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Topic: How to Normalize audio in the best way (Read 5377 times) previous topic - next topic
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How to Normalize audio in the best way

Hi to all folks.
I just finished to records some tracks (in .wav and .aiff @44KHz) for another my project. The album will contains several tracks of different genre (to electronic/dark ambient and piano, to rock and symphonic melodies) so each of them has dynamics and different values (in tones, transients, and in generally in sounds and effects) that represent the main problem.
Another difficulty is that I used two different daw in my production (Reason 7 and Cubase 7), so some tracks comes from different workflows and different approaches. Even if I have try to preserve a standard value in output, some peak, rms, dynamic range and dB are inevitable different.

So I have some tracks with a low mood (eg. a piano suite song) with others more loudy (eg. a rock song).
The question is: How I can normalize/leveler the dB preserving the dynamics of the tracks? I dont' know what is the standard for commercial CDs maybe near 90 or 100 dBs?
I'm not a professional, I'm not an audiophile, I just want to give to the listener good alternative music to hear and to enjoy with it.

I used "Levelator 2" on mac, but the algorithm don't work for me because it's just apply a leveling between the high and low ranges of the track, so I lost the mood and the music results unlistenable, unbalanced, with huge unevenness of audio level (despite this utility prevent the clipping).

I used Foobar2000 with "ReplayGain" and this is the responce
(I don't have apply the values because I need the help from you first)
I don't know the main differences between album gain or track gain, so I ask you what's the best way (check the other infos below too) 



I used Foobar2000 with "Dynamic Range Meter" and those are the values (but I don't know understand it so well).
Well I know there are many discrepancies from left and right; this because many tracks are made with some effects that tends to surround the audience (eg. some thunders coming from our left) so it's quite naturally that in some song there is more audio level on the left rather than right (or viceversa).

http://www.takusama.com/media/DRM.txt
PS: generally I use even an utility called "Toscanalyzer" that seems to be very similar to DRM with graphics and oscilloscopes.

I used "WaveGain" to analyze my tracks and see the differences in each song in peak and gain terms
(I don't have apply the values because I need the help from you first)



This is my settings for WaveGain... can you explain to me the option I marked in red? I can't find a guide to this app.



I prefer do it to the .wav format rather than in .mp3 with "Mp3Gain" because Mp3Gain alter the file (I checked it with a program called "Mp3Test" and it says 0.01% of errors probably made by the gain - maybe some bits of the file are modified by Mp3Gain I dunno...).

Thank to everyone who helps me!

Have a nice day... of music.
The Reasoner at Takusama.com

Emitremmus - the Wise

How to Normalize audio in the best way

Reply #1 –
I think if you use Wavegain, with Radio Gain (not album gain) but leave all the other settings as they are, you will get something close to the result you want.

track/radio again adjusts each track separately. album/audiophile gain adjust all tracks on an album by the same amount. That second option isn't going to help your unfinished album where the different tracks need changing by different amounts.

Cheers,
David.


How to Normalize audio in the best way

Reply #2 –
Hi David,
Dithering and No Clipping Prevention OFF, make me crazy... I don't know if is correct set it OFF I've fear about the clipping coming out.

Thanks for your interest.
The Reasoner at Takusama.com

Emitremmus - the Wise

How to Normalize audio in the best way

Reply #3 –
The second track will clip, but I think that's the only one, though it is the only one I calculated.

You should dither.

It should be obvious to try different things and keep a back-up copy.

Instead of wavegain, use foobar2000. It uses a newer loudness algorithm.

How to Normalize audio in the best way

Reply #4 –
Quote from: greynol on
The second track will clip, but I think that's the only one, though it is the only one I calculated.

You should dither.

It should be obvious to try different things and keep a back-up copy.

Instead of wavegain, use foobar2000. It uses a newer loudness algorithm.


Hi greynol,
yep I always dither (my exported .wav and .aiff have dither), but I don't know if I have to reapplicate it and if I have to choose from low, medium or high dithering.

Anyway, I just apply the "ReplayGain" track by track in Foobar2000 to use the new algorythm ?? How I can prevent the clipping issue with Foobar2000?
Thanks a lot to all who try to help me.

PS: my Foobar2000 version is 1.2.9. And yep, I always have the original .wav and .aiff exported song as backup
The Reasoner at Takusama.com

Emitremmus - the Wise

How to Normalize audio in the best way

Reply #5 –
Quote from: emitremmus on
Anyway, I just apply the "ReplayGain" track by track in Foobar2000 to use the new algorythm ??
There is no option to use the old one. And you can just run it once in track mode, not individually per track, if that was what you meant.

Quote
How I can prevent the clipping issue with Foobar2000?
It’s right there in the options:


Obviously these options cannot remove clipping that already existed. They simply prevent the calculated gain from pushing the new, RGd stream over 0 dB/FS.

How to Normalize audio in the best way

Reply #6 –
Many thanks dudes.
Just onedoubt :What if I decided to burn replaygained waves files to an AudioCD, I'll get the .wav gained or just only the original ones? (I say this because I don't know if the gain information are inside the file or are stored in the log...) 

PS: Yep the track .wav I analyzed would be without any clip (I tried to prevent that in mastering step)... anyway I'll try your suggestion. Many thanks!
The Reasoner at Takusama.com

Emitremmus - the Wise

How to Normalize audio in the best way

Reply #7 –
Quote from: emitremmus on
What if I decided to burn replaygained waves files to an AudioCD, I'll get the .wav gained or just only the original ones? (I say this because I don't know if the gain information are inside the file or are stored in the log...)
If you apply RG using the context menu in the playlist, the adjustments are stored as tags and do not affect the physical audio. If you apply RG using the Converter, the resulting files have the adjustments made before writing, i.e. they are physically altered in level. So, if you wanted to burn a CD with the new levels, you would have to create processed WAVs first, or use a burner that supports on-the-fly adjustment such as foo_burninate. Anyway, to which log are you referring?

How to Normalize audio in the best way

Reply #8 –
Quote from: db1989 on
Quote from: emitremmus on
What if I decided to burn replaygained waves files to an AudioCD, I'll get the .wav gained or just only the original ones? (I say this because I don't know if the gain information are inside the file or are stored in the log...)
If you apply RG using the context menu in the playlist, the adjustments are stored as tags and do not affect the physical audio. If you apply RG using the Converter, the resulting files have the adjustments made before writing, i.e. they are physically altered in level. So, if you wanted to burn a CD with the new levels, you would have to create processed WAVs first, or use a burner that supports on-the-fly adjustment such as foo_burninate. Anyway, to which log are you referring?


Okay, I understand.
I done .mp3 coverting and applying the ReplayGain in the Processing window.
for the AudioCD I think to use foo_burninate to burn from .wav applying the ReplayGain.

The logs was from ReplayGain but never interest the files... I misunderstood it ^^

Thanks again friend, if I've news I'll appear again
The Reasoner at Takusama.com

Emitremmus - the Wise

How to Normalize audio in the best way

Reply #9 –
I forgot to mention (while giving you the quickest and easiest solution) that the "best" way to do this is by using your ears and your audio editor.

Cheers,
David.