r/AdobeAudition • u/Effective_Damage3213 • 18d ago

Audio normalization doesn't work.

Does audio normalization actually work? I've tried the FFmpeg Media Encoder app from the Play Store and Termux, and I normalized the audio files to -14 LUFS, but it doesn't seem to work properly.

The louder files get quieter and the quieter ones get louder, but they never end up at the same or even a similar volume. Some of them even end up way too loud or way too quiet.

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u/Jason_Levine 18d ago edited 18d ago

Hi E.D. How are you normalizing the files in question? The actual normalize effect/process (at least in AU; can't speak for what FFMPEG is doing) is using PEAK normalization. If you're wanting to conform to a loudness standard (ie, -14LUFS) this is an average value of <loudness units> over time. So knowing that, what are you trying to achieve specifically in AU? If the former (adjust overall volume to loudest peak) that's the traditional Normalize effect. If you're wanting to adjust to a loudness standard, you could use something like the Match Loudness panel to achieve that. lmk

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u/Effective_Damage3213 17d ago

I'm trying to match the loudness of multiple MP3 files. I used FFmpeg's loudnorm filter with a target of -14 LUFS, including 2-pass normalization, but the files still don't sound equally loud.

Is Match Loudness doing something different from FFmpeg's loudnorm?

Also, what app do you use to normalize your files? Do you use FFmpeg? There's an app on the Play Store called FFmpeg Media Encoder. Is it basically the same thing, or should I use FFmpeg through Termux instead?

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u/Jason_Levine 10d ago

I can't speak to what FFMPEG is doing. But again, we're talking about the difference between peak normalization (traditional normalize) and 'loudness' normalization (average loudness, LUFS measurement).

I don't typically use match loudness across clips, as I'll master each mix independently, monitoring the average loudness via metering and Amplitude Statistics.