K
kneal7
New member
Can anyone help me with this. When I burn my tracks to CD with Nero I add normalization. They sound really good through speakers but distort through headphones....can anyone shed any light on this. cheers
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
How close to "0" are you normalizing?
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
I probably means there's something wrong with your headphone output but...
Don't use the normalise function in Nero. Instead, get the levels right in your DAW where you can see and listen to what's going on. That way, if there's a problem downstream, you know it's the fault of the downstream monitoring.
Don't use the normalise function in Nero. Instead, get the levels right in your DAW where you can see and listen to what's going on. That way, if there's a problem downstream, you know it's the fault of the downstream monitoring.
T
TheParty007
New member
are you sure you haven't use too much a limiter on your master?
C
chuksay16
New member
When you are mastering try not to use normalize on nero. Get a DEDICATED mastering DAW where you can eq, adjust the length of each song, the hiatus between each, level consistency and tonal balance. It is more advisable to use nero or any other burning software only when you have FINISHED your work. Then nero would just help you burn to cd. That's it.
Check out my blog:
(ckmusicprod.tumblr.com)
Check out my blog:
(ckmusicprod.tumblr.com)
Waltz Mastering
New member
It could be anything. Your bass or low end could be to boomy to start with, ...and your bringing the whole level up so that could be distorting you headphones.
Your speakers might not be producing anything below 40Hz but you headphones are.
I would stay away from normalizing and get a proper master.
S
Shadowamd
New member
+1 or at least find out how to master it.
Bane01
Like Yeah!
Absolutely, use a compressor and limiter. That way you can bring up your average volume rather than merely peak volume.
Normalization brings the noise floor up with it!
Normalization brings the noise floor up with it!
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chuckduffy
Well-known member
Anything that changes gain in an upwards direction brings up the noise floor.
M
mixsit
Well-known member
'Gain changes everything equally. ..but if you comp/limit + gain etc, you actually have "raised the noise" level- if you want to put it like that, in a meaningfully way.
Think about it.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Actually, in psycho-acoustic terms, the "pumping" effect you can get with compression can be more objectionable than a simple raised noise floor. The brain does a much better job of ignoring a constant background noise than something that is constantly changing.
SafeandSound
New member
Normalization is bringing up a track by a fixed value (often relative to the peak level in the file).. i.e. normalize to 0dBFS for example. It is probably best to normalize if required to -1dBFS which leaves a little headroom. It is possible that some applications allow you to enter a positive value so to check the files for clipping (square topped/flat waveform peaks) Normalizing to a value below 0dBFS should not in itself cause distortion on 1 device and not another. Check for other causes, batteries failing, blown earbuds, impedance mismatch between your headphones and the output jack (high impedance headphones are more difficult to drive and my cause a cheap bad quality HP output to distort at higher volumes) it may be that the device is incapable of reproducing a full scale signal well.
You will need to narrow down and rule out the cause. Good luck.
SafeandSound Mastering
online mastering studio
You will need to narrow down and rule out the cause. Good luck.
SafeandSound Mastering
online mastering studio
J
jackbraglia
New member
nope, normalization does not reduce your S/N ratio (bring up the noise floor). its literally the same as turning up your volume. everything remains perfectly relative
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Er, well, it's true it doesn't change the Signal to Noise Ratio but it certainly does raise the noise floor--just like pushing up a fader does.
Let's say your track has a noise floor at -80dBFS and peaks at -12dBFS. Normalising to 0dBFS adds 12dB of gain to everything--both the signal and the noise floor--so your peaks sit at 0dBFS and your noise floor becomes -68dBFS. The same thing happens if you use a fader to add the 12dB of gain. So, although the S/N ratio hasn't changed (signal peaks are still 68dB above the noise floor) the absolute level of the noise floor HAS changed.
Let's say your track has a noise floor at -80dBFS and peaks at -12dBFS. Normalising to 0dBFS adds 12dB of gain to everything--both the signal and the noise floor--so your peaks sit at 0dBFS and your noise floor becomes -68dBFS. The same thing happens if you use a fader to add the 12dB of gain. So, although the S/N ratio hasn't changed (signal peaks are still 68dB above the noise floor) the absolute level of the noise floor HAS changed.
J
jackbraglia
New member
ummmm, well if that's how your logic works, then moving your ear closer to the speaker will also raise your noise floor. "raising of the noise floor" refers to raising it closer to the ceiling. Not just raising it in general. this is a very important thing to understand.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Your understanding is somewhat accurate but the conclusion you reach is very faulty.
As I say, your S/N ratio remains the same but, when you raise the noise floor you also bring the noise floor higher and may make it audible. In the example I posted above, the noise floor started at -80dBFS which is pretty much inaudible. However, adding 12dB of gain (whether through normalisation or pushing a fader changes this to -68dBFS which is getting to the range where it is audible when it's not masked by programme material.
Perhaps you work exclusively on modern/commercial music with little or no dynamic range but some of us work on material that still contains dynamics (and even periods of silence) and, in such a circumstance, moving the noise floor up is something to be very much aware of.
Your example of moving your ear closer to the speaker was probably meant to be a joke but it's actually quite apt. In the world of live sound (with it's high amplifier gain and, dare I say, lower standards than studios) it's quite common to hear a hiss (i.e. noise) when you get closer to the speaker arrays--but you can generally "get away with it" both because the audience is never that close to the speakers and because programme material masks the noise. However, if you boost the gain even more, that noise becomes more obvious even at a distance--especially when the band stops playing.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand, raising the noise floor is any increase in the noise without necessarily changing the difference between the noise and signal peaks. Or would you argue that, for example, cranking up a mic pre amp doesn't raise the noise floor of your recording because it doesn't bring the noise any closer to the peaks? When you refer to "raising it closer to the ceiling" (which is sloppy phrasing) what you're talking about is changing the signal to noise ratio. I agree that the difference is important to understand--but it's your understanding that's faulty.
As I say, your S/N ratio remains the same but, when you raise the noise floor you also bring the noise floor higher and may make it audible. In the example I posted above, the noise floor started at -80dBFS which is pretty much inaudible. However, adding 12dB of gain (whether through normalisation or pushing a fader changes this to -68dBFS which is getting to the range where it is audible when it's not masked by programme material.
Perhaps you work exclusively on modern/commercial music with little or no dynamic range but some of us work on material that still contains dynamics (and even periods of silence) and, in such a circumstance, moving the noise floor up is something to be very much aware of.
Your example of moving your ear closer to the speaker was probably meant to be a joke but it's actually quite apt. In the world of live sound (with it's high amplifier gain and, dare I say, lower standards than studios) it's quite common to hear a hiss (i.e. noise) when you get closer to the speaker arrays--but you can generally "get away with it" both because the audience is never that close to the speakers and because programme material masks the noise. However, if you boost the gain even more, that noise becomes more obvious even at a distance--especially when the band stops playing.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand, raising the noise floor is any increase in the noise without necessarily changing the difference between the noise and signal peaks. Or would you argue that, for example, cranking up a mic pre amp doesn't raise the noise floor of your recording because it doesn't bring the noise any closer to the peaks? When you refer to "raising it closer to the ceiling" (which is sloppy phrasing) what you're talking about is changing the signal to noise ratio. I agree that the difference is important to understand--but it's your understanding that's faulty.
6
60's guy
Guest
Why is everyone so adverse to dealing with every tune intended to be on a CD on an individual basis?
Who cares if the 1st song on the CD is .25 dB louder than the second song at a peak amplitude?
Normalizing individual tracks or an entire CD has never made any sense to me.
I've tried it and the results were absolutely horrible.
Who cares if the 1st song on the CD is .25 dB louder than the second song at a peak amplitude?
Normalizing individual tracks or an entire CD has never made any sense to me.
I've tried it and the results were absolutely horrible.
6
60's guy
Guest
And moving my head closer or further away from my monitors didn't help.
If the sound sucked.....it just sucked louder or softer.
JimmyS1969
MOODerator
No sense whatsoever. Absolutely none...
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Well, I can tell you why (but please don't assume my explanation means I agree with it!).
People these days are seriously averse to ever using the volume knob on their stereo (or MP3 player or car radio or whatever). That's why we get so many questions in here about "why are my recordings quieter than commercial ones". For whatever reason, any need to adjust playback level is viewed as a bad thing by the great unwashed.
Add to this the fact that listening habits have changed. Thirty or forty years ago, you listened to music on a big box in your living room (or, if you were a lucky teenager, your bedroom). Nowadays though, most listening is done on personal stereos or in cars. This means that you're listening in noisy environments like streets, buses or trains. This gives you a noise floor of 80 to 85dBSPL before you even get to the music. (It also gives us a generation of youths who are partially deaf by 21 but that's another argument.)
Of course, there's a lot more to the loudness wars than just the level of a single peak in your music--but that's the "why" were are where we are today.