Should music players adjust volume automatically?

[Silas Loom]

I’m thinking particularly of orchestral music by the Romantics and their modern instrumental rock counterparts. It’s all very well adapting to the contrast between a couple of flutes introducing a theme and the full orchestra roaring it out when one is sitting in a concert hall, but volume in domestic settings is constrained by middle-aged deafness at the lower end, and consideration for others at the upper. This means that I am constantly barking at Alexa to raise or lower the volume.

But Alexa should be cleverer than this. So should Spotify, for that matter. So should all the hardware involved. It would be trivial to devise a volume setting which pays respect to the original intentions of the sound engineers, while keeping the highs and lows within sensible limits.

Purists might object, but they wouldn’t have to use the feature, which shouldn’t be any more upsetting to them than graphic equalisers.

Please vote in the poll. If Urban is in favour, I will devote my new-found leisure and limited resources entirely to researching and overcoming the reasons why this has not happened yet.

 

[SpookyFrank]

'Alexa, order me a proper stereo'

 

[Silas Loom]

'Alexa, order me a proper stereo'

Oh, does the feature exist already? It wasn’t available on the mid-priced stereos we had in the olden days before smart speakers.

 

[SpookyFrank]

But seriously, the music industry has proven itself unable to respect the dynamics of sound hence everything sounding compressed and over-loud. Any solution they came up with would effectively undo the work of musicians, producers, sound engineers etc who actually bother to create something that goes against this trend.

Go listen to the opening of Das Rheingold and tell me it would work just as well without the near-silent beginning building to an all-consuming roar. Level that out, and the music suddenly means nothing, it'd just be one chord for five minutes.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Oh, does the feature exist already? It wasn’t available on the mid-priced stereos we had in the olden days before smart speakers.

No, but if you care about sound quality and you're listening to your music on an alexa speaker then you're doing it wrong.

 

[Silas Loom]

But seriously, the music industry has proven itself unable to respect the dynamics of sound hence everything sounding compressed and over-loud. Any solution they came up with would effectively undo the work of musicians, producers, sound engineers etc who actually bother to create something that goes against this trend.

Go listen to the opening of Das Rheingold and tell me it would work just as well without the near-silent beginning building to an all-consuming roar. Level that out, and the music suddenly means nothing, it'd just be one chord for five minutes.

I’m not suggesting that it should level out, just that crescendos should operate within a narrower range.

 

[SpookyFrank]

I’m not suggesting that it should level out, just that crescendos should operate within a narrower range.

Narrowing range = levelling out.

 

[Silas Loom]

No, but if you care about sound quality and you're listening to your music on an alexa speaker then you're doing it wrong.

I’m happy with mp3s, so I’m not discriminating enough to be any sort of audiophile. The Echo is fine. I just don’t want to miss out on the softer sections or annoy the neighbours.

 

[moochedit]

Would be handy on tv's. Often have to turn up for dialogue and then down again when a scene with music/explosions/gun fire/whatever happens. Also adverts often sound louder.

 

[SpookyFrank]

I’m happy with mp3s, so I’m not discriminating enough to be any sort of audiophile. The Echo is fine. I just don’t want to miss out on the softer sections or annoy the neighbours.

Do you just have the one smart speaker? Even basic cheapo stereo speakers will give you more immersion and detail without an increase in volume.

 

[Silas Loom]

Do you just have the one smart speaker? Even basic cheapo stereo speakers will give you more immersion and detail without an increase in volume.

Yes, just the one. But the problem still existed when I had more expensive stereo kit playing CDs or even vinyl.

 

[planetgeli]

Would be handy on tv's. Often have to turn up for dialogue and then down again when a scene with music/explosions/gun fire/whatever happens. Also adverts often sound louder.

That's because adverts are louder.

 

[ska invita]

I guess you could buy a compressor to chain in for your hifi/tv set up
or a brickwall even
might even be an app for computer setups
( ihavent read the link )

 

[moochedit]

That's because adverts are louder.

Yes i guess that's intentional but it's annoying.

 

[Silas Loom]

I guess you could buy a compressor to chain in for your hifi/tv set up
or a brickwall even
might even be an app for computer setups
( ihavent read the link )

So the technology exists, and the only reason it hasn’t been fitted to the Echo is that Amazon hates its users. Useful to have it confirmed.

 

[pogofish]

I thought Alexa only adjusted volume for voice? Which can be switched on or off in its settings? For music, that's a function of the streaming/player software it uses, which again if it's Amazon Music, can be changed in settings - "normalisation"

 

[chemn]

Do you just have the one smart speaker? Even basic cheapo stereo speakers will give you more immersion and detail without an increase in volume.

I disagree. I have my TV plugged into an amp and stereo speakers and the difference between speech and the music/FX track is maddening.

 

[Silas Loom]

I thought Alexa only adjusted volume for voice? Which can be switched on or off in its settings? For music, that's a function of the streaming/player software it uses, which again if it's Amazon Music, can be changed in settings - "normalisation"

I use Alexa to play Spotify. I chastise her when she lies that an album isn’t on Spotify and tries to fob me off with an Amazon Music compilation featuring “similar artists”.

Anyway, Spotify doesn’t have such a setting AFAICS. [edit. Spotify does have this setting, but it is already engaged. Maybe it isn’t on my wife’s account, though, which is the one linked to Alexa]

 

[ska invita]

 

[danny la rouge]

So the technology exists, and the only reason it hasn’t been fitted to the Echo is that Amazon hates its users. Useful to have it confirmed.

Compression has been around forever. It’s very much a thing. I suggest you try Classic FM, they very much turn it up to 11, the way you would appreciate. I can see their argument. Especially for car listeners. It’s also one of the reasons I personally don’t listen to Classic FM. But we’re all different.

 

[ska invita]

"VLC player has a built in compressor that I use when I'm watching movies and TV shows through it"


if thats true you can use that for when using a bluetooth speaker too

ETA - its tru



play something loud and move the THRESHOLD bar down to squash the loudest bits
play something quiet and move the MAKE UP GAIN bar up a bit to make those bits louder
experiment

 

[Silas Loom]

Compression has been around forever. It’s very much a thing. I suggest you try Classic FM, they very much turn it up to 11, the way you would appreciate. I can see their argument. Especially for car listeners. It’s also one of the reasons I personally don’t listen to Classic FM. But we’re all different.

We discussed the problem with DJs yesterday, I think. They talk. And Classic FM presumably has ads into the bargain.

But it’s telling that Classic FM in particular is alert to the problem with the likes of Tchaikovsky.

 

[danny la rouge]

We discussed the problem with DJs yesterday, I think. They talk. And Classic FM presumably has ads into the bargain.

Yes, to be fair these are some of the other reasons I don’t listen to Classic FM.

 

[pogofish]

I use Alexa to play Spotify. I chastise her when she lies that an album isn’t on Spotify and tries to fob me off with an Amazon Music compilation featuring “similar artists”.

Anyway, Spotify doesn’t have such a setting AFAICS. [edit. Spotify does have this setting, but it is already engaged. Maybe it isn’t on my wife’s account, though, which is the one linked to Alexa]

Yes, Spotify does have that setting but it is buried away somewhere and due to the different types of license/registration it could well only be available to the account owner/manager.

Don't start me on Amazon Music's algorithm - which seems permanently set to choose everything I don't like/don't want to hear and eventually degenerates to Neil Diamond, no matter what I start off listening to!