CD volume level differences?

[madmac]

Ok all....I know this might sound dumb......but......why do some CD's play way louder than others at the same volume level ? ?

[P-Dub]

Not dumb.

I think it has to do with how the cd was mastered at the studio.

[wkhanna]

Not dumb.

I think it has to do with how the cd was mastered at the studio.

No, not a dumb question at all.

Yes, some CD's are recorded 'Hotter' than others.

The same is also true with vinyl.

[Chris D]

Yeah, this is something that really bugs me, especially when I'm going through my iTunes library, and one song will play softly, and then the very next song blare it out. Even the iTunes volume equalization feature doesn't work all that well.

[wkhanna]

An observation I have made over the years is that in many cases the lower the average volume level, the better the quality of the recording.
It allows for an overall higher dynamic range.

Recording engineers who take advantage of this typically are concerned with all the other aspects required to produce high quality recordings.

JMHO YMMV

[PewterTA]

I personally like the lower (as long as it's not too low) volume for the same reason that Bill said. I like having controll over my volume!!!!

On my 1098 I like to listen around the 55 - 60 (not dB) setting and most hi-res stuff I have sounds amazing. Most of the new CDs to listen at the same volume I have to turn it down around 40. At that volume I feel like I loose a lot of dynamics and micro details from the music... So if I can't turn it up the where I should be able to... then how can I get the details from the music.

I wish there was more of a standard of roughly x to y range where everything would stay between so there'd be some consistancy with music volumes.

[Chris D]

Ditto. And same goes for TV shows, with commercials that come in blaring loud to be "attention grabbing". They work. They get my attention, and I hit MUTE.

[wkhanna]

IIRC, the FCC just implemented a ruling banning this practice.
It is to be in effect sometime this year, I think.

[PewterTA]

Yes I cna't wait... I don't think it's happened yet as some of the channels are still crazy...but I have noticed that it seems that things are slowly getting more normal as I don't have to adjust the volume near as much as I used to!

So I'm happy about that!!!

[madmac]

I personally like the lower (as long as it's not too low) volume for the same reason that Bill said. I like having controll over my volume!!!!

On my 1098 I like to listen around the 55 - 60 (not dB) setting and most hi-res stuff I have sounds amazing. Most of the new CDs to listen at the same volume I have to turn it down around 40. At that volume I feel like I loose a lot of dynamics and micro details from the music... So if I can't turn it up the where I should be able to... then how can I get the details from the music.

I wish there was more of a standard of roughly x to y range where everything would stay between so there'd be some consistancy with music volumes.

On my Rotel RSX-1057 (All channels driven), the hot stuff is listened to at around 56-58 on the dial (I like my music reasonably loud but not blaring). For the quieter CD's, I can easily go as high a 64 on the dial. It seems the older CD's that used to be on vinyl are usually 'quiet' and most newer material is usually 'hot'. I don't really notice that great of a difference in sonic quality between the two but I would personally side with the 'hot' stuff. I feel like I'm not pushing the amp as much and am probably getting a cleaner sound as a result. I mean, at 55+ on the dial you are basically at slightly above half on the dial which should be plenty for the amp to perform optimally.

[PewterTA]

I completely agree there are some that are recorded way to quiet. Which is still a fault of the master process... I guess it's tough to make things not tooo quiet and not brick wall...

The problem when things are hot is the same principle as this... If you place your hand over a body of water just hovering right above and smack the water, you'll only get a little splash...however if you hold it a good two foot away and smack the water it's a much bigger splash.

This is the same, when things are too hot, there's not much room for dynamics. I personally love dynamics and would gladly take a little bit more quiet of a disc to get the dynamics out of it. Again, provided it's not toooo quiet.