Topic: increasing sound levels with editing software

[noam]

Any opinions about using the master level function in editing software to increase sound levels of a CD? You basically get a louder CD – does it affect the longevity of the burnt CD-R or the sound quality? - Noam

[Brian Skalinder]

What software?
And within the software, what, exactly, does the "master level" function do?  Normalize? Compress?

Whatever it does, it won't affect the longevity of the burnt CD.  It will affect the sound, depending on what exactly it does.

• If it simply normalizes (raise levels evenly across the entire recording so the highest peak hits ~0 dB), the sound quality will basically be the same, just louder.
• If it compresses (reduces the dynamic range and then amplifies), then yes, this will result in a noticeable change in sound quality.  Whether that result is good or bad depends on the listener.