Dynamic Range Meter

A couple of months ago I’ve found a very interesting website which fights against the loudness war; Dynamic Range Database.

The Dynamic Range Database uses a sliding scale from 1 to 20 (1 being the worst, 20 being the best) to rank the dynamic quality of each of the recordings they list. This number represents the difference between the peak decibel level on a recording and the recording’s average loudness.

Dynamic Range Database applies the following descriptors to these ranges:
1-7=bad; 8-13=transition; and 14-20=good.

Evaluation for each album on the website includes the album’s average dynamic range, the track with the weakest dynamic range, and the track with the greatest. The Dynamic Range Database also provides individual dynamic range measurements for each track on the album. Below on this page you find three free downloads to test your own collection of CDs, DVDs, LPs or your music files. You can also share and add your results to the Dynamic Range Database by simply fill in the form and upload your data.

Below an example taken from an “Eagles – Hotel California” CD.

	
 foobar2000 1.3.1 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
 log date: 2015-01-20 19:23:29

 ---------------------------------------------------------------
 Analyzed: Eagles / Hotel California [1985 Digital Master]
 ---------------------------------------------------------------

 DR      Peak         RMS     Duration Track
 ---------------------------------------------------------------
 DR15   -2.48 dB   -20.88 dB   6:31 01-Hotel California
 DR13   -3.64 dB   -20.10 dB   5:05 02-New Kid In Town
 DR15   -1.10 dB   -19.42 dB   4:47 03-Life In The Fast Lane
 DR13   -5.56 dB   -23.03 dB   4:55 04-Wasted Time
 DR11   -8.73 dB   -26.29 dB   1:24 05-Wasted Time (Reprise)
 DR13   -4.82 dB   -21.04 dB   4:10 06-Victim Of Love
 DR15   -5.47 dB   -25.32 dB   3:59 07-Pretty Maids All In A Row
 DR13   -4.03 dB   -20.54 dB   5:12 08-Try And Love Again
 DR13   -3.28 dB   -21.88 dB   7:27 09-The Last Resort
 ---------------------------------------------------------------

 Number of tracks:  9
 Official DR value: DR14

 Samplerate:        44100 Hz
 Channels:          2
 Bits per sample:   16
 Bitrate:           634 kbps
 Codec:             FLAC
 ===============================================================

Users on the Dynamic Range Database have the choice to download out of three free utilities to take their measurements:

• Dynamic Range Meter, a foobar2000 plugin
• Dynamic Range Meter, stand alone program for Windows
• Dynamic Range Meter, stand alone program for Mac

Thanks for visiting. Feel free to leave a comment and say hi.

As some seem to believe I’m the author of these apps, that’s not the case, I only put them online for them who seek this nifty apps.