Yorkie Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I've been invited to suggest solutions for a background music system that isn't up to scratch. It consists of a pocket MP3 player connected to a Yamaha 200W mono mixer amp. A dynamic mic is used to make announcements a few times a week. The speakers are small hi-fi types - they are suitable size, well installed and appropriate. The main issue is that there is great variation in the levels of the MP3's. Normal level track plays fine, Loud track plays, staff turn it down, quiet track plays, boss comes in asking why there's no music playing... I have no quantifiable data on the level of the variation or the number of tracks that it affects. I asked a friend who is far more knowledgeable about sound that I, to demonstrate a good limiter, which he did using Protools and a pair of decent headphones. We agreed that it didn't sound good enough, so I'm back to the drawing board. He tells me that CD's will usually be mastered to the same level, albeit with some variation across genres so I may be dealing with some tracks that have been converted to MP3 weirdly. The MP3 player is rather old so they are happy to buy a new one. If they go for a rackmount one, something with a mic input would be a huge help (suggestions welcome) as another possibility they have raised is exchanging the Mixer amp for a much smaller unit (1U would be nice) and installing it more out of the way. Apparently iPods have an option to normalise (?) levels, anybody know if it would be any use? What's the easiest/best way to deal with the MP3's at different levels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Is there an option to install even a cheap laptop? Maybe even a netbook. itunes has "soundcheck" which is meant to even out volume differences between tracks. No idea how well it behaves, but it might be an idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savage1 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I don't no about ipods but itunes definitely had a feature to normalise levels. On the subject of 1U mp3 players witha mic input I think gemeni have something that fits the bill and its pretty cheap too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Might be worth looking at some of the boxes used in radio broadcasting from the likes of Inovonics as they're designed for exactly this purpose. New current models are expensive but if you could find something second hand you may get a good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsk Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 You could run the mp3s through something like thishttp://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbaileypro Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I can confirm that iPods do allow for the same iTunes "sound check" feature to normalise the tracks. You need to select this in iTunes first so that the computer analyses the tracks prior to syncing with the iPod. I think it has been a feature on most iPods so you could even get a second hand one if the budget is small. In the real world it works quite well but there can still be variations in tracks that have quite large dynamics. The best thing for background music is just to exclude those tracks from your choice.I would agree that a cheap laptop would allow you to do all the above and be able to easily load music onto it. An old laptop that has a CD/DVD drive could be useful when loading tracks on the machine. One note is that you may want to look at other topics regarding hums and noise coming from some laptop power supplies. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Riley Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Perhaps a rack mount compressor instead of a limiter could also provide some less aggressive assistance than that which your protools toting friend showed you? In conjunction with sound check on iTunes you may find that between them they solve the problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesperrett Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 He tells me that CD's will usually be mastered to the same level, albeit with some variation across genres so I may be dealing with some tracks that have been converted to MP3 weirdly. Your friend is wrong about CD's - levels can vary widely but, in general, more recently mastered CD's will be louder than older CD's thanks to the 'Loudness Wars'. If the selection of songs doesn't change very often then I would suggest copying them to a computer, running them through the mp3gain software suggested above and then copying them back to the mp3 player. If the selection of songs changes regularly then you'll need a compressor which can be set up with a fast attack time and very slow release. James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Thanks for all your help with this, I think the MP3Gain software will be the way to go for now, especially as they rarely change their music. Installing a computer really isn't an option in this instance as the counter that the system is currently installed underneath is used for food and drink service. Also, I think that a computer would provide far too much opportunity for things to go wrong. James, in defence of my friend, I think your statement is much closer to what he said than my paraphrase! My next potential issue with this project is trying to find a rackmount MP3 player with a balanced mic input (allowing them to lose the mixer and put the mic in a separate room to the MP3 player). Currently my only find is the American Audio Media Operator. Anyone used one or a suitable alternative? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Cheap, second hand behringer compressors are on ebay all the time - 30-40 quid and will do the job pretty nicely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owain Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 If you can't find a unit with a mic input, use a pre-amp-inna-box to take a mic up to line level, couple of pots for passive mixing/crossfading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simontaylor Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 This handy device will play MP3s from an SD card or USB stick, and also has a microphone input on the front. Could be of some use? Very well priced too. http://www.americandj.eu/default/media-operator.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Currently my only find is the American Audio Media Operator. Anyone used one or a suitable alternative? http://www.americandj.eu/default/media-operator.html Ummmm..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleah Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Currently my only find is the American Audio Media Operator. Anyone used one or a suitable alternative? http://www.americandj.eu/default/media-operator.html Ummmm..... Don't bother. The mic input is completely useless, also the level controls are unintuative. IIRC you can adjust the mic level (although the level is so low it's useless anyway) but the other control that alters the music volume is actually a Master, so it also controls the mic level, meaning you can't turn the music down to make an anouncement..... :blink: Great little rack mount mp3 player, bloody useless mic input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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