Does Bitrate Affect Volume?

[BILLY-THE-FISH]

Hi,

Got some albums encoded at 128kbps and some at 192kbps and Some of the 128's are louder than the 192's?
I did'nt encode these myself so I suppose it matters which encoder you use.
I just wondered if more Bitrate equals louder music?
Or is there a way to boost Mp3's?

Cheers

[sparsely]

like you said, billy, with the mp3's you have...it's probably caused by different encoders/settings. Honestly, I don't know how to boost the overall volume on mp3's, though I'm sure some programs do it quite easily.

As for the voluime during ripping/encoding...in EAC you can tell get an idea of what the volume is like from the .log file, or just by watching the status window while it's ripping.
You'll see it looks like this:

Track 2
Filename E:\Mp3 Rips\Grandaddy - Sumday (Special Bonus Edition) CD1 - 02 - I'm On Standby.wav

Peak level 99.8 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Copy CRC 1DFDE99E
Copy OK

where the Peak Level is the overall volume of the track. It usually doesn't vary that much, and should stay in the upper 90%.

[B.Helto]

Only if the encoding software you're using has the ability to do so, and then only if you set it to do so.

I always encode mp3s "as is", the way it was originally intended.

[Jg427]

Originally posted by B.Helto@31 July 2004 - 10:30


I always encode mp3s "as is", the way it was originally intended.

Probably a good idea for a complete album to retain the level of the songs as the artist intended, but for a collection of single songs or a mixed cd, I want the level to be near the same.

I use Mp3Gain to adjust the volume level.

MP3Gain does not just do peak normalization, as many normalizers do. Instead, it does some statistical analysis to determine how loud the file actually sounds to the human ear.
Also, the changes MP3Gain makes are completely lossless. There is no quality lost in the change because the program adjusts the mp3 file directly, without decoding and re-encoding.

[BILLY-THE-FISH]

Originally posted by Jg427+31 July 2004 - 16:49--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Jg427 @ 31 July 2004 - 16:49)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-B.Helto@31 July 2004 - 10:30


I always encode mp3s "as is", the way it was originally intended.

Probably a good idea for a complete album to retain the level of the songs as the artist intended, but for a collection of single songs or a mixed cd, I want the level to be near the same.

I use Mp3Gain to adjust the volume level.

MP3Gain does not just do peak normalization, as many normalizers do. Instead, it does some statistical analysis to determine how loud the file actually sounds to the human ear.
Also, the changes MP3Gain makes are completely lossless. There is no quality lost in the change because the program adjusts the mp3 file directly, without decoding and re-encoding.

[/b][/quote]
Cheers
is it a simple program to use?

[digmen1]

Billy

I use Foobar to play my MP3&#39;s it adjusts the gain of each Mp3 when it plays it making the level the same for all the songs. But it does NOT change the file.

Foobar is great, it has a clearer sound (to me) than Winamp and it has a better playlist system.

Regards

Digby

[BILLY-THE-FISH]

Originally posted by digmen1@31 July 2004 - 20:12
Billy

I use Foobar to play my MP3&#39;s it adjusts the gain of each Mp3 when it plays it making the level the same for all the songs. But it does NOT change the file.

Foobar is great, it has a clearer sound (to me) than Winamp and it has a better playlist system.

Regards

Digby

Thanks for advice Digmen1&#33;&#33;

[sparsely]

I&#39;LL HAVE NO MORE OF THIS BLASPHEMY&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

[Snee]

Originally posted by Sparsely@1 August 2004 - 01:38
I&#39;LL HAVE NO MORE OF THIS BLASPHEMY&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

I like the "don&#39;t speak english?" option, cunningly written in english.

[B.Helto]

Originally posted by Jg427+31 July 2004 - 11:49--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Jg427 @ 31 July 2004 - 11:49)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-B.Helto@31 July 2004 - 10:30


I always encode mp3s "as is", the way it was originally intended.

Probably a good idea for a complete album to retain the level of the songs as the artist intended, but for a collection of single songs or a mixed cd, I want the level to be near the same. [/b][/quote]
True. I was thinking in terms of mp3 files that I share. If I decide to edit or alter an mp3 in any way, I move it out of the shared folder.

BTW: For a mix CD, Try using CD architect where you can adjust the levels (or equalization) of each individual track without altering the source mp3. It also works great for crossfading.