Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
SlimServer will indicate whether it will be applying a volume adjustment, just click on the track name. Look for Volume Adjustment and Album Volume Adjustment in the fields. -- Mark Lanctot It's like, you know, a New Age religion, but with better treble response. - Jon Heal Mark Lanctot's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2071 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
Mark Lanctot;183981 Wrote: SlimServer will indicate whether it will be applying a volume adjustment, just click on the track name. Look for Volume Adjustment and Album Volume Adjustment in the fields. I think the word I was searching for was 'normalizing', WRT ways the ripper might cause this. -- Skunk Skunk's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2685 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
Skunk;184017 Wrote: I think the word I was searching for was 'normalizing', WRT ways the ripper might cause this. Dang, I usually quote who I'm responding to. When I don't I often get called out. I wasn't referring to your post specifically, Skunk. :-) I'll revise the post. -- Mark Lanctot It's like, you know, a New Age religion, but with better treble response. - Jon Heal Mark Lanctot's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2071 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
Mark's insight into checking the volume adjustment has revealed that the lower VU tracks are adjusted from -8 to -12 dB on the ones I've compared, whereas the higher VU tracks do not list a Volume Adjustment. I had a stint a few years back where I was home-bound after an accident. In that time I transfered a few hundred CD's into AAC. It'd be difficult for me to perform the feat again. Is SS choosing this decrease in volume or is it part of the encoding process? Thanks Mark and Skunk. -- kphinney kphinney's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10409 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
kphinney;184182 Wrote: Mark's insight into checking the volume adjustment has revealed that the lower VU tracks are adjusted from -8 to -12 dB on the ones I've compared, whereas the higher VU tracks do not list a Volume Adjustment. That would be consistent with what you're hearing then. -8 to -12 dB adjustments are typical of many modern CDs. I had a stint a few years back where I was home-bound after an accident. In that time I transfered a few hundred CD's into AAC. It'd be difficult for me to perform the feat again. Note you can just tell SS to stop using this adjustment (see the end of this post). If you want volume adjustment on all of them (or none of them) foobar should be able to do it. Just load all the files, select them all (Edit - Select All or click the first, shift+click the last). Then right-click one - you can calculate new ReplayGain values or clear the existing ones in one stroke. Give it some time to do its work, particularly if you're calculating new RG values. With hundreds/thousands of files, it will take hours, maybe overnight or longer. The good news is you don't have to do anything or re-rip. Is SS choosing this decrease in volume or is it part of the encoding process? Thanks Mark and Skunk. You're welcome. You can tell SS to ignore this by going to Player Settings - Audio (last section) Volume Adjustment / Replay Gain. SS is using it because the tags are there and you will find that Volume Adjustment / Replay Gain has been activated. They were most likely added during encoding, yes. Generally you can specify whether you want these tags or not. It doesn't hurt to keep it enabled, you can choose to use the tags or not. -- Mark Lanctot It's like, you know, a New Age religion, but with better treble response. - Jon Heal Mark Lanctot's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2071 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
Mark Lanctot;184184 Wrote: You can tell SS to ignore this by going to Player Settings - Audio (last section) Volume Adjustment / Replay Gain. SS is using it because the tags are there and you will find that Volume Adjustment / Replay Gain has been activated. They were most likely added during encoding, yes. Generally you can specify whether you want these tags or not. It doesn't hurt to keep it enabled, you can choose to use the tags or not. Excellent. Disable Volume Adjustment leveled out the files I've been playing with. Perhaps, one day, I will get around to re-encoding all of those CD's. I truly appreciate all of your assistance. Next step for me is to find a great encoder program for OSX. Perhaps another post after I do some searching. Thanks again. -- kphinney kphinney's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10409 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
Are you using ReplayGain? If so, Internet radio will almost always be louder - contemporary music will be up to 10 dB louder as a result of the loudness wars. You may want to disable ReplayGain playback of SlimServer sources (SlimServer Player Settings - Audio - Volume Adjustment/Replay Gain). There's an enhancement request to compensate for this here: http://bugs.slimdevices.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2431 Please vote for it. -- Mark Lanctot It's like, you know, a New Age religion, but with better treble response. - Jon Heal Mark Lanctot's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2071 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
pablolie;183598 Wrote: Darn, I had prided myself on my cassette recorded skills, and friends begged me for my productions!). I know I'd be displeased if different sources had wildly different levels - for one I'd be worried about some source actually feeding too high a signal and distorting or even damaging stuff. You got to ride your gain on cassette recordings to maximize S/N ratio, those Chromium dioxide tapes, then pure Metal particle tapes, allowing those red peak indicators to flash just so w/o overloading the tapes. I wore out the azimuth adjustment screws on my Sony deck just trying to match the sound quality of the source. I thought I did but upon later listening, they proved fruitless due to mechanical stress and degradation of the tape media itself, and with the introduction of the CD with its wild dynamic range, the cassette days were doomed. Fond memories indeed... -- empty99 empty99's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3488 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
As quoted by empty99 it does seem that the Quality is not degraded, only the volume. It is still an issue for me since changing between my sources requires turning the volume way down before switching so as to not upset my neighbors or relaxation. I switched the screen-saver over to Analog VU. While I know this isn't a completely accurate measure, my canned music barely moves the needle while streams average out a tad less than 0. -- kphinney kphinney's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10409 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
kphinney;183777 Wrote: As quoted by empty99 it does seem that the Quality is not degraded, only the volume. Have you tried ripping an album with another application? Sounds like replaygain added upon ripping, though I don't remember if you said iTunes Store songs were quiet as well. It may be worth checking relevant settings in whatever app you use, or giving a rundown of your process/OS etc.. -- Skunk Skunk's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2685 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
I've just setup my Squeezebox and Slimserver and have noticed an issue regarding the quality of my stored music vs that of streams: my music, regardless of quality, hits the Squeezebox at a lower VU than outside streams (Pandora, etc.). While the majority of my collection is 128-256 kbps, I have quite a bit of classical at 1411 and my recent additions at 320. All of these barely move the SB VU meter and necessitate me notching up the volume - only to be blown away when I stream from outside sources. I never noticed this when I was playing directly from OSX to the receiver using digital. Now the SB is TOS linked to an HK receiver. Anyone know how to increase the gain of SS or help me with a workaround? -- kphinney kphinney's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10409 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
It could be something as simple as inadvertent locking down of the volume on the RCA output from the SB if that's what you're using. I use the optical and an external DA function, and have never ever -despite some other issues- encountered a problem with volume levels. -- pablolie pablolie's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3816 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
I am using digital TOC with volume locked, not RCA. With more experimentation I've found that the better the quality (1411, vs. 128kpbs) the higher the gain, but it doesn't seem to correlate completely: Streamed audio at 128 (mostlyclassical.com, groovesalad, etc) still has a much higher VU than my stored music at higher kbps. -- kphinney kphinney's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10409 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
any effect if your turn the gain stuff off? -- pablolie pablolie's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3816 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
kphinney;183583 Wrote: Thanks pablolie. I am using digital TOC with volume locked, not RCA. With more experimentation I've found that the better the quality (1411, vs. 128kpbs) the higher the gain, but it doesn't seem to correlate completely: Streamed audio at 128 (mostlyclassical.com, groovesalad, etc) still has a much higher VU than my stored music at higher kbps. The Netradio sound levels are generally about 2-3dB louder than my ripped WAV in server, just a click or two on my passive pot to make it level, no big deal IMHO. SB3-Optical-MF A3.24DAC-50kOhm pot-2 Naks PA7-BW N802-Nice! -- empty99 empty99's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3488 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
SB3-Optical-MF A3.24DAC-50kOhm pot-2 Naks PA7-BW N802- Nice! *Very* nice. Very nice indeed. -- pablolie pablolie's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3816 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
pablolie;183592 Wrote: SB3-Optical-MF A3.24DAC-50kOhm pot-2 Naks PA7-BW N802- Nice! *Very* nice. Very nice indeed. The originator of this thread mislabeled the quality for playback level. It's only a volume issue, not sound quality per se. In my system, the PC server SB3 playback level is exactly the same as from my CD player when both feed the external DAC. The internet radio level is consistently higher for some reason but sounding harder, duller and constricted, typical of lower bitrate MP3 streams. -- empty99 empty99's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3488 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to increase quality of server side music...
... The originator of this thread mislabeled the quality for playback level. I do think there are some standards for signal levels, so I think it would be unusual for different sources to have very different levels. Then again, I have tended to only and exclusively feed pure sources into my audio system - CDs, now the SB via the CDs DA, and formerly more turntable and compact cassette stuff (amazing how the latter, which was an enjoyable art 15 years ago, has utterly disappeared. Darn, I had prided myself on my cassette recorded skills, and friends begged me for my productions!). I know I'd be displeased if different sources had wildly different levels - for one I'd be worried about some source actually feeding too high a signal and distorting or even damaging stuff. -- pablolie pablolie's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3816 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33095 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
