I'm using MP3Gain to normalize the volume on my tunes. I love it. However, it seems like every track is above the clipping level before being normalized. They sound fine to me though. What exactly does clipping sound like? What should I be looking for?

Thanks.

clipping sounds like really really bad distortion basically.. youll know if your songs are clipping. its similar to when you turn the music up to loud for your speakers to handle. normalizing your volumes to 0 db peak will remove any clipping (although audio loss may already have happened), rms volume is more tricky because its an average of the entire song

Since you're already using MP3Gain, you can try this little experiment to hear some really horrible clipping:

Make a copy of an mp3. (Actually the copy isn't really necessary, since MP3Gain changes are lossless, but it makes people feel safer).

Use the "Constant Gain" feature in MP3Gain to crank up the gain by +12dB.

Just for fun, pump it up by another +12dB, for a total of +24dB.

Now play that mp3 file. That is an extreme case of clipping.

At this point you can either delete the copy, or use Constant Gain again to push the volume back down by -24dB (-12dB twice), just to prove to yourself that MP3Gain changes are lossless.

On a smaller scale, clipping is often described as a "scratchy" or "crackly" sound at the loudest parts of the song. Maybe you could try pumping up the gain on an mp3 just a little past the clipping point and see if you can hear it.

-Glen

yup...


about clipping.. one also should warn about the possebility
to damage loudspeakers..
(if you burn directly from a mp3)

i don`t think the components in cd/amp.. are to happy.. with extreme clipping
either...