I never cared about this until recently when I've tried to download the loudest versions possible for my ipod, but I realized how quiet cds made in the late 80s are. I'm talking about when the cd itself was manufactured, not the music. This counts for Greatest Hits collections too, they have louder sound than the studio albums the songs came from if it's from some years later.

From listening closely in the past couple months, I'd say they start getting a little louder by about 1993 or 94 to where it's tolerable alongside new ones. 1999 cds are basically as good as today, just not quite as loud. Probably by like '03 it sounds exactly like a brand new one. Has anyone noticed this stuff?

One thing that's pretty cool about, say a remastered studio album or a new greatest hits collection of 80s music (or earlier) is that's how it would sound if it were released today. :)

I've noticed it.  One thing I've also noticed is sometimes the conversion of newer CDs to mp3 is almost too loud, distorting some of the sound.

^ Oh yeah, I get that all the time when I'm getting songs off limewire, lol. I wonder if they'll ever get any louder. I don't think they can really get better quality. ;)

I've noticed it also.  When I rip a CD that was made in the 80s or even the early 90s, I have to use a program to increase the volume of the tracks just so they are the same loudness to match the other songs in my ZUNE.  It's a pain in the ass, but the program I use does it quite easily and quickly.

I've noticed it also.  When I rip a CD that was made in the 80s or even the early 90s, I have to use a program to increase the volume of the tracks just so they are the same loudness to match the other songs in my ZUNE.  It's a pain in the ass, but the program I use does it quite easily and quickly.



Oh nice, I didn't even know that was possible. What program is it? Yeah, I hate how they're mismatched, especially if you turn a pre-1993ish cd song up and then a new one comes on hella loud. ;D

Oh nice, I didn't even know that was possible. What program is it? Yeah, I hate how they're mismatched, especially if you turn a pre-1993ish cd song up and then a new one comes on hella loud. ;D


Freeware program called Mp3 Trimm.  You just open the mp3 file, and you can increase the volume of the song in just seconds

Freeware program called Mp3 Trimm.  You just open the mp3 file, and you can increase the volume of the song in just seconds


Mp3trim is a great tool for normalization, but mp3trim can't bring back what wasn't there in the first place.  The problem with the Loudness War is that the dynamic range in question was never on the original CD from which the MP3 was ripped, and cannot, therefore, be present in any MP3 representation of the CD's contents.  The bits just aren't there.  (If the source is 16-bit/44KHz -- sure, you could use the whole range of 0000-FFFF(65535) -- but the recording engineer wanted it to sound LOUD, like a commercial on TV, so he only used the upper 12-13 bits of the 16 that were available to him.)

I've gotten used to it - mp3trim's still a great tool for turning low-dynamic-range "loud" tracks into tracks with the same (low) dynamic range, but which don't sound overly loud compared to the rest of the library.  My answer to audiophiles would be that "Hey, it was the 2000s.  The CD wasn't supposed to be a representation of what it sounded like in the studio, it was a representation of what the sound engineer wanted it to sound like.  Doesn't matter whether you turn the volume knob up to 11 or down to 1, its gonna sound compressed, but hey, just enjoy it, because it was supposed to sound like that."

^ Indeed.

The only flaw I find with Mp3 Trim is that it won't open up file sizes larger than (i believe) 6 MB or so.  One thing I use Mp3 Trim for is fading in and out mixed tracks as most mp3 players and portable CD players don't blend the songs perfectly if it's a continuous mix album

^ Indeed.

The only flaw I find with Mp3 Trim is that it won't open up file sizes larger than (i believe) 6 MB or so.  One thing I use Mp3 Trim for is fading in and out mixed tracks as most mp3 players and portable CD players don't blend the songs perfectly if it's a continuous mix album


BTW thanks man - I've been using that program today, and it's really good. :) That'll save me from having to buy new greatest hits and remastered albums (or hope Limewire has them). I'm surprised it doesn't compress the sound quality or make it worse - even if it does, I can't notice it.

I did notice that too, I think it won't work for songs over 7 minutes or so. I tried doing "Domino" by Genesis and it didn't work, lol.

I know exactly what you mean. I have to turn a 2006 ringtone rap song down when it comes on my ipod, but if I want to play a 1993 old school rap song, I have to turn it up.

I have to turn a 2006 ringtone rap song down


Wouldn't it be better to turn it off? :P

I'm surprised it doesn't compress the sound quality or make it worse - even if it does, I can't notice it.


<Warning: Nerd content ahead.>

Nope, mp3trim works by tweaking the global gain field in every frame of every MP3.  It can thereby adjust the volume of the MP3 in steps of 1.5dB without actually changing the relationship between the underlying spectral coefficients, and by applying gain onto the MP3 at the frame level, you get the desired result on any MP3 player.

From the FAQ: "...the MP3 format describes a music waveform by a succession of coefficients. Increasing the coefficients too much would force an MP3 decoder (i.e. MP3 player) to clip its output and create distortion. But only the decoded output is distorted, so decreasing the MP3 coefficients by the same amount would restore the original non-distorded MP3 file."

</warning>

In other words, mp3trim (OK, now it's called mp3trim) is not transcoding.  (Transcoding is the process of taking an MP3 or any other compressed audio file, turn it into a WAV, normalize or perform other processing on it, and then turn the processed WAV into another MP3, is one of the worst things you can possibly do in terms of audio quality.  Do not want.)  And because mptrim isn't transcoding, it's (a) fast as hell, and (b) doesn't damage the MP3 -- if you want to change the gain back down a couple of notches, you can do so and you'll have the original file back.

I use Adobe Audition 1.5 (fka Cool Edit Pro) which allows me to either adjust the gain (amplify) or normalize mp3 files.  I rarely use the latter anymore as like Foo Bar basically said, it messes with the audio quality.

I use the program primarily for two things:

- making DJ-friendly edits of tracks (I've made over 250 in 4 years; it's kinda like having my own remix service 8) ) for my show.  I've also dabbled in a couple of mash-ups.

- producing continuous mix CDs with no pauses between tracks.  I record the file from my DJ equipment to mp3 via Alive then chop it up in Audition to get the tracks indexed.  It's a lengthy process but the end result is quality CDs from software I got for free. O0

One day when I have money, time and no excuses maybe I'll get ProTools. :D

I agree older cds often are sounding more quiet, but at the same time... way more natural.

I'm simply not a fan of the typical 00s phenomenon 'the loudness war', which makes music often sound dirty. If I want to hear my music loud, I walk to the stereo and turn the volume knop to the right. Very simple.