On Tuesday, May 21, 2002, 1:31:48 PM, in message "[Kraftwerk] Computer World - Digital Remaster", Rob wrote:
When I mix songs from Computer World with other CD tracks, I notice at the very least the volume is lower than other CD's. I hope more than that is "mastered."
Yes, the important thing for me is that I could get a copy that is louder, but I don't think you can.
I say pump up the volume yourself. Digitally rip all the tracks from Computer World, open them up in a sound editor, such as SoundForge (probably too expensive) or GoldWave (shareware, free trial will get you through this just fine), and then first normalize, then (if it's not loud enough compared to other songs still) compress the dynamics using a compressor/dynamics tool. This tool will make louder sounds louder and softer sound softer. For example, if you notice that pretty much most of the song is peaking at -4db, but there are a few places that just happen to hit the 0db ceiling, you can either manually soften them or apply a compressor starting at the -4db threshold and having a ratio of 4:1 or so. This will free up some headroom, so you can normalize and raise the overall volume by 3-4db. (Search the web for the terminology, but a difference of 6db is equivalent to half the volume... so a sound that hits at 0db is the loudest, -3db is 25%, and -6db is 50%). After you're done with your favorite tracks or the whole album, burn it back on a CD-R and enjoy a quality "remastered" version. (Audiophiles may protest..) but what you will have essentially done is purely digital processing, with effects applied that don't affect the "color" of the songs. As a result, you'll enjoy a louder, yet still similarly dynamic Kraftwerk record. - Oleg uksi@uksiland.com