de-normalize audio

[robjohno]

hey guys, woz wondering if any1 could help me, i have sum music on my pc, in mp3 format, and i woz wondering if it is possible to denormalize the tracks so that the loud bits are loud and the quiet bits quiet.

At the moment they sound daft cos the whole tracks are the same volume and it dusnt sound rite, they sound even worse in my car, any1 know if they are any tools available for de-normalizing audio files?

Cheers




Rob

[lordsmurf]

De-normalize? No such term.

Normalize does what you ask.

[Cornucopia]

That's not "Normalized", that's OVERCOMPRESSED/OVER-LIMITED (as in dynamic range, not filesize).
A dynamic range "EXPANDER" is what you want. You can do this with the various audio editing apps. It's usually in the FX/Filters sections.

If original audio levels goes from -60(Quiet) to -3(Loud)dB,

A normalized file would have audio levels from -57 to 0dB.
An overcompressed file might have audio levels from -30 to -3 or (subsequently Normalized) from -27 to 0dB.

You need to [ E X P A N D ] it back to -60 to -3 ( or -57 to 0 if that's what you like).

Scott

[Jester700]

Cornucopia is right, but you should know that this is a "guesstimate" on the part of the expander. It will increase dynamic range and may sound better, but it won't restore the signal to what it was before it was "skooshed" - even if you knew the exact amount to expand it. Still, it's definitely worth a shot. Music today is SO overcompressed and overlimited. Rip Rowan wrote a great article on ProRec about that a few years back.

[Cornucopia]

That's true!

Scott

[robjohno]

Cheers guys, couldnt really get nothin workin to be honest, tried audacity with a few vst plugins but i dont really know what im doin to be honest, e.g. what values i should be changin, not too worry, its just really anoyin when ur listeneing to sum music and it gets to a bit thats supposed to be really loud, and it sounds dampened sum how.

The audio cds i have bought from retail sound great, i guess there is a moral to this story

If any1 knows what plugin i should be usin, and how to use it, that would be great, cheers


rob

[Jester700]

Start with an expansion ratio of 2:1 (it'll double your dynamic range, which may not be much!) and go up from there, listening as you go. The only free VST expander I saw was at
http://www.madtracker.org/plugins.php?category=Effect&subcategory=Expander+%26+gate

[mikiem]

Try the sound forge trial? Sound Forge has presets and such to get you started.