is it me or are earwolf shows really loud?

[saskrotch 1]

i dunno if it's my headphones, or what, but every time i open an earwolf show mp3 in google reader, i have to drop the volume down to like 20% on the mp3, and still have the computer's volume to half.

[Julia 477]

Nigel, I don't really have that issue. But I do think there's a notable volume difference between current shows and older episodes of Comedy Bang Bang (back in its early CDR days).

[Kaitis 0]

This happens to me also, but I wouldn't call it a problem. Sometimes I just have to use one earbud, or am trying to drown out another sound. I would always rather turn it down, because you can only turn it up so much. I've always seen this as a positive, and hope they have no plans to change it.

[robstraws 16]

I drop it down to maybe 80% but never As low as you do. If anything I am glad it's a little loud, sometimes that's called for.

[Cold Bones 1]

They're definitely loud. I do most of my listening on my phone, and some podcasts I can't get loud enough to hear well in my car with an earbud in. It's never an issue with Earwolf shows.

I recently imported a CBB episode into Pro Tools to check out the levels, and if the engineers responsible are listening, I'd love to know what tools you use to acheive it. It's very very compressed, but you get a really natural sound. Nice job!

[bschap 0]

i also have to drop my phone volume. no big deal. earwolf shows sound 10 times better than anything else i listen to. crisp clear and good compression

[bschap 0]

i also have to drop my phone volume. no big deal. earwolf shows sound 10 times better than anything else i listen to. crisp clear and good compression

[Bucho 188]

It's much better to have them mixed loud. Podcasts are listened to in cars, in trains, while mowing the lawn or vacuuming, while operating power tools and while riding loud animals such as oxen and walruses. It's zero trouble to turn the volume down compared with trying to push the volume past 100% if it's mixed too quiet. I think the Earwolf engineers do a great job.

[Bucho 188]

It's much better to have them mixed loud. Podcasts are listened to in cars, in trains, while mowing the lawn or vacuuming, while operating power tools and while riding loud animals such as oxen and walruses. It's zero trouble to turn the volume down compared with trying to push the volume past 100% if it's mixed too quiet. I think the Earwolf engineers do a great job.

[PLELTH 0]

It can be a terrifying surprise, but I wish all poscasts were this loud and compressed. I live in a big city and use public transit multiple times a day. I can't listen to a lot of other podcasts in transit.

[DustinMartian 89]

Engineer Dustin here,

"If it's too loud, turn it down." - Weezer

We have a very specific formula for our post production. It's does require a lot of compression and a limiter. It takes the raw audio and pushes the volume up in stereo and then limits it before peaking.

I am a fan turned engineer mind you, nothing is worse than a long car trip and a podcast that is too quiet! What our production does is keep the quiet conversation at the same volume as the loud conversation. All podcasts are different, just like all albums are different. Terrestrial radio goes through many different forms of compression. Not only is most music compressed into a master file, then into a digital file, THEN into an mp3 (don't get me started), terrestrial radio compresses it once more before broadcast! It's that tired "all music on the radio sounds the same" line, yet as the industry standard gets louder and louder it quite literally does all sound the same.

We just have our formula, as other shows have theirs and we all have different equipment, set ups etc etc

Thank you for all the compliments everyone! Just plan your volume ahead of time to avoid us blowing your ears out!

- D