Attempting To Normalize My Collection Using Mp3Gain, Sounds Ran Throug Options

[praeix]

Hey all,

Just a disclaimer - I'm new to using Mp3Gain and trying to learn more, so please bear with me if I'm misunderstanding the technical aspects of it...

My Mp3 collection is mostly Rock and Metal with some Classical and Electronica mixed in, so there are some major discrepancies in song volume between the genres. I read some stuff on Mp3Gain and it sounded like the least intrusive and overall best way of normalizing the volume. I then ran track analysis (and later album analysis) on all of the songs and I figured that 92db would be a pretty good level to compromise. So when I applied that level of gain to the collection (using Track Gain) and began listening, a lot of songs sound like they're ran through a compressor. In other words, let's say that the song starts out with an electric guitar riff, no other instruments playing and the volume level sounds like it's at 92db, when the rest of the band kicks in, it sounds as if it "sucks" the volume down to a lower level, similar to how a compressor behaves. If in the song, it goes to a single instrument again, then it seems to get louder and then sucks it back down when the band kicks in again.

Now I'm sure there's a better technical description of what's going on here, perhaps it's applying gain to the "valleys" in the volume to make it more equal throughout the song (although that's definitely NOT what I want), but I'm kind of in the dark on this and haven't been able to Google anything to help me find an answer. I just want to know what I'm doing wrong when applying the gain.

Another caveat to this, when I undid all of the gain changes in Mp3Gain and looked at the tag data, I saw that the APE and ID3v2 tags still had the Track and Album gain values in there. I also noticed that after undoing the gain, they still sound like they're compressed. Do I need to completely delete all of the ReplayGain and Mp3Gain values out of the tags and then delete the tag itself for it to return to normal?

Thanks in advance for any help that you're willing to throw my way and explain to this newbie what's going on.

praeix

[greynol]

We shouldn't be giving any credence to the idea that something may be broken.

The only true reasons behind the OP's experiences are not comparing before and after at the same volume level (if MP3Gain attenuated a track then the playback volume needs to be reduced by the same amount when the MP3Gain is undone!!!), Fletcher-Munson, specifically the way equal-loudness curves flatten with increasning level, different listening environments and expectation bias.

ReplayGain and MP3Gain do not in any way, shape or form apply compression. While clipping does cause a reduction in dynamic range, this cannot possibly happen if the adjustment being performed is attenuation which is certainly the case with the metal and rock tracks. I suppose another possibility is that a DRC plugin and palyback gain was configured in foobar2000. This would have to have been done by the user as it is absolutely not done by default and/or behind the scenes by the player.

Regarding RG tags coexisting with MP3Gain tags, whether the RG tags are right or wrong depends on when they were calculated. If they were calculated and added before MP3Gain made an adjustment then they will be right when the adjustment is undone. If they were calculated and added after MP3Gain made an adjustment then they are only correct for that particular adjustment. My guess, however, is that separate RG analysis was actually never done and as such RG tags were never written.

The OP should read about RG and MP3Gain from discussions and HA wiki articles before making further bogus claims about DRC or changes to EQ. Providing samples is not necessary. They are not going to support these claims.

This post has been edited by greynol: Nov 16 2012, 18:06