If you’ve ever been annoyed by having to constantly reach for the volume knob because one song is too quiet and the next is deafeningly loud, a sound normalizer is exactly what you need.
5.3 Gain Control Strategy
- Two-loop approach:
- For Audiobooks/Podcasts: Select RMS or LUFS (Target: -16 LUFS for stereo, -19 LUFS for mono).
- For Music Playlists: Select Peak (Target: -0.1 dB or -1.0 dB True Peak).
- For Archival: Select 100% (Uncheck "Normalize peaks" to prevent volume changes).
Which one should you actually carry?
| Scenario | Winner | File Size | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Music (MP3) | MP3Gain Portable | ~1.2 MB | | Podcasts | The Levelator | ~8 MB | | Video soundtracks | Audacity Portable | ~150 MB | | Command-line speed | WavGain | ~500 KB |
Problem 2: The songs are now the same peak volume, but the quiet song still sounds quieter.