"Scott Gardner" wrote in message


Thanks for the advice so far. I may not have made myself
clear in my original post, since some of the responses have been
concentrating on my playback device rather than the recording process.
Here's the issue I'm having in a nutshell.

If I record the same song twice, once from CD and once from
vinyl, the file created from CD is louder than the file created from
vinyl.

First and foremost, this may be due to differences in the mastering of the
two different individual pieces of media. This is particularly true for CDs
that have been mastered in the last 10-15 years. They tend to be more
compressed (higher average RMS for equal peak) and might also have their
spectral balance shifted to increase sonic intensity in the midrange where
the ear is more sensitive.

For a definition of mastering please see
http://www.recaudiopro.net/faq/index.htm .

This is the case whether I play the files back on my PC or on
my iPod.

You should be able to see the difference on the screen in Sound Forge.

On the iPod, I find that I'm putting the volume setting at
about 50% for the file that started off life as a CD, and about
60-75% for the file that started off as vinyl, to get about the same
listening level.

I don't doubt it. However, the results could reverse themselves given other
choices of LPs and CDs. In some cases the LP and CD have similar dynamics
and mastering. Since these are all artistic choices, they are affected by
personal judgments, and not necessarily technological limitations. In the
final analysis, a CD can possibly have far greater dynamic range than a LP,
but few recordings seriously tax the dynamic range limitations of LP, other
than the usual hiss tics and pops.

Normally, I would chalk this up to simply having the recoding
level set too low when I record from vinyl. But as I mentioned in my
original post, I'm already getting peaks in the -0.5 dB range, and I
have the input level turned all the way up anyway, so I couldn't
increase any further during recording it if I wanted to.

Agreed.

You're talking about subjective loudness, here. The peak loudness may be the
same, but the timbre and dynamics may vary.

I have some errands to run today, but tonight I'm going to do
more experiments. I'm going to record the same song again from both
CD and vinyl, leaving them in .WAV format so I can analyze them with
SoundForge, and compare both the peak level and the RMS level.

I've done this and it can be somewhat revelatory. All other things being
equal, perceived loudness follows average RMS levels far more closely than
peak levels. However, perceived loudness is also dependent on spectral
balance. If the timbre is balanced for a stronger sound in the midrange,
perceived loudness will be greater, even if peak and average RMS
measurements are the same.

I don't know what tools are available in Sound Forge, but in Adobe Audition
there is a tool for measuring spectral balance and content.

If for
some reason, both files are peaking near 0.0 dB, but the CD has a
higher RMS level, that would explain the effects I'm hearing when I
play the files back.

Agreed.

I know it *shouldn't* be the case, since CD has
a much higher dynamic range than vinyl, but it will give me something
else to check out.

Again, you're comparing two commercial products whose sonic properties
reflect what some people think will sell and satisfy the average listener.
You're probably hearing what someone wanted you to hear, not the limits of
the media, particularly when that media is CD.