I have found that many do not like the Sound Check feature in iTunes.
Will enabling Sound Check lower sound quality?
Why does/does it not reduce sound quality?
IPhone – Does iTunes Sound Check Lower Sound Quality
iphoneitunesmacossound-volume
Related Solutions
You can use X Lossless Decoder(XLD) too:
X Lossless Decoder(XLD) is a tool for Mac OS X that is able to decode/convert/play various 'lossless' audio files. The supported audio files can be split into some tracks with cue sheet when decoding. It works on Mac OS X 10.4 and later.
because it's lossless it keeps the best sound quality.
Apple recommends using the following formats for your iTunes:
- Audio files (AAC, MP3) with appropriate file extensions (.m4a, .mp3). For best results during playback, Apple recommends converting MP3 files greater than 32 megabytes (MB) to AAC format. For AAC audio files, Apple recommends the following specifications:
- Audio Format: Baseline Low-Complexity Profile with AAC-LC (Music)
- Data Rate: Up to 160 Kbps
- Channels: Stereo in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov formats
- Output Sample Rate: 48 kHz
- Encoding Quality: Better
Perhaps you're not aware that there is a volume slider on the iTunes window?
Also, Are you using an Equalizer? (Window -> Equalizer)
Change the preamp setting if you feel it is too quiet.
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Best Answer
No, it is not bad to have sound check enabled in iTunes.
Having it enabled does not make the sound quality of songs worse.
Sound Check works simply by dynamically raising or lowering the playback volume, just as you yourself can raise and lower the playback volume in iTunes without affecting sound quality.
iTunes raises/lowers playback volume according to the audio normalisation ID3-tag within the audio file. These tags are created automatically when you rip a CD with iTunes, and automatically added when you import files lackings these tags into iTunes.
The normalisation tag simply tells what the average volume of the song is. Note that iTunes recognizes albums, so that when playing back and album, it will adjust according to the average track volume of the album as a whole, instead of changing the playback volume for each song individually. Therefore your album listening experience is not harmed.
iTunes automatically ensures that the volume is not raised so high that neither clipping occurs or compression effects are introduced. Therefore your sound quality is not harmed.
All in all this means that enabling Sound Check is safe, does not change the audio content of your songs, thus not reducing their quality. It simply change the playback volume slightly so that you get an pleasurable listening experience without having to tweak your playback volume every time you select a new album.