Loudness, volume and level are three different things and tend to be misused.

Volume is passive and can only be cut.

Level is active and can be boosted or cut.

Loudness requires the manipulation of the individual frequencies.

The Decibel [dB] is not an easy concept to grasp as it is not a finite measurement. It is a measure of the ratio between two quantities

With regard to sound, the decibel is an expression of power or intensity relative to a reference level.

This reference is usually 0 dB using professional equipment and -10 dB for consumer equipment.

Because the decibel is a logarithmic unit, a decrease of 6 dB will cut the power or intensity by half.

The decibel is used for audio power measurement because it has logarithmic scaling which corresponds to the way our ears convey our perception of the power of a sound to our brain.

Volume controls act logarithmically whereas level and frequency controls are linear.

Why am I telling you all this stuff that has got most of you bored from the first sentence?

In the Music Players section of this website you will find a way to control the initial level of the sound file in a single song player so that, if you put several on a page, you can get them all to play at approximately the same level.

When you use a jukebox style player that employs a playlist of songs from various sources and reproduced at different levels, you lose control. The sound levels of the individual tracks will be jumping all over the place and the listener will be irritated and confused. We don’t want that - do we?

The solution to this is to do a little preproduction on your files.

Although it is possible to do otherwise if you have the tools, the easiest way is to go with the lowest common denominator.

Pick the the file that sounds the quietest, load it into your favorite audio editor and note the pre fade output level.

For the sake of argument we’ll say that my quiet file is maxing out at -6 dB.

Below, I have loaded a “louder” file and, although this section is showing the maximum level to be less than 0 dB it is actually right up to the mark on the loudest section as a good recording should be.

Here I have selected the meter to read the pre fade level and the master level control is at unity gain.

Master Fader at Unity

Pre Fade

Maximum Level

Output level -6 dB

Post Fade

Maximum Level

Now the meter is reading post fader

Master Fader at Unity

Post Fade

Maximum Level

The output has been reduced by 6 dB to match my “quiet” file and I’m going to export it as an MP3 at this level after adding any meta data.

Once I have “matched” all my tracks, I can upload the files to my server along with the player assets, playlist(s) etc and get on with creating the jukebox on my webpage.