I make music with Audacity and have been pleased with the wav files and the mp3 files that stream on Bandcamp. Here’s the problem: just out of curiosity, I enabled the Windows10/Realtek Loudness Equalization feature. Then all my files sounded horrible, wav and the Bandcamp mp3. Very loud for two seconds, then getting quieter and quieter. Okay, so I disabled Loudness Equalization. But why would that happen when everything else I listened to sounded good? Will a listener using that feature hear a train wreck when they play my tunes? Sorry, I know this is not an Audacity technical issue, but it’s driving me a bit crazy and I would greatly appreciate any ideas.
I can only guess what’s “different” about your production but I’d guess it’s more [u]dynamic[/u].
Most commercial music is highly compressed & limited and if your recordings are more “natural” the automatic volume control will have to “work harder” and it may be more distracting.
The [u]ACX Check Plug-in[/u] will allow you to compare the peak & RMS levels of your production and your “reference”.
In general, automatic volume control doesn’t work very well with music. The popular volume-matching tools such as ReplayGain or Apple Sound Check work by pre-scanning the loudness and making one adjustment before the song (or file) starts playing. That way the dynamics within the song are not altered.