dBoweramp & Asset: Album Artwork / Replaygain teething problems!

You certainly don't need to re-rip to fix album art!  As you know how to fix this with dbPoweramp . . . don't you think that'll be faster than waiting for the ripper to re-rip each cd?  "Bite the bullet" and fix it.  You should be able to do it cd-by-cd, not track-by-track. 

Replay gain - NO!  Just uncheck / delete that tag. 

The Naim App will display only one image, so I would forget about back covers, etc.  All that'll do is make each file bigger by embedding more data into the file.

Thanks Bart -  I’ll set about addressing the artwork issue by album and see how I get on. I don’t mind re ripping discs (if need be) as I can just set them going and let dBpoweramp crack on while I work on my other Mac.

Will also remove the tag for replay gain at the same time - rather than potentially change a bit perfect rip with this added complication.

I still have quite a few discs to go so i’m pleased I’ve found the problem early in the process! 

For many tracks replaygain values are minus, that is because modern tracks are mastered too loud, so to play at the same volume as a 1980's track, the 80 track is increased in volume, the 2016 track is decreased. This is replaygain working correctly as it should.

As MrSpoon points out (and he should know, he wrote the DB app) ReplayGain keeps the sound consistent.  This is more important when doing compilations as you'll go crazy reaching for the volume knob turn up or down if you have old and new music mixed in.  If you don't like it, the player can normally 'disable' from reading the tag and then volume is 'restored' to it's original level +/-, no need to delete the tag.

Regarding the album art, I think you can store all sorts - back, lyrics - but most just show the cover. And updating per album is the way to go, FLAC's take longer than MP3 as it has to update the whole file, so don't be having too much open on your computer to help speed things up.   

Just stick the album image in each album folder and save as folder.jpg. Asset will use this as the overall album art. You will need to tell Asset to rescan the collection.

Thanks for the help guys - much appreciated. Sorry for all these basic Q’s folks - just still finding my feet here - embarrassed face !

OK, so what’s the best thing to do? I’m assuming rip with replaygain to have the benefit of if / when playlist compilations are set up on the Naim app? Also, I take it that all replay gain does is adjust the volume according to age of disc and add nothing else to the sound? Great if that’s the case!

If in use, what is the best negative value to use in the LUFS Target Volume dBpoweramp set up (default is -23), and what about the rest of the check boxes?

And in relation to Asset, what values do I set in the replay gain box?

Plus, do I need to set anything on the Nam app?

I've just looked in my Asset and replay gain is not enabled. I wouldn't bother if I were you. You certainly can't do anything in the Naim app. There is a lot to be said for keeping things simple, then there's less yo go wrong. 

Yetizone posted:

Thanks for the help guys - much appreciated. Sorry for all these basic Q’s folks - just still finding my feet here - embarrassed face !

OK, so what’s the best thing to do? I’m assuming rip with replaygain to have the benefit of if / when playlist compilations are set up on the Naim app? Also, I take it that all replay gain does is adjust the volume according to age of disc and add nothing else to the sound? Great if that’s the case! 

 

You might read the Wikipedia entry on reply gain; it will tell you how it works.

Does the Naim player s/w version you're using support Replay Gain at this point? If not, it will be quieter / lower in volume.

Replay Gain applied at the server side is a transcoding process; applied at the player side, on the other hand, it can be done within the digital (or in some cases, within the analogue) domain.

Thanks for the responses folks. Much appreciated as always.

HH. I think you might be right!