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I have been using FFMPEG to Normalize my music library using -af loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11:measured_I=-27.2:measured_TP=-14.4:measured_LRA=0.1:measured_thresh=-37.7:offset=-0.7:linear=true

I feel as though there are still audio files which are noticably quieter than others. I hade hoped that using a small measured_LRA would combat this as there shouldnt be much difference between the quieter and louder parts but it doesnt seem to have worked like that!

Is there a recommended way to test my audio to check that all tracks are within the same normalized range?

When I check the replayGain values of all my audio, there are quite large differences between most. I have used OceanAudio to check the wave etc

But in all honest, Im not 100% sure what to check to confirm that the files are all normalised to the same range. And, if they are, how to then adapt my Normalization script

Any help would be much appreciated

I checked with Foobar. this is the before pic
Before Pic

The after Normalization pic
After Pic

The values have changed, however, in the after pic, all the values are different and quite varied

LUFS Integrated varies per file from -5.03dB to -23.11dB

True Peak varies per file from 0.01dB to -10.19dB

I gave audacity a try to normalize the music... I feel as though it has done a better job, all files have an LKFS of either 12.8 or 12.9

But, some files still seem quieter than the others.

I have takes a screenshot from Orban Loudness meter of 2 audio files which sound notabley different.

Can someone help explain what might be going on?

Louder audio file Quieter Audio File

Tetsujin
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Paulmcf1987
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  • If you've used loudnorm, you should disable replaygain [which is still presumably based on the pre-normalising figures] – Tetsujin Oct 03 '23 at 06:55
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    @tetsujin after using loudnorm, I put the files through mp3gain and then used foobar to update the replaygain. I would assume that replaygain only comes I to effect if u use a player with the replay gain option?.. my question though, is... how can I tell if the loudnorm has actually done what I want it to do? Is ther3 a way to tell visually? Because when listening to the tracks, I can tell that it's done something but they still all appear to be at different levels – PaulMcF87 Oct 03 '23 at 17:14
  • @Tetsujin I have added some foobar pics but Im still not sure what I should be looking for – Paulmcf1987 Oct 03 '23 at 17:56
  • I don't really know how ffmpeg calculates this, sorry - but as the after figures frequently hit over-peak & the LUFS values vary wildly, something, somewhere is not doing a very good job. I use Myriad for this kind of task, but it's Mac only & not cheap. – Tetsujin Oct 03 '23 at 18:16
  • @Tetsujin I only have a windows computer. And Im only normalizing my own files, I dont do it professionally. I only really want them normalised so that I dont need to keep changing the volume when listening to music in my car. I was hoping FFMPEG would be the answer but Im struggling – Paulmcf1987 Oct 03 '23 at 18:40
  • Really, all I know is that once you've normalised [correctly], there should be no need for replaygain. I did the same with my entire iTunes library - but initially forgot to switch off Apple's 'SoundCheck' which is a type of replay gain. I processed them 3 times before I realised my dozy mistake. So much for me actually being a pro sound engineer ;)) – Tetsujin Oct 04 '23 at 07:10
  • @Tetsujin Ill try disabling replaygain... Can I do this using FFMPEG? My understanding is that replaygain is purely a tag... is it as simple as removing the tag? – Paulmcf1987 Oct 04 '23 at 17:15
  • You can probably do it in your playback app - the numbers will still be in the metadata, just ignored. That's how Sound Check works, it just has an on/off switch if you don't want it. – Tetsujin Oct 04 '23 at 17:16
  • @Tetsujin I removed the data in foobar and then normalized in audacity but I feel as if the issue is the same. I now have a consistent LKFS level but the volume still seems different. I have added a few screen shouts from Orban loudness meter which shows quite a big difference between the sound wave profiles – Paulmcf1987 Oct 08 '23 at 20:46
  • i honestly couldn't say what's going on with those two tracks. They report similar figures but they don't look like they should. It's one of those instances where I cannot possibly tell from a picture of a waveform what it actually sounds like :\ – Tetsujin Oct 09 '23 at 14:54

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Make sure to use 'Scan per file track gain' in Foobar2k if you've selected multiple albums, as album gain keeps the inter-track dynamics. Afaik MP3Gain >= ReplayGain.

Consider Replaygain Override in Foobar2000 to use track gain in shuffle play.

Audacity is a good FLOSS (Free Libre Open Source Software) audio editor with waveform and dB display.

Cees Timmerman
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  • I had tried Audacity, was a bit of a pain because when you try and bulk normalize, it doesnt maintain any metadata other than the title. after a few days, I managed to get through all of my audio files. But I feel as though I have the same problem as I did with FFMPEG. I added a couple of pics on to the initial question to show the difference between 2 audio files – Paulmcf1987 Oct 08 '23 at 20:43