Home Forums Peripherals & Multimedia iTunes, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Apple TV volume control itunes.

OS 10.5.8

I know itunes has volume control to a certain extent when burning CDs but it isn't that great.

Can anyone recommend a software that does a really good job?

jaybass

iVolume is the only one i've used, and i liked it enough to register ($30).
You'll need to turn Sound Check on everywhere (iTunes, CD burning, iPod, etc.).
It can be tested without paying, but it'll only tweak a few songs at a time.


It used to function for burning back in vers. 3 or 4.
Some later version killed it (idunno which).

If only Sound Check would work properly (accurately) we wouldn't need iVolume. Unfortunately, Apple is turning iTunes into a toy for teeny-boppers instead of a tool for technicians. [it should have an option in the prefs to let pro-users access the 'iTunNORM' tag, without having to pay for shareware like iVolume.]

Hal,
I have just downloaded the iVolume demo.

If it's as good as it reads, then I will buy the software.

Thanks for that info.

jaybass

Hal,
I purchased that ivolume and ran it through my itunes.

I then installed a new CD and inadvertently ran ivolume again.

It went through all of itunes and I noticed it was making adjustments on previous adjustments.

Why would it do that?

Is there a way of reversing the whole procedure?
Couldn't find anything in the manual.

I haven't yet burnt a CD but I'm going to later today.
I image it will be okay

Question: The sliders to the right of each itune are either
plus or minus. Does an increased plus sign denote a higher
sound?

jaybass

It's up to the user to create additional "groups" (on the left side), and move tracks that are already tweaked out of the Default group. [the Default group cannot be deleted, and that's where newly added songs will appear.]

For example, i created the following groups in my setup:

mp3 done
m4p done
m4p UNTWEAKED
m4a done
adjustments

[obviously those were tailored to my personal workflow... create whatever works best for you.]

The idea is this: once iVolume has tweaked a bunch of tracks, drag them out of the Default group into whatever group you feel they best belong. The next time you rip a CD or download music from iTunes, only those new tracks will show up in the Default group [where they can be processed via the Start button.]

Note to all: through no fault of iVolume, protected music (.m4p) cannot be auto-tweaked by iVolume. But... we can still do those manually by mousing the slider in iVolume.

Also note: each group can have its own prefs as far as how iVolume behaves (with respect to the Start button and/or manual adjustment ability, etc). It may seem confusing at first... but that complexity is the price of maximum flexibility.



No way. [and -- as far as i'm concerned -- no need.]



Yes. Even for negative numbers.
E.g., -3db is louder than -9db.

Hal,

Thanks for the enlightenment.

I shall be more careful from now on.

jaybass

I've ran into a problem with ivolume.

I deleted some albums and re-installed them and then converted them to MP3s.
I then used ivolume (one album at a time) and I noticed that the decibel adjustments were the same for each album.
eg. All Al martino's songs are -0.5 and all Sarah brightman's
are -3.4 and so on.
My settings were "Adjust automatically" & "Combine albums"
Any ideas?

jaybass

Which part is the problem? [i don't know what you were expecting to happen.]

Also -- since i have so few (full) albums -- i've never used [or wanted to use] that 'Combine Albums' setting. So i'm not 100% sure what to expect either... but i see nothing surprising in your results there. Have you tried contacting the program's author? I'm sure he'll be more than happy to satisfy any paid customer.

The problem is that on any given album, all the adjustments are the same as I explained. I don't think that should be.

Even if I had installed a partial album, I'm sure the adjustments would be the same.
Very few tunes or songs have the same audio output, that is my point.
I was hoping you would be conversant with the settings.

However, since your reply, I have contacted the author.

I will keep you posted on their answer because I think there will be others out there like myself who could interested.
jaybass

Why not? That's practically the definition of 'Combine Albums'.

If you want each song within the album adjusted separately (as i prefer), then -- appropriately enough -- the 'Adjust Each Song Separately' setting is what's needed.

Also, looking at numbers is secondary compared to "what does it *sound* like". [which you didn't mention]

P.S. the user guide/documentation is online, but can be saved to disk via Safari.
    I highly recommend perusing the <website>, and downloading any useful info.

Thank you for your reply.
The setting "Adjust each song automatically" was the culprit.
It is now doing what it should be doing.
I didn't mention what the tunes sounded like only because even if they sounded okay (which they did) I knew that the decibels should different.
Anyway you have solved my dilemma and I thank you.
jaybass