Use Volume Leveling In Wmp 12 To Solve Loudness Problems

Rather than directly (and permanently) changing audio data, the WMP volume leveling feature measures the differences between songs and calculates a standard volume level. This is a non-destructive process that ensures each song you play is normalized in relation to other songs. The information is then stored in each song’s metadata (much like ReplayGain) to keep the levels for all future listening.

How to Automatically Normalize Your Music Library in WMP 12

If you want to eliminate or minimize major volume changes between songs in your Windows Media library, launch the WMP 12 application and follow these steps.

Points to Remember About WMP 12’s Auto-Leveling Feature

For the songs in your library that don’t have a volume leveling value stored in their metadata, you need to play them all the way through one time. WMP 12 only adds a normalization value after analyzing the file during playback. This is a slow process compared to the Sound Check feature in iTunes, which automatically scans all files in one go. If you had a large library before turning on volume leveling, set WMP to automatically level the volumes of new songs added to your library.

How to Automatically Add Volume Leveling When Adding New Songs

To ensure all new files added to your WMP 12 library have volume leveling applied automatically, follow these steps:

Why Does the Loudness Between Songs Vary So Much?

There’s a chance that the audio files on your computer or external storage device are not all from the same place. Many media libraries are created from:

Purchased and downloaded songs from online music services. Ripped songs from audio CDs. Downloaded songs from legal file-sharing sites. Recorded live performances. Analog sources like vinyl records or cassette tapes.

The problem with creating a library from multiple sources is that loudness, sound quality, and other factors can vary. Often the difference is so stark that you must constantly adjust the volume while listening. This is not an ideal way to listen to music, so enabling volume leveling is often worth the effort.