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why is some apple music loud and some soft?

I get Apple Music. When I play Apple-created playlists, some music is louder and some soft. Particularly noticeable at night when I turn music down, then if I adjust for louder music, I can’t hear quieter music. What gives? And can it not be fixed?

Same problem when I stream to my Sonos speakers.

Posted on Dec 22, 2021 11:11 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 22, 2021 12:02 PM

Normalize the volume level of your audio: Go to Settings > Music, then turn on Sound Check. For more info, see:

Change the way music sounds on iPhone - Apple Support


6 replies

Dec 22, 2021 1:43 PM in response to javaliga

Thanks. Found it. I worked in radio and we managed, without any sound compression at all, to make music the same level from song to song. And, of course, just because one performer or piece is performed louder than another doesn't mean they can't be recorded, or at least, played at similar levels. I frequently play Apple Music on the Apple Music app for Apple TV and hear the same thing there. Almost seems like older music may have been recorded by Apple or whoever distributes the music to Apple at a lower level than more recent recordings.

Dec 22, 2021 1:54 PM in response to Arthur Shotwell

When digital recording was introduced in the BBC World Service (and probably the same elsewhere in the BBC) the peak level - 6 on the PPM - was set to 10dB below 100% modulation to keep well clear of the clipping which would occur if we reached it. I suspect that some organizations are recording much closer to the peak, probably using a limiter to avoid clipping. Also some aound mixers add a good deal of compression which as you will know makes recordings sound much louder even if the maximum peak is the same.


I've noticed with classical CDs that older ones are recorded at a much lower level than many more recent ones: it used to be that considerable headroom was left, but I've been surprised at how far I have to turn the volume down for some more recent recordings. Probably the same fashion applies in pop music - where there was always a tendency to use heavy compression by some mixers. I suspect this is what you are hearing, and it's difficult to deal with. In an ideal world you'd be able to 'normalize' various recordings - not just applying a limiter and allowing it to hold back, and thus compress, louder recordings, but checking each recording for its maximum peak and setting that to a standardised level: I don't know to what extent Sound Check can achieve this but it's probably your only option.

why is some apple music loud and some soft?

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