How does the ripped volume compare to the volume of the cd? If about the same then the only ways I can think of are to either record the cd in real time (instead of rip) at a higher volume as set in the recording control panel, or use normalization software which raises the overall volume to its highest level of 0 decibels.
We had a similar question before except in that case the poster was getting too much volume.
link
The various settings you tweaked don't have any effect because ripping is a file transfer process and not strictly speaking an audio process. The basic pcm data on the cd is the same data that gets transferred into a wav file, just with a different header. Try ripping to wav instead of mp3 and see if you get better results.
I use both Creative's MediaSource player and Roxio Audio Central for ripping but neither has a setting for volume, which makes sense for the reasons I mentioned. If there is still a problem when ripping to wav then I wonder if the fault is in the cd drive itself. Normally I might suggest updating your cd drive's firmware, but we have seen that on some models that results in serious audio problems due to a flaw in the firmware (this is just in the TS-L462C Cd drive).
Maybe try posting on the Notebooks/CD/DVD board and see if they know anything about this.
Thanks Jimco for the advice. So far, the ripped volume is slightly lower than the volume of the CD, but not by much... hardly noticeable. And i'm not sure how to "record" the CD in real time (versus "ripping" from a CD) b/c i thought the two processes were actually the same. But I tried ripping to WAV and sounds about same as MP3s.
I'm beginning to realize that my problem may be that i'm comparing apples to oranges: That is, I just bought a new laptop and I'm trying to compare the ripped MP3s from this new laptop to that of my old computer (which i no longer have). Thus, my older MP3s sound better and louder than my new ones b/c my old Audio Hardware probably was better than my brand new laptop-- eventhough I'm using the EXACT same software encoder with the same exact settings. Is this rationale even PLAUSIBLE?? But i will try to update the CD Firmware.
But, nevertheless, I'm still trying to find a way to adjust the recording/encoding levels if possible. Is there a way to change the recording levels when converting to WAV? Or should i try changing software and/or hardware??
"And i'm not sure how to "record" the CD in real time (versus "ripping" from a CD) b/c i thought the two processes were actually the same. "
By 'record' I mean creating a new digital file of the audio versus ripping, which essentially transfers a copy of digital file from the cd to the computer. Because ripping is a file transference it can happen many times faster than recording, which can only happen in real time.
I wouldn't actually do this but if for some reason I wanted to record a cd I would open a recording program and configure it to record with 'stereo mix' as the recording source. (There is a new Sigmatel driver for your computer that features stereo mix). Then I would place the cd in the drive and let it play, using any media player. Then going back to the recording program click on its 'record' button and it will record and create a new file of the cd's audio while it is playing. There is really no point in doing this except in your case you could push up the 'stereo mix' gain control and thus in theory achieve a recording of any volume you want. In practice you might not achieve any additional volume without distortion because almost all cd's now are already 'normalized' to the maximum volume of 0 dB's. I mentioned this method as a possibility only because if there is a problem with your ripping that causes the ripped files to be under 0 dB's then this is one way around that, but very clumsy. An easier way is just to use an audio editing program like Audacity to normalize any files that are under 0 dB's to bring them up to their max volume. Such a program can also use audio compression (this is different from file compression like mp3) to increase the average volume of the file, but commercial pop recordings are already compressed to the hilt because everyone wants their song to be louder than the next guy's.
"I just bought a new laptop and I'm trying to compare the ripped MP3s from this new laptop to that of my old computer (which i no longer have). Thus, my older MP3s sound better and louder than my new ones b/c my old Audio Hardware probably was better than my brand new laptop-- eventhough I'm using the EXACT same software encoder with the same exact settings. Is this rationale even PLAUSIBLE?? "
The ripping volume should be the same because again it is just a matter of copying a file from the cd to the hard drive and altering some file header details, and because the volume level is part of the data written into the original file when it was first digitalized it should be the same after ripping. However please note that I am not an expert on ripping and I could be incorrect in my assumptions. Playing back the file is a different matter; that is where the better hardware should make a difference.
"Is there a way to change the recording levels when converting to WAV? "
Here is some software that says it allows you to set the volume when either ripping or converting. It is not free but there probably is something similar for free if you google.
Thanks for all your helpful advice Jimco. I don't think I want to try recording from the CD b/c of exact reasons you pointed out, but I will definitely look into different Audio software.
Jim Coates
4 Operator
•
13.6K Posts
0
December 7th, 2007 11:00
We had a similar question before except in that case the poster was getting too much volume.
link
The various settings you tweaked don't have any effect because ripping is a file transfer process and not strictly speaking an audio process. The basic pcm data on the cd is the same data that gets transferred into a wav file, just with a different header. Try ripping to wav instead of mp3 and see if you get better results.
I use both Creative's MediaSource player and Roxio Audio Central for ripping but neither has a setting for volume, which makes sense for the reasons I mentioned. If there is still a problem when ripping to wav then I wonder if the fault is in the cd drive itself. Normally I might suggest updating your cd drive's firmware, but we have seen that on some models that results in serious audio problems due to a flaw in the firmware (this is just in the TS-L462C Cd drive).
Maybe try posting on the Notebooks/CD/DVD board and see if they know anything about this.
Jim
Jofax
3 Posts
0
December 9th, 2007 04:00
Jim Coates
4 Operator
•
13.6K Posts
0
December 9th, 2007 13:00
By 'record' I mean creating a new digital file of the audio versus ripping, which essentially transfers a copy of digital file from the cd to the computer. Because ripping is a file transference it can happen many times faster than recording, which can only happen in real time.
I wouldn't actually do this but if for some reason I wanted to record a cd I would open a recording program and configure it to record with 'stereo mix' as the recording source. (There is a new Sigmatel driver for your computer that features stereo mix). Then I would place the cd in the drive and let it play, using any media player. Then going back to the recording program click on its 'record' button and it will record and create a new file of the cd's audio while it is playing. There is really no point in doing this except in your case you could push up the 'stereo mix' gain control and thus in theory achieve a recording of any volume you want. In practice you might not achieve any additional volume without distortion because almost all cd's now are already 'normalized' to the maximum volume of 0 dB's. I mentioned this method as a possibility only because if there is a problem with your ripping that causes the ripped files to be under 0 dB's then this is one way around that, but very clumsy. An easier way is just to use an audio editing program like Audacity to normalize any files that are under 0 dB's to bring them up to their max volume. Such a program can also use audio compression (this is different from file compression like mp3) to increase the average volume of the file, but commercial pop recordings are already compressed to the hilt because everyone wants their song to be louder than the next guy's.
"I just bought a new laptop and I'm trying to compare the ripped MP3s from this new laptop to that of my old computer (which i no longer have). Thus, my older MP3s sound better and louder than my new ones b/c my old Audio Hardware probably was better than my brand new laptop-- eventhough I'm using the EXACT same software encoder with the same exact settings. Is this rationale even PLAUSIBLE?? "
The ripping volume should be the same because again it is just a matter of copying a file from the cd to the hard drive and altering some file header details, and because the volume level is part of the data written into the original file when it was first digitalized it should be the same after ripping. However please note that I am not an expert on ripping and I could be incorrect in my assumptions. Playing back the file is a different matter; that is where the better hardware should make a difference.
"Is there a way to change the recording levels when converting to WAV? "
Here is some software that says it allows you to set the volume when either ripping or converting. It is not free but there probably is something similar for free if you google.
link
Jim
Jofax
3 Posts
0
December 11th, 2007 05:00