHz are also limited by your hardware at home:

Signal-to-noise Ratio (SNR): The range in dB your hardware is able to play without noticable noise .. good amplifiers or digital audio converters may have an SNR up to max. 120-125 dB.

Good Speakers my have a frequency response up to 30-40 kHz.


If it comes to listening to hi-res music , some might hear differences between 44,1khz 16bit music and 192khz/24bit music, but there is still no empiric evidence. Hi-Res music might sound "clearer, broader, wider, deeper" or any other attribute you can think of.

Yay!
Another techie!
Welcome!

Well not really, I just found it interesting to dig a little deeper what the hi-res specs actually mean, then I came across some technical/human limits regarding the ability to hear sound beyond some thresholds

Yeah I read those too

But for me, with lossless it's not about hearing unheard frequencies...
It's about hearing the changes MP3 compression does to audio.
There's no hidden sounds or anything, it's hearing the degradation of what MP3 does to certain frequencies.

Especially the overall effect that gives a track its atmosphere/room sound/feels like it occupies a space
This sorta stuff gets choked out.

I think everyone can actually hear it, it's just your casual music listener doesn't have the vocabulary to understand that difference
I believe with guidance, showing comparisons, and pointing out what to listen for anyone can hear it.

Most people don't give lossless a chance, all they listen to is MP3..
Go pure lossless for a month straight... absolutely zero MP3 or any lower quality whatsover for that whole month
Really listen and experience the music, listen to all of its aspects
Then go back to MP3 and say that you don't hear the difference... I bet everyone would
It's like those folks that try and say they don't see any difference between DVD and Blu-ray
Then once all you watch is Blu-ray and then you go back DVD, you can see the difference.

But now .. listen:

What do you think about people who play their vinyl records on a good hi-fi system?

Have you also compared this great sound to digital lossless ? I prefer analog vinyl to anything else ... I just like the feeling of putting a record on

Did you hear about Direct Stream Digital (DSD)?

That provides sampling rates of up to 5,6Mhz (64 times of the 44,1 khz sampling rate)

KORG has some nice devices:
http://www.korg.com/us/products/audio/ds_dac_100m/

Haven't heard DSD yet... I'm new to that

But as for vinyl, vinyl isn't about quality at all... it's about preference.
Vinyl is never going to match the quality of lossless

You can use the same master that you used for lossless for vinyl...
With vinyl, you must cut certain low and high frequencies in order for it to press properly.
Must the physical needle moving along the grooves creates a harmonic distortion that's pleasing to our ears
This is where the "warmth" of vinyl all comes from... it has nothing to do with audio quality but the alteration/coloring of sound
Plus vinyl adds noise, clicks, and pops that was never heard or intended for in the studio

So as much as I love vinyl, I would go with hi-res lossless
Because I want my audio to be the closest you can get to what was heard in the studio

In a way, vinyl is similar to MP3 as in the music had to be altered to work as that format and high and low frequencies had to be sacrificed
I know vinyl lovers are going to hate me for that statement

But in terms of audio quality, it's MP3 < Vinyl (only cuz harmonic distortion in pleasing the ear) < CD/16 bit < SACD < 24 bit hi-res/Blu-ray

Actually here's a portable music player that can play up to 32/384 and DSD files...

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/geek ... sic-player

And I'm guessing DSD is gonna be even more insane.

I hear you... but regardless of the maybe inferior quality of vinyl compared to lossless... I just like to have this analogue listening experience...

Right now I am looking for a new integrated amp... The DSD thing is new to me as well... but maybe thats as close to the original as it gets?

This new Yamaha amp has Phono port and DSD128 via USB as well, so I could play both, my Vinyls and digital lossless:

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hifi-components/amps/a-s801/

OOOOOOOOH.... that amp looks nice

Now I gotta study up on this DSD stuff

If only we could make vinyl size Blu-rays that hold 24 bit audio that we have load onto a player and set the lazer reader...
Then it would be like vinyl, CD, HD lossless all rolled up into one

You know "Pure Audio BluRay" ?



http://www.pureaudio-bluray.com/

i knew Blu-ray could handle up to 24/192... i just never heard of "Pure Blu-ray" audio.
i wonder what 4K is going to bring, i know we will be seeing 4K players soon.
i'm curious how different they are, obviously the image quality upgrade is frigging amazing with 4K (witnessed 4K firsthand), but i wonder if audio is any different.

i had this crazy idea for my next musical project, i wanted to do a Blu-ray release...
full immersive audio/visual experience... choice of surround sound/stereo mixes with accompanying visuals with the music.

What kind of music do you produce, and which equipment do you use?

I tried not just one time to produce a track in Ableton... but I could not get into the details enough to really understand the software and exploit all its possibilities... I did some DJing 10 years ago and recently just did dome digital djing and upload my mixes on soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/soundwaves

Following ya
I make music under the alias NEOREV

I do kinda aggressive electronic music, style has changed over the years.
My first album was an homage to warehouse rave music that I grew up on, then I moved into darker, more bass oriented stuff, and then I started collaborating with different vocalists from other genres to kinda open my head up musically.
Performed around where I live at raves and festivals, but took a break from it all in 2014.

all of my stuff is available for free d/l at http://neorev.bandcamp.com (from newest to oldest)

Like with each release, I move into a different direction. Only just begun working on a new album, still at the experimenting stage.

I use Ableton, love it... I started off with Fruity Loops, then incorporated Reason... but I switched to Ableton in 2011.
It really helped my workflow, get things down quicker and I've used it ever since.
Use a lot of Native Instruments software and Arturia stuff with Ozone for mastering.
I got some hardware as well.

Moving to a new place on April 15th, so I gotta break my studio down and move it. Ugh.

Nice stuff on your bandpage site !

The Switch with It was July is fantastic!

Where do you move to ?

Can't you do an Ableton Bootcamp with me? I always wanted to produce music but never did the extra step.