For my computer, there are a dozen different ways to adjust the volume in various ways and on various levels using both software and hardware. The following things have individual volume controls:
- Speakers
- Headphones
- Keyboard volume dial (pretty sure this is tied to the Win7 master volume…)
- Windows 7 master volume control
- MP3 software (like iTunes or foobar2000)
- Movie software like VLC
- In-browser video or audio players like YouTube
- etc…
It would be very nice if there was ONE single place that I could control the volume of things I hear on my computer. But that's not at all how it is…
Now, I know that obviously different audio sources have different levels of audio that require me to adjust volume and that adjusting volume is necessary, but what I hate is that I seemingly adjust the volume in 10 different places throughout the day. Sometimes I have to adjust my speaker volume for certain things, sometimes I have to adjust my Windows volume, sometimes I have to adjust the specific YouTube video volume, sometimes I'm adjusting the volume in iTunes, etc…
Early today I started watching some YouTube video and I begin to turn up the volume using the volume control on my keyboard, only to discover that the volume got EXTREMELY loud with even the slightest turn of the dial because the dial on my speakers was almost set to the max level. I didn't set my speaker level like that on purpose, but unintentionally did it earlier in the day because that was the volume level that I needed it at to hear some YouTube video or something (presumably because the Windows 7 volume must have been extremely low at the time).
What I'm getting at, is that it would be nice if there was some way to "normalize" everything. Somehow know what the set all my volume levels to, so that I would NEVER have to touch them and that I would only need to adjust one single master volume control and thats it.
Is this possible? Am I the only one that ends up adjusting the volume in a dozen different places? How to professional audio engineers setup their computers to deal with these types of issues?
Best Answer
This is an old post, but I found a proper solution for those with Windows:
Under Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound, right click your audio device, select properties > Enhancements, then turn on the option "Loudness Equalization".
You can also change the release time by clicking "Settings" inside the properties > Enhancements tab:
The release times determines how long the computer waits before raising a quiet sound, or lowering a loud sound. The shortest setting is instantaneous, while the longest takes one minute before the computer adjusts the volume.