Apple silently introduces album normalization in iOS 8.4.1

I second the thumbs up for iVolume. Apples algorithms for determining song volume are lacking. ReplayGain and what iVolume uses are much better. iVolumes updates iTunes with better gain values, and then you use the iTunes/iDevice Sound Check feature as usual and the results are much better than with iTunes alone.

 

I think both were off by default. It's something I would have immediately disabled. Several answers into this thread, I'm still not sure if these features add a layer of DSP or not.

On OSX I just use BitPerfect and ensure I'm getting what I want to go to the DAC. On the seldom-used Touch, I doubt I could hear any differences one way or the other. But I do try to eliminate clutter.

I play albums. How quaint.

If someone at a party wants me to play what's on my Touch in shuffle, I'll remember to enable Sound Check.

Of course that will be the end of the party. Separate topic.

 

This why apple should bring back album shuffle like they had on the early generation ipods

 

I can definitely see how this comes in handy when playing a playlist.

 

I've found that using Soundcheck worked great but after the latest update, sometimes Soundcheck won't kick in until after a song has been playing for 10-15 seconds. So, it'll start loud then attenuate about 6-8dB. And this can happen at any point, not just the first song I play. It's a new problem on my iPhone 5.

 

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201724

 

I suppose it's asking too much for Apple to respect the Replay Gain values set in imported files. NIH (Not Invented Here) factor.

 

But I thought iTunes does respect ReplayGain set by software such as iVolume.

 

Thanks. But this sounds weird:

Any boosts in playback volume are designed to be protected against clipping by iTunes' build-in limiter.
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iTunes' "built-in limiter"?

 

I meant ReplayGain set by any program capable of writing the tags. I suspect iVolume uses an Apple algorithm and tag instead of the standards-based ReplayGain, but never having used it I don't know. That's the way Apple usually does things, though.

 

iVolume sets iTunes metadata/tags as if iTunes had done it, they aren't replaygain tags.

 

We all do. That's why the topic - 'album normalization' - is of particular interest.

This is yet another reason why I stick with an open source player app for my music server.

 

It shouldn't alter the ripped data in any way - the original samples are still preserved in the file, if anything it may make some changes to the metadata but the audio data remains identical. The difference comes in when the digital volume control is applied during playback - at least I believe this is how it functions. The original data is still there but DSP is being applied in real-time, and those new adjusted samples are what are fed to the converter. It can be a nuisance for someone who likes newer, maximized/limited electronic productions but also classic audiophile 80's/90's era masterings


Does the DSP really have any real audible effect on the sound quality? Probably not, but some of us do prefer to keep things as pure as possible. There was an interesting thread a while back on NOS DACs and various converter designs, etc. I guess depending how far you want to go down the rabbit hole…

 

Exactly the point. My music server is set up to automatically play entire albums at random if nothing is manually selected - sort of like an in-house underground radio station that takes requests. For that purpose, ReplayGain is very useful and I've never noticed any sonic degradation when compared to having it off. For what it's worth, the app I use converts to 24bit before any adjustment.

Just minutes ago, the server chose some vintage Fleetwood Mac after The Move's Anthology 1966-1972 [Disc 4] - which I selected - finished up. From one brickwalled album to a quietly mastered album, and the volume remains just right. That's especially nice since I'm listening in the back yard and would need to go back in to crank the level otherwise. Best thing since sliced bread.

 

I'm actually not concerned about this because everything I've ever put into my library gets reduced in gain when using Sound Check, and wouldn't activate any limiter for protecting transients from clipping. Even my low-level needle drops get reduced in gain. I think the signal would have to be unusually low for the software to add gain.

 

They rarely invent it but then usually, but not always , do it better.

 

I bet you just hate it when their new products and services come out. Makes me want to start a few Apple threads here! Haha.

 

Crazy! I'm glad the did finally implement this. I probably wouldn't have noticed. I've been using iVolume for years because of this feature.

 

The last time they did it better was the iPad.

Siri, Apple Maps, Apple Streaming, Apple Watch are all either inferior to, or not demonstrably better than, existing versions.

 

One more vote for sound check being updated to simply read/implement replaygain tags if they exist...

 

I'm currently testing this with The Planets and it appears to work!

 

Hmm... Testing now with a gapless album and it's not working.

 

Ah, no. It is working!

 

According to this video, Apple implemented this feature in 2013:

 

That's the video about iTunes, this thread is about it being implemented in iOS