Hi, I put together 150 mp3 that I want to burn as data disc. My DVD Player can read mp3, that's why I want to put all the files as data. I use Nero 6.0 as a software. I have two questions: 1)Which tool can I use to normalize the volume? In Nero I have the possibility if I burn as Audio disc but obviously, not as data disc. 2) Does it make sense to use an Audio CD support in terms of quality or I can simply use an ordinary Data CD support? If you have any additional suggestion to give me, it'll be very appreciated. Thank you! Alex
Use mp3gain. It's even better than normalizing because amplifies files to the same average volume, not to the same peak level (similar for other files: replaygain). I don't understand your 2nd question. Just use any CD media and burn the files as data CDR. You might want to rename them adding 001, 002, 003 etc. in the beginning of the filenames to get the playback order you want (most mp3 CD players sort files alphabetically for playback).
Tigre, Thanks for your good advise. My second question was purely related to the CD media to be used, it was simply to find out whether burning on a CD Audio or CD Data makes a difference in terms of audio quality. Also another question to you: When I download mp3 files and burn them as CD Audio (for instance, an album) my general feeling is that the sound I hear is quiet metallic or harsh, in fact I tend to use 128 Kbs instead of higher ones in order to get a softer sound. Could it be because I have always used the "normalize" function in Nero that in reality, as I understood from your comment, "maximize" instead? Thanks again for your help. Alex
Today's mainstream music is overcompressed (= recorded way too loud) resulting in clipping during lossy encoding-decoding process. Sometimes this clipping will lead to audible distortion, but I don't think this is the reason for what you describe. - So no, probably normalizing with Nero is not the reason. To be on the safe side, you can apply mp3gain to all of your mp3 files. The metallic/harsh sound is rather caused by (a combination of) - crappy mp3 encoders like Xing, Blade etc. - too low bitrates - transcoding (mp3->mp3 or wma/vorbis/realaudio...->mp3) You might want to get encspot to analyse your mp3s. Encoders should be lame or fhg, bitrate should be at least 160kbps. Or try yourself: Encode some of your CDs to mp3 using lame + try some of the settings from the sticky thread here and try to spot the differences._X_X_X_X_X_[small]AFTERDAWN FORUM RULES: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487[/small]
Tigre, I can certainly download encspot to check the information on the encoders, but as mentioned before, I download mp3 from the net, therefore, what possibilities do I have to improve the encoding quality of an mp3 previously encoded with a lower quality encoder? Alessandro
There is one thing you can do - check the gain of the MP3s with MP3Gain, as previously mentioned. Changing the gain settings in this way cannot degrade the MUSIC in the MP3 file - MP3Gain edits a field within the file which tells the *DE*-coder how loud to play the track out to the soundcard. Too loud and you get clipping. Lots of MP3s floating around the web are waaayyy too loud. I listen to my MP3s with headphones and I notice the clipping as clicks - sounds like rain on really loud tracks! MP3Gain really imporves the quality on these tracks.
