Topic: Normalization vs Amplification in Audacity

[jagraham]

Just curious for anyone else using unmatched microphones - How do you match and raise the levels in post? I'm using Audacity 3.0.2. I use Nakamichi CM-100s and CM-300s as well as AT-853s and Sennheiser MKE-2s for stealth. I believe all but the MKE-2s are unmatched and have different levels in the resulting WAV file. To get the levels even, I usually reduce any unwanted peaks in the recording like claps and pops, etc, then normalize peak amplitude to -0.01, with "remove DC offset" and "normalized stereo channels independently" checked as well. I thought this was proper procedure until I saw the following torrent comments on DIME...

"Normalized" = BIG Bummer"
"It's not so much about altering the sound if it were an improvement, but "Normalizing" a recording is one of the worst things you could do to it. It takes all the "depths & dynamics" right out of the recording.
Even converting a good quality recording to MP3 isn't as bad."

These suggest reduced dynamics and general reduced quality after using the normalize function. Is there any truth to this? I can't really tell in a side by side comparison. I'm wondering if I should be amplifying the channels separately instead.

[bluegrass_brad]

They are getting normalization and compression mixed up. Normalizing just increases volume equally across the recording to a set number set by the biggest peak. So it amplifies to a percentage of volume of the largest peak up to 0db, it doesnt change dynamics at all.

[jagraham]

^ Thank you, I thought I was going crazy. The commenter was maybe not a taper but a regular poster on the site that mostly posts old shows from the 70s and 80s. I could see how the two could be mixed up by someone not processing modern recordings. I've been doing it this way for many years so I'm glad I didn't waste many hours processing shows.

[goodcooker]

Normalization IS amplification. That person has no idea what they are talking about.