How to lower volume on mp3

Audacity 3 Help Forum Windows
1

Audacity v3.4.2, Windows 10 64 bit

A friend gave me one M4A music file that I converted to mp3 for my iPod. I will call that song “Satoru”.

When “Satoru” song is played on my iPod the volume is extremely loud.

Is there a way I can adjust that file’s volume lower?

2

You can ren the**Amplify* effect and enter a negative dB level. (Then re-export as MP3).

Or you can use Mp3DirectCut which can change the volume (and do other limited editing) without decompressing.

…As you may know, MP3 is lossy compression. Data is thrown-away to make a smaller file. When you open an MP3 in Audacity (or any “regular” audio editor) it gets decompressed. If you re-save as MP3 you are going through another generation of lossy compression. You may not notice any quality loss, but it’s something to be aware of.

So to minimize the generations of lossy compression, you should open the M4A (which is also lossy), and adjust the volume before exporting as MP3.

Or, MP3Gain can be used to volume-match your entire music library. MP3Gain also works without decompressing/re-compressing.

Ot there is ReplayGain which works with some audio player software, or Apple has Sound Check.

Note that the automatic volume matching algorithms tend to reduce the loudness of most recordings because many quiet-sounding songs can’t be boosted without pushing the peaks into clipping (distortion).

3

Thank u for your response.

If possible I’d like to lower volume by using Audacity and not use third party app.

Where is “Amplify” in Audacity setting?

4

I finally was able to find “Amplify” in Effect.
I tried reducing Db to minus and then exporting as mp3, The final product volume was same as before and volume was not decreased.

Can someone show me the steps to properly lower volume?

5

The steps I took:

  1. I imported WAV “Satoru” file into audacity
  2. I selected the entire file
  3. Effect|Amplify and lowered the decimal to -4.1 or thereabouts
  4. Tracks|add new and selected stereo track
  5. when stereo track was created, I copied that and pasted to Tracks|Mix|Mix and Render to new track
  6. I selected the mixed new track and opened new by doing File|New and pasted above
  7. File|Export audio and export as MP3
6

Reason I did steps #4-7 is because I was given a large file with several songs and I only wanted to export only one song to mp3

7

Using Amplify did not work in reducing volume on my mp3 file, I did the following using ReplayGain plugin and it was able to lower volume down.

  1. I first converted M4A file into WAV so Audacity can import it

  2. Started audacity and opened the file with converted WAV file containing about ten songs.

I only wanted to lower volume on some.

The steps I used are the following. Are they correct?

  1. select the song I wanted to lower the volume

  2. Effect|ReplayGain and in my case I lowered (moved bar to left) volume down to -14.2db and hit apply

  3. Copy that to: Tracks|Add new stereo track and paste above

  4. Tracks|Mix Mix and render to new track and copy that

  5. File|New and paste above

  6. File|Export Audio and follow online instruction and export it to MP3

8

Yes, you can adjust the volume of the MP3 file using Audacity. Here are the steps to lower the volume of your “Satoru” song:

  1. Open Audacity:
  • Launch Audacity on your Windows 10 computer.
  1. Import the MP3 File:
  • Click on File > Import > Audio....
  • Select the “Satoru” MP3 file from your computer and click Open.
  1. Select the Entire Track:
  • Click on the track panel (the area with the waveform) to select the entire track. You can also use the shortcut Ctrl+A to select all.
  1. Adjust the Volume:
  • Go to Effect > Amplify....
  • In the Amplify dialog box, you will see the “Amplification (dB)” slider. To lower the volume, drag the slider to the left. The “New Peak Amplitude (dB)” should be a negative value indicating a reduction in volume.
  • Alternatively, you can enter a negative value in the “Amplification (dB)” box directly, such as -5 dB. This will lower the volume by 5 decibels.
  • Click OK to apply the change.
  1. Preview the Volume Adjustment:
  • Play the track in Audacity to ensure the volume is adjusted to your preference.
  1. Export the Adjusted MP3:
  • Click on File > Export > Export as MP3....
  • Choose the location where you want to save the adjusted file, give it a new name if desired, and click Save.
  • In the “Edit Metadata Tags” window, you can adjust the metadata if needed, then click OK.
  1. Transfer the Adjusted File to Your iPod:
  • Once the adjusted MP3 file is saved, transfer it to your iPod as you normally would.

By following these steps, you can lower the volume of the “Satoru” song and enjoy it at a more comfortable level on your iPod.

9

thank u very much for your detailed steps.

I normally do File|open to bring the mp3 file into Audacity.

Is that different from using File|Import?

10

This topic was automatically closed after 30 days. New replies are no longer allowed.