iTunes automatic volume control can distort output

Oct 23, '03 10:21:00AM

Contributed by: tamy

I am still in the process of moving my CD collection onto my harddrive using iTunes. So far there's been no major problems, so I was somewhat surprised and alarmed when the one CD, "Microgravity" from Biosphere, turned out sounding awful. Suspecting a scratched CD or some coding artifacts I tried recoding with different settings, with no success.

The culprit turned out to be the automatic volume control, which essentially helps you play every song at the same level. In this case the low bass, of which there is a lot, really became saturated, creating an annoying, gritty noise. Turning off the control in Preferences -> Effects fixed the problem.

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