Spotify - to normalize volume or not?

I ended up biting the bullet and going Premium for Spotify. However after about 40 minutes of me using it to play an single album, it's made me remember why I prefer CD's or vinyl records for album playback.

Playing Deee-Lite's "World Clique" album, once it gets to the track "Groove is in the heart" the volume ramp up is MASSIVE.

They are still sourcing different album tracks from different places, rather than the original album master. Absolutely dreadful.

World Clique

(Similar issue a year or so back with Prince's SOTT album, before the recent remaster)

There is a normalize volume setting that I initially disabled because I believed it to be a compression technique. As I am not really using playlists of mixed material, I didn't think it necessary to play just an album, but clearly Spotify cobble together parts of album tracks from various sources (which is wrong).

Is anyone else using the normalize setting just for album playback because of this ? If so, do you set LOUD, NORMAL or QUIET ?

 

I mainly listen to playlists I have made, so the normalization is needed. I set mine to Normal.

 

Same here.

 

Never use normalise, it is only hurting the music.
Premium: take care highest sound quality is enabled.

My experience: everything on Spotify is from the CD that 9s shown. If bad, the CD is bad, I compared my own CD's with the same on Spotify: identical.
Observe the manufacturer of the CD and year of issue at the bottom. I bet after 1995 heavy compression, loudness war, is applied.

 

I have normalize volume on permanently, since when it comes to Spotify I find myself listening to playlists 95% of the time. If I'm gonna stream albums I use Tidal instead, or stream lossless from my harddrive.

I have noticed that occasionally the past month or two, Spotify has had problems with the normalization function - I've experienced the same ramp up in volume, and switched source cause it was unlistenable. This could be what you're experiencing.

If not the above - does it pull from other sources like compilations? See if the artwork changes during playback. Is it every album or specific ones? How many albums have you tried?

I assume you're not streaming via Google Cast, since volume normalization (and other functions like gapless playback) is not supported if doing so. They are greyed out though, so you'd notice it.

Hopefully it's a Spotify/app issue that will be fixed.

 

I normalize when I'm playing from playlists during exercise - I got blasted one time too many, and at my age I can't afford to lose anymore of my hearing!

 

I tried the normalise audio settings - made no difference to my ears - using the Desktop version via Windows 10 out via a DAC - the track I mentioned is still punishingly loud

Artwork doesn't change

 

I have Amazon Unlimited HD. Either it came Normalized or I set it that way. Sound improved when I turned it off. I shoulda known better.

 

I found the Amazon HD normalization be rather aggressive compared to Apple and Spotify when using the iPhone. It brought the overall volume down far enough to max out the phone’s volume through headphones comfortably.

 

Yes, the lowered volume just didn't work for me. I tried Apple's Sound Check and didn't like that, either. I listen with various speaker setups and not with a phone.

 

NORMALISE Definitely Off … should be going HiRes/CD Quality any day now from what I’ve read !! About time too
Since this year they’ve started grouping the most popular individual choons to one defining album track or single , not the various versions on various albums etc . But if you type in exactly artist & track , click on Songs You do get all the individual ones , but not always , some lay hidden because of the slightest alphabetical change in the songs title
I’ve spent a age copying some of my personal libraries playlists over onto Spotify .. so found lots of anomalies with things on Spotify, which IMO is easily the best operating streamer ( especially when it goes Hi Res HD !! )
Here’s a few of my playlists ( a ready made 20th century library… almost ) still adding … ANDREW HARRY BRIGGS