On his Hogtunes website, Pez recommends downloading a program called "MP3Gain" to optimize volume on a downloaded song. Has anyone ever used this program? I downloaded it and I'm not sure how to use the darn thing.

If I "add file" and then click "MP3 Gain" I can see the progress bar moving, as if it's doing something, but I can't tell. Anyone know how to use this software?

 

Gain does a few things, it can normalize or level the volume of a group of songs, or it can add some volume to low volume songs. Some songs react better than others, some start to clip or distort if you try to add too much. Read the Help section and check out this link.

http://www.weethet.nl/english/audio_mp3gain.php

 

Something along the lines that I might actually be helpful...

MP3 is a very (VERY!!!) lossy form of audio compression.

Take a really nice whiskey... Gentleman Jack for example. That's PCM data. Now, take 3/4 of it out of the bottle and fill it with water. That's MP3. Still tastes like good whiskey, but it's not (nearly) "all there."

Adding or subtracting gain from MP3 data would be akin to taking that watered-down whiskey and adding watered-down "really, really cheap" whiskey (let's say, McCormack Bourbon watered down with water from a mud puddle filtered through a dirty t-shirt).

The file you end up with has lost *soooo* much sound quality at that point that it hardly resembles the PCM data which cast the original, poor-sounding MP3. The bottle is more full, but you really don't want to drink it.

Unless it's something really freaky, I'd suggest just reaching for the volume paddle. Generally, it's the quieter (i.e., more dynamic) tracks that sound so much better as MP3 data anyway. It also allows the stereo to function as it was designed to function - with less distortion, at a more "normal" level (because the average level of most recordings currently is anything but "normal").

And adding another layer of MP3 encoding artifacts (we call them "space monkeys" in the recording industry) just to get a little more volume (along with the louder space monkeys) usually turns out in the negative.

GRANTED: I understand we're not exactly talking about the typical audiophile listening experience. But these stereos sound bad enough already without forcing them to deal with recordings that would sound like complete a$$ on even the best systems...

 

What is the best format to use when making a disc ???

 

If you want discs with 100+ songs on them you'll need to burn them as "data".

 

Yep - If you want quantity, you want MP3 data. The higher the bitrate, the better. 320kbps is about as good as you're going to get, 224kbps is listenable, 128 is complete crap (but is also the most popular). In the case of MP3, you're limited to the amount of data.

In the case of PCM (a standard compact disc is written from 16-bit, 44.1kS/s PCM data), you're limited to around 75 minutes of audio.

Turning a bunch of MP3's into an *audio* CD just turns the bad sounding MP3's into equally bad-sounding PCM data. Needed for many CD players that don't read MP3. But if your player reads MP3, just leave it alone if that's what you have.

And it's not like *GOOD* MP3's aren't impossible - at least in the case of mobile music.

I listen to MP3 discs myself on the bike - I can get around 5 hours of good quality files on a disc, of reasonable quality considering the source. Other than that, I hate them passionately. I make a living being very, very picky about audio... MP3's drive me nuts on a nice system (although again, 320's can be quite decent for most recordings).

Anyway, I digress (it's hard to get me to shut up about sound).

When writing MP3 discs to play MP3's, it has to be written as DATA - Not audio (which will turn it back into PCM data and then limit you to 75 minutes). Just drag 'em onto a disc as you would a bunch of photos or documents. Keeping in mind that it won't play on a standard CD player - although more and more are accepting MP3 and FLAC data lately).