Issues with Match Loudness

Report · Sep 01, 2023

This is very strange.

I was matching the loudness of the clips in a mutitrack project separately in the Match Loudness effects window, before the mix - when I noticed few issues:

1. One clip's volume is definitely lower by about -2dB than the rest, and yet it is shown as having the same -16 dB loudness. It sounds lower, it shows lower in the meter - but not in the effect's window.

2. Any changes to the volume of any clip I make with the "envelope bar" (whatever it's called ) which have an immediate effect in playback, are NOT picked up by the Match Loudness effect. Whether I push it up or down, the volume is read at the same level.

3. Those manual volume changes on selected clips however ARE picked up in the mixdown and reflected in the mixed file.

What is going on here?... is this a glitch?.....

I also noticed that when at times I also process my audio on Auphonic after matching loudness in Audition, it corrects it by about 0.45 dB (every time).

Which one does the matching correctly ? Audition or Auphopnic?

Report · Sep 01, 2023

You have to bear in mind that Audition makes measurements, and doesn't have a pair of ears. The measurements it makes in loudness matching relate very much to total exposure levels as well as 'loudness' as such - having to make small manual corrections is par for the course. And Audition analyses the file that's saved. If you alter the volume level of the file without saving it, then obviously the measurement won't change. If you save the file and it still hasn't changed when you measure it - well that would be a different matter...

As for which software guesses 'correctly' - well that depends upon a number of technical factors, but if they are agreeing within 0.45dB then I'd say that was pretty good - considering that humans have difficulty discerning a 1dB level change!

Report · Sep 01, 2023

thanks. Yes - it doesn't read the volume changes AFTER I have removed the file from the matching window, SAVED the changes and put it back there. That's the problem.

..really?...I can hear the difference of 1dB in both speech and music. I must have very sensitive hearing.

Report · Sep 02, 2023

Most people can hear a jump of 1dB in continuous tone, but if I played you a series of clips with a 1 second gap between them but random differences of 1dB, there's no way you could do it. It was established many years ago that under any circumstances, a 1dB shift was the minimum level shift humans could detect and indeed, it's why we use deciBels (dB) rather than Bels.

Report · Sep 02, 2023

I have few unusual sensitivites 98% of the world population don't have 🙂 But that's irrelevant to the issue with the Match Loudness effects I have. I'm looking at the numbers here.

why aren't my volume changes in the multitrack, saved, being registered by Match Loudness?