Hi all,

I was wondering if there is a possibility to prevent clipping in Ogg-files without using VorbisGain. If I understood it correctly, VorbisGain inserts tags into the file which have to be interpreted by the decoder, but since I want to play the music on my iRiver portable, that is not an option.
What I'm looking for is a simple solution to the problem like the one Mp3Gain offers for MP3 files. I don't know how much of an issue the clipping with Ogg really is, I just noticed that on some of my CDs the output on the iRiver is always pretty much on maximum, and if I encode these CDs with lame aps, I get a lot of clipping... Any ideas on this topic? Do I have to worry about my encoded files? And if yes, how can I fix that?

You can use wavegain before encoding:
http://rarewares.org/others.html

That is irreversable though.
I don't think there is any tool like mp3gain that modifies the file and is still reversible.

edit: reversable --> irreversable

OK, but I guess I can't know if the encoded file will have clipping or not, right? I.e. I'll have to chose a "save" volume (89dB?) and need good faith... And I suppose I'll need to write some batch file for doing all these things, or does EAC (or any other ripper program) offer a pre-processing commandline before the actual encoding?

For those who want to know:

Technically it is possible (for floor1-encoded Vorbis files) but its granularity is worse and is much more complicated compared to MP3. For "current" Vorbis files the gain can be adjusted with a granularity of 2.2 dB (worst case: 6,6 dB). All floor curves have to be completely re-encoded with another offset. (Just changing the first 2 Y-values of the curve does not work in all cases)

bye,
Sebastian

For my DAP, I replaygain the files with album gain before I encode so each album is replaygained and at a similar volume level. This allows, 1.) You'll not introduce clipping to your converted Vorbis files, and 2.)all of your music on your DAP will be at a similar volume level and will not blast your ears from album to album. This is not reversible but for a portable solution I find it works the best. I use foobar2000 for all of the encoding and replaygaining processes as well.