[consultant]

Hi,

I used to run iTunes on a PC and Sync my iPod (3G) with the PC. One day I bit the bullet and purchased a shiney new G5 (yummy) and promptly transferred all of my iTunes library across to the Mac G5.

I set the Mac iTunes library up and was happy as a sand boy..... until.....

I realised that any music I ripped on the G5 was about 3 to 6db quieter than the music ripped on the PC..... hmmm what gives I thought?

I've run side-by-side comparisons re-ripping CDs that were on the PC and playing them alongside each other. It's not my imagination, it's a fair difference. If my high school physics serves me correctly, 3db quiter means that it's quiter by a magnitude of three?

The difference is even more noticable when using iTrip. The manual reckons that the iPod volume should be turned up about one third of full. For PC ripped iTunes this is certainly fine. But when I come to tunes ripped on the Mac I have to turn the volume up to between three quarters and FULL.

If anyone has any ideas on how to return my MP3 import volumes to their previous levels on the PC I'll be forever grateful.

BTW, I do believe it's OS specific, since I used LAME in my tests also and LAME was consistent with my Mac iTunes findings. Ripping tunes on OSX is simply significantly quieter.

Cheers

T.

[wulf]

Originally posted by consultant:
If my high school physics serves me correctly, 3db quiter means that it's quiter by a magnitude of three?

-3dB = 25% decrease in volume, i.e., by a quarter. -6dB = 50% decrease in volume, i.e., by half.

Not really sure why you're getting this problem - have you tried turning off Sound Check in Preferences?

[bmedina]

Do you have Sound Check turned on in iTunes' preferences? What software are you using to rip on the PC? On the Mac?

If you can post a sample of each, we can tell you if there truly is a difference or it's just the set up on your computer.

Oh, and BTW, +3db is a doubling of the perceived volume.

[wulf]

Originally posted by bmedina:
Oh, and BTW, +3db is a doubling of the perceived volume.

No, +3dB is double the power. Double the perceived volume is usually taken to be +6dB (four times the power, double the voltage) in digital audio metrics.

Some will go by +10dB being a doubling of volume. But most pros (and pro equipment) go by the 6, 12, 18, 24 dB scale. Seems to work best in practical use.