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Roon Tip: Setting volume levels
#1
We all know how different albums require different volume settings to sound their best so we often set an album playing and then adjust volume slightly. Over time we come to know what volume setting works best for a lot of stuff and even what volume we prefer for some specific albums but we're in the dark when it comes to what volume setting to use for a new album. 

I don't know if you've noticed it but I've noticed a correlation between the dynamic range Roon calculates for albums in your library and the volume setting that I prefer for those albums. Once I noticed that I started trying to use the dynamic range as a guide to setting my volume level for new content I had added to my library and for content I haven't played in ages and found that it is possible to get a good result a lot of the time. Basically I guess you could think of what I'm about to describe as a kind of manual volume levelling technique that doesn't require DSP processing and lets you use Roon in bit perfect mode which isn't the case if you use volume levelling.

What I've found with my setup is that for albums with a dynamic range of 10 dB, a volume setting of -20 dB is usually optimal for me. If the dynamic range is greater than 10 dB, say 13 dB, increasing the volume setting to -17 dB tends to be optimal, basically for each 1 dB increase in dynamic range above 10 dB I increase the volume setting by 1 dB.

It would make sense then that for each 1 dB decrease in dynamic range below 10 dB I would decrease the volume setting by 1 dB so I would set my volume to -22 dB for an album with a dynamic range of 8 dB. That tends not to work quite so well for me and I often find that for albums with a more limited dynamic range than 10 dB I need to set my volume a bit higher than this "rule" would suggest, and I often find myself setting the volume somewhere between -22 dB and -20 dB for albums with a dynamic range of 5 or 6 dB.

This applies for PCM content. For DSD content I have to increase the volume setting the above method suggests by a further 6 dB or so.

In addition, there's a fair bit of variation in the level at which music albums are mastered and sometimes I need to adjust the volume from what this method suggest. I tend to listen to a lot of music on the ECM label and this approach works quite well with their releases but I've noticed that there are some record labels which consistently master their recordings at a slightly higher or lower level than ECM so with music from the ACT label for instance I tend to set my volume level 1 or 2 dB lower than I would for a recording from ECM with the same dynamic level.  Overall however this method works quite well for me.

If you want to experiment with it you're going to have to work out your own basic adjustment setting. Take a look at the dynamic range for a lot of the music you listen to and what level you set your volume control to for a result you like and work it out from there. If a lot of the music you play has a dynamic range of 7 dB and a volume setting of  - 18 dB works for you, then try increasing your volume by 1 dB for each increase of 1 dB in dynamic range and decreasing it by 1 dB for each 1 dB decrease in dynamic range, and increase that volume setting by 6 dB for DSD content. You'll soon get the hang of it.

Sadly this doesn't work for content streamed from a streaming service like Tidal because Roon doesn't calculate a dynamic range for content not stored on your own drive.

This isn't a perfect method of getting the volume setting that's just right for every album in your library, you're still going to find yourself adjusting volume from time to time, but it lets me get a pretty good volume setting most of the time with the kind of music I play and I find myself adjusting volume a lot less than I used to before I noticed this relationship. It's worth a try if you find yourself adjusting the volume frequently in order to try and get the result you like.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.

Brisbane, Qld, Australia
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#2
Yes, there is a relationship between recording level and dynamic range and the loudness wars are relevant.

Most of what I listen to is jazz, more acoustic jazz than electric jazz, and a lot of it comes from European labels like ECM and ACT. Roon shows a dynamic range of 8-10 dB for most of the recordings I listen to, quite often a range between 10 and 15 dB, and sometimes even greater than 15 dB. I suspect people who listen to classical also see Roon show similar dynamic range results for their recordings. I'm not saying I never play stuff that's been impacted by the loudness wars but by and large I definitely don't see the worst of what the loudness wars have inflicted on recordings in the recordings I play.

The method I outlined above works for me but, as I said, it does become less reliable when the dynamic range of a recording drops below the 8-10 dB range. If you play music with a reasonably decent dynamic range this method may be of use to you. If you play music with a limited dynamic range then it probably won't be much use. Its usefulness may also vary from recording label to recording label as I said. All people can do is to try it for themselves if they wish and see if they find it useful. Some may, some won't. YMMV.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.

Brisbane, Qld, Australia
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