MP3 Volume Normalizer

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Is there a software that takes a bunch of mp3 files and normalizes the volume output? Like, you select a number of different mp3 files, then tell the program to normalize the volume output according to a certain mp3’s, so all mp3s will play with its same decibels, without requiring one to tweak the volume each time a new track plays.

Thanks so much!

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With Nero Burning Rom (CDRW software), you’ll get the Nero Wave Editor. The Editor will normalize your files (wav, mp3, wma, etc) one at a time. To do the whole lot at once, you can use MusicMatch Jukebox. If you’re normalizing mp3s by the thousands, it will take MMJ a little while to do its’ work.

I’m sure there are other proggys that can do this for you. If you’d like to download the trial versions, go to Nero or MusicMatch. Note: The MusicMatch Basic version is free but does not include the volume leveling feature. The Plus version is a US$20 option.

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Hi Rick,

Thanks for the info. I’ve been using good ol’ MusicMatch for a long while now, for ripping purposes mainly but also for format converting. I hadn’t noticed that the Plus version included this volume leveling feature.

If anyone knows of another app, it’ll be very welcome.

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I appreciate you posting this question! I’ve been using my Cool Edit 2000 to normalize MP3s but I also have Nero and NOW, I’ll probably go get a copy of MusicMatch Jukebox to see if either makes the process a tad easier or smoother. Thanks for the prod…..

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Diegol–

Also from Normalize Your MP3’s see article but instead of their link (no longer good) use this one for MMWave2K and you might find this MP3 Resource List handy in the future.

SMBP

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SMBP,

Thanks for the info & resource list. However, I think MMWave2K must have been discontinued, since the link you provided didn’t work either. I did some googling, but to no avail.
Anyway, if this program’s function is to convert from mp3 to wav, MusicMatch will do it as well. I suggest you try it if you haven’t yet, as it’s unbeatable in the ripping field (though more rigorous ones here prefer other encoders best– as for me, I don’t think the difference is too noticeable).

What I’m really looking for is a free app that can normalize MP3s without having to do all the conversion stuff, which I find too troubling for the benefits.

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I’ve been using MP3Gain which is and works pretty well .

At least worth a try

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Thanks Bryan!

Looks like it might be what I’ve been looking for. I’ve sent the link home so I download and try it there.
It’s worth noting that it won’t affect music quality, as it doesn’t decode & reencode the file… well, at least that’s what it states

The only thing that remains to be seen is if it normalizes single files only, leveling peaks and ‘valleys’ within the file, or also lets one set which is the standard volume output for any file and then normalize a whole bunch of files.

As soon as I test it I’ll be posting back.

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Sorry about the link–will try –when I saw the download I assumed (bad move) it worked. But if you read the article, it is definitely not just to convert wav to mp3 it is the type normalizer you seemed to request. Will try to find it later to night when have more time.

SMBP

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Diegol-

Appreciate the info about music match–many people say much the same about its ability including Tech TV who play with most mp3 software. I have corrected the link, and you can find the normalizer mmwav2k here. It is described this way by Tech TV”
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Normalizing software analyzes the waveforms of your digital music, figures out the peaks and valleys within certain tracks or playlists, then cranks up the spots with less amplitude to ultimately create a smooth listening experience.
Now if you encode your own MP3s with the same software (such as MusicMatch JukeBox), you probably won’t need to normalize your tracks. However, if you download tracks or compile MP3s from numerous sources, you should consider normalizing. There are several downloadable programs that will do this. We chose MMWave 2K, a free encoder/decoder, for this demo.

You’ll first need to convert, or decode, your MP3s into the larger WAV file format. MMWave 2K allows you to normalize a single track or an entire Winamp playlist (M3U files). The latter is much more efficient, especially if you’ve already created several playlists.

The default decode setting is 40 percent, although you may consider increasing this up to 80 percent for higher quality. Once your MP3s are converted, you’re ready to normalize the sound file(s). We recommend normalizing your WAVs at 98 percent.

Your final step is to encode the WAVs back into MP3 using a program like MusicMatch JukeBox. After this procedure is finished, clean up your hard drive by deleting the large WAV files.

Voila! Your MP3s have undergone a makeover. Now they’ll give you a consistent and hassle-free listening experience. Do note that you are re-encoding your music and that the process degrades the quality of your music file. Remember that each generation of compression eliminates more audio data.
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Hopefully this will give you one more additional choice and you can compare and pick the one you like the best.

SMBP

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Hey Bryan,

I’ve tried MP3 Gain and am reporting back- it’s an awesome program!
Its Track Anaysis and Album Analysis features are very useful, and the help file is a good aid to know how the program works. Note that:

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The other good news is that this volume adjustment is completely lossless. In other words, if you adjust an mp3 by -6 dB and then change your mind, you can adjust it again by +6 dB and it will be exactly the same as it was before you made the first adjustment.

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And that’s great.

I haven’t had time to test it exhaustively, but it did a great job with a couple of files. The only thing I’d add is something like: given a list of music files, if an mp3’s volume is below/above XXX dB, then increase/decrease it by X (or X%). But that’s being too demanding, because it already does everything I need it to do.

Regarding MMWave, I could finally download and test. Thanks SMBP!
Still this app requires much more action from the user, as one must convert from mp3 to wav and then back to mp3, normalizing in the middle. And this conversion isn’t lossless.
Because of this and for the fact that I’d already found in MP3Gain what I’d been looking for, I didn’t look much further into MMWave. But I’ll keep it handy as a second option in case something goes wrong with MP3G (as I said, I couldn’t test it thoroughly).

Thanks a lot to all the people that shared their info.

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Diegol–

Thanks for doing the comparison. It will be useful in the near future.

SMBP

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