What's the difference between normalizing a audiofile and just changing the volume of the file in soundforge? and when normalizing, what's really happening? i noticed that it's not possible to "see" the peaklevels getting any higher... *confused*
[bold] Normalizing [/bold] = to raise the volume of a selection so that the highest sample level reaches a user-defined level. Use normalization to ensure you are using all of the dynamic range available to you without clipping. When normalising with SoundForge , the first pass is used to assess the highest level encountered in the sample [bold]WITHOUT[/bold] exceeding the dynamic range, the second pass is to adjust the volume level of the whole file by the chosen percentage of that difference between the actual and the highest level. The drawback of this procedure are that this requires that your selection must be free of noise of any kind before you start the process. -- i.e. if you have any type of white noise , clicks or other forms of undesirable sounds -- They will be amplified during your normalizing . By the same token, you must consider that some selection were originally recorded at a low volume -- a balad for example where the singer wants to convey some sort of soft environment. Normalizing in this case , would completely change the intentions of the creator. In that particular selection you had , the highest level encountered in the sample [bold]WITHOUT[/bold] exceeding the dynamic range was already borderlining the dynamic range -- hence there was no raising of the volume level in the second pass. Changing the volume == is arbitrarily upping the level of a selection WITHOUT concern of the effect it may have on the dynamic range limitations. Hence clipping of peaks , distortion effects will ensue ; a highly undesirable result to an audiophile. Edited to correct a typo !!
