difference in sound quality?

[pmax330]

hi

could someone please tell me why is there such a massive audio quality difference between car radio and car cd player?? i mean when i put the radio on in my car you have nice bass and loudness without putting volume up to full, but when i put some music on a cd and put it on in my car i have to put the volume up to like 20 before it gets any louder and sound quality is good but bass is rubbish. am i doing something wrong? is there i don't know a different way of recording cd's or something or is this normal?

sorry if this is off the topic but i thought this would be the best place to search for an advice.

thanks

 

[fireberd]

I notice a difference in volume level between the radio and a CD in my auto, too. The audio level can also vary with CD's, from both commercial audio CD's and burned CD's.

Bass is usually emphasized on radio, so in most cases it will be more than a CD. I have a recording studio and try to mix my songs for a variety of audio devices, from home stereo to car audio to MP3 players, etc.

 

[pmax330]

I notice a difference in volume level between the radio and a CD in my auto, too. The audio level can also vary with CD's, from both commercial audio CD's and burned CD's.

Bass is usually emphasized on radio, so in most cases it will be more than a CD. I have a recording studio and try to mix my songs for a variety of audio devices, from home stereo to car audio to MP3 players, etc.

because today i went into my car and i had bbc radio 1 on and volume was only on 10 and it was quite loud and bass was amazing and then i switched to the cd and it was quite quiet and bass almost gone completely which is very annoying;/ i thought maybe there is a way to change some settings while recording a cd or something

 

[fireberd]

If ALL audio CD's have no bass, it could be a problem with the car's audio CD player?

Where are the song files coming from that you are burning to a CD? If you have a "normalize" option in your burning or ripping program, use that and it will keep the volume level constant between songs.

Generally, you can't do much to music once its mixed. I've had people come to me with songs that were mixed somewhere else and there isn't much I can do to it. However, you can try to increase the low end (bass) with an audio editor and save that file.

 

[pmax330]

If ALL audio CD's have no bass, it could be a problem with the car's audio CD player?

Where are the song files coming from that you are burning to a CD? If you have a "normalize" option in your burning or ripping program, use that and it will keep the volume level constant between songs.

Generally, you can't do much to music once its mixed. I've had people come to me with songs that were mixed somewhere else and there isn't much I can do to it. However, you can try to increase the low end (bass) with an audio editor and save that file.

well maybe i have said it wrong.. there is a bass but in comparison to radio bass it is weak and to hear it properly i need to put the volume up to 20/25. i just download my music, usually whole albums. and i use ashampoo burning studio to burn them onto a cd.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I think FM radio stations diddle with the equalization and compression on their broadcasts much more than they did 10 or 15 years ago---emphasizing bass for one thing. It's all part of a scheme to get you to listen to that station.

Commercial music CDs are also subject to a lot of deliberate manipulation in the studio before the masters are pressed. They do it for the same reason as radio stations.

You might Google "loudness wars". It's pathetic.

If you want anything close to a reasonably flat frequency response curve, you'll have to do the adjustments on your side--tone controls on playback, ripping CDs and using your own equalization before burning, etc, to undo the mess.

Most listeners have been retrained by radio and are so accustomed to the overloaded bass that anything approaching a flat response curve is regarded as weak or poor or low fidelity.

It sounds like you have been well-trained and the radio stations have succeeded again.

 

[Wishmaster]

It extends beyond radio stations too.
I found out that many headphones 'color" the sound as well when I was looking for a nice set. I ended up with the Sennheisers for the reason they were flat, as I prefer it that way. Better results when adjuting the EQ too IMHO.


If you adjust your EQ, bumping up the low end and a bit on the high end, youll likely start finding a close match to the radio. But as mentioned, a lot depends on the CD itself.

But if you downloading music and its at a very low bit rate, it will probably never sound that good once burned to disc. Much of the sound quality has been thrown away in the compression process and can never be restored. Just depends on the quality source, rip quality/codec used, and the bit rate of the file.